The Fatima Message Confirms
The Reality of Purgatory
God’s Mercy vs. God’s Perfect Justice
Purgatory is only temporary end before the final end in Heaven so it is not considered to be one of the last things. However Purgatory is such an important dogma of the church. Incredibly, so many Catholics are ignorant of Purgatory so do nothing to avoid it themselves and little or nothing to help the Poor Souls who are there, suffering intensely, as they wait for Masses and prayers to be offered for them. That is why Our Lady brought up the reality of Heaven and Purgatory in her first appearance to the children. Only after strengthening them with the graces given in both the May and June apparitions did the children experience another reality of a place called hell.
The painting below of Our Lady of Mt Carmel, the 'Throne of Mercy' and 'Queen of the Angels', who takes great delight in sending her Angels to release those Souls mercifully pardoned by her Son Jesus through the prayers and supplications of the church!
During Our Lady's First Visit to Fatima May 13th, 1917, Lucia–the oldest of the three, was reassured by Our Lady that they would all one day go to Heaven. Jacinta and Francisco would go soon and she would go but not right away because it was the will of God that she help promote the devotion to her Immaculate Heart to save poor sinners. Lucia found the courage and asked Our Lady about two of her friends who recently died: "Is Maria das Neves in Heaven?" "Yes" answered Our Lady, "she is in Heaven." She also asked about another friend, Amelia. Our Lady answered: "She will be in Purgatory until the end of the world."
Amelia's Fate a
Warning for All of Us!
Amelia was eighteen years old when she died. She is in Purgatory and will, on the testimony of Our Blessed Mother, stay there until the end of time. Let us take to heart and make certain that her fate will not be our own. What could she have done to merit such purgation in those days and what about us and the sins committed in our era?
Why such a lengthy expiation?
The malice of sin is great. What we think are small faults are in reality serious offenses against the infinite goodness of God. Adam and Eve just ate an apple and look what happened! Consider how the saints wept over their smallest faults. We are weak we say and it is true but God is always there for us offering us graces to strengthen us and giving us lights to see the gravity of our sins. We do not use the lights and graces he so generously offers us, and we do not receive the sacraments as we should.
The saints committed few and slight sins they sorrowed much over them and did severe penances. We commit many and grave sins and we sorrow little and do little or no penance. For the majority of us who do make the positive decision to serve God and are not yet properly prepared (humble enough) to enter Heaven, the only choice is to make the transition to goodness in Purgatory. Our Lord tells us that we shall have to render an account for each and every idle word we say (Matthew12:36 ) and that we may not leave our prison until we shall have paid the last farthing. (Matthew 5:26).
All Venial Sins
Must also be Atoned for!
All sins mortal and venial accumulated for 20, 40, or 60 years of life. Each one has to be atoned for after death. Is it a wonder that souls have to remain so long in purgatory? It cannot be calculated the immense number of venial sins we commit on a daily basis. Faults of self love, selfishness; in thoughts words and deeds. Acts of sensuality, faults of charity; laziness, vanity, jealousy, tepidity. Then the sins of omission that we give no credence too. Do we ever thank God as we should for all his blessings given to us? He waits for our visits day and night in the tabernacle; do we go? He dies for us every morning at Mass and gives innumerable graces to those who participate longing to come into our hearts in Holy Communion. We are too lazy to attend this Calvary. We have luxurious homes, food, clothing while many in the world live in hunger and misery. Life is given to serve God and save our souls but we are satisfied if we give God five minutes of prayer in the morning and evening and the rest of the 24 hour day is given to work, rest and pleasures.
And Mortal Sins?
Fatima and A Vision of Hell
The Ultimate Justice of God
For Unrepentant Sinners
The Fatima children saw countless numbers of people who were endlessly falling into the fiery flames. Plunged in this fire were also demons and souls in human form, like
transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating
about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that
issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke, now
falling back on every side like sparks in a huge fire, without weight or
equilibrium, and amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which
horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It must have been this
sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me.) Testimony of Sr Lucia.
Our
Lady sadly looked upon them as she said "You have seen hell where the
souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the
world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”
The demons could be distinguished (from the souls of the damned) by
their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown
animals, all black and transparent.This vision lasted only a moment,
thanks to our good Heavenly Mother who, at the first apparition, had
promised to take us to Heaven. Without this promise, I think we would
have died of fright
Unfortunately, Most of us have committed mortal sins in our lives and if we confess them we do not make satisfaction for them. Do we return what we have stolen or make charitable contributions to the poor if we cannot. Did we restore the good name of the other who we maligned with our slander or calumny? The tongue can murder another as well as a gun or knife and change the direction of the life of someone for good or ill!
St. Gertrude in her revelations indicated that those who have committed many grave sins and have not done due penance, may not share in the ordinary suffrage's of the church for a very considerable time!
The venerable Bede also indicated that the justice of God may demand that those who pass a great part of their lives in repeated and unrepentant mortal sins and confess them on their death bed, may be detained in purgatory until even the last day.
We would do well to remember that the best means of lessening our term in Purgatory -- or of avoiding it altogether -- is to have clear ideas of it, to think well and often on it and to adopt the means God offers for avoiding it. Not to think of it is FATAL. It is nothing else than preparing for ourselves a long and rigorous Purgatory!
The servant of God Fr. John Anthony Hardon, S.J. said many times: “Only the very chaste and very humble shall enter Heaven; No one else! No one else! No one else!”
Jesus Meek and Humble of Heart
Make Our Hearts Like Unto Thine!
Fr. Hardon and the Catholic Dogma of Purgatory
Miracle of Holy Mass
and Purgatory in 1657
Shrine of Our Lady of Montserrat
Montserrat - the site of a
Marian shrine - is a Benedictine monastery with nearly 1000 years of
history. The shrine is set on the ledge of the mountains where a
Basilica and Benedictine monastery are also built. The Basilica was
constructed in the neo-Gothic and Renaissance style and was consecrated
in 1592, 100 years after the discovery of America. According to legend,
the statue of Our Lady of Montserrat was discovered by young shepherds
who had been attracted by lights that came from a cave where the statute
was hidden. Our Lady of Montserrat is the Patroness of Catalonia, and
because of the color of her skin, she is known as "La Moreneta" ("The
Little Black Madonna").
The Most Reverend Father Bernardo de Ontevieros, General of the Benedictine Order in Spain, along with the Abbot Father Millán de Mirando, were present at the monstery of Our Lady of Montserrat to take part in several conferences when a woman with her young daughter came to the monastery, and the little girl began to implore Abbot Millán to celebrate three Masses in memory of her deceased father, deeply convinced that by the merits of these Masses, the soul of her father would be freed from the pains of Purgatory. The good Abbot, moved by the tears of the young girl, began to celebrate the first of these Masses for the dead on the following day, and the little girl, who was present at the Mass with her mother, during the consecration began to declare that she saw her father kneeling at the foot of the main altar, surrounded by dreadful flames. The Father General, who was skeptical, wishing to determine whether the little girl’s account was true, told her to bring a handkerchief close to the flames that surrounded her father. The little girl, following his directive, placed the handkerchief in that mysterious fire which only she was able to see, and at once all the monks saw the handkerchief catch fire with a living flame. .....Read More
Further Meditations on the Four Last things
“Remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.”
Divine Providence also brought a little booklet titled READ ME or RUE IT by Fr. Paul O'Sullivn,O.P. The cover promised that the pamphlet would be a Revelation for many who would read it and it was for me. I paraphrased portions from this booklet within this post. I also want to mention the Classic Meditations on the Four Last things: DEATH, JUDGMENT, HELL and HEAVEN by Fr. Martin Von Cochem O.S.F.C. whose quote is one of the titles of this post and will be an valuable source for further meditations. Links for both booklets can be found at the end of this post.
READ ME or RUE IT by Fr. Paul O'Sullivn,O.P.
Classic Meditations on the Four Last things:
DEATH, JUDGMENT, HELL and HEAVEN by Fr. Martin Von Cochem O.S.F.C.
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