Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory

Over the years there has developed quite a devotion to praying for the holy souls in Purgatory.  This can even be traced back to Maccabees in the old Testament which is also part of the support for the doctrine of Purgatory. 

"The most famous scriptural reference, among others, concerning these prayers comes from the Old Testament where it is called “a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:46). "
Prayers for Souls in Purgatory


Then there is the prayer of St Gertrude from the 13th century where she was promised the release of 1,000 souls for each time this prayer was said with devotion.

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
Prayers for Souls in Purgatory

St Faustina develop a strong desire to pray for the souls in Purgatory.


The next night, I saw my Guardian Angel, who ordered me to follow him.
In a moment I was in a misty place full of fire in which there was a great crowd of suffering souls. They were praying fervently, but to no avail, for themselves; only we can come to their aid.
The fIames, which were burning them did not touch me at all. My Guardian Angel did not leave Me for an instant.
I asked these souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice for that their greatest torment was longing for God.
I saw our Lady visiting the souls.in Purgatory. The souls call her "The Star of the Sea". She brings them refreshment. I wanted to talk with them some more, but my Guardian Angel beckoned me to leave. We went out of that prison of suffering. [I heard an interior voice] which said, My mercy does not want this, but my justice demands it. Since that time, I am in closer communion with the suffering souls. (Diary 20) 
Divine Mercy, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory


The 8th day of the Divine Mercy novena is devoted to praying for the souls in Purgatory as requested by Jesus.

"Today bring to Me the Souls who are in the prison of Purgatory, and immerse them in the abyss of My mercy. Let the torrents of My Blood cool down their scorching flames. All these souls are greatly loved by Me. They are making retribution to My justice. It is in your power to bring them relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only knew the torments they suffer, you would continually offer for them the alms of the spirit and pay off their debt to My justice."

Prayer for the Eighth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena

Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself have said that You desire mercy; so I bring into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart the souls in Purgatory, souls who are very dear to You, and yet, who must make retribution to Your justice. May the streams of Blood and Water which gushed forth from Your Heart put out the flames of Purgatory, that there, too, the power of Your mercy may be celebrated.

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded: Manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way but only through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Amen.

Eighth Day of the Divine Mercy Novena


In An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory Sr. M. G. often talks to Sr. M. de L. C. about praying for the souls in Purgatory and what is most helpful.  Because there is so much here I'll use this post to focus on these teachings.  I'll use another to focus specifically on the effects of acts done in the Divine Will when applied to the suffering souls.  All of the following quotes are taken from An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory unless otherwise noted.



There are many souls in Purgatory who can not yet benefit from prayers said for them but they end up being applied to others.

"Great sinners who were indifferent towards God, and religious who were not what they should have been are in the lowest stage of Purgatory. While they are there, the prayers offered up for them are not applied to them. Because they have ignored God during their life, He now in His turn leaves them abandoned in order that they may repair their neglectful and worthless lives."

This is a manifestation of God's perfect Justice.

7 “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. ² For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. 
Matthew 7:1-2

"When they have lost their relatives or friends, they say a few prayers, weep for a few days and that is the end of it. The souls are henceforth abandoned. It is true that they merit this, for while they were on earth they neglected the dead. The Divine Judge deals with us in this world according to our actions in the former. Those who have forgotten the holy souls are forgotten in their turn. This is only fair. Perhaps if they had been reminded to pray for the dead and had been told a little about Purgatory, they might have acted differently."

But no prayer goes without being useful in one way or another.  Even praying for someone who is already in Heaven can be used to help others.

"Those in Heaven for whom prayers are said on earth can apply those prayers to the souls they wish to benefit. It is a very consoling thought for those in the other world to know that their relatives and friends on earth do not forget them, even though they have no further need of prayers. In return, they are not ungrateful."

And even for those souls who do not merit any relief from prayers there is an exception to that as well.

"On All Souls' Day many souls leave the place of expiation and go to Heaven. Also, by a special grace of God on that day only, all the suffering souls, without exception, have a share in the public prayers of the Church, even those who are in the great Purgatory. Still the relief of each soul is in proportion to its merits. Some receive more, some less, but all feel the benefit of this extraordinary grace. Many of the suffering souls receive this one help only in all the long years they pass here and this by the justice of God. It is not, however, on All Souls' Day that the most go to Heaven. It is on Christmas night."

 

 

Sr. M. G. often asked for prayer.  She said:

 

A little prayer does us so much good. It is like a glass of water given to a thirsty person.

 

As for the type of prayer she said:

"Next to the Mass, the Way of the Cross is the best prayer."

She continued to beg for this prayer specifically.

"No one can imagine what Purgatory is like. Be kind and take pity on the poor souls . . . Do not neglect the Way of the Cross."

But vocal prayer is not the greatest relief for these souls.  Allowing her to share in her adoration and actions brings even greater relief.  She states that actions done in union with Jesus are greater.  She encourages her to pay attention to even the least manifestation of God's will.

"That was a good thought of yours on the day the retreat closed, to invite me to come and adore Jesus present in your heart during your thanksgiving after Holy Communion. If you had done that sooner, I should have obtained much relief. Do so in the future and before all your prayers. Also offer a part of your work for me, as I have such an ardent longing to see God."

"I receive far more relief from one of your actions done in union with Jesus, than from a vocal prayer, because what is it that God hears? He hears all that is done with an interior spirit. The more closely a soul is united with God the more readily does He grant all it asks. A soul intimately united with Jesus is the mistress of His Heart. Strive then after this union which Jesus has desired to have with you for so long. You want to please Him? Well, this is the only way. You approach closer to His Heart by great attention to the least manifestations of His holy will."

She reaffirms this again stating that God prefers a soul united to Him acting with pure intention rather than many prayers.  Guess the saying; 'Actions speak louder than words' applies with God as well.

"It is more pleasing to God for a religious to perform all her actions in conscious union with Him and with a pure intention in behalf of her deceased relatives rather than to say many prayers for them."

As Catholics we have been taught to make use of indulgences (partial remission of temporal punishment) and plenary indulgences (the full remission of temporal punishment) as distributed by the Church.

1479    Since the faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted. (1032)
Catechism of the Catholic Church

But these in fact are not as easily obtained as we might have been lead to believe and very few actually obtain them.  Apparently these, like any prayer or act, are dependent on our disposition and purity of intent.

"As for the plenary indulgences, I may as well tell you that few, very few people gain them entirely. There has to be such a wonderful disposition of heart and will that it is rare, much rarer than you think it is, to have the entire remission of one's faults."

Purging souls are extremely grateful for the Mercy of God and any prayers said for them and they in turn pray for those who help them.

"In Purgatory the souls are not entirely occupied by their sufferings. They pray for all the interests of God and for those who shorten their sufferings. They pray and thank God for His infinite mercies in their regard, because the space between Purgatory and Hell for some of them was very narrow and they barely escaped falling into Hell. Judge then what the gratitude of those souls is who were barely rescued from Satan."
 

"I, in my turn, will pray for you. Yes, I can pray even now and I will do so every day. You will then realize that the souls in Purgatory are not ungrateful."
 

And in fact Sr. M. G. states that more graces are often bestowed through their prayers then through the prayers of those already in Heaven.


"God often accords more graces through the intercession of these suffering souls than through the prayers of the saints."

Sr. M. de L. C. remarked at how surprised she was that even after so many prayers said for Sr. M. G. she still remained in Purgatory.  But Justice demands expiation of each and every act not done for the love of God.  So for many souls it takes the equivalent of another life time but for the prayers said for them.

 
"You sometimes say to me that the perfecting of a soul is a long process and you are also astonished that after so many prayers, I am so long deprived of the sight of God. Alas, the perfecting of a soul does not take any less time in Purgatory than upon earth. There are a number of souls, but they are very few, who have only a few venial sins to expiate. These do not stay long in Purgatory. A few well-said prayers, a few sacrifices soon deliver them. But when there are souls like mine — and that is nearly all whose lives have been so empty and who paid little or no attention to their salvation — then their whole life has to be begun over again in this place of expiation. The soul has to perfect itself all over again, and love and desire Him, whom it did not love sufficiently on earth. This is the reason why the deliverance of some souls is delayed. God has given me a very great grace in allowing me to ask for prayers. I did not deserve it, but without this I would have remained like most of those here, for years and years more."

What's the deal with Purgatory?

I wanted to explore the topic of Purgatory, especially in the Volumes, and it has taken me much longer than I would have ever imagined plus my life seems to have gotten in the way as well.  This will once again take more than one post to go through all this material.  Jesus mentions in the Volumes that charity towards the souls in Purgatory is the most pleasing to Him.  He sees these souls as bound closely within Himself but they are helpless to help themselves.  They can't help but love Him but are forced to remain isolated from Him.

 

“The charity most acceptable to Me is toward those who are closest to Me, and those who are closest to Me are the purging souls, because they are confirmed in my grace and there is no opposition between my Will and theirs.  They live continuously in Me, they ardently love Me, and I am forced to see them suffer within Myself, impotent to give themselves the slightest relief on their own.  Oh, how tortured my Heart is by the position of these souls, because they are not far away, but close to Me – not only close, but inside of Me!  And how pleasing to my Heart one who interests himself with them.  Suppose you had a mother or a sister who lived with you in a state of sorrow, incapable of helping themselves on their own, and then someone else, foreign, who lived outside of your house, also in a state of sorrows, but capable of helping himself by himself.  Would you not be more pleased if someone occupied himself with relieving your mother or your sister, rather than the foreign one who can help himself on his own?” 

Vol. 4, Jan. 16, 1901

 

 

This isolation from Jesus is so true that when he had asked Luisa to go to Purgatory in order to suffer some and free certain souls she was afraid and although willing asked that Jesus might come with her.  He told her he couldn't come with her since his very presence would change any sorrows into joys.

He transported me outside of myself, close to a deep place, full of liquid fire, and dark – the mere sight of it struck horror and fright.  Jesus said to me:  “Here is Purgatory, and many souls are crammed in this fire.  You will go to this place to suffer in order to free the souls I choose, and you will do this for love of Me.”

Though trembling a little, immediately I said to Him:  ‘Everything for love of You, I am ready, but You must come with me, otherwise, if You leave me, You do not let Yourself be found any more, and then You make me cry quite a bit.’  And He:  “If I come with you, what would be your Purgatory?  With my presence, those pains would change into joys and contentments for you.”  And I:  ‘I do not want to go alone, but as we go into that fire, You will remain behind my shoulders, so I will not see You, and I will accept this suffering.’

So I went into that place filled with thick darkness, and He followed me from behind.  For fear that He might leave me, I grabbed His hands, holding them tightly upon my shoulders.  As I arrived down there… who can describe the pains that those souls suffered?  They are certainly unutterable for people clothed with human flesh.  But as I entered that fire, it would be destroyed, and the darkness would be dispelled, and many souls would come out, and others would be relieved.

Vol. 3, November 28, 1899



A place full of thick darkness and liquid fire where one is isolated from God.  We think of it as a punishment where souls go to suffer before they are allowed into Heaven but Jesus states instead that it is a mercy of God.  If a soul still had a stain within it and it came before God it would be "the greatest torment for them".  A suffering which he states would surpass the pains of hell.  So as not to torture souls more he firsts allows them to be purged of any stain and then he brings them into his presence.

In fact, if these are without Me, it is because of the sins with which they see themselves smeared, and which prevent them from seeing Me; and they themselves do not dare to come before Me, because before my infinite Sanctity there is not a tiny flaw that can stand before my presence.  And if I allowed them to be before Me, this would be the greatest torment for them, such as surpass the very pains of hell.  The greatest torture I could give to a soul would be to keep her, stained, before Me.  So, in order not to torture her more, first I let her be purged, and then I admit her to my presence.

Vol. 14, April 1, 1922



Jesus, in the Volumes, tells Luisa that the whole purpose of Purgatory is to fill in voids of love in the creature.  If everything is love in the creature and all her acts throughout her life were done with love than there is nothing that Purgatory would do and the creature passes on to Heaven.

I asked: ‘Lord, yesterday I went to confession; if I had died, since confession remits sins, would You not have brought me straight to Heaven?’

And He: “My daughter, it is true that confession remits sins, but the surest and most certain thing to be exempt from Purgatory is love. Love must be the predominant passion in the soul. Love - her thought, her word, her movements… everything, everything must be enveloped by this love. In this way, finding her all love, the Uncreated Love absorbs the created love within Itself. In fact, Purgatory does nothing but fill the voids of love that are present in the soul; and once It has filled these voids, It sends her to Heaven. But if these voids are not there, it is not something that belongs to Purgatory.”

Vol. 8, July 14, 1907


Jesus affirms this again to Luisa telling her that every act must be an encounter with the Will of God so that she might receive all his love and avoid any painful encounters after death. 

Oh! how many moans of sorrows come from the prisons of Purgatory, how many shouts of desperation can be heard from hell, because my Will was not encountered on earth. Therefore, my daughter, may your first act be to encounter my Will; may your first thought and heartbeat be to encounter the eternal heartbeat of my Will, that you may receive all my love. Try to make continuous encounters in everything, that you may be transformed in my Will and I in yours, so as to dispose yourself to make the final encounter with my Will at your last hour. In this way, you will have no painful encounter after your death.”

Vol. 16, July 23, 1923



In  An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory there are several descriptions of Purgatory to try to make people understand it's nature better.

When I spoke to you of the great and the second Purgatory, it was to try to make you understand that there are different stages in Purgatory. Thus I call that stage of Purgatory great or worst where the most guilty souls are, and where I stayed for two years without being able to give a sign of the torments I was suffering. The year when you heard me groaning, when I began to speak to you, I was still in the same place.

In the second Purgatory, which is still Purgatory but very different from the first, one suffers a great deal, but less than in the great place of expiation. Then there is a third stage, which is the Purgatory of desire, where there is no fire. The souls who did not desire Heaven ardently enough, who did not love God sufficiently are there. It is there that I am at this moment. Further, in these three parts of Purgatory, there are many degrees of variation. Little by little, as the soul becomes purified, her sufferings are changed.

...

I can tell you about the different degrees of Purgatory because I have passed through them. In the great Purgatory there are several stages. In the lowest and most painful, like a temporary hell, are the sinners who have committed terrible crimes during life and whose death surprised them in that state. It was almost a miracle that they were saved, and often by the prayers of holy parents or other pious persons. Sometimes they did not even have time to confess their sins and the world thought them lost, but God, whose mercy is infinite, gave them at the moment of death the contrition necessary for their salvation on account of one or more good actions which they performed during life. For such souls, Purgatory is terrible. It is a real hell with this difference, that in hell they curse God, whereas we bless Him and thank Him for having saved us.

Next to these come the souls, who though they did not commit great crimes like the others, were indifferent to God. They did not fulfill their Easter duties and were also converted at the point of death. Perhaps they were unable to receive Holy Communion. They are in Purgatory for the long years of indifference. They suffer unheard of pains and are abandoned either without prayers or if they are said for them, they are not allowed to profit by them. There are in this stage of Purgatory religious of both sexes, who were tepid, neglectful of their duties, indifferent towards Jesus, also priests who did not exercise their sacred ministry with the reverence due to the Sovereign Majesty and who did not instill the love of God sufficiently into the souls confided to their care. I was in this stage of Purgatory. In the second Purgatory are the souls of those who died with venial sins not fully expiated before death, or with mortal sins that have been forgiven but for which they have not made entire satisfaction to the Divine Justice. In this part of Purgatory, there are also different degrees according to the merits of each soul. Thus the Purgatory of the consecrated souls or of those who have received more abundant graces, is longer and far more painful than that of ordinary people of the world. Lastly, there is the Purgatory of desire which is called the Threshold. Very few escape this. To avoid it altogether, one must ardently desire Heaven and the vision of God. That is rare, rarer than people think, because even pious people are afraid of God and have not, therefore, a sufficiently strong desire of going to Heaven. This Purgatory has its very painful martyrdom like the others. The deprivation of the sight of our loving Jesus adds to the intense suffering.

An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory



So there are three levels of Purgatory and several degrees within each.  The first is the closest to Hell and only differs in that souls there can still thank and bless the Lord for saving them.  In the second stage are those who still have unfinished expiation of their sins.  Both in the first and second level of Purgatory the souls are subjected to fire.  She refers to the third level of Purgatory as the Purgatory of desire and states that almost everyone must experience this level at least.  Only souls who have no fear of God and who have desired Him above all in life can hope to pass by this stage.  Here the soul experiences the deprivation of God.  But there are some that serve their Purgatory at near the altar and receive relief from the hidden presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.




I have told you there are some souls who do their Purgatory at the foot of the altar. They are not there for faults they have committed in church, because those faults which attack Jesus directly, Jesus present in the Tabernacle, are punished with terrible severity in Purgatory. The souls that are there in adoration are there as a reward for their reverent behavior in the Sacred Presence. They suffer less than if they were in Purgatory itself, and Jesus, whom they contemplate with the eyes of their soul and of faith, softens their pains by His invisible Presence.
An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory


Luisa's parents, through graces received through her sufferings as allowed by Jesus, entered into this third Purgatory.  It was revealed to Luisa that her mother was allowed to enter into the acts of Jesus' humanity.  She was not yet in Heaven proper as Jesus said the Divinity was denied her but that she would also enjoy that soon as well and that everyone must pass through his Humanity before being given access to the Divinity.


⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
John 14:6

Now, since I do not remember everything distinctly, I will tell of the past, all together and confusedly, starting from where I left when I was praying that He would take my mother to Paradise without her touching Purgatory.  Then, on March 19, the day dedicated to Saint Joseph, in the morning, while I was in my usual state, my mother passed from this life into the sphere of eternity; and blessed Jesus, allowing me to see her as He was taking her, told me:  “My daughter, the Creator takes his creature.”

At that moment, I felt I was being invested, inside and out, with a fire so alive that I felt my bowels, my stomach and all the rest burning; and if I would have something, it would convert into fire, and I would be forced to bring it up immediately after I had swallowed it.  This fire consumed me and kept me alive.  Oh, how I understood the devouring fire of Purgatory which, while consuming the soul, gives her life!  The fire does the office of food, of water, of death and of life; but I was happy in that state.  However, since I had only seen that Jesus had taken her, but He had not showed me where He had taken her, my happiness was not full, and from my very sufferings I would draw concern, since those would be the sufferings of my mother if she was in Purgatory.  And seeing blessed Jesus, who in these days has almost never left me, I would cry and say to Him:  ‘My sweet love, tell me – where did You take her?  I am content that You have taken her away from us, because You keep her with Yourself; but if You do not have her with Yourself, this I do not tolerate, and I will cry so much until You content me.’  And He seemed to enjoy my crying; He would embrace me, He would sustain me, He would dry my tears, and would say to me:  “My daughter, do not fear, calm yourself; and once you have calmed yourself I will let you see her, and you will be very pleased.  Besides, you can have the certainty that I have contented you from the fire that you feel.”

But I would continue to cry, especially when I would see Him, since I felt in my interior that something was still lacking to the beatitude of my mother; so much so, that the people who surrounded me, who had come because of the death of my mother, in seeing me cry so much, thinking that I was crying because of the death of my mother, were almost scandalized, thinking that I had moved away from the Divine Will, when, more than ever, I was swimming in this sphere of the Divine Will.  But I do not appeal to any human tribunal, because it is false – only to the divine, which is full of truth.  And good Jesus was not condemning me; on the contrary, He would compassionate me, and in order to sustain me, He would come more often, almost giving me a reason to cry more, because if He would not come, with whom was I to cry to impetrate what I wanted?  The people were right because they judged from the outside; and then, after all, since I am so very bad, it is no wonder that the others would be scandalized by me.

Then, after quite a few days, as good Jesus came, He told me:  “My daughter, be consoled, for I want to tell you and show you where your mother is.  Since before and after she passed away, you have suffered continuously that which I earned, did and endured for her good in the course of my life, she partakes in what I did and enjoys my Humanity.  Only the Divinity is concealed from her, but It will shortly be unveiled to her as well, and the fire you feel, and your prayers, have served to exempt her from any other pain of senses, which all must have, because my justice, receiving satisfaction from you, could not take it from both.”  At that moment, I seemed to see my mother within an immensity which had no boundaries, and in it there were many delights and joys - for as many words, thoughts, sighs, works, sufferings, heartbeats…; in sum, for everything that the Most Holy Humanity of Jesus Christ contained.  I understood that It is a second Paradise for the Blessed, and in order to enter the Paradise of the Divinity, all must pass through this Paradise of the Humanity of Christ.  Therefore, the fact of having touched no other purgatory had been a most singular privilege for my mother, reserved for very few.  However, I understood that even though she was not amid torments, but rather, amid delights, her happiness was not perfect, but almost halved.
Vol. 7, May 9, 1907



With Luisa's father she was not allowed to suffer as she had for her mother but after some time and graces bestowed and some suffering to mitigate his Purgatory he was allowed into a church so that he could benefit from the presence of Jesus in he sacrament and the masses said.



I continue by saying that only about ten days had passed from the death of my mother, when my father fell gravely ill, and the Lord made me understood that he too would die. I gave him to Him as a gift in advance, and I repeated the same pleas which I made for my mother – that He should not let him touch Purgatory. But the Lord showed Himself more reluctant, and would not listen to me. I feared greatly, not for his salvation, because good Jesus had made me a solemn promise almost fifteen years before that, of my family and of those who belong to me, no one would be lost; but I feared very much about Purgatory. I kept praying, but good Jesus would hardly come. Only on the day my father died, that is, after about fifteen days of illness, did blessed Jesus make Himself seen, all benign, clothed in white, as if He were in feast, and He told me: "Today I am waiting for your father, and for love of you I will let Myself be found, not as a judge, but as a benign father. I will welcome him in my arms." I insisted about Purgatory, but He did not listen to me, and He disappeared. After my father died, I did not have any new suffering as had happened with my mother, and from this I understood that he had gone to Purgatory. I prayed and prayed again, but Jesus would make Himself seen flashing by, without giving me time; and what’s more, I could not even cry because I had no one with whom to cry, and the One who, alone, could listen to my crying, would run away from me. Adorable judgments of God, in His ways.

Then, after two days of interior pains, while I was seeing blessed Jesus and asking Him about my father, I felt he was behind the shoulders of Jesus Christ, as though bursting into tears and asking for help; and then they disappeared. I was left lacerated in my soul, and I kept praying. Finally, after six days, as I was in my usual state, I found myself outside of myself, inside a church, and there were many purging souls. I was praying to Our Lord that He would at least let my father come inside a church to make his purgatory, because I could see that the souls in the churches receive continuous reliefs from the prayers and Masses that are said, and much more, from the real presence of Jesus in the Sacrament; it seems that that is a continuous refreshment for them. At that moment, I saw my father, venerable in his appearance, and Our Lord let me place him near the Tabernacle. So it seems I was left less lacerated in my interior.
Vol. 7, May 9, 1907