Over the years that I’ve written columns, none seems to have sparked as much interest than the series on Purgatory in this space. Is Purgatory true, one asks. Let’s have more, prods another. Yet another confronts me with “What in hell are you writing about?”, to which I reply I wrote the series on earth.
I hope I am not mistaken in my recall that it was in Medjugorje that the Blessed Virgin Mary once said that most persons go to Purgatory after earthly death. Only a few go directly to Heaven. As for hell, there’s the testimony of the children of Fatima who, after they were given a brief sojourn of it by the Blessed Virgin, noted souls falling into hell like leaves in autumn- their analogy, not mine.
That most pass through Purgatory before going to Heaven should trigger interest on this series. It’s like getting to know personal futures (although I have been saying more prayers recently so as to skirt Purgatory altogether).
Thus, let me go on with mystic Maria Simma of Austria, who died in 1994 after having led a holy life that was often visited by souls (I prefer the term persons which they are) from Purgatory to ask favour of her for their deliverance into Paradise.
Again, it’s a question (Q) and answer (A) format based on an interview of Maria by Sor Emmanuel.
Q:Maria, you have been invited many times to suffer for the poor souls, in order to deliver them. Can you tell us what you have experienced and undergone during these times?
A: The first time, a soul asked me if I wouldn’t mind suffering for three hours in my body for her, and that afterwards I could resume working. I said to myself: "If it will all be over after three hours, I could accept it." During those three hours, I had the impression that it lasted three days, it was so painful. But at the end, I looked at my watch, and I saw that it had only lasted three hours. The soul told me that by accepting that suffering with love for three hours, I had saved her twenty years of Purgatory!
Q: Yes, but why did you suffer for only three hours to avoid twenty years of Purgatory? What did your sufferings have that was worth more?
A: It is because suffering on earth does not have the same value. On earth, when we suffer, we can grow in love, we can gain merits, which is not the case with the sufferings in Purgatory. In Purgatory, the sufferings serve only to purify us from sin. On earth, we have all the graces. We have the freedom to choose.
All of this is so encouraging because it gives an extraordinary meaning to our sufferings. The suffering which is offered, voluntary or involuntary, even the smallest sacrifices we can make, suffering or sickness, mourning, disappointments… if we live them with patience, if we welcome them in humility, these sufferings can have an unheard-of power to help souls.
The best thing to do, Maria tells us, is to unite our sufferings to those of Jesus, by placing them in the hands of Mary. She is the one who knows best how to use them, since often we ourselves do not know the most urgent needs around us. All this, of course, Mary will give back to us at the hour of our death. You see, these sufferings offered will be our most precious treasures in the other world. We must remind each other of this and encourage each other when we suffer.
Let me add something important: the souls in Purgatory can no longer do anything for themselves; they are totally helpless. If the living do not pray for them; they are totally abandoned. Therefore, it is very important to realize the immense power, the incredible power that each one of us has in our hands to relieve these souls who suffer.
We wouldn’t think twice about helping a child who has fallen in front of us from a tree, and who had broken his bones. Of course, we would do everything for him! So, in the same way, we should take great care of these souls who expect everything from us, attentive to the slightest offering, hopeful for the least of our prayers, to relieve them from their pain. And it might be the finest way to practice charity.
Q: Maria, why can one no longer gain merits in Purgatory, when one can on earth?
Because at the moment of death, the time to earn merits is over. For as long as we are living on earth, we can repair the evil we have done. The souls in Purgatory envy us of this opportunity. Even the angels are jealous of us, for we have the possibility of growing for as long as we are on earth.
Q: But often, the suffering in our lives leads us to rebellion, and we have great difficulty in accepting and living it. How can we live suffering so that it bears fruit?
A: Sufferings are the greatest proof of the love of God, and if we offer them well, they can win many souls.
Q: But how can we welcome suffering as a gift, and not as a punishment (as we often do), as a chastisement?
A: We must give everything to Our Lady. She is the one who knows best who needs such and such an offering in order to be saved.
We should not always consider sufferings as a punishment. It can be accepted as expiation not only for ourselves, but above all for others. Christ was innocence itself, and He suffered the most for the expiation of our sins. Only in Heaven will we know all that we have obtained by suffering with patience in union with the sufferings of Christ.
Q: Maria, do the souls in Purgatory rebel when faced with their suffering?
A: No! They want to purify themselves; they understand that it is necessary.
Q: What is the role of contrition or repentance at the moment of death?
A: Contrition is very important. The sins are forgiven, in any case, but there remains the consequences of sins. If one wishes to receive a full indulgence at the moment of death — that means going straight to Heaven — the soul has to be free from all attachment.
Q: Maria, I would like to ask you: at the moment of death, is there a time in which the soul still has the chance to turn towards God, even after a sinful life, before entering into eternity — a time, if you like, between apparent death and real death?
A: Yes, yes! The Lord gives several minutes to each one in order to regret his sins and to decide: I accept, or I do not accept to go and see God. Then we see a film of our lives.
I knew a man who believed in the Church’s teachings, but not in eternal life. One day, he fell gravely ill and slid into a coma. He saw himself in a room with a board on which all his deeds were written, the good and the bad. Then the board disappeared as well as the walls of the room, and it was infinitely beautiful. Then he woke up from his coma, and decided to change his life.
Q: Maria, does the devil have permission to attack us at the moment of death?
A: Yes, but man also has the grace to resist him, to push him away. So, if man does not want anything to do with him, the devil can do nothing.
Q:Maria, what advice would you give to anyone who wants to become a saint here on earth?
A: Be very humble. We must not be occupied with ourselves. Pride is evil’s greatest trap.
Q: Maria, please tell us: can one ask the Lord to do one’s Purgatory on earth, in order not to have to do it after death?
A: Yes. I knew a priest and a young woman who were both ill with tuberculosis in the hospital. The young woman said to the priest: "Let’s ask the Lord to be able to suffer on earth as much as necessary in order to go straight to Heaven." The priest replied that he himself didn’t dare to ask for this. Nearby was a religious sister who had overheard the whole conversation. The young woman died first, the priest died later, and he appeared to the sister, saying: "If only I had had the same trust as the young woman, I too would have gone straight to Heaven."
(to be continued)
I hope I am not mistaken in my recall that it was in Medjugorje that the Blessed Virgin Mary once said that most persons go to Purgatory after earthly death. Only a few go directly to Heaven. As for hell, there’s the testimony of the children of Fatima who, after they were given a brief sojourn of it by the Blessed Virgin, noted souls falling into hell like leaves in autumn- their analogy, not mine.
That most pass through Purgatory before going to Heaven should trigger interest on this series. It’s like getting to know personal futures (although I have been saying more prayers recently so as to skirt Purgatory altogether).
Thus, let me go on with mystic Maria Simma of Austria, who died in 1994 after having led a holy life that was often visited by souls (I prefer the term persons which they are) from Purgatory to ask favour of her for their deliverance into Paradise.
Again, it’s a question (Q) and answer (A) format based on an interview of Maria by Sor Emmanuel.
Q:Maria, you have been invited many times to suffer for the poor souls, in order to deliver them. Can you tell us what you have experienced and undergone during these times?
A: The first time, a soul asked me if I wouldn’t mind suffering for three hours in my body for her, and that afterwards I could resume working. I said to myself: "If it will all be over after three hours, I could accept it." During those three hours, I had the impression that it lasted three days, it was so painful. But at the end, I looked at my watch, and I saw that it had only lasted three hours. The soul told me that by accepting that suffering with love for three hours, I had saved her twenty years of Purgatory!
Q: Yes, but why did you suffer for only three hours to avoid twenty years of Purgatory? What did your sufferings have that was worth more?
A: It is because suffering on earth does not have the same value. On earth, when we suffer, we can grow in love, we can gain merits, which is not the case with the sufferings in Purgatory. In Purgatory, the sufferings serve only to purify us from sin. On earth, we have all the graces. We have the freedom to choose.
All of this is so encouraging because it gives an extraordinary meaning to our sufferings. The suffering which is offered, voluntary or involuntary, even the smallest sacrifices we can make, suffering or sickness, mourning, disappointments… if we live them with patience, if we welcome them in humility, these sufferings can have an unheard-of power to help souls.
The best thing to do, Maria tells us, is to unite our sufferings to those of Jesus, by placing them in the hands of Mary. She is the one who knows best how to use them, since often we ourselves do not know the most urgent needs around us. All this, of course, Mary will give back to us at the hour of our death. You see, these sufferings offered will be our most precious treasures in the other world. We must remind each other of this and encourage each other when we suffer.
Let me add something important: the souls in Purgatory can no longer do anything for themselves; they are totally helpless. If the living do not pray for them; they are totally abandoned. Therefore, it is very important to realize the immense power, the incredible power that each one of us has in our hands to relieve these souls who suffer.
We wouldn’t think twice about helping a child who has fallen in front of us from a tree, and who had broken his bones. Of course, we would do everything for him! So, in the same way, we should take great care of these souls who expect everything from us, attentive to the slightest offering, hopeful for the least of our prayers, to relieve them from their pain. And it might be the finest way to practice charity.
Q: Maria, why can one no longer gain merits in Purgatory, when one can on earth?
Because at the moment of death, the time to earn merits is over. For as long as we are living on earth, we can repair the evil we have done. The souls in Purgatory envy us of this opportunity. Even the angels are jealous of us, for we have the possibility of growing for as long as we are on earth.
Q: But often, the suffering in our lives leads us to rebellion, and we have great difficulty in accepting and living it. How can we live suffering so that it bears fruit?
A: Sufferings are the greatest proof of the love of God, and if we offer them well, they can win many souls.
Q: But how can we welcome suffering as a gift, and not as a punishment (as we often do), as a chastisement?
A: We must give everything to Our Lady. She is the one who knows best who needs such and such an offering in order to be saved.
We should not always consider sufferings as a punishment. It can be accepted as expiation not only for ourselves, but above all for others. Christ was innocence itself, and He suffered the most for the expiation of our sins. Only in Heaven will we know all that we have obtained by suffering with patience in union with the sufferings of Christ.
Q: Maria, do the souls in Purgatory rebel when faced with their suffering?
A: No! They want to purify themselves; they understand that it is necessary.
Q: What is the role of contrition or repentance at the moment of death?
A: Contrition is very important. The sins are forgiven, in any case, but there remains the consequences of sins. If one wishes to receive a full indulgence at the moment of death — that means going straight to Heaven — the soul has to be free from all attachment.
Q: Maria, I would like to ask you: at the moment of death, is there a time in which the soul still has the chance to turn towards God, even after a sinful life, before entering into eternity — a time, if you like, between apparent death and real death?
A: Yes, yes! The Lord gives several minutes to each one in order to regret his sins and to decide: I accept, or I do not accept to go and see God. Then we see a film of our lives.
I knew a man who believed in the Church’s teachings, but not in eternal life. One day, he fell gravely ill and slid into a coma. He saw himself in a room with a board on which all his deeds were written, the good and the bad. Then the board disappeared as well as the walls of the room, and it was infinitely beautiful. Then he woke up from his coma, and decided to change his life.
Q: Maria, does the devil have permission to attack us at the moment of death?
A: Yes, but man also has the grace to resist him, to push him away. So, if man does not want anything to do with him, the devil can do nothing.
Q:Maria, what advice would you give to anyone who wants to become a saint here on earth?
A: Be very humble. We must not be occupied with ourselves. Pride is evil’s greatest trap.
Q: Maria, please tell us: can one ask the Lord to do one’s Purgatory on earth, in order not to have to do it after death?
A: Yes. I knew a priest and a young woman who were both ill with tuberculosis in the hospital. The young woman said to the priest: "Let’s ask the Lord to be able to suffer on earth as much as necessary in order to go straight to Heaven." The priest replied that he himself didn’t dare to ask for this. Nearby was a religious sister who had overheard the whole conversation. The young woman died first, the priest died later, and he appeared to the sister, saying: "If only I had had the same trust as the young woman, I too would have gone straight to Heaven."
(to be continued)
