It’s death so anonymous that leads me to wonder whether the foreigner’s everlasting part, his soul, had made it to Purgatory. This thought is followed by a short prayer for the repose of his unending soul. Also by the thought that in Purgatory is assurance of Heaven where the lonely, lonesome foreigner could have all the friends he never had on earth; this comforts me past the parlor and on to buy dog food with thoughts already on Chuchu, my Labrador retriever.
But then again, this most interesting subject of Purgatory. After all in Medjugorje, the Blessed Mother said majority of people go to Purgatory, only a few go directly to Heaven, and “many” go to hell. Meaning there are good chances I, and the reader of this piece, would land someday in Purgatory.
Also in Medjugorje, the Blessed Mother said: “In Purgatory there are diff erent levels. The lowest is close to Hell and the highest gradually draws near Heaven.”
Prolific Catholic author Michael Brown, gathering from accounts of mystics and people who had been through near-death experiences, said “It’s the huge area between Heaven and Hell. It’s the place where everything from minor faults to serious sin are purged. It’s a gray area just as there are gray areas in all aspects of existence.”
In France over a century ago, the soul of a nun in Purgatory was privileged to communicate with another yet earth-living nun to ask for prayers and Masses until she was delivered up to Heaven. The communications were written down and later published with nihil obstat and imprimatur for the edification of readers. The publication became known as An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory.
From the accounts of the departed nun, much can be learned about Purgatory and other matters in the afterlife. But on Purgatory she revealed as follows:
“I can tell you about the diff erent 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 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 infi nite, 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 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 indiff erence. 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.
“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.
“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, 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. It is a continuous martyrdom. It makes me suffer more than does the fire of Purgatory. It is so beautiful in Heaven.
“There is a great distance between Purgatory and Heaven. We are privileged at times to catch glimpses of the joys of the blessed in paradise, but it is almost a punishment. It makes us yearn to see God. In Heaven it is pure delight; in Purgatory, profound darkness. Oh, how I desire to go to Heaven! What a martyrdom we suffer once we have seen God!”
