FRIENDS OF THE SUFFERING SOULS

The existence of Purgatory is defined as a dogma of the Church by both the Council of Florence and the Council of Trent. Thus it is obligatory for all Catholics who wish to remain in communion with the Church to accept and believe in the existence of Purgatory. The Council of Trent further defined that the souls detained in Purgatory are able to be assisted by the faithful on earth especially by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass - see Council of Trent Session XXV.

There are clear references to Purgatory in both the the Old and the New Testaments. In the Old Testament in 2 Machabees X11 43,46 the Jewish practice of praying for the dead is clearly set out it the following words - 'It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may he loosed from their sins.

In the New Testament Our Blessed Lord in Matthew V 26 refers to the prison from which no one is released before his debts are repaid to the last farthing. St. Paul in Cor. 1,3 15 mentions that there are souls who can only be saved 'yet so as by fire'. It is also stated in Apocalypse XXI, 27 in reference to heaven - 'There shall in no way enter into it anything defiled". St. Augustine says that these words clearly indicate that there must be forgiveness of some sins in the world to come, which cannot be in heaven as nothing defiled shall enter therein. Therefore Our Blessed Lord is clearly referring to a place which is neither heaven nor hell and which we call Purgatory.

The learned Protestant, Dr. Jeremy Taylor, writes thus about this matter. 'We find by the history of the Machabees, that the Jews did pray and make offerings for the dead which appears by other testimonies, and by their form of prayer, still extant, which they used in the captivity. Now it is very considerable that since Our Blessed Saviour did reprove all the evil doctrines of the Scribes and Pharisees, and did argue concerning the dead and the resurrection, yet he spoke no word against this public practice but left it as he found it which he who came to declare to us all the will of His Father, would not have done, if it had not been innocent, pious and full of charity. The practice of it was at first, and was universal; it being plain in TertulIian and St. Cyprian."

"We pray for all among us who are departed believing that this will be the greatest relief for them while the holy and tremendous victim lies present " - St. Cyril Of Jerusalem

"..... by long punishment for sin to be cleansed a long time by fire and to have purges away all sin by suffering" - St. Cyprian.

'That you purify me in this life and render me such that 1 may not stand in need of that purging fire" - St. Augustine.

'No day shall pass you over in silence, no prayer of mine shall ever be closed without remembering you. No night shall pass you over without some vows of my supplications. You shall have share in all my sacrifices. If I forget you (now that you are dead) let my own right hand be forgotten" - St. Ambrose.

The Protestant translators of Du Pin observe that St. Chrysostom in his eighth homily on the Phillipians says that to pray for the faithful departed in the Mass was decreed by the Apostles themselves.

St. Clement of Alexandria says that by punishment after death men must expiate every least sin before they can enter heaven.

Origen in many places and Lactantius teach at large that all souls are purged by the punishment of fire before they enter heaven unless they are so pure as not to stand in need of it.

St. Epiphanius, St. Ephrem, St. Athanasius, Eusebius, St. Paulinus all teach the same.

"No tongue can express, no mind can understand, how dreadful is Purgatory…And be assured that the souls have to pay what they owe even to the last farthing. This is God’s decree to satisfy the demands of justice" -St. Catherine of Genoa.

"Purgatory fire will be more intolerable than all the torments that can be felt or conceived in this life" - Venerable Bede.

"A person may say, I am not much concerned how long I remain in Purgatory, provided I may come to eternal life. Let no one reason thus. Purgatory fire will more dreadful than whatever torment can be seen, imagined or endured in this world." - St. Caesarius of Arles.

'The same fire torments the damned in hell and the just in Purgatory. The least pain in Purgatory exceeds the greatest in this life." - St. Thomas Aquinas.

"My God, what soul would be sufficiently just to enter heaven without passing through the avenging flames' - St. Teresa of Avila.

'If we were thoroughly convinced of the torments of Purgatory, could we then so easily forget our parents....... if God would permit them to show themselves we would we would see them cast themselves down at our feet "My children", they would cry out, "have mercy on us! Oh, do not forsake us!'. - St. John Vianney.

FROM PRIVATE REVELATION

"When I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament on the Feast of Corpus Christi a person enveloped in fire suddenly stood before me. From the pitiable state the soul was in I knew it was in Purgatory and I wept bitterly" - St. Margaret Mary Alacoque.

At FATIMA in 1917 Our Blessed Lady appeared to three children - Lucy, Jacinta and Francesco. The series of appearances by Our Lady to these three children is approved by the Church. Shortly before they took place a young girl from the village had died. She was about fourteen years old. The children asked Our Blessed Mother whether or not she had been saved. The Blessed Virgin advised them that indeed she had been saved but that she would be in Purgatory until the end of the world. (As a result of this revelation many prayers were offered up for her soul and we can only pray that because of this her souls has now been released into eternal glory). From this most authoritative account we can learn three things:

(i) the reality of Purgatory

(ii) great length of time many souls have to stay there

(iii) the tremendous importance of praying for the souls of the departed

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