to give Himself to the soul, and nothing can stop Him, neither shortcomings nor falls — absolutely nothing. (291) May you be blessed, O God, for everything You send me. Nothing under the sun happens without Your will. (1208)
“… God loves in a special way those whom we love.” (1438)
Reflection: The holy souls in purgatory can no longer sin. They can no longer offend God. They want us to become saints. The saints experienced stress, temptations, and struggles. However, the saints became holy with these crosses. Choosing God is how we become holy. Prayer redirects our will. Aligning our life with the will of God will lead us directly to heaven.
O immense Passion, O profound Wounds, O most bitter Death, O Most Precious Blood, O Sweetness above all sweetness, give them eternal rest. Amen.
Day Seven
One night, a sister who had died two months previously came to me…. I saw her in a terrible condition. … A shudder went through my soul because I did not know whether she was suffering in purgatory or in hell. Nevertheless, I redoubled my prayers for her. The next night she came again, but I saw her in an even more horrible state … and despair was written all over her face. I was astonished to see her in a worse condition after the prayers I had offered for her, and I asked, “Haven’t my prayers helped you?” She answered that my prayers had not helped her and that nothing would help her. I said to her, “And the prayers which the whole community has offered for you, have they not been any help to you?” She said no, that these prayers had helped some other souls. I replied, “If my prayers are not helping you, Sister, please stop coming to me.” She disappeared at once. Despite this, I kept on praying.
After some time she came back again to me during the night, but already her appearance had changed … her face was radiant, her eyes beaming with joy. She told me I had a true love for my neighbor and that many other souls had profited from my prayers. She urged me not to cease praying for the souls in purgatory, and she added that she herself would not remain there much longer. How astounding are the decrees of God! (58)
Reflection: We need the urgings of the holy souls, and we need grace. When we show compassion to them, the holy souls with their powerful influence will never fail us. Above all, they come to your aid in the salvation of your soul and relief in the agonies of death before God’s judgment seat. Double up on your acts of charity for the suffering souls. What we give comes back beyond belief. Become their deliverers and they will become your powerful intercessors forever.
O immense Passion, O profound Wounds, O most bitter Death, O Most Precious Blood, O Sweetness above all sweetness, give them eternal rest. Amen.
Day Eight
The mercy of the Lord is praised by the holy souls in heaven who have themselves experienced that infinite mercy. What these souls do in heaven, I already will begin to do here on earth. I will praise God for His infinite goodness, and I will strive to bring other souls to know and glorify the inexpressible and incomprehensible mercy of God. (753)
Reflection: Purgatory is not just doctrinal, it’s also pastoral because it provides hope and healing. All that is part of the Gospel and that’s good news. Pass it on!
O immense Passion, O profound Wounds, O most bitter Death, O Most Precious Blood, O Sweetness above all sweetness, give them eternal rest. Amen.
Day Nine
July 9, 1937. This evening, one of the deceased sisters came and asked me for one day of fasting and to offer all my [spiritual] exercises on that day for her. I answered that I would. (1185) From early morning on the following day, I offered everything for her intention. During Holy Mass, I had a brief experience of her torment. I experienced such intense hunger for God that I seemed to be dying of the desire to become united with Him. This lasted only a short time, but I understood what the longing of the souls in purgatory was like. (1186) This day, my spirit was set aflame with special love for the Eucharist. It seemed to me that I was transformed into a blazing fire. (160)
Reflection: Even before St. Faustina entered the community, she acquired from her employers the right to attend Mass, go to confession, and visit the sick and dying. Her austere lifestyle included exhaustive fasting.
To appease God’s anger and obtain His mercy for the sins committed against the Lord, Moses observed a fast for forty days and nights. We’re invited to follow Moses and fast and pray for the relief of the suffering souls. Fasting shows solidarity with them. They’re not alone or forgotten. Fasting also persuades others to help them. Fasting creates a link between the living and the dead. To release the holy souls from the anguish of purgatory, fast for them. This is a perfect act of love to end their anguish. Fasting is a key to God’s heart and mercy!
O immense Passion, O profound Wounds, O most bitter Death, O Most Precious Blood, O Sweetness above all sweetness, give them eternal rest. Amen.
Catholic Teaching on Fasting
“The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC] 538).
“By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert” (CCC 540).
“The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others” (CCC 1434).
“The fourth precept [of the Church] (‘You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church’) ensures the times of ascesis [self-discipline] and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart” (CCC 2043).
Day Ten
When I had gone to the chapel for a moment, the Lord gave me to know that, among His chosen ones, there are some who are especially chosen, and whom He calls to a higher form of holiness, to exceptional union with Him. These are seraphic souls, from whom God demands greater love than He does from others. … Such a soul understands this call because God makes this known to it interiorly, but the soul may either follow this call or not. … I have learned that there is a place in purgatory where souls will pay their debt to God for such transgressions; this kind of torment is the most difficult of all. The soul which is specially marked by God will be distinguished everywhere, whether in heaven or in purgatory or in hell. In heaven, it will be distinguished from other souls by greater glory and radiance and deeper knowledge of God. In purgatory, by greater pain, because it knows God more profoundly and desires Him more vehemently. In hell, it will suffer more profoundly than other souls, because it knows more fully whom it has lost. This indelible mark of God’s exclusive love, in the [soul], will not be obliterated. (1556)
Reflection: The religious and clergy have more means of meriting and expiating their daily faults during life. The most abandoned souls are clergy and consecrated religious. We tend to canonize our religious and leave off
