Avoiding purgatory through suffering

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I heard that one can do purgatory on earth-such as suffering in this life and thus avoid purgatory and go straight to heaven.Do you think this can be true?
 
Yes. Not by suffering alone, but by accepting suffering for the love of God, by prayers and penances, by partaking of the sacraments, and by the practice of virtue, not to mention indulgences. I’ve heard and read from many sources that going straight to heaven is within everyone’s reach, if only we cooperate with grace and take advantage of the means at our disposal. (Perhaps someone will have a quote from a saint or other authority.)

It is true, most of the blessed in heaven probably went to purgatory first; but that’s not because the road to sanctity is only accessible to some. It’s because we’re ignorant (often through our own fault), lazy, and do everything we can to secure our comfort now and avoid pain. Not that we should go out looking for ways to suffer; crosses will come to us whether we want them or not. And unwanted crosses, those out of our control, are actually more valuable if we embrace them with humility and charity, because then we have to give up our will also, which is hardest of all and most meritorious.
 
Indulgences done with the proper disposition helps much also.
 
Another thing: at the hour of death, if at all possible, have the priest give an apostolic blessing. I have heard that could remit all punishment due to sins and the soul may go right to heaven.
 
It’s difficult to welcome suffering as a gift, but it has an expiatory property when you (a) welcome God’s will in your life, and (b) unite your sufferings with those of Christ.

From Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen–
Such is the purpose of life! To redeem ourselves in union with Christ; to apply His merits to our souls by being like Him in all things, even to His death on the Cross. He passed through His consecration on the Cross that we might now pass through ours in the Mass. There is nothing more tragic in all the world than wasted pain. Think of how much suffering there is in hospitals, among the poor, and the bereaved. Think also of how much of that suffering goes to waste! How many of those lonesome, suffering, abandoned, crucified souls are saying with our Lord at the moment of consecration, “This is my body. Take it”? And yet that is what we all should be saying at that second: I give myself to God. Here is my body – take it. Here is my blood – take it. Here is my soul, my will, my energy, my strength, my property, my wealth – all that I have: it is yours – take it! Consecrate it! Offer it! Offer it with thyself to the Heavenly Father in other that He, looking down on this great sacrifice, may see only, His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased. Transmute the poor bread of my life into thy divine life, swirl the wine of my wasted life into thy divine spirit; unite my broken heart with thy heart; change my cross into a crucifix.
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Let not my abandonment and my sorrow and my bereavement go to waste. Gather up the fragments, and as the drop of water is absorbed by the wine at the offertory of the Mass, let my life be absorbed in thine; let my little cross be entwined with the great cross so that I may purchase the joys of everlasting happiness in union with thee.
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Be enrolled in the brown scapular, practice the associated fasting or little office, and you won’t spend long in purgatory. Do it!!!
 
People often ask, “what does it mean to offer up your suffering to God?”
Well that is what it means. Offer up your prayers, works, joys, and sufferings, in reparation for your sins; or you can offer them up to the souls (or a particular soul ) in purgatory.
 
Lots of “contemplative purgation” worked for me. A lot of it was in a fairly exciting “Dark Night” sort of experience which I didn’t ask for but now am so happy to have done it.

Yes you can be purified on earth. Here is a story that a soul who has been through the purification process that mortifies the senses etc. and has gotten to a very advanced state few achieve during lifetime. anyway it’s Stanzas of the Soul, from St. John of the Cross’s book Dark Night of the Soul.
Code: 
STANZAS OF THE SOUL

	1. One dark night,
	fired with love's urgent longings
	  -- ah, the sheer grace! -- 
	I went out unseen,
	my house being now all stilled.
	
	2. In darkness, and secure,
  	by the secret ladder, disguised,
	 -- ah, the sheer grace! -- 
	in darkness and concealment,
	my house being now all stilled.

	3. On that glad night,
  	in secret, for no one saw me,
	nor did I look at anything,
	with no other light or guide
	than the one that burned in my heart.

	4. This guided me
     	more surely than the light of noon
	to where he was awaiting me
	 -- him I knew so well -- 
	there in a place where no one appeared.

	5. O guiding night!
  	O night more lovely than the dawn!
	O night that has united
	the Lover with his beloved,
	transforming the beloved in her Lover.

	6. Upon my flowering breast
  	which I kept wholly for him alone,
	there he lay sleeping,
	and I caressing him
	there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

	7. When the breeze blew from the turret,
  	as I parted his hair,
  	it wounded my neck
	with its gentle hand,
	suspending all my senses.

	8. I abandoned and forgot myself,
  	laying my face on my Beloved;
	all things ceased; I went out from myself,
	leaving my cares
	forgotten among the lilies.
 
I know your post specifically refers to suffering, but I found a pretty detailed write up on various means of avoiding purgatory which of course includes suffering: ewtn.com/library/SPIRIT/AVOIDPRG.TXT

In short:
  1. Remove the cause – sin
  2. Penance
  3. Suffering
  4. Confession, Communion, Holy Mass
  5. Asking God
  6. Resignation to Death
  7. Extreme Unction
Also:
  • Indulgences
  • Joining Third Orders
  • Earnestly helping the holy souls in purgatory
I hope this helps answer your question. 🙂

Josie
 
Mystical_Seeker said:
Lots of “contemplative purgation” worked for me. A lot of it was in a fairly exciting “Dark Night” sort of experience which I didn’t ask for but now am so happy to have done it.

Yes you can be purified on earth. Here is a story that a soul who has been through the purification process that mortifies the senses etc. and has gotten to a very advanced state few achieve during lifetime. anyway it’s Stanzas of the Soul, from St. John of the Cross’s book Dark Night of the Soul.
Code: 
STANZAS OF THE SOUL

	1. One dark night,
	fired with love's urgent longings
	  -- ah, the sheer grace! -- 
	I went out unseen,
	my house being now all stilled.
	
	2. In darkness, and secure,
  	by the secret ladder, disguised,
	 -- ah, the sheer grace! -- 
	in darkness and concealment,
	my house being now all stilled.

	3. On that glad night,
  	in secret, for no one saw me,
	nor did I look at anything,
	with no other light or guide
	than the one that burned in my heart.

	4. This guided me
     	more surely than the light of noon
	to where he was awaiting me
	 -- him I knew so well -- 
	there in a place where no one appeared.

	5. O guiding night!
  	O night more lovely than the dawn!
	O night that has united
	the Lover with his beloved,
	transforming the beloved in her Lover.

	6. Upon my flowering breast
  	which I kept wholly for him alone,
	there he lay sleeping,
	and I caressing him
	there in a breeze from the fanning cedars.

	7. When the breeze blew from the turret,
  	as I parted his hair,
  	it wounded my neck
	with its gentle hand,
	suspending all my senses.

	8. I abandoned and forgot myself,
  	laying my face on my Beloved;
	all things ceased; I went out from myself,
	leaving my cares
	forgotten among the lilies.
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Here is John Michael Talbot singing those verses!

search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=one+dark+night+youtube+st.+john+of+the+cross+john+michael+talbot&fr=ymyy-t-999&fr2=p%3Amy%2Cm%3Asb&hspart=att&hsimp=yhs-att_001&type=att_pc_my_portal
 
I got to thinking about it, and the introductory remarks by John of the Cross really describe how the Stanzas apply… so here is the beginning of Dark Night, without the stanzas:

THE DARK NIGHT

An explanation of the stanzas describing a soul’s conduct along the
spiritual road that leads to the perfect union with God through love,
insofar as it is attainable in this life. A description also of the
characteristics of one who has reached this perfection.

PROLOGUE FOR THE READER

P. In this book we will first cite the entire poem, then each stanza will
be repeated separately and explained, and finally we will do the same thing
with the individual verses.

P.(2). The first two stanzas describe the effects of the two kinds of
spiritual purgation that take place in a person: one, a purification of the
sensory part; the other, a purification of the spiritual part. The
remaining six stanzas speak of some of the marvelous results obtained from
spiritual illumination and union with God through love.

P.(3). Beginning of the explanation of the stanzas that deal with the way a
soul must conduct itself along the road leading to union with God through
love, by Padre Fray John of the Cross.

P.(4). Before embarking on an explanation of these stanzas, we should
remember that the soul recites them when it has already reached the state
of perfection – that is, union with God through love – and has now passed
through severe trials and conflicts by means of the spiritual exercise that
leads one along the constricted way to eternal life, of which our Savior
speaks in the Gospel [Mt. 7:14]. The soul must ordinarily walk this path to
reach that sublime and joyous union with God. Recognizing the narrowness of
the path and the fact that so very few tread it – as the Lord himself says
[Mt. 7:14] – the soul’s song in this first stanza is one of happiness in
having advanced along it to this perfection of love. Appropriately, this
constricted road is called a dark night, as we shall explain in later
verses of this stanza. The soul, therefore, happy at having trod this
narrow road from which it derived so much good, speaks in this manner:
 
I came across this answer from Ask a Carmelite Sister… to the question…Why does my faith walk seem so lonely to me at times?

Just pulled out a few comments, link provided below to answer in its entirety

*The saints, including the Carmelite mystics—John of the Cross, Teresa of Jesus (Avila), Thérèse, Elizabeth of the Trinity—all tell us that it is faith that will guide us safely into port.

Carmelite spirituality, especially the writings of St. John of the Cross, describes a night of faith during what he calls the dark night of the soul. Those who are serious in their spiritual journey will come to this point. It is then that each soul must walk alone in faith.

It will come. Sooner or later, it will come, and not only to Carmelites but to all who steadfastly walk their faith-journey.God creates, God reveals, God calls to relationship—and promises a blessing (or blessings) in return for our faith-filled response; we respond in faith using our intellect and our will.*

integratedcatholiclife.org/2015/04/ask-a-carmelite-why-a-lonely-faith-walk/

Blessings! LoveMercyGrace
 
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