How to Avoid Purgatory

[ronh4]

HOW TO AVOID PURGATORY - Chapter 7
By Fr. Paul O’Sullivan
THE FIFTH MEANS: ASKING GOD

The Fifth Means of avoiding Purgatory is asking God for this grace. Some wise Catholics have a really great, if simple secret, which is well worth learning and using for our own benefit.

God promises us in the most solemn and deliberate way (and He cannot fail to do what He promises) that He will give us everything we ask in prayer, if it is good for us.

Now two conditions, especially, make prayer infallible, namely perseverance and faith. God cannot refuse such a prayer.

These Catholics we speak of pray expressly every day of their lives that God will free them from Purgatory. In every single prayer they say, in every Mass they hear, in every good act they perform, they have the express intention of asking God first of all and with all their hearts to deliver them from Purgatory.

How? That is for God to decide.

It is not easy to see how God can possibly refuse such constant, unceasing prayer. The fact that such prayers are said daily and many times in the day, for 20, 30, 50 years, shows that they are said with undoubting faith and magnificent perseverance.

We exhort all our readers to adopt this practice. The more they know and think on Purgatory, the more fervently will they make this prayer.

RESOLUTION

Every time we say the Hail Mary let us say with all the fervour of our hearts the words: “Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen”

 

[At_Trent]

Yes, and there are other prayers.

Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

O most holy Heart of Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore Thee, I love Thee and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer Thee this poor heart of mine. Make me humble, patient, pure, and wholly obedient to Thy will. Grant, good Jesus, that I may live in Thee and for Thee. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Thy blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death. Within Thy Heart I place my every care. In every need let me come to Thee with humble trust saying, Heart of Jesus help me.

Invocations to the Sacred Heart

Merciful Jesus, I consecrate myself today and always to Thy Most Sacred Heart.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus I implore, that I may ever love Thee more and more.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in Thee.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us!
Sacred Heart of Jesus, I believe in Thy love for me.
Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.
Sacred Heart of Jesus Thy Kingdom Come.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, convert sinners, save the dying, deliver the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

Devotion to the Drops of Blood, Lost by our Lord Jesus Christ on His Way to Calvary

St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with St. Matilda and St. Bridget, wishing to know something of the Passion of Jesus Christ, offered fervent and special prayers, upon which Our Lord revealed to them:

To all the faithful who shall recite for 3 years, each day, 2 “Our Fathers”, 2 “Hail Marys” and 2 “Glory Be’s”, in honor of the drops of Blood I lost, I will concede the following 5 graces:

1st The plenary indulgence and remittance of your sins.

2nd You will be free from the pains of Purgatory.

3rd If you should die before completing the said 3 years, for you it will be the same as if you had completed them.

4th It will be upon your death the same as if you had shed all your blood for the Holy Faith.

5th I will descend from Heaven to take your soul and that of your relatives, until the fourth generation.

Blessed by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII in Rome, April 5, 1890.

The thought of saving souls should always be on our mind. St. John Bosco stated it well: “There is nothing more holy in this world than to work for the good of souls, for whose salvation Jesus Christ poured out the last drops of His blood.” St. Vincent de Paul tells us that: “The Salvation of men and our own are so great a good that they merit to be obtained at any price.”

Sad to say, the great majority of Catholics put forth little or no effort in promoting the greater honor and glory of God and the salvation of souls. Let us keep in mind that if we manage to save one soul, we also ensure the salvation of our own. The Holy Ghost reveals this to us in the Holy Bible. (St. James 5:19,20)

…

Prayer to the Shoulder Wound of Jesus

O Loving Jesus, meek Lamb of God, I a miserable sinner, salute and worship the most Sacred Wound of Thy Shoulder on which Thou didst bear Thy heavy Cross, which so tore Thy Flesh and laid bare Thy Bones as to inflict on Thee an anguish greater than any other Wound of Thy Most Blessed Body. I adore Thee, O Jesus most sorrowful; I praise and glorify Thee and give Thee thanks for this most sacred and painful Wound, beseeching Thee by that exceeding pain and by the crushing burden of Thy heavy Cross to be merciful to me, a sinner, to forgive me all my mortal and venial sins, and to lead me on towards Heaven along the Way of Thy Cross. Amen.

It is related in the annals of Clairvaux that St. Bernard asked Our Lord which was His greatest unrecorded suffering and Our Lord answered: “I had on My Shoulder, while I bore My Cross on the Way of Sorrows, a grievous Wound, which was more painful than the others and which is not recorded by men. Honor this Wound with thy devotion and I will grant thee whatsoever thou dost ask through Its virtue and merit. And in regard to all those who shall venerate this Wound, I will remit to them all their venial sins and will no longer remember their mortal sins.”
…
From the writings of St. Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: “Many people are tormented at death with the remembrance of their sins, and seeing that they have done no penance, are tempted to despair.” He tells us that there is a perfect remedy – Namely, “to accept death and unite your death with that of Jesus Christ. And I do not at all doubt that he who is grieved for having offended God and accepts death willingly in satisfaction for his sins will immediately obtain pardon.”

From the book “Preparation For Death” by St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church: “To accept death in order that the will of God may be fulfilled, merits for us a reward similar to that of the martyrs, because they accepted death to please God. He who dies in union with the will of God makes a holy death; and the more closely he is united to it, the more holy death he dies. The Venerable Blosius declares that an act of perfect conformity to the will of God at the hour of death not only delivers us from Hell but also from Purgatory.”
…

Prayer of Resignation in Death

My most sweet Jesus, I accept the death Thou has destined for me; with all the pains that may accompany it; I unite it to Thy death, I offer it to Thee. Thou hast died for love of me; I will die for love of Thee and to please Thee.

J+M+J

 

[Saint_Castulus]

I am confused being that no man is free from sin I believe that all spend some time in purgatory to cleanse our souls before we enter the kingdom of heaven.I have been Catholic for about ten years and thought that this was the catechism? please provide proof by Catholic doctrine.

 

[At_Trent]

I am confused being that no man is free from sin I believe that all spend some time in purgatory to cleanse our souls before we enter the kingdom of heaven.I have been Catholic for about ten years and thought that this was the catechism? please provide proof by Catholic doctrine.

While not easy, some may be taken up into Heaven without need of purification.
newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm

 

[PAboy57]

thank you for offering us additional information to make our trip to Heaven smoother sailing. God Bless.

 

[dailey]

I really need to get this book. Its been on my wishlist for a while.

 

[ConstantineTG]

Why avoid it? I’d be lucky enough to get there. I don’t think I’ll ever be worthy to get to heaven outright.

 

[GloriousOrder]

Why avoid it? I’d be lucky enough to get there. I don’t think I’ll ever be worthy to get to heaven outright.

This is exactly the way I am thinking. Purgatory is a great blessing for all us grave sinners. If God has actually deigned a place of fiery purification with the promise of opening the gates at the End, why should we sorrow? To be placed in Purgatory would give me such joy, because (as one saint whose name I can’t remember said): “I would rather spend an eternity in Purgatory than face God for one instant with a single blemish on my soul”. Thank God for Purgatory!

 

[dailey]

I used to aim for purgatory…until I read a quote from a saint that said (loosely quoting) “Show me a person who aims for purgatory, and I’ll show you a person who is going to hell”. Yikes!

 

[Crusading_Canuk]

St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with St. Matilda and St. Bridget, wishing to know something of the Passion of Jesus Christ, offered fervent and special prayers, upon which Our Lord revealed to them:

To all the faithful who shall recite for 3 years, each day, 2 “Our Fathers”, 2 “Hail Marys” and 2 “Glory Be’s”, in honor of the drops of Blood I lost, I will concede the following 5 graces:

1st The plenary indulgence and remittance of your sins.

2nd You will be free from the pains of Purgatory.

3rd If you should die before completing the said 3 years, for you it will be the same as if you had completed them.

4th It will be upon your death the same as if you had shed all your blood for the Holy Faith.

5th I will descend from Heaven to take your soul and that of your relatives, until the fourth generation.

Blessed by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII in Rome, April 5, 1890.

What is the name of this devotion?

 

[ConstantineTG]

I used to aim for purgatory…until I read a quote from a saint that said (loosely quoting) “Show me a person who aims for purgatory, and I’ll show you a person who is going to hell”. Yikes!

That does make sense. I always say, aim high, reach for the stars. But there’s a significat difference in aiming for heaven, and avoiding purgatory. Everyone here is aiming for heaven, but most of us realize that the reality of getting to purgatory is not such a bad thing and not something we’d avoid. Call it modesty, but many here who do aim for heaven do expect to fall short and just praise God to be in purgatory and be prepared and perfected to be worthy of His presence.

 

[Earnest_Bunbury]

From the Summa:

From the conclusions we have drawn above (III, 86, 4-5; Supplement, 12, 1) it is sufficiently clear that there is a Purgatory after this life. For if the debt of punishment is not paid in full after the stain of sin has been washed away by contrition, nor again are venial sins always removed when mortal sins are remitted, and if justice demands that sin be set in order by due punishment, it follows that one who after contrition for his fault and after being absolved, dies before making due satisfaction, is punished after this life. Wherefore those who deny Purgatory speak against the justice of God;…

It is through ones own fault that they go to purgation. More from St. Thomas:

thus the place of Purgatory is situated below and in proximity to hell, so that it is the same fire which torments the damned in hell and cleanses the just in Purgatory; although the damned being lower in merit, are to be consigned to a lower place.

Perhaps this is why people try to avoid Purgatory and justifiably so. But avoiding Purgatory seems to be possible if we don’t need this purgation, which would come from merit and being perfected on earth, Veritatis splendor 103:

"It would be a very serious error to conclude… that the Church’s teaching is essentially only an “ideal” which must then be adapted, proportioned, graduated to the so-called concrete possibilities of man, according to a “balancing of the goods in question”. …if redeemed man still sins, this is not due to an imperfection of Christ’s redemptive act, but to man’s will not to avail himself of the grace which flows from that act.

In aiming for Purgatory and making allowances for sinful actions, it is possible that one would fail to be a profitable servant with the talents given by the Lord. It is not trying to be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect and this perfecting is how to avoid Purgatory.

 

[ronh4]

“At Trent” you did a much better job than I did in this topic.

Thanks.

 

[angelic06]

Why avoid it? I’d be lucky enough to get there. I don’t think I’ll ever be worthy to get to heaven outright.

So be it. It is better to be in purgatory…and be assured of your status among the Elect…than to be in hell, where the fire is “never quenched”. I don’t know the state of your soul, so whether your are worthy to enter heaven right after your final breath of this world is between God and you. I know I am not. But, what if, say what if, by your prayers and deeds and sufferings and Holy Communions in this world, you could forestall your stay in the Final Purification? Would you not like to avoid this final cleansing, if by the witness of the saints, you were assured that this final cleansing will be worse than anything you have ever experienced in this world?

Can we not at least hope, and consequently pray while we still have breath, for a shorter penace (in time? intensity?) in purgatory? I mean, we pray for many things in this world. Is it not at least worth some of our time to pray for God’s leniency? Or to put it in terms of the Lord: God made us so that we can be with Him. Would it not please God for Him to see us—in paradise (not as if He doesn’t see us in purgatory)—soon upon our departure from this world?

Would you not like to see God immediately upon drawing your final breath----the fulfillment of all your dreams and desires, where “every tear will be wiped away”?

I would.

"Hail Mary full of grace! The Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb Jesus (slight bow of the head at the holy Name, “Jesus”). Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

 

[dailey]

So be it. It is better to be in purgatory…and be assured of your status among the Elect…than to be in hell, where the fire is “never quenched”. I don’t know the state of your soul, so whether your are worthy to enter heaven right after your final breath of this world is between God and you. I know I am not. But, what if, say what if, by your prayers and deeds and sufferings and Holy Communions in this world, you could forestall your stay in the Final Purification? Would you not like to avoid this final cleansing, if by the witness of the saints, you were assured that this final cleansing will be worse than anything you have ever experienced in this world?

Can we not at least hope, and consequently pray while we still have breath, for a shorter penace (in time? intensity?) in purgatory? I mean, we pray for many things in this world. Is it not at least worth some of our time to pray for God’s leniency? Or to put it in terms of the Lord: God made us so that we can be with Him. Would it not please God for Him to see us—in paradise (not as if He doesn’t see us in purgatory)—soon upon our departure from this world?

Would you not like to see God immediately upon drawing your final breath----the fulfillment of all your dreams and desires, where “every tear will be wiped away”?

I would.

"Hail Mary full of grace! The Lord is with thee. Blessed are thou among women and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb Jesus (slight bow of the head at the holy Name, “Jesus”). Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Amen.

 

[Kontrak]

What is the name of this devotion?

While I still pray the suggested prayers I do it in devotion to the blood of Christ. I don’t think this is approved by the church.

Some one posted this before:

servantsofstmichael.org/index.php?view=article&catid=41%3Aarticles-by-fr-peter-joseph-pp-st-dominics-syd&id=57%3Awhats-wrong-with-the-pieta-prayerbook&option=com_content&Itemid=65

**Pages 26-28: A True Letter of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.

"Comment: The whole story has an air of vagueness and unreality about it—confirmed by the fact that the chronology is impossible. It says on page 26 that Our Lord appeared to St Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, St Matilda and St Bridget. Is this possible? St Elizabeth of Hungary died in 1231; St Matilda was born ten years later in 1241 and died in 1298. St Bridget was not born until 1303. Hence it is impossible that Our Lord appeared to any two of them together—let alone all three. This alone is enough to mark the whole story as a fabrication. “A True Letter” indeed!

I would not advise anyone to say the prayers recommended every day for three years on the basis of the five promises given on page 27.

Page 27: those people who shall carry a copy of this letter with them shall be free from death by drowning and from sudden death. They shall be free from contagious diseases and lightning; they shall not die without confession, and shall be free from their enemies and from the hand of wrongful authority, and from all their slanderers and false witnesses.

Comment: This is superstitious nonsense. Belief in lucky charms is condemned by the Catholic Church as superstitious.

Page 28: Benedetta DA S.S., Pope Leo XIII, In Roma 5 Aprile 1890.

Comment: (Ignoring the punctuation) translated, this means that the piece of paper or book containing this ‘Letter’ was blessed by Leo XIII in Rome in 1890. Does that mean he approved of its content? Not at all. People often get books and images blessed by the Pope."**

 

[At_Trent]

What is the name of this devotion?

Devotion to the Drops of Blood, Lost by our Lord Jesus Christ on His Way to Calvary

 

[At_Trent]

“At Trent” you did a much better job than I did in this topic.

Thanks.

No, thank you for posting ! Good topic

 

[At_Trent]

While I still pray the suggested prayers I do it in devotion to the blood of Christ. I don’t think this is approved by the church.

Some one posted this before:

servantsofstmichael.org/index.php?view=article&catid=41%3Aarticles-by-fr-peter-joseph-pp-st-dominics-syd&id=57%3Awhats-wrong-with-the-pieta-prayerbook&option=com_content&Itemid=65

**Pages 26-28: A True Letter of Our Saviour Jesus Christ.

"Comment: The whole story has an air of vagueness and unreality about it—confirmed by the fact that the chronology is impossible. It says on page 26 that Our Lord appeared to St Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, St Matilda and St Bridget. Is this possible? St Elizabeth of Hungary died in 1231; St Matilda was born ten years later in 1241 and died in 1298. St Bridget was not born until 1303. Hence it is impossible that Our Lord appeared to any two of them together—let alone all three. This alone is enough to mark the whole story as a fabrication. “A True Letter” indeed!

I would not advise anyone to say the prayers recommended every day for three years on the basis of the five promises given on page 27.

Page 27: those people who shall carry a copy of this letter with them shall be free from death by drowning and from sudden death. They shall be free from contagious diseases and lightning; they shall not die without confession, and shall be free from their enemies and from the hand of wrongful authority, and from all their slanderers and false witnesses.

Comment: This is superstitious nonsense. Belief in lucky charms is condemned by the Catholic Church as superstitious.

Page 28: Benedetta DA S.S., Pope Leo XIII, In Roma 5 Aprile 1890.

Comment: (Ignoring the punctuation) translated, this means that the piece of paper or book containing this ‘Letter’ was blessed by Leo XIII in Rome in 1890. Does that mean he approved of its content? Not at all. People often get books and images blessed by the Pope."**

No one has claimed he appeared to them at the same time

The prayers are traditional Catholic prayers. Whether the Lord appeared to the three or not, to discourage the prayers seems a bit much. No harm done by praying them.

 

[Like]

No one has claimed he appeared to them at the same time

The prayers are traditional Catholic prayers. Whether the Lord appeared to the three or not, to discourage the prayers seems a bit much. No harm done by praying them.

Right, the priest who wrote that article said the prayers are good, it’s the promises that are in question.