PRAY FOR THE POOR, HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY!

Image: http://icdacanadasection.wordpress.com/discover/

The Four Last Things:  Death, Judgement, Heaven or Hell.

If we choose heaven we must first be pure ... ENTIRELY PURE. 
In addition, even though Jesus died for our sins we are still to be held responsible for our crimes.  We won't be out "until we've paid the last farthing" (Matthew 5:26) as Jesus says in the parable about anger and reconciliation.

Before we enter heaven virtually everyone has to be purified.  That purification is known as purgatory.  Some need to rinse their hands to remove the stain of sin while others require a very long bath in VERY hot water (along with lots of scrubbing) in order to be pure enough to meet Our Lord.


The blog post below from The Catholic Company covers the importance of praying for the poor, holy souls in purgatory.  As the title says, this will guide you in ways of praying for these poor souls that cannot help themselves.

20 Ways to Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

"Those in purgatory cannot pray for themselves, this is why they are called “poor” souls.  They can no longer merit anything for themselves and rely entirely on others to pray and make sacrifices on their behalf. As they are nevertheless part of the communion of saints, they depend upon us to help ease their suffering and quickly advance them through their purification so that they can join the saints in heaven."

 

Image:  http://www.solemncharge.com/pics/purgatory4.jpg

THE FOUR LAST THINGS: DEATH, JUDGEMENT, HEAVEN or HELL. These come to mind as we celebrate HALOWEEN, THE FEAST OF ALL SAINTS, THE COMMEMORTATION OF ALL SOULS

Our culture loves to celebrate Halloween, the Catholic Christian commemoration of All Hallows Eve  --  the eve of the Feast of All Souls.

»  As I write this I come to feel as though I am directing much of this towards those, like myself, with a protestant background, or those who are not yet part of the Catholic Church.  Please bear with me and take out of these thoughts the things that you yourself can best meditate on (or investigate further) for your own spiritual growth. «

At this time the Church draws our attention especially to the Four Last Things:  Death, Judgement, Heaven or Hell. 

We all have to face death.  That is the end of our chance to be part of the Church Militant.
Death could come any time for any one of us.  Are we ready?

• Am I in a state of mortal sin?
• Do I intend to examine my conscience and go to confession, especially if I THINK I may have committed a mortal sin?
• Have I made good use of the time, talents and material things that God has given me to use?
• Have I been faithful to Christ and His Church?
• etc. ...

As part of Christ's Body we each need to realize that we are part of the entire body of Christ  --  not only the Church Militant (the Church here on earth), but also the Church Suffering (the Holy Souls in Purgatory) and the Church Triumphant (the Saints in Heaven).

ALL HALLOWS EVE or Halloween  --
As we discussed in the post about the Christian origins of Halloween it is important in this day and age to recall that Satan is real.  Evil is real.  We are fighting a spiritual battle against forces beyond our ken.  The good news is that we already know the outcome.  Satan and his minions will loose.  Unfortunately he will convince as many people as he can to choose Hell over eternity with God.
 
In our final moment we are judged.  Many or most will choose the horror of spending eternity apart from God.  Others will choose to love Our Lord above all else.  Even if we choose God there is no guarantee that we will enter heaven right away.  Some people die for our Lord or live such pious and selfless lives that they go (almost?) directly to heaven.  Will that be you?  Will that be me?  That's my goal, but ...

The Feast of ALL SAINTS commemorates the Church Triumphant  --
We belong to a vast family.  Many holy men and women have lived lives so holy that in the end they were judged pure enough to enter into Heaven.  These people are not dead, only their bodies are dead as they await to have their souls reunited with their bodies on "the last day".  These friends are there to intercede for us with Our Lord.
Jesus Himself has gone before us with His Body and Soul and is seated at the right hand of God the Father.
Mother Mary, too, has been assumed body and soul into heaven.  God has crowned Mary, another human like ourselves, as Queen of Heaven.
We can pray and follow what Jesus commands us to do.  We can also ask our family and friends to pray for us.
But there are those who are closer to Our Lord than anyone here on earth  --  those holy souls in heaven.  They too can intercede for us.  Jesus especially listens to Mary's requests as he did at the Cana wedding (John 2:1-11).  We are to honour our father and mother.  Jesus honours Mary in the same way.

The Commemoration of ALL SOULS is when we remember those who have gone before us.  --
 God alone knows what cleansing a soul needs before being pure enough to enter Heaven.  If we die in a state of grace we may require "a bath", so to speak.
Our brothers and sisters who cannot bear the thought of being in the glory of God and worshiping Him forever are sent immediately where they choose: Hell.
The poor, holy souls in Purgatory, however, are guaranteed to enter heaven.  Bathing is the best analogy that I've been able to think of.  Some of us need a long, hot scrub in lots of very hot water in order to remove the stain of our sins.  Others will only need to rinse their hands to remove such stain.

This is not to say that Jesus's sacrifice was not sufficient.  I always think of what Jesus said about making things right before going on:

"Make friends quickly with your opponent at law while you are with him on the way, so that your opponent may not hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the officer, and you be thrown into prison.   "Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent."  (Matthew 5:25-26)

Purgatory also exists because we are responsible for our sins.  Can we really expect to go through life, even a very pious life, but never to be responsable in any way for our sinfulness?  Jesus paid the price we cannot pay.  Out of Love He suffered and died for our salvation.  Does this mean we no longer accept any blame for what we have done?  If this were the case then we could go ahead and commit any sin we felt like, just so long as we said "sorry" afterwards.  I have difficulty in understanding the protestant rejection of this.  Purgatory is not a man-made idea.  We would not even know about it if it weren't for the intervention of the Holy Spirit.

This brings me to my final point in this post on the last things.
As the Church Militant one of our jobs is to pray and make sacrifices for the holy souls in Purgatory.  They cannot do anything to help themselves.  They can no longer receive Our Lord in Holy Communion, and they are also being denied the Beatific Vision for the time being.
We do not know what Purgatory is like.  (I certainly haven't been there.  I hope to bypass it entirely.)  It is a place of temporal suffering however.  These souls are being refined into gold by passing through fire.  (1 Peter 1:7)   We know that fire hurts.  Paying a traffic fine hurts in one way.  A year in jail hurts. 
So let us always remember to pray for the souls in Purgatory.  Pray, do good works, offer up sacrifices for them.

God be with you!
Dominus vobiscum!

Halloween: The eve of the Feast of All Saints. A CHRISTIAN CELEBRATION and NOT PAGAN IN ORIGIN.

Halloween is an important Christian day  --  the eve of the Feast of All Saints.

Every year though I read people asking whether or not it is "OK" for a Christian to celebrate Halloween.
The answer is a resounding YES!

Our modern world is being strongly influenced by the enemy.  Satin is convincing people that he simply does not exist and that hell does not exist.
Halloween reminds us of our own mortality and of the FACT that evil exists.
We are fighting a battle.  One that is more important than a simple "life or death" war.  This war is for our immortal souls.  If we begin to forget evil, when we stop thinking about the four last things (Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell) we put more than our mortal lives in danger.  We risk our own immortal lives and the lives of everyone else.  This is a battle we cannot fight alone.  For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.Ephesians 6:12

Not only that but the very celebration is a Catholic (and therefore Christian) day.
My major beef with the way we celebrate Halloween is two-fold:  1) That we tone down evil and turn it into a fun time with no actual admission that evil exists.  2)  That society celebrates the eve of All Saints Day but not the Feast itself.  That is like celebrating Christmas Eve rather than Christmas.


Others have done research into the myths surrounding Halloween and its origins, so I'll give you links to those sources:

• Halloween: A Catholic View

The Reality of Evil Points Us Toward the Good

 

Much of the modern aversion to Halloween, I think, stems from the same unwillingness to acknowledge the reality of evil. But there's a reason why we dress up as ghouls and goblins on the night before we celebrate the feast of All Saints Day, and, despite the claims of supposed satanists and Wiccans and anti-Halloween Christians like Jack Chick, it's actually a Christian reason: We believe in a world that extends beyond the one that we can see, a world in which angels and demons do contest for the souls of men, and the Prince of Lies grows in power by convincing people that he does not exist.
If for no reason other than the fact that it reminds us that, as Hamlet tells his friend, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Halloween is worth celebrating.

• Should Catholics Celebrate Halloween?

The Christian Origins of All Hallows Eve

 

The Christian Origins of Halloween

"Halloween" is a name that means nothing by itself. It is a contraction of "All Hallows Eve," and it designates the vigil of All Hallows Day, more commonly known today as All Saints Day. ("Hallow," as a noun, is an old English word for saint. As a verb, it means to make something holy or to honor it as holy.) All Saints Day, November 1, is a Holy Day of Obligation, and both the feast and the vigil have been celebrated since the early eighth century, when they were instituted by Pope Gregory III in Rome. (A century later, they were extended to the Church at large by Pope Gregory IV.)

Finally there's another good resource again addressing the false pagan origins of Halloween:

• Halloween or Samhain?

 The belief that Halloween is pagan in origin is a myth. Many neo-pagan websites claim that it was an attempt by early Christians to “baptize” the Gaelic harvest festival of Samhain. Because of this persistent myth, some Christians are hesitant to participate in anything associated with Halloween.

Holy Michael Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. -- May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust down to hell Satin and all the wicked spirits, who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen.

SO MANY PEOPLE DYING DAILY ... WHAT IS THEIR ETERNAL DESTINATION?

Today there was a horrific collision between a city bus and a passenger train about a half an hour north of me.  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/ottawa-bus-train-crash-kills-6-in-commuting-horror-1.1858868


For the last year or two, as I listen to/read the news, my mind keeps turning to the immortal souls of those who die.  Everyday we have tragedies and people dying natural deaths.

Obviously we are concerned about those who are mourning their deaths, but far more important than that is whether or not they died in a state of grace! 

 Jesus gave many warnings about how hard it is to enter the kingdom of heaven.  We need to enter through the narrow gate.  He warns, through the parable of the ten virgins who went out to meet the bridegroom, that those who do not stay prepared (in the parable by bringing enough oil for their lamps) that he will 'not know them'. Matthew 25:1-13:
[1] Then shall the kingdom of heaven be like to ten virgins, who taking their lamps went out to meet the bridegroom and the bride. [2] And five of them were foolish, and five wise. [3] But the five foolish, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them: [4] But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps. [5] And the bridegroom tarrying, they all slumbered and slept.
[6] And at midnight there was a cry made: Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him. [7] Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said to the wise: Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out. [9] The wise answered, saying: Lest perhaps there be not enough for us and for you, go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. [10] Now whilst they went to buy, the bridegroom came: and they that were ready, went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.
[11] But at last come also the other virgins, saying: Lord, Lord, open to us. [12] But he answering said: Amen I say to you, I know you not. [13] Watch ye therefore, because you know not the day nor the hour.[ Douay-Rheims Bible]
 Jesus separates the 'lambs' from the 'goats' per their deeds.  For the 'goats' there is no entrance into heaven.  (Matthew 25:31-46)

The Holy Spirit, speaking through His holy Catholic Church, has warned us that to die in a state of mortal sin means a decent into hell ... for eternity.
[ In order for a sin to be mortal, it must meet three conditions:

• Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter
• Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the sinner
• Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the sinner ]

 We, of course, have no idea the condition of any person at the moment of death.  We cannot even comprehend the limitlessness of God's Mercy and His Justice ... and His Love.  

Even if our spiritual leaders fail to mention it.  Even though the media never goes near the idea.  Even though it makes us uncomfortable to consider that any individual may be choosing hell over eternity with God, WE MUST REMEMBER THE SOULS OF EVERYONE WHO DIES.  

Never, ever, assume that someone is going to heaven.  We only know for sure that the saints are in heaven.  
For everyone who is destined for heaven, unless they are already pure in every way, they have to head to purgatory for to be purified from the stains of their sins.

We need to pray, pray and pray.

(From http://kbpipes.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/purgatory.jpg)

Prayer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Have mercy, dear Jesus, on all the poor souls in purgatory, and especially for
(Mention the name[s] here...)
Grant them (him/her) eternal rest, and may perpetual light shine upon them (him/her).
Amen. 

See also: purgatory.ca