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What Is Purgatory?
Let us read what The Catechism Of The Catholic Church tells us regarding purgatory.
III. THE FINAL PURIFICATION, OR PURGATORY
1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.[604] The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:[605] As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.[606]
1032 This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."[607] From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.[608] The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: Let us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.[609]
[604] Cf. Council of Florence (1439): DS 1304; Council of Trent (1563): DS 1820; (1547): 1580; see also Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus (1336): DS 1000. [605] Cf. 1 Cor 3:15; 1 Pet 1:7. [606] St. Gregory the Great, Dial. 4, 39: PL 77, 396; cf. Mt 12:31. [607] 2 Macc 12:46. [608] Cf. Council of Lyons II (1274): DS 856. [609] St. John Chrysostom, Hom. in 1 Cor. 41, 5: PG 61, 361; cf. Job 1:5.
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During the 20 centuries of the history of the Church, God has many times allowed a suffering soul in purgatory to appear to holy people on earth to ask for prayers and help to be able to accomplish their purification in purgatory more quickly. The following is one of these accounts. The original text is in French (“Le Manuscrit du Purgatoire”) with the Imprimatur of the Most Rev. Joseph Palica, Archbishop Philippens, Vic. Gen., Rome.
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A Manuscript On Purgatory
Introduction
At the expressed desire of the Directors of the Bulletin "Notre de la Bonne Mort"(Tinchebray - Orne - Francia), this pamphlet is published with all the reservations ordered by Holy Mother Church in the decree of Urban V111, and as a purely historical document. The text is a manuscript sent to that periodical by a zealous and devout missionary and is a pious document based on alleged conversations between a living nun and a soul in Purgatory.
No one can deny off-hand the possibility, or in fact, the reality of such apparitions of souls in Purgatory to persons still living. Such apparitions are not rare and there are many accounts of them. They are of frequent occurrence in the lives of the Saints. We will quote only one example from the life of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque[1].
"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. This soul told me it was that of a Benedictine monk, who had once heard my confession and ordered me to go to Holy Communion. As a reward for this, God permitted him to ask me to help him in his sufferings. "He asked me to apply to him all I should do or suffer for a period of three months. Having obtained my superior's leave I did what he asked. He told me that the greatest cause of his sufferings was that in life he had preferred his own interests to those of God, in that he had been too attached to his good reputation. His second defect was lack of charity to his brethren. The third was his all too natural attachment to creatures.”
“It would be difficult for me to describe what I had to endure during those three months. He never left me and seeing him, as it were on fire and in such terrible pain, I could do nothing but groan and weep almost incessantly. My superior, being touched with compassion, told me to do hard penances, particularly to take the discipline..... After the three months I saw the soul radiant with happiness, joy, and glory. He was about to enjoy eternal happiness, and in thanking me he said he would protect me when with God."
The testimony of theologians and of historical documents are not less numerous or convincing, but let it suffice for us to mention Canon Ribet's Divine Mysticism, (Vol 11, Ch. VIII) and the other outstanding works of this matter of mystical theology.
God allows these apparitions and manifestations both for the relief of the souls in question who thus arouse our pity, and to instruct us by showing us the rigor of divine justice when it comes to faults which we often treat lightly. An account of several apparitions published by Msgr. Palafox y Mendosa Bishop of Osma in Spain, bears the significant title of “Light for the Living through the Experiences of the Dead”. We can hardly find better expression or vindications for such manifestations of divine providence with which the suffering souls in purgatory turn to the living to implore their piety and to ask for their intersession.[2] We must always remember that these accounts of manifestations have only a human authority. Our Holy Mother the Church has not made any pronouncement regarding them. They are treated only as historical documents.
The Manuscript
It’s authenticity
The manuscript contains very interesting statements about the life beyond the grave, particularly about Purgatory. The details are intermingled with much spiritual direction. Its authenticity is beyond doubt.
A confident of the religious sister in purgatory is Sister Mary of the Cross, whose name was Elisa Sofia Clementina Hébert, born in Néhou-St-Georges (diocese of Coutances) Dicember 1, 1840.
Her father died when she was six years old. At age eleven she received her First Communion and Confirmation in the Convent of the Augustinians at Volognes, where her aunt resided, Sr. Angela Quettier, who later became the Superior of the Convent giving all an edifying example.
At the age of 18 Elisa returned the Convent in Valognes as a novice. On May 15, 1861 she made her religious profession. In 1884 she was elected, almost unanimously, Assistant and the following year she became the Mother Prefect.
In 1904, due to the decree of expulsion of the religious from France, she was driven from her Convent. She found refuge with some cousins in the small village of Vauvicard, a suburb of Quettehou. She was 63 years old. A few years later she went to Cherbourg, where she lived together with another cousin. Here, Saint Pius X, of his own accord, conceded to her the privilege of a private oratory, with the faculty to keep the Blessed Sacrament. She died at Cherbourg in May of 1917. Her remains are found in a family tomb at Quettehou.
In 1871 a severe epidemic broke out in the Community of Valognes which claimed the lives of several victims including a thirty-six year old religious Sister, Sister Mary Gabriel. An older Sister, Geltrude, took care of Sister Mary Gabriel until she died in a very short time. Later Sister Mary Gabriel revealed that Sister Geltrude “merited eternal salvation by her selfless abnegation.”
This young Sister Mary Gabriel, in fact, had many faults … which caused Sister Mary of the Cross to reprimand her frequently. Reacting to these reprimands Sister Mary Gabriel once said: “Oh well, if I go to purgatory, you will pull me out of there.” She never thought that it would turn out just as she had expressed it.
November 1873. Sister Mary of the Cross is in her room. Suddenly, without warning she began to hear prolonged sighs beside her. She cried out, "Oh, who are you, you frightened me. Whatever you do, don't show yourself. Tell me who you are?" No answer was forth coming. Being disturbed more than ever, she speaks to her Superior (her aunt) who is not surprised at all and simply says: “It’s a soul in Purgatory, let us pray for this soul.”
Despite the prayers the groans continued, drawing closer and closer. Sr. Mary of the Cross was dismayed by this. She feared it to be a decoy of the devil; she did not like these extraordinary things. She wanted to be like the rest and attract no special attention. In her manuscript we find indications of these fears and doubts even up to 1880.
On the 15th of February 1874 she was subjected to the first colloquio… The suffering soul told her former companion, whose advice she had often despised, that she would come frequently in order to help her sanctify herself. The plan of God was that Sister Mary of the Cross, by her holy life, should relieve and ultimately deliver her, who in years past, had tried her patience so sorely. The answer did not lesson the fears of Sister Mary of the Cross, who requested her visitor to depart and never again return. But it was useless. She was told that she had only to bear it as long as God willed it. This was just what she dreaded. For several years the mysterious relation continued between the living nun and the departed religious. It was Sister Mary of the Cross, herself, who related these events from 1874 to 1890, in the precious manuscript which is here given to the public.
The Value of the Manuscript is derived from:
1 – The person herself, Sister Mary of the Cross.
This is a testimonial about Sister Mary of the Cross, herself. All those who knew her were unanimous in declaring that she practiced all the religious virtues, even heroically. As director of a boarding school, she exercised a really supernatural influence over her pupils, who spoke of her as a saint. They said that not only her words but all of her actions impressed them more than those of any priest of their acquaintance could have done. They still live under the influence of her inspiration. Let us add that all the witnesses of her life were agreed that Sister Mary of the Cross was endowed with a sound judgment, a keen and cultured intellect, and possessed of a great amount of common sense. In the spiritual life, she never sought the extraordinary. On the contrary, she avoided it.
The manuscript shows that to the very end she had doubts about what she was obligated to listen to. She often thought it was the work of the devil. It greatly annoyed her to depart from the common way of life. She wanted to be like the rest and attract no special attention. Though she was averse to the visits she received, she profited greatly by them for her own spiritual progress. Her notes of her retreats are a sufficient evidence of this. Those who saw her life and witnessed her actions are also convinced of this.
2 – The authority of the received attestations.
In the first place it is certain that Sister Mary of the Cross, kept her director well informed of all that happened. He was the Reverend Father Prevel of the Fathers of Pontingy, who later became General of his congregation. The Sister's own note book shows how well she profited by her interviews with her director. A letter from him, dated November 4, 1912, sent from Hitchen, England, after a long period of separation shows us that he was well informed on all the conversations of Sister Mary of the Cross with her former companion. He writes: "Tell me about your dear suffering one, who must now be long since enjoying the glory of her Beloved. Has she abandoned you? Or does she console you in your sorrows? Have you continued writing down what she says? For my part, I have kept most carefully your former notes and have re-read them many times." Clearly Father Prevel accepted the communications seriously, and we can rest assured that he had sufficient evidence for doing so.
Besides this important evidence of her director, we are fortunate in having the opinions of theologians of note, such as Canon Dubosq, superior of the Seminary of Bayeux and Promotor Fidei in the canonical process of the beatification and canonization of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, also Canon Gontier, diocesan Censor Librorum.[3]
After examining the Manuscript carefully, these prominent priests have declared without hesitation that it contains nothing contrary to Faith, nothing that is not in accord with the true principles of the spiritual life, rather matter that will edify devout souls. They testify that Sister Mary of the Cross, was endowed with sound judgment and common sense and thus was protected from going astray in vivid and harmful imaginations. They were pleased at the evidence that she had done all in her power to avoid the visits, and that she protested against them, even thinking them punishment sent from Heaven. She regarded the facts so strange that she did not know what to believe about them. Frequently she chided the visitor, so that she could not have imagined or invented the manifestations imposed upon her.
They were above all impressed by the great lesson of Christian charity which was manifest during the whole period of the apparitions. On the one hand Sister Mary Gabriel, in her earthly life at the convent had caused Sister Mary of the Cross, her spiritual guide, great suffering by her want of religious spirit and deportment. Yet it was to this very Sister that God ordered her to address herself after death, for deliverance from Purgatory. They noticed that the lights given to Sister Mary of the Cross, became clearer and more distinct in proportion to Sister Mary Gabriel's gradual purification. Finally they were impressed by the living Sister's great progress in the work of her sanctification. So remarkable was this that on reading the Manuscript Canon Dubosq said, "In publishing this Manuscript, as I heartily approve, you are anticipating a cause of beatification."
In a word all theologians who were consulted gave unanimous consent that Sister Mary of the Cross's manuscript portrayed in itself proof of its authenticity, and therefore, it was of value because of both content and origin.
Conclusion
The Manuscript of Sister Mary of the Cross, which we will call for the sake of brevity, "A Manuscript On Purgatory", from a merely historical and human point of view seems entirely genuine and creditable.
The Directors of the magazine 'Notre Dame de la Bonne Mori' are happy to be able to publish so edifying and impressive a work. A voice reaching out to us beyond the grave makes known to us the justice and mercy of Purgatory, together with the instructions of a more perfect life of union with God, and will be helpful to many souls on their journey to eternity.
It is our hope that the Light made known to the living by the experience of the dead may be helpful to those seeking to lead a better life. It may even be to many of our readers a preparation for a happy death. (...)
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In all that follows, the statements made are supposedly those of Sister Mary Gabriel (the suffering soul from Purgatory). At times she is questioned by Sister Mary of the Cross to whom she is talking. For the sake of simplicity quotation marks are omitted throughout. The questions of Sister Mary of the Cross when they occur will be indicated.
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The Text of the Manuscript(Statements of Sister Mary Gabriel)
Our Mother Superior is in Heaven since the day of her death, thanks to her suffering and great charity.
If you were as perfect as God wishes you to be, He would be ready to bestow many graces upon you. God wants you to be holier than many others.
Father L____ is in Purgatory, because he was too fond of giving retreats and preaching in many places, instead of taking care of his parish.
If you make the intention, God will accept whatever you do, for all the souls in Purgatory, just as if applied to one particular soul.
I am the one who is suffering most at the present moment, since I was not true to my vocation.
Next to the Mass, the Way of the Cross is the best prayer.[4] Observe the strict silence well, because I often violated it. I suffer more than Sister ___ because she was faithful to her vocation. Suffering, however, caused her to complain, as she was badly directed spiritually. I am not able to give a visible sign. God does not permit it. I am not worthy. Because I have annoyed you so much, God wants you to pray for me. You may also tell this to Sister ____ to whom I was great source of trouble and also to Mother Superior, as I made her suffer much. Poor Reverend Mother, if only she would have some Masses offered up for me. Say a few rosaries for me and make your meditations well. I never made any. Say your divine office well. I was much distracted during mine. Observe strict religious modesty everywhere since I never kept my eyes from seeing what I should not have seen.... Be obedient to Reverend Mother whom I annoyed so much....
If you could only know what I suffer! Pray for me, please. I suffer intensely everywhere. My God, how merciful You are! No one can imagine what Purgatory is like. Be kind and take pity on he poor souls.... Do not neglect the Way of the Cross. While on earth you will frequently suffer in body and soul, and often in both together.
It is so beautiful in Heaven. There is great distance between Purgatory and Heaven. We are privileged at times to catch a glimpse of the joys of the blessed in Paradise, but it is almost a punishment. It makes us yearn to see God. In Heaven, it is a pure delight; in Purgatory, profound darkness.
God loves you more than many others. Has He not frequently make it known to you?
Mother E____ is in Heaven because she has a hidden and very spiritual soul.
No, indeed I am not the devil; I am Sister M. G. and I will pray for you. Yes, I can pray even now and will do every day. You will then realize that the souls in Purgatory are not ungrateful. Those who are very guilty do not see the Blessed Virgin. It gives great joy to God when anyone is the cause of freeing a soul from Purgatory.
All you have read on this subject is true.
On Easter Sunday, I shall obtain a little relief.
If you watch carefully over yourself, God will bestow on you graces which He has never yet given to anyone else. You can offer up your office for many souls at once, if before you start the recitation, you make the intention for each soul in particular. Thus each will benefit as if you had offered it for him alone.
Purgatory is terrible for those religious who have caused trouble to their superiors. For them a special punishment is reserved similar to that which I am enduring.
March 24, 1874. Tomorrow, visit the Blessed Sacrament as often as you can. I shall accompany you. I will have the happiness of being near Our Lord. Yes, that relieves me.
March 25, 1874. I am now in the second Purgatory. Since my death, I have been in the first, where one endures such great suffering. We also suffer in the second, but not nearly as much as in the first. Always try to be a help to your superior. Do not speak often. Wait until you are questioned before you answer.
May 1874. I have been in the second Purgatory since the Feast of the Annunciation. On that day I saw the Blessed Virgin for the first time.[5] In the first stage, we never saw her. The sight of her encourages us and this beloved Mother speaks to us of Heaven. While we see her, our sufferings are greatly diminished.
Oh, how I desire to go to Heaven! What a martyrdom we suffer once we have seen God!
What do I think? I think God permits this for your benefit and for my consolation. Listen well to what I am going to tell you. God has selected you for a special purpose. He wants you to save many souls by your advice and good example. If, by your conduct, you frustrate this, one day you will have to give an account for every soul that you could have saved. It is quite true that you are not worthy, but God permits it thus. He is the Master and distributes His graces to whomsoever He pleases.
You do well to pray to St. Michael and to urge others to do so. One is indeed happy at the hour of death when he has had confidence in some of the saints. They will be his protectors before God in that terrible moment.
Do not be afraid to recall to all of your young students the great truths of salvation. Often souls have need to be shaken, at the present moment more than ever!
God wants you to sacrifice yourself for Him without reserve. He loves you more than many others, hence He will give you many more graces.... Be careful not to lose any of the graces that He gives you. Live only for God. Try to procure His glory everywhere. What good you can do for souls! Do nothing except what pleases God. Before each action recollect yourself for a moment to be sure that what you are going to do will be pleasing to Him. All for Jesus. Love Him well.
Yes, I suffer very much, but my greatest torment is not seeing God. It is a continuous martyrdom. It makes me suffer more than does the fire of Purgatory. If later on you love God as He wants you to, you will experience a little of the pining, which makes one long to be united to the object of one's love, to Jesus.
Yes, we sometimes see St. Joseph, but not as often as we see the Blessed Virgin.
You must become indifferent to everything except what is for God. Thus you will reach the height of perfection to which Jesus calls you.
Mother I____ did not benefit by the Masses offered up.
Religious have no right to dispose of their goods. It is contrary to holy poverty.
If you say your prayers well, the souls confided to your care will be benefited by them. God never refuses graces which are asked of Him during prayers well said.
The Purgatory of religious is much longer and more rigorous than that of many people in the world, because religious abuse special graces. Many nuns are abandoned in Purgatory, by their own fault, of course, for nobody ever remembers them. Our deceased Reverend Mother has told me that God would be very pleased were the community to have a Mass said for them from time to time. Be sure to tell this to Mother Superior. God loves Reverend Mother very much. He gives her a heavy cross to prove His love for her.
No one can have a real understanding of the sufferings in Purgatory. No one thinks of them in the world. Even religious communities forget that they should pray for the poor souls and that they should inspire their pupils with this devotion. They in turn would bring this devotion to other people in the world.
Have no fear of fatigue when it is a question of serving God. Sacrifice everything for Him.
Obey Your Superior promptly. Let her turn and twist you as she wills. Be very humble. Abase yourself always even, if possible, down to the earth.
M____ is in Purgatory because by her underhand remarks she often nullified the good that the Superiors could have done.
Make it a practice to live in the presence of God with a pure intention. God seeks devoted souls who will love Him for His own sake. These are very few. He wants you to be one of His true friends. Many think they love God, but they love Him for their own sakes.
We do not see God in Purgatory. That would make it Heaven. When a soul seeks God, and out of pure love desires nothing else, He never lets that soul be deceived.
God often showers graces even where malice bounds. Why should you refuse them? Devote yourself to God. Sacrifice and immolate yourself for Him. You can never do enough for Him. It is only the overflow of our piety that we can pour out on others. Put aside all human respect, even with regard to older Sisters. Always say what is necessary if it be a case of upholding the Mother Superior. It is not His great friends that God uses to annoy and cause trouble and pain to others. Thank Him that you have not been doing this. It is better to be the anvil than the hammer. You must not grow lax in the matter of denying your body and soul, for as yet you have made but little reparation for your past. The contest for your crown is hardly begun.
June (1874). Note well, that whenever a storm rages against a soul, it quietly dies down again. The devil has his agents everywhere, even in convents.No, I do not see God when He is exposed ( in the Holy Eucharist), yet I am conscious of His presence like you are with the eyes of faith. Our faith, however, is very different from yours. We know what God is. Always walk in the presence of God. Tell Him everything. Talk to Him as you would talk to a friend. Guard your interior life carefully.
In order to prepare well for Holy Communion, you must love God not only before and after receiving Him but always and at all times. God desires you to think only of Him. Mortify your mind, your eyes, your tongue; that will be far more agreeable to God than corporal penances. These (corporal penances) all too often proceed from one's own will. You must treat God as your Father, as a dear friend, as a beloved spouse. You must pour out all the tenderness of your heart on Jesus alone and on Him wholly and entirely. During all eternity you will sing of His infinite mercy in your regard. You must love Jesus so much that He may be able to find in your heart an agreeable resting place, where He may be able, as it were, to console Himself for the many offenses He receives everywhere. You must love Him for indifferent and cowardly souls but above all for yourself. In one word, you must Love Him so much at V____ that you will be a shining example. It is true that St. Theresa and M. Eust loved Him very much, but you have caused Him pain in the past, and you should love Him very much more in comparison to these innocent souls.
December 12, 1874. If you truly love God well He will refuse you nothing. He will give you whatever you ask.
God wishes you to concern yourself with Him alone, with His love and with the accomplishment of His holy will. When we are concerned with God, we must also of necessity think of souls. There would be but little merit in being saved alone. God expects a higher degree of perfection from you than He expects from many others.
February 1875. Watch carefully over your interior life. Keep all your small troubles for Jesus alone. He is well able to make up to you for whatever He takes from you. Your life must be one of unceasing interior acts of love and of mortification, but God alone must know of it. Do nothing extraordinary. Lead a very hidden life, yet one closely united to Jesus. Jesus wants you to love Him alone. If you put no obstacle in the way, he has extraordinary graces to bestow upon you, such as He has never yet given to anyone. He loves you in a special manner. Have you not yet noticed this? It is for us to adore His designs without seeking to fathom them. He is the Master, to do for souls whatever He wishes. Be always very humble. Lead a hidden life. Do not busy yourself with anyone. Attend to your own sanctification and affairs.
You must not have too much conversation with N____. She is too demonstrative and talkative. God does not want that of you.
It is not right of you to be thus distrustful of your Jesus. You have given Him all. be quite convinced that He has permitted all that has happened.
Love God very much. How happy are the souls that do this. They possess a treasure! The great penance of your life will be, not the absence of your Jesus but great sorrow for all the pain you have given Him, by your failure to love Him as you desire, in return for the overwhelming number of graces which He has showered upon you and which He will continue to shower upon you.
You may rise at 4:00 A.M. and go to bed at the same time as everyone else unless you are very ill. I assure you, you will be none the worse for this. Half an hour makes but little difference and it gives edification.
Do not complain about trifles, not even to the Superiors. Keep your little sufferings to yourself and tell Jesus, to whom you ought to tell everything. Do not be too preoccupied about your health. God will always give you sufficient strength to serve Him properly.
May 14, 1875. During your retreat, make up your mind to lose none of the graces which God will give you. Always be mindful of these graces, with a great spirit of faith and recollection. I have been telling you this for a long time. Try to be as recollected in your actions as you are during your thanksgiving after Holy Communion. Thank God for all he graces He has given you and for all those He gives you each day. Keep this in mind every morning at the end of your meditation. Also, pray for the intention I reminded you of yesterday.... Never do anything without first recollecting yourself for a moment and seeking advice from Jesus who is in your heart.... Yes, I love God very much, but as a soul becomes purified her love increases. Often think of the love Jesus has for you and be faithful o every inspiration of grace. Start each day as if you had as yet done nothing, but take care that you do not discourage yourself.
May 18, 1875. How small is the number of fervent religious who really have the spirit of their vocation - about one in fifty! You must at all costs be among the privileged ones. How great is the responsibility of a Superior, a Mistress of novices, a teacher! What an account they will have to render to God!
Little by little as I am being delivered, you will hear me more distinctly. When I am completely liberated, I will be a second Guardian Angel to you, but an angel that you can see.
Mother N____ is still in Purgatory, because she introduced several things into the community that were not in accord with our vocation, but which tended rather to relaxation. It is a great science to be to discern spirits. If more care were taken to receiving candidates to the religious life, there would be less trouble in communities.
June 20, 1875. God does not ask so much for strength. He would rather dwell more in our hearts. In order to obtain graces for yourself or for the community, you must renounce yourself from morning to night, seek self in nothing, let everything be hidden from the eyes of creatures. Let God alone know all your little daily sacrifices - Him alone; do you understand?
It is God who allows you to feel such distaste for many things, so that you may have more merit. Be careful to waste or lose nothing. Yes, it is true in one sense, that Jesus is more glorified when He is honored by one who was not always His friend. You are disturbed at sensing that God has chosen you to work out His designs despite your spiritual infirmities, for thus you must sacrifice and immolate yourself in return.
Do you know why God does not now grant you the graces you are asking of Him? It is because you have not enough confidence in Him. Likewise you forget the many and great graces that Jesus has given you. He pursues you from morning to night, and you avoid Him as much as you can. It is not proper for you to treat God thus, especially after He has been so kind to you. Try at every moment to look into yourself to see if you are pleasing God, examine yourself to learn if any of your acts cause Him pain. Such a constant disposition will put you more and more in favor with God. You must love God so much, that in a short time, He mat truly find in your heart a welcome place to make His abode. Jesus must be able to tell you all His sorrows, such as those the world inflicts upon Him daily, and your part, you must give Him the tender love that will console Him.
August 14, 1875. God does not want you to listen to self-love, you must trust in Him alone. I have told you this many times. Despite your faults, He can give you the necessary help to serve Him. Why do you distrust His power and goodness?
August 15, 1875. Yes, we have seen the Blessed Virgin, she has gone back to Heaven with many souls, but I am still here. You feel the heat? Alas! If you knew what the heat of Purgatory is compared to yours! A little prayer does us so much god. It is like a glass of water given to a thirsty person.
Love everyone, but do not put your trust entirely in anyone, because Jesus wants to be your great confidant. Everything for Him and for Him alone. Perform all your actions in the presence of God as I have so often told you. Consult Him before all you do or say. Let your life be one of faith and love.... Do nothing to distinguish yourself. Without offending anyone, avoid the company of those who are too unreserved and those who are uncharitable. As for yourself, be busy about your own affairs. Keep your opinions to yourself and never express them unless obliged to do so. Be preoccupied with only that one subject, the main sprig of your life, Jesus. Yes, Jesus from morning to night and from night to morning.
August 20, 1875 (Retreat). Alas, I suffer more than usual in punishment for abusing many graces during my life. Perform all your deeds in the presence of God, without seeking to please anyone else. He will not leave you in peace until you have reached such a state of detachment from all created things that you will give Him your entire attention. You must be a living example for the rest of your community. Each one, on seeing your life, must be able to say, "This is the Rule." More is required of you. You must be, as it were, another Jesus. That is to say, in far as possible, you must reproduce in your conduct the life of Jesus Himself.
September 7, 1875. Great though He is, Almighty God does not hesitate to lower Himself to the soul which loves Him. He treats such a soul even on the smallest details that concern her. How good God is to us. Are there not secrets in our souls that God alone understands and of which we can speak to Him alone?
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[1] Her autobiography, 98, edition 1920.
[2] (1) “The Purgatory”, review of the Association of the Sacred Heart of Jesus to promote the help of the souls in the Purgatorio, founded in Rome by the Reverend Father Victor Jouet, has published, from 1900 to 1912, the report of numerous apparitions of souls in Purgatory with the historical documents that guarantee their undeniable authenticity. The Rev. Fr. Victor Jouet also had constituted, in via Lungotevere Prati, 12, Rome, a museum of the afterworld or museum of the souls in Purgatory, composed from evidential memories and documents that render the truth of the facts tangible and evident the proven facts. The museum is now in a church in Rome of gothic style in via Lungotevere Prati. We have visited this museum, the only one of its type, and we have seen with our own eyes and have held in our own hands, with a deep impression, the prints of fingers and of burnt hands left on the dresses, on sterling and on the objects touched during various apparitions. The explanations of the Reverend Father Jouet, with an impressive documentation therefore, always stimulated, in the pilgrims of this small tour about purgatory, an unrestrainable emotion: they had under their eyes the obvious proof of the existence of purgatory and the irrefutable test of the correcting fire which purifies the souls from the remains of sin. The exhibit of Rev. Fr. Jouet was exposed the 4th of August, 1905, in one the halls of the Vatican, and introduced by His Eminence, Cardinal Vivès y Tuto to S. S. Pio X, who visited it with the greatest interest and felt a great satisfaction.
[3] The beautiful works of one of these eminent masters of mystical Theology merited this devout praise of Pius X: "The illuminate men render a just homage to your science and to your experience." "(Letter of 13 December 1908.)"
[4] Perhaps this means the “best” for the souls in purgatory.
[5] Many saints and theologians affirm that, by a divine favor, the Holy Virgin at times shows herself to the souls in Purgatory, for their relief and consolation, especially on her feast days.
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