PrayForSouls.org
Dear Members,
In this second part of our three-part
series, we will explore the passages in the
Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska that
describe visits from souls suffering in
Purgatory who were asking for her prayers.
Saint Faustina wrote about being visited
a number of times by deceased religious
from her own congregation.
For
Heaven’s
VOLUME 7, NUMBER 5
† MAY 2016
Faustina talks about feeling, like the
souls in Purgatory, “such intense hunger for
God that I seemed to be dying of the
desire to become united with Him.” That’s
a continuation of what she wrote in entry
20: “I asked these souls what their greatest
suffering was. They answered me in one
voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.”
Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR, used to
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.
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.
Sake
say that when we die, we have an immediate
personal judgment. Part of that personal
judgment is God determining whether
we are ready to go to Heaven, or if we are
rejecting God’s mercy and headed to hell.
Even if we know we have sufficient sins
that we can’t go directly to Heaven, we see
Heaven in the distance, so to speak, and that
causes us to desire it even more. The souls
in Purgatory are tormented by that desire.
It’s kind of like standing in line for ice
cream. (Feel free to think of something you
really want, but I usually want ice cream.)
The longer you have to wait, the more your
desire for it builds.
In entry 58, Faustina writes about
another deceased sister visiting her:
One night, a sister who had died two
months previously came to me. She was
a sister of the first choir. I saw her in a
terrible condition, all in flames with her
face painfully distorted. This lasted only
a short time, and then she disappeared.
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, in the midst of flames which were
even more intense, 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 com-
Immediately after Holy Mass, I
asked Mother Superior’s permission to fast, but I did not receive
it because of my illness. When I
entered the chapel, I heard these
words: “If you had fasted,
Sister, I would not have gotten
relief until the evening, but
for the sake of your obedience, which prevented you
from fasting, I obtained this
relief at once. Obedience has
great power.” After these
words I heard: “May God reward
you” (1185-1187).
Continued on reverse
Marian Archives
H e l p i n g S o u l s To H e av e n
For Heaven’s Sake • Helping S ouls To Heaven
munity 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. There were no
longer any flames, as there had been
before, and her face was radiant, her eyes
beaming with joy. She told me that 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! (Diary, 58)
M ay 2016
charity that those graces and insights
should have compelled her to live.
Sometimes St. Faustina had encounters
with souls in Purgatory that were quite brief.
When the soul of a certain young lady
came to me one night, she made me
aware of her presence, and made known
to me that she needed my prayer. I
prayed for a while, but her spirit did not
leave me. Then I thought to myself, “If
you are a good spirit, leave me in peace,
and the indulgences I will gain tomorrow will be for you.” At that moment,
the spirit left my room, and I recognized
that she was in purgatory (Diary, 1723).
After these visits from suffering souls,
the thought of the Church Suffering often
weighed heavily on her heart. On two
occasions, St. Faustina asked Jesus to show
mercy toward the souls in Purgatory:
Saint Faustina’s confessor, Blessed
Michael Sopocko, speculated that the reason why this sister was in Purgatory for
such an extended period of time, was
because she had failed to show charity
toward souls in Purgatory to whom she
owed prayers. Because she hadn’t done the
works of charity she should have done,
when she died, the charity done for her was,
so to speak, “shifted” to the ones for whom
she should have prayed. That’s why she had
a greater debt to pay in Purgatory. It kind of
goes back to Luke 12:48: “Much will be
required of the person entrusted with
much, and still more will be demanded of
the person entrusted with more.” This sister
had received many graces and insights as a
religious woman, but she hadn’t shown the
Three requests on the day of my perpetual vows. Jesus, I know that today You
will refuse me nothing. … Third
request: Jesus, I plead with You for the
souls that are most in need of prayer. I
plead for the dying; be merciful to them.
I also beg You, Jesus, to free all souls
from purgatory (Diary, 240).
Most Merciful Jesus, You Yourself
have said that You desire mercy; so
I bring into the abode of Your Most
Compassionate Heart the souls in
purgatory, souls who are very dear to
You, and yet, who must make retribution
to Your justice. May the streams of
Blood and Water which gushed forth
from Your Heart put out the flames of
Tips for May
●
Pray with Mary’s motherly heart: Pray for those whose lives have
been lost in a recent tragedy, or those souls in Purgatory who are
most forgotten or most in need of our prayers.
●
May is Mary’s Month: Pray to Mary, and ask that any merits you
gain from your prayers be used for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
She brings relief to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. As St. Faustina
wrote, “I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory. The souls
call her ‘The Star of the Sea.’ She brings them refreshment” (Diary
of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 20).
●
May flowers: If a mother figure in your life is deceased, bring
her favorite flowers to her grave on Mother’s Day as a sign of
remembrance.
the purifying fire, that in that place, too,
the power of Your mercy may be praised.
From that terrible heat of the
cleansing fire
Rises a plaint to Your mercy,
And they receive comfort,
refreshment, relief
In the stream of mingled Blood
and Water.
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze
upon the souls suffering in purgatory,
who are enfolded in the Most
Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg
You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus
Your Son, and by all the bitterness with
which His most sacred Soul was flooded, manifest Your mercy to the souls
who are under Your just scrutiny. Look
upon them in no other way than
through the Wounds of Jesus, Your
dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe
that there is no limit to Your goodness
and compassion (Diary, 1227).
While we probably don’t receive such
visits, as I have mentioned in the past,
those knocks and noises in the night could
be the souls in Purgatory reminding us to
pray for them. As apostles of Divine
Mercy, we should be mindful of the Holy
Souls’ need for our prayers and the graces
available through our devotional practices
and other good works.
Father Dan, MIC
As a patron of the Holy Souls Sodality, you are committed to
helping the Holy Souls to Heaven through your daily prayers and
sacrifices. This is one of the greatest acts of charity because they
cannot pray for themselves. The Marian Fathers at the National
Shrine of The Divine Mercy offer a daily Mass for the Holy Souls
and for your intentions. You receive this newsletter, published by
the Association of Marian Helpers, to deepen your devotion to the
Holy Souls and to offer you ways to encourage your family and
friends to assist the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Holy Souls Sodality, Association of Marian Helpers,
Eden Hill, Stockbridge, MA 01263
Editor: Andy Leeco ● 1-800-462-7426
● email: [email protected]
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