We Catholics have the custom of praying for the souls of the faithful departed. This is because we believe that there are some souls in a place or state which is halfway between heaven and hell. And this place or state is called Purgatory and it is for the purification of souls who have died in the state of grace but are not entirely free from venial sins or have not made full satisfaction for transgressions committed here on earth.
Purgatory comes from the Latin word ‘purgare’, which means to make clean, to purify. Purgatory is not a ‘second chance’ at salvation. The souls in Purgatory are called Holy because they are already assured of salvation though they cannot yet be admitted to the Beatific Vision of God as a result of sins that still need to be atoned for. The doctrine of purgatory is a dogma of the Church and must be given the assent of faith. “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” (CCC 1030).
The Holy Souls in Purgatory do suffer terrible pain. Saint Catherine of Genoa says that: “st pronounces the words of absolution in Confession? Yes, we are forgiven, our sins are absolved when we make a good confession. But we must understand that there are two punishments due to sin. There is eternal punishment and there is temporal punishment. The eternal punishment, which is death for all eternity, is remitted in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The temporal punishment, which is the satisfaction due to sin, can be remitted either in this life or after death, precisely in Purgatory.
But one may ask: doesn’t Sacramental Confession remove sin? Aren’t we forgiven when the priest pronounces the words of absolution in Confession? Yes, we are forgiven, our sins are absolved when we make a good confession. But we must understand that there are two punishments due to sin. There is eternal punishment and there is temporal punishment. The eternal punishment, which is death for all eternity, is remitted in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The temporal punishment, which is the satisfaction due to sin, can be remitted either in this life or after death, precisely in Purgatory.
The Holy Souls in Purgatory do suffer terrible pains. Saint Catherine of Genoa says that: “The souls endure a torment so extreme that no tongue can describe it, nor could the understanding conceive the least notion of it, if God did not make it known by a particular grace.” The saint goes on to say that the suffering in Purgatory is equal to that of Hell.
But even though the souls in Purgatory suffer so much, yet at the same time, they experience a joy that is only surpassed by the joy of the saints in heaven. The same Saint Catherine of Genoa says:
“I do not believe that it would be possible to find any joy comparable to the joy of the soul in Purgatory except the joy of the blessed in paradise – a joy which continues to increase day by day as God flows in upon the soul more and more. He does this abundantly, according to the measure in which obstacles to His entrance are removed.”
How long does one stay in Purgatory? That depends on how one lived and how much repentance one did for sin before dying. We could imagine that a person who had lived a wild life and converted just before death would spend much longer in Purgatory than someone who had lived a life in union with God. During the first visit of Our Lady to the children of Fatima in May 1917, Lucy began to ask the beautiful Lady a few questions and one of the questions was about two companions hers who had just died recently: "Is little Maria das Neves in Heaven?" "Yes", answered Our Lady, "she is in Heaven." Then, Lucy asked about the other companion, called Amelia, and Our Lady answered: "She will be in Purgatory until the end of the world."
We can help those who are undergoing purgation with our prayers. God can apply the prayers we offer for the cleansing of the faithful departed. This has been the practice and belief of the Church from the very beginning. In the Old Testament, we read of Judas Maccabeus who “took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honourably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore, he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin” (2 Mac 12:43-46).
We can help the souls in Purgatory in many ways. Having Mass offered for the souls of the faithful departed is the greatest help we can give them because Mass, being the sacrifice of Jesus offered to the Father, is the greatest prayer. We can pray for the souls in Purgatory. We can offer our fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimages, in atonement for the sins of those in Purgatory. It also possible for us to gain indulgences that can be applied to the souls in Purgatory. During this pandemic of the coronavirus, the Apostolic Penitentiary has extended the Plenary Indulgences for the faithful departed to the entire month of November. So, this year, a plenary indulgence, applicable to the Souls in Purgatory, can be obtained by anyone who visits a cemetery, even if only mentally, on any day in November, and devoutly prays for the faithful departed. The Plenary Indulgence attached to All Souls’ Day, 2nd November, this year, can also be obtained on any other day of the month chosen by each member of the faithful. In this case, the indulgence is obtained by “devoutly visiting a church or an oratory”, along with the recitation of the Our Father and the Creed, and the other requirements associated with a Plenary Indulgence. These requirements are the reception of Holy Communion, Confession within eight days and a prayer for the Holy Father's intentions. For anyone who cannot leave their home for various reasons, including anti-Covid restrictions, they too can obtain the Plenary Indulgence by “uniting themselves spiritually to other members of the faithful”. In this case, the condition of being “completely detached from sin” and the intention of completing the other requirements for obtaining a Plenary Indulgence remain.
Mary not only alleviates the sufferings of the Holy Souls, She also has the power to obtain their release from Purgatory. We are all aware of the Sabbatine privilege attached to the Brown Scapular. Pope Pius V, in 1612, affirmed:
That Christians may piously believe that the blessed Virgin will aid by her continual intercession, by her merits and special protection, after death, and principally on Saturday, which is a day consecrated by the Church to the Blessed Virgin, the souls of the members of the confraternity of holy Mary of Mount Carmel, who shall have departed this life in the state of grace, worn the scapular, observing chastity according to their state of life, recited the office of the Virgin, and if they have not been able to recite it, shall have observed the fasts of the Church, abstaining from flesh meat on Wednesdays, except on Christmas-day
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary on behalf of the Holy Souls is certainly a very efficacious means to obtain relief for them. St Bernardine of Siena says “that in that prison where souls that are spouses of Jesus Christ are detained, Mary has a certain dominion and plenitude of power not only to relieve them but even to deliver them from their pains.” And to St Bridget, Our Blessed Mother once said: “I am the mother of all the souls in purgatory; and all the sufferings which they merit for the sins committed in life are every hour, while they remain there, alleviated in some measure by my prayers.”
Mary not only alleviates the sufferings of the Holy Souls, She also has power to obtain their release from Purgatory. We are all aware of the Sabbatine privilege attached to the Brown Scapular. Pope Pius V, in 1612, affirmed: “That Christians may piously believe that the blessed Virgin will aid by her continual intercession, by her merits and special protection, after death, and principally on Saturday, which is a day consecrated by the Church to the blessed Virgin, the souls of the members of the confraternity of holy Mary of Mount Carmel, who shall have departed this life in the state of grace, worn the scapular, observing chastity according to their state of life, recited the office of the Virgin, and if they have not been able to recite it, shall have observed the fasts of the Church, abstaining from flesh meat on Wednesdays, except on Christmas-day.”
During this month of November, let us not neglect to offer up prayers and sacrifices for the dead. Prayer for the Holy Souls is most definitely one of the greatest acts of charity that we can perform.