Today the Universal Catholic Church remembers all those who departed from us in the state of grace….This day is known as All Souls Day….Americanized Christianity does not believe in Purgatory…Sadly, many Catholics no longer concern themselves with the reality of Purgatory either…..Nothing enters heaven and stands before God until it is made pure….We must remember this reality because it is reality!….Therefore “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”…Do we pray for the dead?…This is a great mercy and our responsibility……Do we have Masses said for our loved ones?…….For those who are in Purgatory have their “ticket” for heaven in their hand…God is just “cleaning them up”…This is a great mercy……However, we should start the process of ‘cleaning ourself up” now
Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me.
"To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the 'eternal punishment' of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the 'temporal punishment' of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.”
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul”
Some many read what I just noted, which is a perennial teaching of the Catholic Church and think this is not fair…..God is perfectly merciful and perfectly just - Remember that!……While he forgives us of our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we still may “cling” or have an attachment to certain sins…Purgatory frees us from those “bonds of slavery”, this is why we must “work on” our sanctification in the here and now….You don’t believe me?…Let’s see what St Paul has to say about it in Scripture….”So then, my beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. Do everything without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world”..........There are two purposes for going to Confession with a Priest frequently…The first is obvious, to obtain mercy and forgiveness from God, which is granted free of charge!…The second purpose of going to Confession frequently is not discussed much and this is why I will note it now…When we go to confession, we are given grace to overcome our sins…Each of us are different and have different weaknesses….Our weakness result in us having certain “attachments” to certain sins….Your “attachments” may be different then mine but we all have them…When we go to Confession frequently (say once a month), not only are we forgiven but we are given grace to overcome our attachments to sin…And that results in us growing in virtue and being sanctified…..Another tool at our disposal is to fast to overcome our sins…Fasting is not just for Lent….The Church asks us to fast every Friday and if you want to go “old school”, fast Wednesday as well…Again, these are “tools” for us to overcome attachments to sin and by using these “tools” we open ourself up to God’s grace to free us from the “bondage” of sin, which is a process and takes time!
“He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage”
As I noted in the first paragraph of this reflection today….We SHOULD - In fact, we MUST pray for the dead, especially for our loved ones who have died….Pretending Purgatory does not exist is not to believe in reality…We do not determine reality and as the great people of New Jersey like to put it…”It is what it is”….All this being said, let your hearts rest in the hope that….”The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble”……..The Process of Purification starts now!…Let us begin
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