Fr. Janusz Kumala, MIC (Licheń)
11th International Conference of the AMH
Licheń, May 18-21, 2009
“I saw Our Lady visiting the souls in Purgatory.
The souls call her «The Star of the Sea.»
She brings them refreshment.”
St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary
Marian Inspirations
in Bringing help to Poor Souls in Purgatory
Meeting with Mary and receiving her into one’s “home” (cf. Jn 19:27), in other words, bringing her into the spiritual scope of our life means that we recognize her as our Mother and Mistress. Thus, we form our Marian spirituality according to the principle: Discovering Mary – Loving Mary – imitating Mary. Love increases as knowledge of the beloved deepens; knowing one the better one loves the person more. The fruit of this bond of love is imitation. Such an understanding of our relationship with Mary allows us to live a type of dynamic Marian spirituality, or the forming of our life, inspired by the example of Mary’s life. This also includes our task of bringing help for Poor Souls in Purgatory. As a Mother, Mary embraces all people with her motherly love and care and as a Mistress, she teaches us the way to live our lives in accordance with the Divine will; teaching us to have proper relations with God and people.
Mary’s lifestyle can be defined as “being totally for” – for God and for people. Mary was “totally for God” from whom she received everything and whom she served. She was also “totally for people” to whose rescue she hastened. Her devotion for people was the result of her devotion to God. The more we belong to God, the more zealously do we serve people.
In what way can Mary inspire us to bring help to the Souls in Purgatory? What kind of spiritual disposition can we learn from Mary to make our help ever more sacrificial?
Let us first examine the Church’s experience in praying for the deceased to find in it Mary’s presence as a Mother giving help to souls suffering in purgatory; and then, let us try to establish the most important traits of a Marian intercessor for Poor Souls.
1. Mary – Mother of the Suffering Church
According to many Fathers of the Church, the custom of praying for the deceased, known in the Old Testament, is present in the Church since the times of the Apostles. In the early centuries, we perceive a tendency of burying the deceased very close to martyrs’ tombs, which demonstrates a wish to secure their protection of the departed, as well as to enable them to benefit from prayers of the living that they lift up to the martyrs.
In this context we may consider Our Lady’s display in the catacombs of Priscilla that go back to the 2nd century. Some Christian family wished to commend their deceased to the intercession of Our Blessed Mother. This interpretation confirms the fact that Christians of the time customarily placed images of the martyrs at the tombs of their deceased relatives if they couldn’t bury them in the immediate vicinity. Thus, we may draw a conclusion that placing Mary’s image next to a tomb indicates the desire to place the deceased under Mary’s intercession as well as an appeal to the living to commend to Mary the souls of the departed.
But it was only in the 4th century, both in the Eastern and Western Churches, that we see tombstone inscriptions invoking Mary’s intercession for the eternal peace of the deceased.
Awareness of Mary’s help for the souls of the departed begins to be completely developed only in the Middle Ages. Texts of theologians and preachers appear, which attempt to explain the link between Mary and the mystery of Purgatory (her motherly love, queenship, and intercession). We also have more descriptions of visions and apparitions, in which Mary is shown among the Souls in Purgatory, as a Mother bringing help and consolation.
We can understand Mary’s concern for the souls suffering in Purgatory only when we acknowledge her to be the Mother of the Church. Without a doubt, the community of the saved, who passed through the gate of death and are now undergoing purification, also belong to the mystery of the Church.
Mary enfolds with her motherly care, people who are still making their earthly pilgrimage, striving for heavenly glory, as well as all those, who are preparing for heaven dwelling in Purgatory. Therefore, Mary’s spiritual maternity concerns both people still leaving on earth and those whose time of earthly pilgrimage is over and must pass through the purifying fires to be able to face God. Mary helps the former and the latter to attain the fullness of salvation or the eternal happiness in heaven.
Understanding Mary’s maternal role in the mystery of the Church is helped by the concept of the “communion of saints.” This Church is not just any community of people but a community bonded by magnanimous Christian love, which mutually shares all spiritual good. “The more perfectly someone advances, the more abundantly can all benefit from their good, as if from ones own property. Individual saints not only benefit themselves from obtained graces but in certain ways they radiate it to others, that which is their own property. “Property” in a figurative sense, completely magnanimous and opened toward others is the manifestation of God and Christ’s life in creation. Mary – the purest of them all – has the widest sweep of radiation and everyone among the saints carries inside something of Mary.”[1]
The dead in Christ love more deeply than during their lifetime and for this reason they want to help us. Mary occupies a special place among them because she was most fully imbued and filled with the Divine Spirit of love.
2. The Marian image of an intercessor for the Souls in Purgatory
2.1. Longing for salvation
The one who is animated by a longing for personal salvation and the salvation of others is helping the Souls in Purgatory. It is quite obvious: if someone treats lightly his own salvation, his friendship with the Lord, he won’t be concerned with the fate of the other people on earth, and even less about those in Purgatory. Such can be a lukewarm Christian, with a cold and egotistical heart.
To give help to the souls of the deceased, one must have the deep hunger of God, which is the salvation of each person. God does not take away from anybody the chance for salvation, because He “wills everyone to be saved” (1 Tm 2:4), and for this reason He sent His Son to be for everyone “the source of eternal salvation for all” (Heb 5:9).
Vatican II teaches: “In this singular way she [Mary] cooperated by her obedience, faith, hope and burning charity in the work of the Savior in giving back supernatural life to souls. Wherefore she is our mother in the order of grace”.[2] In the economy of grace, Mary’s maternity “lasts until the eternal fulfillment of all the elect. Taken up to heaven she did not lay aside this salvific duty, but by her constant intercession continued to bring us the gifts of eternal salvation”.[3]
Marian spirituality leads us into Mary’s desire for the salvation of every person. In following her example, we are to become “mothers” in other words, to care about the supernatural life of other people so that each one may attain the fullness of salvation in heaven. With our prayers we can offer ourselves so that the deceased held in Purgatory may “be born for heaven.”
2.2. Is conscious of redemption
He, who does not wish salvation, is the one who does not live by an consciousness of redemption, does not experience its power, and does not believe in its effectiveness. Those are attributes of Christianity of a magical character, which does not have anything in common with the Gospels and is uniquely based on cultural customs.
Living by a consciousness of redemption, we possess a deep conviction that thanks to Christ, God can justify and cleanse from evil every person and that everyone can obtain a true union with Him in the order of grace. For such a person, moral and spiritual values are the most important ones and he regards all people as his neighbor that he ought to love in Christ. A person redeemed knows that he owes his redemption to Christ and only in Him he sees the source of all graces. Such a person lives by the memory of baptism not as if it were only a remembrance from the past but a reality of grace that lasts and changes his life. And “grace” means participation in God’s life as the highest gift for man.
Mary is the one who best leads us into the mystery of redemption because “no one like Mary was introduced into it by God Himself.” The love that Mary brings into the mystery of redemption and the life of the Church “finds expression in its exceptional closeness to man and all his affairs. [...] Through her maternal presence the Church acquires certainty that she is truly living the life of her Master and Lord and that she is living the mystery of Redemption in all its life-giving profundity and fullness.”[4]
By participating in and experiencing the power of Christ’s work of redemption, we also have a consciousness of being called to dedicate ourselves to Christ’s work through the sacraments of the Church, through faith, hope, and love. It means making spiritual sacrifices, which flow from the reality of our universal priesthood. Mary is the example of such an attitude; who, at the foot of the cross “suffering grievously with her only-begotten Son. There she united herself with a maternal heart to His sacrifice, and lovingly consented to the immolation of this victim which she herself had brought forth"(58) and also was offering to the eternal Father.”[5]
It concerns the following, to contribute oneself to this, that the grace of redemption may shine with full radiance in the life of people who live on earth, as well as those who are in Purgatory. The fullness of redemption is seeing God “face to face.”
We bring help to the deceased in Purgatory, because we believe, that Christ alone can save them being the only Redeemer of mankind.
2.3. I Believe in the “communion of saints”
A proper relationship with Mary exists, only when we live it out in the community of saints, believing in the truth of the communion of saints or in the mutual unity between the faithful for their spiritual good. Mary, taken bodily to heaven, experiences the happiness of being together with God, but she continues to care about everyone that is still walking on the road to salvation.
Vatican II teaches us about the mutual union between all members of the Church, including Mary that “For all who are in Christ, having His Spirit, form one Church and cleave together in Him. Therefore the union of the wayfarers with the brethren who have gone to sleep in the peace of Christ is not in the least weakened or interrupted, but on the contrary, according to the perpetual faith of the Church, is strengthened by communication of spiritual goods.”[6]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks in the same vein: “Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus. So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped.”[7]
It is worthy emphasizing that the truth about the “communion of saints” does not regard only those who are in heaven, but everyone who remains in the state of grace. Souls in Purgatory are affirmed in grace forever, therefore they can help people on earth. Believing in the communion of saints, we will hasten, not only to ask for help for the Souls in Purgatory, but also to hasten to their relief, taking care of remaining in the state of grace that is necessary for our help to be fruitful. Only by persevering in union with Christ, do we bring fruits, for without Him we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:4-5).
What more – of something we rarely remember – our prayer for the deceased is a condition, for the Souls to be able to pray for us effectively. “Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them but also of making their intercession for us effective,” says the Catechism.[8]
The deeper our union of love with Mary and our consciousness of her maternal mission concerning the Souls dwelling in Purgatory, the more fervent will our endeavor be to here and now help them. Remaining with Mary, the wider we open our hearts to the needs of our neighbor and by giving them love, we deepen our bond with them, which will be crowned by our staying in heaven together.
2.4. Live in love
It’s easy to notice that the one who loves helps others. Therefore, love alone can be the source of our zeal in bringing help to the Souls in Purgatory.
Mary is present with every person by her active love. She is the “woman who loves,” as Benedict XVI wrote in his encyclical about love.[9] Or should we say even more decisively: Mary is love. This is why, as the one full of grace, she has been filled completely with love (full of grace = full of love). For love is the presence of God who is love. Saint Bernard of Clairvaux taught, that with the love of Mary, “no other, apart from Christ’s love, can be equaled.”[10] Mary is the icon of the fullness of love available for men. She was the first who experienced it when she was transformed by love in her Immaculate Conception. This experience of Mary is going to be ours as well. We are to allow love to transform us, to fill us up; we ought to long for its fullness and to carry a pain inside us that we cannot love fully because of our sins.
Living by the love of God, a person wishes to share it with the others. The more love we get the more we can offer the others. We become like the biblical Elias’s jug that won’t ever go empty because God will refill us with His love if only we won’t close up to it or won’t reject it.
Love never dies, but lasts forever. Going to heaven, Mary did not distance herself from people, but on the contrary: she became even closer to us. Closeness to people is measured by our closeness to God. We can say, that only when immersed in God’s love in heaven will we be able to speak of “true”[11] closeness with people.
If we nurture in ourselves the love of God as a gift, which He endlessly offers to us, it then strengthens in us a concern for all people that they arrive at heaven. In this way we become manifestations of God’s love, which seeks every man, in order to lead him to the joys of heaven. Through love we participate along with Mary in bringing people to salvation, which Jesus Christ achieves. Love does not allow us to remain indifferent to other people’s suffering which we see all around us in this world, as well as those that we do not see, but our faith tells us that they may be in Purgatory.
Living by love, we better understand the mystery of purgatory, which is the time of getting ready to meet God. It is accompanied by suffering, because the soul wants to love God fully but is not yet able to do so. And for this reason the soul suffers.
We want to help souls maturing in love, because we are also trying to do so and we know how difficult and painful it is. We share with the Souls in Purgatory the pain of longing to love God fully. The more we suffer now, because we do not respond fully to God’s love, the more fervently will we hasten to help the deceased.
2.5. Feeling the pain of parting
Some want to quickly forget about people who have left this world. They cover their faces, a memory of them fades, and their names are forgotten... The tempo of daily living seems to aid this process. Life goes on, there is no need to bother with people from the past. One must concentrate on one’s life...
“I only love the person whose death would be my heartbreaking pain” (Antoine de Saint Exupery). We ought to apply those words not only to people close to us because of family relations, friendship or acquaintance. It is true that the deeper the ties uniting us with another person the more painfully do we suffer that person’s departure to the Father’s house. This pain, however, cannot erase our faith in life eternal and in the resurrection, and consequently, in our new encounters with all those that we love. On the contrary, the pain of separation ought to mobilize us do work in two fields: 1. To grow in God’s grace and to care about our salvation; 2. To hasten with help all those who may still remain in purgatory, so that they may attain heaven more quickly. Because loving them, we wish the best for them. And nothing can be compared with the happiness in heaven... Only a person who believes in life eternal, as the ultimate human good, can bring help to the deceased.
The pain of separation ought to accompany us because of other people leaving this world, because of everyone, for they all are our brothers and sisters called to life eternal in heaven. Maybe, we should feel pain because we did not get to know them during their lifetime? So many people we did not get to know and never will during our earthly pilgrimage! However, we all will meet in heaven, immersed in Divine love. And in Him we’ll get to know and love one another for all eternity. Therefore, the pain of parting may be an inner prompting to pray for the deceased, maybe especially for those, of whose departure Lord God tells us. And He does it every time when we learn of someone’s death through the mass media or through other people, or by reading the obituaries posted on a cemetery wall... It is a matter of sensitivity, the source of which is the pain of separation.
Mary under the cross of her Son is the icon of the pain of separation. The pain that tore her heart was as big as was her love for her Son. She looked at her dying Son and accepted His death as the fulfillment of a mysterious plan of salvation for humanity. However, she does not despair or fall into doubt but awaits the resurrection in hope and trust. “The anticipation that filled up Holy Saturday, is one of the most important moments in the history of the events of the Mother of God: in the darkness that wraps around the whole world, she entrusts herself completely to the God of Life and, pondering the words of her Son, she patiently waits for the full realization of God’s promises.”[12]
The pain of separation is connected to the longing for meeting, namely for heaven, so that we can meet those from whom death has parted us.
2.6. Longing for heaven
If someone does not long for heaven then why should he solicit heaven on behalf of the Souls in Purgatory? After all, they will be there sooner or later, anyway…
To long for something one must know its worth. The more a man is convinced of the value of something, the more he endeavors to obtain it and the more he longs for it. The more we love someone, the more we desire the best for them.
Souls suffer in Purgatory, they long for heaven, or for seeing God. This is their greatest suffering. It is possible to help someone, if we understand him and share his feelings. However, the one who has no longing for heaven won’t help the others to attain heaven.
The longing for God, which is the fate of the Souls in Purgatory can be understood in reference to the experience of the mystics like St. Faustina: “O my creator, I long for You! You understand me, O Lord of mine! All that is on earth seems to me like a pale shadow. It is You I long for and desire. Although You do so inconceivably more for me, for You yourself visit me in a special way, yet those visits do not sooth the wound of the heart, but make me long all the more for You, o Lord. Oh, take me to Yourself, Lord, if such is Your will! You know that I am dying, and I am dying of longing for You; and yet, I cannot die. Death, where are you? You draw me into the abyss of Your divinity, and You veil yourself with darkness. My whole being is immersed in You, yet I desire to see You fact to face.”[13]
During a vision of the Purgatory, St. Fautsina asked the souls what was their greatest suffering. Their response was that it is a longing for God.[14] The longing gets stronger along with the maturing in love; after all, love is the measure of longing.
In the Tradition of the Church we can find the explanation of Mary’s death as a gesture of mercy of the Mother towards her Son. The Mother longs for her Son and desires (like St. Paul, see Phil 1:23) to be separated from her body so that she may be with Jesus forever.
There is nothing wrong in our desire to leave this world in order to be with God and with those whom we love. It is important that this longing be lived out in perfect submission to the Divine will. Let us also beg God that He fulfills the longing of the Souls in Purgatory.
2.7. Dwelling with Christ
The subject of the longing of the Souls in Purgatory is dwelling with Christ. The biblical phrase “dwell with Christ” describes the reality of heaven. One of the crucified criminals heard these words “today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:42). Christ’s promise did not speak only of accompanying Him there, but of a profound inner unity, of a direct intimacy with Christ. Saint Paul spoke in the same spirit to the Thessalonians who feared for the people that did not live to see the Parousia: “Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words” (1 Thes 4:17-18). Saint Paul also wishes for himself this dwelling with Christ: “I long to depart this life and be with Christ” (Phil 1:23).[15]
The Souls in Purgatory suffer because they are temporarily denied seeing God and dwelling with Him. They know that it is the result of their life, in which they wasted God’s graces and were guided by egotism instead of love. The Souls realize that they need purification and for this reason they remain in the state of purification because a lack of purity of heart won’t let them approach the Lord.
The closer we live with Christ and carry within ourselves a lively desire to dwell with Him in heaven forever, the better we understand a Soul’s suffering and the more we wish to help them so that they may see God’s face more quickly.
It is important to have a consciousness of our bond with God that nothing can break but our sin. Souls in Purgatory are in a better position, for although they suffer from the inability of being with God, they have the certainty that nothing would ever separate them from Him. They have a certainty of hope to be fully united with God. Anticipation of this moment, although related to suffering, is accepted with gratitude, nonetheless. A soul is ready to accept an even greater suffering provide that it brings closer its meeting with God.
We shall comprehend better the need for giving help to the Souls in Purgatory if we deepen our own bond with Christ and bear all sufferings and adversities of life. Our close unity with God, the joy of being with Him (for example, through the adoration of the Most Holy Sacrament) as well as our hope for salvation, forms within us the readiness to bring help to those who suffer from the inability to see God “face to face,” although they are already sure of their salvation.
Only a man of pure heart, living in the state of grace, can be sensitive to the the Souls’ suffering. He who does not appreciate the grace of being with God won’t endeavor for it on behalf of others.
2.8. Being selfless
Magnanimity is a particular trait of our love for the Souls in Purgatory. Usually, our helping others is in danger of being marked by certain egotism, a desire to please someone, to get a commendation or to show gratitude as per the principle “do ut des” (I’ll give if you give first). It is often as if we were waiting for someone to say “thank you,” and frequently that is the only reason why we would bother doing something: to receive gratitude. It seems natural and good to us that someone else gives us thanks; but in truth, it is not about this person, but about us. Because we want to be recognized as those who do good.
We live in the world (including the Church), in which we are being constantly told that the only thing that counts is success of a material, visible nature; a success that can be measured, counted, weighed out… Some of us dream of being on TV or mentioned in the press. Sometimes, the note in the media is more important than the underlying cause or event. In the eyes of this world helping the Souls in Purgatory does not seem attractive for it cannot be displayed or evaluated as to its efficacy. A man seeking thanksgivings and commendations won’t help the deceased; at most he may erect a tombstone, for the others to see and admire…
When we bring help to the Souls in Purgatory, we must follow Christ’s principle: “Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Mt 10:8). Mary is the best example of this mind-set who experienced the magnanimous gift of the Merciful God in her Immaculate Conception. After all, in this mystery of Mary’s life we discover the truth about total gratuitousness of God’s grace, which we cannot merit, but which we can accept. Mary Immaculate is the evidence that everything in human life is a fruit of the Son of God’s salvific mission.
At the time of the Annunciation, the gratuitousness of God meets with the response of a magnanimous person. Mary does not ask: “What is there in it for me?” but “How is it going to take place?” She is totally at God’s disposal, not asking nor expecting anything in return. She accepts the Gift being completely aware that she did not earn it. She knows that great things that the Almighty has done to her were the fruits of His disinterested and merciful love (cf. Lk 1:49-60).
Being thus convinced, she completes her pilgrimage to Golgotha to participate at the foot of the cross in the magnanimous love of the merciful Crucified. Her sensitive maternal heart totally understands the depth of the words that Jesus said to the criminal crucified next to him, for whom the unselfish love of the Savior opened heaven. In a similar manner, she also accepts her new mission of becoming the Mother to the disciples of her Son. One of her tasks would be to introduce them into the mystery of God’s selfless love.
Mary counsels that magnanimity in not limited to giving something to God and neighbor but that it is based mainly on offering oneself. It means to forget oneself and to live ever more for the other, “just as I try to please everyone in every way, not seeking my own benefit but that of the many, that they may be saved” (1 Cor 10:33).
The generosity of love for the Souls in Purgatory can be nothing but magnanimous. It is the characteristic of quiet people who don’t seek recognition or fame. This love is nurtured by people who understand the value of life confidentially and appreciate its every detail, even the smallest one. Doing everything out of love for God, they can help others, while advancing quickly on the road of holiness.
2.9. Being in solidarity and mercy
Help for the departed is clearly associated with the Christian virtue of solidarity. It is the question of a perennial mind-set that prompts us to actively participate in trials and tribulations of others.
Praying for the Souls in Purgatory reveals the truth that no one can attain heaven on one’s own power, without cooperating with our neighbors. Our happiness is the fruit of work and prayer not only our own, but of other people, especially those closest to us. In God we are all united. There is no room for indifference or whatever degree of jealousy; there is only mutual concern and desire for eternal happiness.
Living by the spirit of solidarity, we hasten to help those in need, even if it may entail toils and sufferings.
Purgatory is a gift of the Divine Mercy and those who are held there expect mercy from us. Our prayers demonstrate the mercy of our heart and through us – the Face of the Merciful God. For this reason, helping the Souls in Purgatory is also a deed of mercy that everyone can perform, regardless of one’s life circumstances.
To be merciful means to be able to have compassion for someone else’s suffering, to be sensitive to it and ready to soothe it. This spiritual mind-set is a fruit of experiencing mercy shown to us by God. Thanks to His mercy we are alive and our task is to show mercy to others. Only then will it blossom in us as eternal life in heaven.
Meeting Mary is always meeting with a Mother of solidarity and mercy. She was the first to experience God’s solidarity and mercy (in the mystery of Incarnation). She became the witness to this mystery of God, which reached its fullness on Golgotha in the Crucified and Risen Christ. What is more: we may say that from the first moment of her existence – as the Immaculately Conceived – she carried in herself this mystery. This holy beginning of Mary’s life is after all nothing else but the space, in which the Divine solidarity and mercy appeared. In Mary, like in a mirror, we may see and admire the actions God, who stands with men and shows them mercy by giving the gift of a new life. We received this gift in the sacrament of holy baptism. Someone who lives a new life not only takes good care of it, but also endeavors that it reaches its fullness for others, who may be undergoing purification in Purgatory.
In Mary we discover what should be the lifestyle of someone of solidarity and mercy. Enough to recall Mary’s image from the Visitation when she “hastens” to another person to show her solidified love at the wedding in Cana, when “touched by mercy,” Mary displays her sensitivity for needs of other people.[16]
A singular icon of Mary’s solidarity and mercy of love is her presence under Jesus’ cross. It is exactly the matter of her presence. A returning temptation of our lives is our desire to do something for others. In consequence, we concentrate so much on the action itself, on some gesture or prayer (which is also a form of gesture) that we forget what ought to be the essence of this “action.” The most important part of our relations with others is to be together, inspired by magnanimous love. Mary cannot do anything for Jesus pinned to the cross, but she can “stand near the cross of Jesus.” First, importance is that we understand that we have to stand near the cross of “Jesus,” because only His cross counts and every human suffering is embraced by the cross of Christ. In this perspective we have to see the sufferings of the Souls in Purgatory, as well, whom we can help only because we unite with the Sacrifice of Christ and are pinned to the cross along with Him (cf. Ga 2:20).
Moreover, it is important to discover that being with others in their suffering means filling this presence with love. This is what Mary does under the cross standing near to her Son and embracing Him with love. Isn’t our desire to help the Souls in Purgatory supposed to lead us to experiencing a presence at their cross, which is the suffering in purgatory? Not only to feel compassion from the outside, but to suffer along with them. Undoubtedly, mystical sensations of some saints who had, as we say “visions of Purgatory,” are the manifestation of such a spiritual experiences.
A spiritual presence, this is of what we speak, becomes more alive, the greater our love and desire of good for others. This spiritual presence already is a prayer and an effective help. Our sufferings and crosses can help us in living out the presence near the Souls in Purgatory. Along with them, we meet at the cross of Christ united by love and a mutual concern for good eternal.
2.10. Being joyful
Empathy with the Souls in Purgatory concerns not only suffering, but also joy. Is it possible to talk about joy in purgatory? Certainly, yes, and its only source is thinking about God the Father who created man out of love and destined him for life in heaven. The souls know that only God is good and they bear their sufferings as an expression of His love and concern. They rejoice from the thought that their sufferings are to end and that they will be saved by the power of Christ’s grace and will have a sure dwelling place in heaven. They rejoice at being finally totally subjected to the will of God and they do not reject God’s love even in the smallest degree, knowing that no sin can tear them away from God.
Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510) thus wrote about the happiness of the Souls in Purgatory: “I believe that the happiness of Poor Souls in Purgatory may be compared only to the happiness of the saints in heaven. This happiness grows ever more every day because God imparts Himself to those souls as much as the barrier preventing this Divine influence vanishes” (II,1).
If we nurture the joy of God’s presence in our life and strive with all our might for this joy to be complete in heaven, than we can understand easily the situation of the the Souls and also wish for them the realization of this longing. Rejoicing from the grace of salvation, we open our hearts so that we may more zealously bring help to Souls in Purgatory.
Mary is the example of this attitude in life who opened her joyful heart singing Magnificat: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior” (Lk 1:46-47). She teaches us that our joy be only of God – meaning that it comes from God and leads back to Him – and that we understand that the source of true joy is only the grace of salvation or being with God in love.
Praying for the deceased reminds us that the goal of our life is heaven, which is “the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ.”[17] Mary, our Mother and Mother of all those suffering in purgatory, occupies there the most prominent place. If we want to be her children, we cannot remain indifferent to the fate of those for whom she is the Mother. Because of this, by its nature, Marian spirituality opens us to others, including those who grown in love in purgatory.
The radiance of Mary Immaculate’s holiness permits us to see our spiritual ailments and infidelities, this must move us to continuously care for our holiness, to make sure to avoid purgatory and to meet Christ right at the moment of our death so that we may be with Him forever.
But we must also to look with hope and gratitude at the grace of purgatory! “What a happiness it is that purgatory exists! What would’ve we done without it? Would we just stand at the gates of heaven for all eternity? Purgatory is an unfathomable grace for all who are not completely ready to see God when they die; it is a grace for all those who still have in them after death the remnants of egotism and resistance. Here we fall directly in the fire of Divine love.”[18]
[1]J. Ratzinger, H. Urs von Balthasar, R. Graber, Dlaczego właśnie Ona? Soborowa teologia maryjna, Warszawa, 1991, p. 53-54.
[2]Lumen gentium, 61.
[3]Lumen gentium, 62.
[4]Redemptoris homini, 22.
[5]Marialis cultus, 20.
[6]L Lumen gentium, 49.
[7]CCC, 956.
[8]CCC, 958.
[9]Cf. Deus caritas est, 41-42.
[10]Liturgy of the Hours, t. IV, p. 1175 (remembrance of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary, Sorrowful Mother)
[11]DCE, 42.
[12]Jan Paweł II, Maryja i zmartwychwstanie Jezusa Chrystusa, in: Jan Paweł II o Matce Bożej 1978-1998, t. 4, Warszawa, 1999, p. 261.
[13]St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 841.
[14]See: Ibid., No. 20.
[15]T.D. Łukasik, Ostateczny los człowieka i świata w świetle wiary katolickiej, Kraków, 2006, p. 221-222.
[16]Cf. Lumen gentium, 58.
[17]CCC, 1026.
[18]W. Stinissen, Ja nie umieram – wstępuję w życie. Rozważania o śmierci i wieczności, Poznań, 2002.