The Joys of Purgatory

Purgatory is a marvelous contest of love between God and the soul, and, in a contest of love, there is no space for anything that is hard and ruthless. The One who purifies with suffering purifies for love. He therefore looks for all ways to mitigate as much as possible the suffering that purifies; the one who is purified suffers, but the love that ties him to the One who purifies it makes the suffering more acceptable.

The surgeon who treats a patient looks in every way to alleviate the pain, and the patient who suffers finds relief in the thought that, although he is in pain, he will be cured. Knowing this, he suffers with patience. It is no surprise, then, to recognize that, in Purgatory, there are joys, comforts, and relief. In this we see the love of God toward those souls who are purified, and the love of the souls who, longing to be purified, contemplate with love the harmony between justice and Divine Mercy.

The souls want to suffer, for it is a need of their own love that drives them toward God; in their pains, they feel the comfort of God, and cannot refuse their purification because of the happiness they will receive in their eternal glory. In every way, He alleviates their sufferings and comforts them, as a mother kisses and caresses her child who must have an operation.

Our diligence in offering suffrages for the souls in Purgatory is not only a duty of justice and charity for us, but it is also to our own great advantage: the souls in Purgatory are very grateful to us for the relief we give to them, and for this reason they pray for us and protect us. If we mortals, as imperfect as we are, feel the need to be grateful and to reply with a favor or a kindness to someone who gives us something, even small, out of love, with how much more love and gratitude the souls in Purgatory repay us for the suffrages we offer for them. The souls in Purgatory are holy and very noble because they are already assured to be citizens of Heaven.

Mary Most Holy, the mother of all souls, accompanies the soul in Paradise and it is to her, who is the first to give to it this joy, that the soul sings a canticle of gratitude: My soul glorifies the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. For He has looked upon my lowliness and I enter the eternal beatitude, among the choirs of the Blessed, who call me blessed… God welcomes the soul with infinite love, in an embrace of incomparable joy. The triumphant soul enters its celestial home, Heaven, for all eternity.

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