I happened to come across a little booklet that has changed my life.  And (hopefully) changed my (future) death.  It is called READ ME OR RUE IT by Fr. Paul O’Sullivan, and was originally published by this good Dominican in 1936.

It is entirely possible that you have it in your “stash” of leaflets, books, and pamphlets which you always think you’ll get to when you have more time.  Just as I did.  But I never quite made the time.  Until recently.  Now I can’t imagine what a close call I had to missing out on the value of this unassuming little booklet.

Fr. O’Sullivan begins by saying that some books are worth reading, but others should be read without fail.  This booklet is one of the latter.  

We have always been taught to “Pray for the Poor Souls.”  The good nuns (in the ‘50s) impressed on us how important that was.  And …is. We always understood it was a good thing to do so, and that by helping them we might also lessen our own time in Purgatory.

But as the years passed, our prayers for the Poor Souls might, sadly, have metamorphosed into a mechanical 16 words:

May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace, Amen.

Or if we were feeling a little generous, we may have begun it more properly:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon them.  …  May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace, Amen.

It is humbling to acknowledge the hundreds of thousands of times I have said those little prayers while driving or peeling potatoes or mopping floors these many years, but I failed to go that one step farther to always think of the words I was saying. It’s true that the Poor Souls in Purgatory gained some benefit from them, but oh, how much more efficacious might they have been!

Most of us probably think: Of course, I know what Purgatory is.  We’d probably start by saying that it’s a place we don’t want to go, and yet we’d reluctantly agree that it’s infinitely better to go to Purgatory rather than be consigned to the fires of Hell for all eternity.

And if we think more on it, we’d be forced to acknowledge that nearly all souls who are saved are plunged after death into the prison of fire in which they suffer the most intense pain.  So grievous is their suffering that one minute in this awful fire will seem like a century.[1]

St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest Doctor of the Church, describes the fires of Purgatory as … “being equal in intensity to the fire of Hell, and that the slightest contact with it is more dreadful than all the possible sufferings of this Earth.”[2]

St. Augustine, another of the great Holy Doctors, “teaches that to be purified of their faults previous to being admitted to Heaven, souls after death are subjected to a fire more penetrating, more dreadful than anything we can see, or feel, or conceive in this life.”[3]

St. Cyril of Alexandria does not hesitate to say that “it would be preferable to suffer all the possible torments of Earth until the Judgment day than to pass one day in Purgatory.”[4]

These are pretty frightening warnings.  Were it not for the fact that the existence of Purgatory is an article of the Catholic Faith,[5] many would prefer to believe that the matter is overstated and that God couldn’t possibly wish such pain and suffering on us – thus showing how shallow and vague is the understanding of the value of Purgatory. 

But Purgatory exists to satisfy the Justice of God.  The intensity of the pain, anguish, suffering, and agony of Purgatory correlates with the magnitude of the injustice done to Our Lord.  It is impossible to exaggerate the evil of sin![6]  Consider that if a soul is condemned to Hell for all eternity because of a single unforgiven mortal sin, it is not difficult to understand that a person who has committed many deliberate venial sins (and/or mortal sins which have been forgiven) in his life may have to spend long years in Purgatory to atone for them.  Even if the guilt from them has been remitted through absolution, the debt (pain) due to them remains to be paid in Purgatory.

Our Lord tells us that we shall have to render an account for each and every idle word we say, and that we may not leave our “prison” until we shall have paid the last farthing.  St. Matthew’s Gospel, 5:26.

And if that isn’t enough to worry you (or more helpfully, to give you a wake-up call), think of all the uncharitable thoughts, words, and deeds, laziness, vanity, pride, etc., that you casually commit, but one day will have to pay to that “last farthing.”

The temporal punishment of every one of those sins, venial or (forgiven) mortal, is piling up over our span of life—whether 20, 30, 50 or 90 years– and must be atoned for after death.

While it is worthwhile to focus on the pain of Purgatory, the truth is that this is not the worst of it, unbelievable as it seems!  Though the fire is unimaginably severe, the pain of loss or separation from God will totally eclipse the physical pain, As Fr. O’Sullivan puts it: “The soul is consumed with an intense desire to fly to God, yet it is held back, and no words can describe the anguish of this unsatisfied craving.”[7]

Petty-minded as many of us are, we find ourselves wondering how long we will have to spend in Purgatory.  (We make the treacherous assumption that we will avoid Hell.)  Various saints have written about this, and it seems that the only thing we can expect is that it will be very much longer than is generally believed!  This is not a great comfort, but probably of considerable value to us if it renews our determination to avoid sin, and also to ratchet up our prayers for the Poor Souls.

The actual duration of time to be spent in Purgatory is unknowable. Reason tells us that it depends on the number and seriousness of our sins and the intention and malevolence with which we offended Our Lord.  All kinds of factors will have a bearing on the length of our suffering, including how much penance we did or did not do in this life.  Also, how much we gain by being included in the prayers and good works offered for “the Poor Souls in Purgatory.” (If we are faithful in praying for them, we will surely benefit from their gratitude and help.)

As you surely recall, the Holy Souls cannot pray for themselves.  They can offer up their own pain and sufferings for their loved ones on earth, and for those who pray for them, but they do not benefit from this directly.  Divine Justice demands expiation of their sins.

However, in His great mercy, Our Lord wants them to be in Heaven with Him, and thus, places in our hands the means of helping them!  Prayers offered for them, especially the Rosary, will aid them in securing relief or even release from their fiery confinement.

(Masses, to be sure, would provide great succor if and when there is a valid and uncompromising priest available.  But Our Lord, in His perfect wisdom, has seen fit to close off this avenue of aid at this time, in most places, perhaps allowing us to redouble our prayers, including those wondrously effective little ejaculations that we can say so frequently, applying the Indulgence to the Souls in Purgatory.)

On the subject of ejaculations, Fr. O’Sullivan had some pithy things to say:

Many people have the custom of saying 500 or 1,000 times each little ejaculation, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee!” or the one word, “Jesus.” These are most consoling devotions; they bring oceans of grace to those who practice them and give immense relief to the Holy Souls.

Those who say the ejaculations 1,000 times a day gain 300,000 days’ Indulgence!  What a multitude of souls they can thus relieve! What will it not be at the end of a month, a year, 50 years?  And if they do not say the ejaculations, what an immense number of graces and favors they shall have lost! It is quite possible – and even easy – to say these ejaculations 1,000 times a day. But if one does not say them 1,000 times, let him say them 500 or 200 times.”[8]

Lest you think that helping the Poor Souls is a “one-way street,” keep in mind that they may be of crucial importance in helping you avoid a lengthier or more severe stay in Purgatory.

A reminder: although they cannot help themselves, the Holy Souls can procure great graces for those who help them. It is said that they repay us a thousand times for whatever we do for them!

Praying for the Holy Souls is a Duty, Not an Option.

Hopefully we are coming to the realization of how important it is for us to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.  However, the truth is that we are not free to decide whether or not we want to make the time to do so.  Rather, it is our duty to take the time.   

Just as it is a sin to refuse to give a starving person food necessary to keep him alive, or to come to the aid of a drowning person, or to care for the sick, or alleviate the suffering of an accident victim, so, too, we have an obligation to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

As Fr. O’Sullivan says, “There is no hunger, no thirst, no poverty, no need, no pain, no suffering to compare with what the Souls in Purgatory endure, so there is no alms more deserving, none more pleasing to God, none more meritorious to us than the alms, the prayers, the Masses we give to the Holy Souls.”

Though there are many organizations willing to help various people fight against injustice, diseases, and a great number of other causes, there are very few whose sole aim is to help the Poor Souls.  It is hard to understand why otherwise-pious Catholics can so foolishly neglect them.  Rather short-sighted of us, isn’t it?  How can we not realize that we may desperately need prayers someday, becoming one of the Poor Souls ourselves?

It is easy to forget the absent Souls in “far-off” Purgatory.  And in a great mercy from Our Lord, He even makes it abundantly beneficial for us to help them, or help our own family or friends who may be enduring untold suffering right now and beseeching us not to forget them.

We know that but we must not forget: they can and do help us earth-bound sinners.  We will have their everlasting gratitude, and they will repay us a thousand times over, even shortening or lessening the severity of our Purgatory.

The big “take-away” from this article, then, must be to remind you of your obligation to pray for the Poor Souls in Purgatory. Yes, it is not only your obligation, but also you should realize it is even in your best interests to do so.

Below is a very fine prayer for the Holy Souls.  Many of you undoubtedly say it regularly, but for any others, it may suffice as a good reminder.

Prayer for Mercy for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Have Mercy, O gentle Jesus! on the souls detained in Purgatory.  Thou Who for their ransom didst take upon Thyself our human nature and suffer the most cruel death, pity their sighs and the tears shed when they raise their longing eyes toward Thee, and by virtue of Thy passion, cancel the penalty due to their sins.  May Thy Blood, O tender Jesus, Thy Precious Blood, descend into Purgatory to solace and refresh those who there languish in captivity.  Reach forth Thy hand to them, and lead them into the realms of refreshment, light, and peace.  Amen.[9]
 

Plenary Indulgences for the Poor Souls

Six general rules for obtaining a PLENARY INDULGENCE:

1. State of Grace at least when performing the indulgenced act;

2. Complete detachment from sin, even venial sin;

3. Confession (concerning this condition during our time of great apostasy, read this article: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/06/23/to-reach-heaven-should-be-our-lifes-main-work/ )

4. Communion (concerning this condition during our time of great apostasy, read this article: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/06/23/to-reach-heaven-should-be-our-lifes-main-work/ )

5. Prayers for the Pope (concerning this condition during our time of great apostasy, read this article: https://catholiccandle.org/2024/06/23/to-reach-heaven-should-be-our-lifes-main-work/ )

6. Indulgenced act: a special good work with special conditions of place and time

Special indulgenced acts to be performed for obtaining a Plenary Indulgence for the poor souls:

†      From November 1-8: Visit to a cemetery, with mental prayer for the Poor Souls, and prayers for the traditional intentions of the pope)
 

†      On November 2: Visit to a church, praying one Our Father and one Apostles Creed plus prayers for the traditional intentions of the pope.  Most faithful and informed Catholics should perform the cemetery visit on this day instead of this visit to a church because these Catholics do not have access to a church or chapel which is not a place of compromise.  We should never make such a visit to a conciliar or compromising church — such as a church of the SSPX, the sedevacantists, or the Bishop Williamson Group).  For more information about the reasons for this, principle, read this article: https://catholiccandle.neocities.org/priests/sspx-praying-conciliar-churches.html.

A PARTIAL INDULGENCE can be obtained any time by visiting a cemetery and praying for the Holy Souls.