Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Why Do I Believe In Purgatory?

Actually I find myself shaking my head at this question.  For a Catholic like me, the belief in Purgatory is dogma. 

Canon XXX Session VI Of The Council Of Trent
"If any one saith that after the grace of Justification has been received, to every penitent sinner the guilt is remitted, and the debt of eternal punishement is blotted out in such wise that there remains not any debt of temporal punishment to be discharged, either in this world, or in the next in Purgatory, before the entrance to the Kingdom of Heaven can be opened to him - let him be anathema."

Decree Concerning Purgatory : Council of Trent : Session XXV
"Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, from the sacred writitngs, and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils and very recently in this Ecumenical Synod, that there is a Purgatory and that the souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the Faithful, but particularly by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar - the Holy Synod enjoins on bishops that they diligently endeavour that the sound doctrine concerning Purgatory, transmitted by the holy Fathers and sacred councils, be believed, maintained, taught, and everywhere proclaimed by the Faithful of Christ."

I'm not going to bother going into the explanation of why I have to be obedient to the shepherds of my church... just read the lives of the saints and anyone can see how much obedience was relevant to their spiritual lives.

But, being a questioning person and someone who likes to know why, I thought about finding out about Purgatory.  I am not going to be like some of the people I have come across on the Internet who proclaim loudly that Purgatory is a lie Purgatory is a falsehood... and when I ask them to tell me why, they fall silent.  I think they have put so much faith in someone in their lives that they believe everything the person tells them but they do not know why.

Logically when something is already put in place and you are obedient to it, especially when it has been the tradition and  belief of CENTURIES, it is not wrong.  For hundreds and thousands of people (and most of them so much more exalted and saintly compared to my poor self) have all these years of experience in this.  I'd rather believe them than someone who only began thinking about Purgatory two years ago.  Makes sense, don't you think?  After all, a lot of the people who have had encounters with souls from Purgatory have been canonised.  Am I going to say all of them are wrong, misled and high on drugs?  

Just take a look at this incomplete list of saints who have prayed and offered suffrages for the souls in Purgatory.
1.  St Catherine of Genoa (lived 1447-1510)She personally experienced the flames of Purgatory and wrote The Treatise on Purgatory http://www.catholictreasury.info/books/treatise_on_purgatory/.
2.  St Gertrude the Great (lived 1256-1302)
3.  St John Chrysostom (lived 347-407)
4.  St Augustine (lived 354-430)
5.  St James The Apostle (born in the First Century)
6.  St Margaret Mary Alacoque (1647-1690)
7.  St John Vianney (1786-1859)
8.  St Nicholas of Tolentino (1245-1305)
In 1884 Nicholas was proclaimed by Pope Leo XIII "Patron of the Souls in Purgatory".
9.  St Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
Was given the grace of being with the souls in purgatory.
10.  St Lidwina (1380-1433)
She visited Purgatory.
11.  St. Lutgarda
12.  St Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153)
13.  St Peter Damien (1007-1072)
14.  St Magdalen de Pazzi (died 1607)
Was brought to see the souls in purgatory.
15.  St Malachy (1094-1198)
16.  St Peter Claver (1580-1654)
17.  St Vincent Ferrer (1357-1419)
18.  St Gregory of Nyssa (died 386)
19.  Blessed Anna of the Angels Monteagudo (1602-1686)
20.  Blessed Eugenie Smet (1825-1871)
Also known as Blessed Mary of Providence, she established the Society of Helpers of the Holy Souls in France, Paris (19 Jan 1856). 
21.  Venerable Catherine Paluzzi

All one has to do is look at the years these saints lived and died and you can see that they are spread out throughout known history.  If purgatory is a lie, it is a very well-crafted and well-organized lie.  Imagine getting all these people to lie consistently about the same details.  And I'm getting pretty tired of hearing of how good the Vatican is at putting together falsehoods to keep their 'sheep' in ignorance. 
You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
Abraham Lincoln, (attributed) 16th president of US (1809 - 1865)
The way some people talk about the Catholics as if we are all dull-headed and stupid and mindless sheep borders on the insulting and actually inspires me to stay away from them.  They are so blinded in their erroneous beliefs that they refuse to hear other than what they are saying.

It's so SIMPLE.  If you want to find out about something, do your research.

And there are so many books and articles on Purgatory.  Anyone who reads the books with an open heart should be more than satisfied as to Purgatory's existence. 

Besides, Purgatory is a LOGICAL state.  For if we are not so evil that we deserve Hell and yet not so saintly that we deserve Heaven, where do we go, especially when the Bible keeps telling us in many verses that sin cannot enter heaven.

"And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." Revelation 21:27

So where are we purified?  There has to be a middle state, other than Heaven or Hell.  Some say we are purified on earth.  Ah but what if you die before you have begun atoning?  What happens then?

There are also those who believe that once you have accepted salvation in Christ, you are saved.  All you need is faith.  Well, sorry, but here's another Bible verse :

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble." James 2:19

So you've got company with the devils.  But don't tell me the devils go to Heaven too.

Here are some of the books I have been reading... and I RECOMMEND them most highly.  May God bless all in search in truth!

Charity For The Suffering Souls by Rev. John A. Nageleisen


  
Hungry Souls : Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory by Gerard J.M. Van Den Aardweg and Janusz Rosikon

Susan Tassone's books on purgatory http://susantassone.com/books/

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Reading The Lives of The Saints

In the beginning of my quest to learn more about God and to become closer to Him, I came across a suggestion by someone.  That person suggested that one can read the lives of the saints.  I forgotten who said it but I also came across the same thing in Sr Emmanuel's book where she wrote that the Gospa wishes us to read about the lives of the saints.

Since then I have read countless books and articles on saints such as :

St Bridget of Sweden
St Therese of Lisieux
The Cure of Ars
Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
St Anne
St Joachim
Blessed Mary of Agreda
St Gertrude

and many more!

What I have found is the great love they all had for God.  The way they lived their lives were done as closely as possible to what they thought God wanted.  And as a result, they put into word and action their love for their fellow men, in whose faces they saw Jesus.

In the beginning, I found it hard to accept some of the things I read, for I am a product of this world... I have read the magazines & books and I have watched thousands of hours of television programs that keep on telling me, in a sort of mantra :

Put yourself first.
Go for success.
Money is king.
Image is important.
Be assertive and don't let others push you around.
Don't let others cheat you.

But all of these things are WRONG for...

How can I put myself first when God wants me to put myself least?
Success in this world is symbolized by bank account total and size of assets...but how can I accumulate all that if I am required to be charitable and to share what I have with those in need??  And there are so many more people in need than there is money in my pocket :(
To have the right image for this world requires a certain amount of vanity and money invested in hair saloons makeup studios boutiques.
The saints accepted all their suffering and even calumny in silence.  They didn't hit back and just offered their suffering up to God. 
The best part yet, all the suffering offered up to God were able to save souls!

But it's been three years now... and I have not stopped reading the lives of the saints.  Amazingly my way of thinking is also changing.  For once in my life, I now understand the bible verses Matthew 5:38-40

I will tell anyone that reading the lives of the saints would be very very beneficial... just read with an open heart and you'd be amazed at the gems you will discover.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Confraternity of The Most Holy Rosary

Three years into my spiritual journey, I reached a point where I felt like making another commitment... other than becoming a member of FOSS

After going through some questions about the rosary (and getting my answers), I decided to join the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary.  The decision felt so good :) 

All I needed to do was to make sure I did a full fifteen-decade rosary a week, an effort I would be sharing with countless others throughout the world.  I would be making sure that I'd never forget milestones in Jesus' life... especially the sorrowful ones.  Meditating on The Passion of Christ is such an amazing experience... only those who have tried it know what I am talking about.  And everyone who tries it WILL know what I am talking about.