Tag Archives: Purgatory
A Window Into Purgatory
There was no saint who received more revelations or had more visions of the souls in purgatory than Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510). Catherine was extremely devout in her youth, but a terrible marriage at sixteen, arranged by her father, caused her ten years of grief. Unable to recover her earlier taste for holiness, her husband’s infidelities and sloth occasioned her to fall for a … More →
Pray for the Dead and the Dead Will Pray for You!
I’ll never forget my maternal grandfather telling me this boyhood recollection of his Catholic upbringing in New Orleans. It seems that the good Sisters who taught him in grammar school imposed upon the children a vivid awareness of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and the communion that exists between the militant Church and the suffering Church. They taught their young charges a little ditty that … More →
Do the New Norms Forbid a Priest From Mentioning Purgatory?
No. But they don’t advocate preaching about it either. As far as I know there’s no mention of purgatory in the Order of Christian Funerals directives for priests. The Mass of the Resurrection in white vestments is about as far as can be, liturgically, from the old Requiem Mass and the Dies Irae sequence. In the new rite it seems as if God’s mercy has … More →
Purgatory, Indulgences, Predestination, and Relics – an Apologetical Wrapup
[Questions Asked by Protestants on Purgatory, Indulgences, Predestination and Relics briefly answered by Father M. Philipps, Rector of St. Joseph’s Church, Buffalo, NY. Cabinet of Catholic Information, 1903 Imprimatur: Archbishop John Farley] Purgatory Does the Bible say that there is a purgatory? The Bible does not mention the word purgatory, but it says we should pray for the dead: “It is, therefore, a holy and … More →
Proving Purgatory
The doctrine of Purgatory, central to Christianity, is brutally attacked by certain non-Catholic polemicists. Their typical view of the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory is that it was either concocted by the Church in the Middle Ages for filthy lucre’s sake, or that, if there are any ancient precedents for it among the Church Fathers, it gradually developed in scope and meaning so as to become … More →
My Letter to a Protestant Objector
(Edited from an actual reply recently sent from Saint Benedict Center.) To our online readers: I am sharing this “for what it’s worth” to you. I never got a response from the lady to whom it was sent. Maybe you could join me in praying for her.
Saint Pio of Pietrelcina: A Short Biography of the Padre
There were many saints who were renowned for their fiery devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Eucharist. Saints Peter Julian Eymard and Philip Neri come to mind at once. But, surely, Saint Pio of Pietrelcina is among the most seraphic of all adorers because he was literally nailed to the cross with Christ as he offered the holy sacrifice of the Mass. More →
Remember: The Holy Souls Need Your Prayers
Every evening we come before our Blessed Mother, bringing her a collection of our day’s efforts. She gracefully produces a gift of value and, in November, we are emboldened to ask if any of it could be applied to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. November is the month dedicated to the Holy Souls, and they are then especially, during these thirty days, entitled to the … More →
Confess Your Sins!
St. Francis de Sales, the Bishop of Geneva, was responsible for the conversion of Lady Stafford, a Protestant noble woman, who had formerly been intransigent in her opposition to the Catholic Faith. After going to one of his Masses, she was moved to consider the Faith in more friendly terms, but she still harbored great feelings of hostility, especially regarding the doctrine of Purgatory.
