This article is the eleventh part of a series about Purgatory, a topic that is rarely discussed today. A knowledge of Purgatory is essential if souls are to avoid the pains of this place of expiation. The previous article can be found here.
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There is a common expression that most have heard at one time or another, “My, how time flies when you’re having fun.” The converse is also true: time drags when doing something one dislikes.
As time passes slowly when performing tedious and routine tasks, numerous visions of Purgatory inform believers that the pangs of supernatural punishment are far more severe, adding immensely to the perception of time.
This article will relate two narratives from Father F. X. Schouppe’s book, Purgatory, pointing readers to this conclusion.
An Unfortunate Bargain
The first comes from the writings of Saint Antonius (1389-1459), who served as the Archbishop of Florence. Saint Antonius was a scholar of considerable repute. Britannica refers to him as “one of the founders of modern moral theology and Christian social ethics.”
Saint Antonius wrote about “a religious man” who had suffered from a crippling illness for a long time. Discouraged, he prayed that death might release him from his constant pain. In answer to the prayer, God instructed the man’s guardian angel to bring him an offer. The man could choose to suffer in Purgatory for three days or live in his pain for one more year, whereupon he would go directly to Heaven.
The man chose purgatory, whereupon he died. An hour after the man’s death, his guardian angel visited him in Purgatory. Immediately upon seeing the angel, the man moaned about the time he had spent there. “And yet,” he complained, “you promised I should remain here but three days.”1
When the angel informed the man that he had only been in Purgatory for an hour, he mourned his choice. “Alas!” he sighed, “I have been very blind and inconsiderate in the choice I have made. Pray God, my good angel, to pardon me, and permit me to return to earth. I am ready to submit to the most cruel maladies, not only for two years, but as long as it shall please Him. Rather six years of horrible suffering than one single hour in this abyss of unutterable agonies.”
Two Pious Friends
Father Schouppe’s second narrative comes from the pen of a Father Rossignoli. It concerns two young men in a monastery, engaged in a friendly competition to see which one led a more holy life. One of them fell seriously ill, and he lay at death’s door. He was consoled by a vision that his soul would be received into Heaven as soon as a Mass was said for his soul. He immediately relayed this to his friend, asking that the friend say Mass for him soon after death. The young priest died the next morning.
Later that day, the survivor had a vision of his departed friend. The deceased man was radiant and on his way to Heaven. However, he questioned his friend about why it had taken so long for the friend to offer the requested Mass. “Did you not leave me to suffer for more than a year before offering Mass for the repose of my soul?”
The friend was shocked at the query, responding, “Indeed, my dear brother, I commenced Mass immediately after your death; not a quarter hour had elapsed.”
The deceased man immediately realized the importance of the fact that fifteen minutes on earth seemed to be a year in Purgatory. “How terrible are those expiatory pains, since they have caused me to mistake minutes for a year. Serve God, my dear brother, with an exact fidelity, in order that you may avoid those chastisements. Farewell! I fly to heaven, where you will soon join me.”
Rewards for Worship
Before leaving this topic, it seems important to explain how easily souls in the Church Militant can escape years, even decades of suffering in Purgatory through the careful application of common practices of piety.
For instance, a holy water font is located at nearly every entrance of every parish church. Many say “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost” every time they enter and exit the Church for Holy Mass.
This single moment of deliberate prayer at the beginning and end of each Mass is of inestimable value, delivering believers from much of the time they would otherwise spend in Purgatory. Such is the abundant Grace that God pours out upon His children for the slightest effort on the individual’s part. Yet, many breeze past the font without any thought other than the race to get to breakfast.
Of course, that value is not limited to moments spent at the holy water font. It extends to almost any regularly observed devotional practice. Hopefully, reading this little piece can convince the reader of the eternal value those moments of worship and religious observance can have when compared with the apparent length of even the shortest stay in Purgatory.
Photo Credit: Public Domain – commons.wikimedia.org
Footnotes
- All quotations in this article (unless another source is mentioned) use the 1905 version of Father F. X. Schouppe’s Purgatory, published in Great Britain by Burns, Oates and Washbourne, Ltd. It is in the public domain and available through the Internet Archive. The spellings of certain words were Americanized by the author.