Story of a soul in Purgatory

"We read in the life of sister Catherine, an Augustinian nun, that in the place where that servant of God lived, there lived also a woman named Mary, who, in her youth, was a sinner, and obstinately persevered in her evil courses, even to extreme old age. For this she was banished by her fellow—citizens, forced to live in a cave beyond the limits of the place, and died in a state of loathsome corruption abandoned by all, and without the sacraments; and on this account was buried in a field, like a beast.

Now sister Catherine, who was accustomed to recommend very affectionately to God the souls of those who had departed this life, after learning the miserable death of this poor old woman, did not think of praying for her, as she and every one else believed her already among the damned.

Four years having past, a soul from purgatory one day appeared to her, and said, "Sister Catherine, how unhappy is my fate! You commend to God the souls of all those who die, and for my soul alone you have had no pity." "And who are you?" said the servant of God. "I am," answered she, "that poor Mary who died in the cave." "How! are you saved?" exclaimed sister Catherine. "Yes, I am saved?" she said, "by the mercy of the Virgin Mary." "And how?" "When I saw death drawing near, finding myself laden with sins, and abandoned by all, I turned to the Mother of God and said to her, Lady, thou art the refuge of the abandoned, behold me at this hour deserted by all; thou art my only hope, thou alone canst help me; have pity on me.

The holy Virgin obtained for me the grace of making an act of contrition; I died and am saved, and my Queen has also obtained for me the grace that my pains should be abridged and that I should, by suffering itensely for a short time, pass through that purification which otherwise would have lasted many years. A few Masses only are needed to obtain my release from purgatory. I pray thee cause them to be offered for me, and I promise to pray God and Mary for thee." Sister Catherine immediately caused those Masses to be said for her, and that soul, after a few days, appeared to her again, more brilliant that the sun, and said to her, "I thank thee, sister Catherine: behold I am now going to paradise to sing the mercy of God and pray for thee."

The Glories of Mary, P.J. Kenedy—1888—P.35

Prayers to Our Blessed Mother

"Hail Mary, beloved Daughter of the Eternal Father! Hail Mary, admirable Mother of the Son! Hail Mary, faithful spouse of the Holy Ghost! Hail Mary, my dear Mother, my loving Mistress, my powerful sovereign! Hail my joy, my glory, my heart and my soul! Thou art all mine by mercy, and I am all thine by justice. But I am not yet sufficiently thine. I now give myself wholly to thee without keeping anything back for myself or others. If thou still seest in me anything which does not belong to thee, I beseech thee to take it and to make thyself the absolute Mistress of all that is mine. Destroy in me all that may he displeasing to God, root it up and bring it to nought; place and cultivate in me everything that is pleasing to thee.

May the light of thy faith dispel the darkness of my mind; may thy profound humility take the place of my pride; may thy sublime contemplation check the distractions of my wandering imagination; may thy continuous sight of God fill my memory with His presence; may the burning love of thy heart inflame the lukewarmness of mine; may thy virtues take the place of my sins; may thy merits be my only adornment in the sight of God and make up for all that is wanting in me. Finally, dearly beloved Mother, grant, if it be possible, that I may have no other spirit but thine to know Jesus and His divine will; that I may have no other soul but thine to praise and glorify the Lord; that I may have no other heart but thine to love God with a love as pure and ardent as think I do not ask thee for visions, revelations, sensible devotion or spiritual pleasures. It is thy privilege to see God clearly; it is thy privilege to enjoy heavenly bliss; it is thy privilege to triumph gloriously in Heaven at the right hand of thy Son and to hold absolute sway over angels, men and demons; it is thy privilege to dispose of all the gifts of God, just as thou willest.

Such is, O heavenly Mary, the "best part," which the Lord has given thee and which shall never be taken away from thee--and this thought fills my heart with joy. As for my part here below, I wish for no other than that which was thine: to believe sincerely without spiritual pleasures; to suffer joyfully without human consolation; to die continually to myself without respite; and to work zealously and unselfishly for thee until death as the humblest of thy servants. The only grace I beg thee to obtain for me is that every day and every moment of my life I may say: Amen, So be it--to all that thou didst do while on earth; Amen, so be it--to all that thou art now doing in Heaven; Amen, so be it--to all that thou art doing in my soul, so that thou alone mayest fully glorify Jesus in me for time and eternity. Amen."

(St Louis de Montfort)

"MY QUEEN and my Mother, to thee I offer myself without any reserve; and to give thee a mark of my devotion I consecrate to thee during this day my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, and my whole person. Since I belong to thee, O my good Mother, preserve and defend me as thy property and posession. Hail Mary."
(Indulgence - 100 days, if said morning and evening. Pius IX, August 5, 1851.)

Prayers And Hymns For Colloquies
Fr. N. Zucchi, S.J.
Dublin—1937

The House of Gold

"Why is she called a House? And why is she called Golden? Gold is the most beautiful, the most valuable, of all metals. Silver, copper, and steel may in their way be made good to the eye, but nothing is so rich, so splendid, as gold. We have few opportunities of seeing it in any quantity; but anyone who has seen a large number of bright gold coins knows how magnificent is the look of gold. Hence it is that in Scripture the Holy City is, by a figure of speech, called Golden. “The City,” says St. John, “was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” He means, of course, to give us a notion of the wondrous beautifulness of heaven, by comparing it with what is the most beautiful of all the substances which we see on earth.

Therefore it is that Mary too is called golden; because her graces, her virtues, her innocence, her purity, are of that transcendent brilliancy and dazzling perfection, so costly, so exquisite, that the angels cannot, so to say, keep their eyes off her any more than we could help gazing upon any great work of gold.

But observe further, she is a golden house, or, I will rather say, a golden palace. Let us imagine we saw a whole place or large church all made of gold, from the foundations to the roof; such, in regard to the number, the variety, the extent of her spiritual excellences, is Mary.

But why called a house or palace? And whose palace? She is the house and the palace of the Great King, of God Himself. Our Lord, the Co-equal Son of God, once dwelt in her. He was her Guest; nay, more than a guest, for a guest comes into a house as well as leaves it. But our Lord was actually born in this holy house. He took His flesh and His blood from this house, from the flesh, from the veins of Mary. Rightly then was she made to be of pure gold, because she was to give of that gold to form the body of the Son of God. She was golden in her conception, golden in her birth. She went through the fire of her suffering like gold in the furnace, and when she ascended on high she was, in the words of our hymn

Above all the Angels in glory untold,
Standing next to the King in a vesture of Gold."

Cardinal Newman ~ Blessed Art Thou Among Women

An extract from 'Letter to the Friends of the Cross' by St Louis de Montfort

The Two Companies
7. My dear brothers and sisters, there are two companies that appear before you each day: the followers of Christ and the followers of the world. Our dear Saviour's company is on the right, climbing up a narrow road, made all the narrower by the world's immorality. Our Master leads the way, barefooted, crowned with thorns, covered with blood, and laden with a heavy cross. Those who follow him, though most valiant, are only a handful, either because his quiet voice is not heard amid the tumult of the world, or because people lack the courage to follow him in his poverty, sufferings, humiliations and other crosses which his servants must carry all the days of their life. 8. On the left hand is the company of the world or of the devil. This is far more numerous, more imposing and more illustrious, at least in appearance. Most of the fashionable people run to join it, all crowded together, although the road is wide and is continually being made wider than ever by the crowds that pour along it like a torrent. It is strewn with flowers, bordered with all kinds of amusements and attractions, and paved with gold and silver.

9. On the right, the little groups which follow Jesus speak about sorrow and penance, prayer and indifference to worldly things. They continually encourage one another saying, "Now is the time to suffer and to mourn, to pray and do penance, to live in retirement and poverty, to humble and mortify ourselves; for those who do not possess the spirit of Christ, which is the spirit of the cross, do not belong to him. Those who belong to Christ have crucified all self-indulgent passions and desires. We must be true images of Christ or be eternally lost."

"Have confidence," they say to each other. If God is on our side, within us and before us, who can be against us? He who is within us is stronger than the one who is in the world. The servant is not greater than his master. This slight and temporary distress we suffer will bring us a tremendous and everlasting glory. The number of those who will be saved is not as great as some people imagine. It is only the brave and the daring who take heaven by storm, where only those are crowned who strive to live according to the law of the Gospel and not according to the maxims of the world. Let us fight with all our strength, let us run with all speed, that we may attain our goal and win the crown.

Such are some of the heavenly counsels with which the Friends of the Cross inspire each other.

10. Those who follow the world, on the contrary, urge each other to continue in their evil ways without scruple, calling to one another day after day, "Let us eat and drink, sing and dance, and enjoy ourselves. God id good; he has not made us to damn us. He does not forbid us to amuse ourselves. We shall not be damned for so little. We are not to be scrupulous. 'No, you will not die'."

11. Dear brothers and sisters, remember that our loving Saviour has his eyes on you at this moment, and he says to each one of you individually, "See how almost everyone deserts me on the royal road of the Cross. Pagans in their blindness ridicule my Cross as foolishness; obstinate Jews are repelled by it as by an object of horror; heretics pull it down and break it to pieces as something contemptible.

"Even my own people - and I say this with tears in my eyes and grief in my heart - my own children whom I have brought up and instructed in my ways, my members whom I have quickened with my own Spirit, have turned their backs on me and forsaken me by becoming enemies of my Cross. 'Will you also go away?' Will you also desert me by running away from my Cross like the worldlings, who thus become so many antichrists? Will you also follow the world; despise the poverty of my Cross in order to seek after wealth; shun the sufferings of my Cross to look for enjoyment; avoid the humiliations of my Cross in order to chase after the honours of the world? 'There are many who pretend they are friends of mine and protest that they love me, but in their hearts they hate me. I have many friends of my table, but very few of my Cross.' (Imit. II, 11, 1)."

12. At this loving appeal of Jesus, let us rise above our human nature; let us not be seduced by our senses, as Eve was; but keep our eyes fixed on Jesus crucified, who leads us in our faith and brings it to perfection (Heb 12.2). Let us keep ourselves apart from the evil practices of the world; let us show our love for Jesus in the best way, that is, through all kinds of crosses. Reflect well on these remarkable words of our Saviour, "If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself, and take up his cross and follow me" (Mt 16.24; Lk 9.23).

Poem by St Louis de Montfort

"St. Louis De Montfort knew that Mary is the pathway to her Son, leading souls quickly and securely to Jesus Christ, the Eternal Wisdom. Inflamed with holy love St. Louis De Montfort wrote many poems to the Divine Wisdom, including the following fervent lines:

Divine Wisdom, I love Thee unto folly.
I am Thy lover.
Thou alone in this world I seek,
Thou alone I desire.
I am a man gone mad with love,
Forever chasing Thee.
Tell me who Thou art,
For I am half blind.
I can discern only
That Thou art a secret I must fathom.
Show Thyself fully to my soul
Which dies for love of Thee.
Where dost Thou live,
Wisdom Divine?
Must I cross continents or seas
To find Thee,
Or fly across the skies?
I am ready to go wherever Thou art,
Not counting the costs, to possess Thee."

Our Blessed Mother and Advent

St Louis de Montfort teaches us that the Total Consecration should be lived out in every part of our lives and throughout the whole year, not only during the time when we renew it. Since the beginning, this has been a difficulty for me, partly because it is often difficult to keep it in mind. Lately, I've been thinking; how can we live out the Consecration this Advent?

There's a beautiful Advent devotion that encourages us to see our hearts like the stable in which Christ was born, and to prepare our hearts for Christmas with prayers, good works, sacrifices, etc.. just like in some homes children prepare a "crib" for baby Jesus with good works throughout the day.

The devotion continues for each day of Advent, and the last one, December 24th, is focused on Mary:

December 24 -
The BLESSED VIRGIN
Go meet your Blessed Mother. Lead her to the manger of your heart and beg her to lay the Divine Infant in it. Shorten your chats and telephone conversations and spend more time today thinking of Jesus and Mary and Joseph.
Come, dear Jesus, Come; my heart longs for You

When I read this, I got this mental picture... I don't know how accurate it is, but here it is. Say your heart is like the stable, - importantly, not like the inn, - full of noise and crowded with people and possessions.. but simple, humble, and not hiding the spiritual poverty that is in us. Only such a heart can accept a Savior, and in such a heart Jesus can be born on Christmas day.

But Jesus was not alone in the stable that day. His Mother and St Joseph were there too.. and it is Mary who gave birth to Him and laid Him in the manger.

This Advent, I want Our Blessed Mary to prepare my heart for Christmas.. to make it more like the stable and less like the inn.. the Holy Family came to the stable because there was no room in the inn, just as there is no room for God in the proud, worldly, and distracted heart. Jesus came to save the lost and the spiritually poor, and though He is the King of Kings, His birth was witnessed by animals and shepherds. Probably the people at the inn didn't even realize He had come into the world. That makes me think, how important are humility and simplicity, and I need Mary to give me these virtues.

I need Mary to make me more able to receive Jesus, so that on Christmas she could come and lay her precious Child there. Maybe all that I could offer Him to lay on is straw... but our Blessed Mother can offer Him something much better, and could hold Him in her arms.

I challenge us all to try and pray the Rosary every day for the rest of Advent (and of course, it is a great idea to pray the Rosary every day any time of the year). May Jesus be born in our hearts through Mary :) .

True Devotion video