I Hold the Keys to the Gates of Purgatory
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The Commemoration of
All the Faithful Departed (All Souls Day)
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Father James
Swanson, LC
Note regarding the
Gospel text: The passage below may or may not be the Gospel text that appears
on this date in some of the printed missals such as Magnificat or
others. The Roman missal offers the option of 24 different Gospel passages of
which this is one. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
John 11:17-27
When Jesus arrived,
he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now Bethany
was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away. And many of the Jews had come
to Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother. When Martha heard
that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him; but Mary sat at home. Martha said
to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you."
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise." Martha said to him,
"I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus
told her, "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me,
even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will
never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I
have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is
coming into the world."
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in You with a faith that never seeks to test You. I trust in You, hoping to learn to accept and follow Your will, even
when it does not make sense to the way that I see things. I love You, and I
want to love You and those around me with a love similar to the love You have
shown to me.
Petition: Lord, help me to take seriously the gravity of purgatory and the plight of those who end up there.
1. Even God Weeps
for those who Have Died:
Today we remember our loved ones who have passed away, just as Mary and
Martha remember their brother Lazarus in this passage from the Gospel. It is
a good and holy thing to be sad when a loved one dies. Some think that it is
a lack of faith to be sad when someone dies, but in the passage, Jesus does
not rebuke Mary and Martha for being sad, but tries to console them. Later,
when he comes to the tomb himself, Jesus weeps for Lazarus (John 11:35). What
a terrible thing death must be for Jesus to weep for Lazarus even though he
knows that in a few moments he will raise Lazarus from the dead. Clearly, we
don’t appreciate the true tragedy of death, that God himself would weep for a
friend who is dead while knowing he has power over death.
2. You Don’t Want to
Go There: We are quick to put
people in heaven, probably a little too quick. We are not doing them a favor.
Many of us, even the best of us, will not go straight to heaven, but will
have to spend some time in purgatory, to be cleansed of our attachments and
desires toward sinfulness as well as for any sins for which we have not done
sufficient penance. We tend to underestimate purgatory as well, maybe because
people there are assured of getting into heaven. While it is true that people
in purgatory probably experience a joy beyond anything we will experience in
this life, they also experience more intense suffering than anything we have
experienced in this life. The suffering of purgatory is similar to the
suffering of hell, and we know we don’t want to experience that.
Purgatory is nothing I want my loved ones to experience if I can help
it, nor do I want to go there myself, if I can help it. The great thing is, I
can help it.
3. Only the Living
Hold the Keys to Purgatory: What am I willing to do to avoid purgatory? Up until now, have
I even thought of it as something to be avoided? Do I realize that all the
sacrifices I can make in this life to avoid purgatory do not add up to what
it will be like to suffer in purgatory? Do I ever remember that my loved ones
may be there now? Perhaps while they were in this life, they suffered greatly
and I was relieved by their deaths because now their “suffering was over.” Am
I an “out of sight, out of mind” kind of person? Do I think there is nothing
more I can do for them? Or am I genuinely concerned about the likelihood that
they may be in purgatory? Do I realize that my prayers and sacrifices
represent the key to release them and that I can use it if I want to? Do I
care about using it? On this day when we remember the souls in
purgatory, it would be good to do something for those who are there,
especially for the ones I love the most.
Conversation with
Christ: Dear Jesus, help me
to remember those I love and offer up sacrifices, prayers and masses for them
frequently, so they may be with You as soon as possible. Help me to make the
choices I need to make in this life so I can avoid purgatory as much as
possible.
Resolution: Today I will make a sacrifice for my loved
ones in purgatory, remembering that for God, the size of the sacrifice does
not count as much as the love with which it is made.
Excerpts from the DIARY of Saint Faustina Kowalska
1315 + In times of
interior desolation I do not lose my peace, because I know that God never abandons
a soul, except perhaps only when the soul itself breaks the bond of love by
its unfaithfulness. However, all creatures without exception depend on the
Lord and are maintained by His omnipotence. Some are under the rule of love,
others under the rule of justice. It depends on us under which rule we want
to live, because no one is refused the aid of sufficient grace. I am not
frightened at all by my apparent abandonment. I examine myself more
profoundly to discover whether this is due to my fault. If this is not the
case then may [the Lord] be blessed!
1316 October 1,
1937. Daughter, I need sacrifice lovingly accomplished, because that alone
has meaning for Me. Enormous indeed are the debts of the world which are due
to Me; pure souls can pay them by their sacrifice, exercising mercy in
spirit.
1317 I understand
Your words, Lord, and the magnitude of the mercy that ought to shine in my soul.
Jesus: I know, My daughter, that you understand it and that you do everything
within your power. But write this for the many souls who are often worried
because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act
of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses,
is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul
does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the
day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for
themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment
with their mercy.
1318 October 10,
[1937]. O my Jesus, in thanksgiving for Your many graces, I offer You my body
and soul, intellect and will, and all the sentiments of my heart. Through the
vows, I have given myself entirely to You; I have then nothing more that I
can offer You. Jesus said to me, My daughter, you have not offered Me that
which is really yours. I probed deeply into myself and found that I love
God with all the faculties of my soul and, unable to see what it was that I
had not yet given to the Lord, I asked, "Jesus, tell me what it is, and I
will give it to You at once with a generous heart." Jesus said to me
with kindness, Daughter, give Me your misery, because it is your exclusive
property. At that moment, a ray of light illumined my soul, and I saw the
whole abyss of my misery. In that same moment I nestled close to the Most
Sacred Heart of Jesus with so much trust that even if I had the sins of all
the damned weighing on my conscience, I would not have doubted God's mercy
but, with a heart crushed to dust, I would have thrown myself into the abyss
of Your mercy. I believe, O Jesus, that You would not reject me, but would
absolve me through the hand of Your representative.
1319 You expired,
Jesus, but the source of life gushed forth for souls, and the ocean of mercy opened
up for the whole world. O Fount of Life, unfathomable Divine Mercy, envelop
the whole world and empty Yourself out upon us.
1320 At three
o'clock, implore My mercy, especially for sinners; and, if only for a brief moment,
immerse yourself in My Passion, particularly in My abandonment at the moment
of agony. This is the hour of great mercy for the whole world. I will allow you
to enter into My mortal sorrow. In this hour, I will refuse nothing to the
soul that makes a request of Me in virtue of My Passion....
1321 Hail, most merciful Heart of
Jesus,
Living Fountain of all graces,
Our sole shelter, our only refuge;
In You I have the light of hope.
Hail, most compassionate Heart of my
God,
Unfathomable living Fount of Love
From which gushes life for sinful man
And the Spring of all sweetness.
Hail, open Wound of the Most Sacred
Heart,
From which the rays of mercy issued
forth
And from which it was given us to draw
life
With the vessel of trust alone.
Hail, God's goodness,
incomprehensible,
Never to be measured or fathomed,
Full of love and mercy, though always
holy,
Yet, like a good mother, ever bent
o'er us.
Hail, Throne of Mercy, Lamb of God,
Who gave Your life in sacrifice for
me,
Before whom my soul humbles itself
daily,
Living in faith profound.
[End of Notebook Four]
1322 +J.M.J.
The barque of my
life sails along
Amid darkness and
shadows of night,
And I see no shore;
I am sailing the
high seas.
The slightest storm
would drown me,
Engulfing my boat
in the swirling depths,
If You yourself did
not watch over me, O God,
At each instant and
moment of my life.
Amid the roaring
waves
I sail peacefully,
trustingly,
And gaze like a
child into the distance without fear,
Because You, O Jesus,
are my Light.
Dread and terror is
all about me,
But within my soul
is peace more profound than the depths of the sea,
For he who is with
You, O Lord, will not perish;
Of this Your love
assures me, O God.
Though a host of
dangers surround me,
None of them do I
fear, for I fix my gaze on the starry sky,
And I sail along
bravely and merrily,
As becomes a pure
heart.
And if the ship of
my life sails so peacefully,
This is due to but
one thing above all:
You are my
helmsman, O God.
This I confess with
utmost humility.
+
J.M.J.
1323 O my God, I
love You.
Sister Faustina of
the Blessed Sacrament.
Cracow, October 20,
1937.
1324 + I bow down
before You, O Bread of Angels,
With deep faith,
hope and love
And from the depths
of my soul I worship You,
Though I am but
nothingness.
I bow down before
You, O hidden God
And love You with
all my heart.
The veils of
mystery hinder me not at all;
I love You as do
Your chosen ones in heaven.
I bow down before
You, O Lamb of God
Who take away the
sins of my soul,
Whom I receive into
my heart each morn,
You who are my
saving help.
+ J. M. J.
Cracow, October 20,
1937.
Fifth Notebook
1325 O my God, let
everything that is in me praise You, my Lord and Creator; and with every beat
of my heart I want to praise Your unfathomable mercy. I want to tell souls of
Your goodness and encourage them to trust in Your mercy. That is my mission,
which You yourself have entrusted to me, O Lord, in this life and in the life
to come.
1336 + In this
profound silence, I am better able to judge the condition of my soul. My soul
is like clear water in which I can see everything: both my misery and the
vastness of God's graces. And owing to this true knowledge of itself, my
spirit is strengthened in deep humility. I expose my heart to the action of
Your grace like a crystal exposed to the rays of the sun. May Your image be
reflected in it, O my God, to the extent that it is possible to be reflected
in the heart of a creature. Let Your divinity radiate through me, O You who
dwell in my soul.
1337 As I was
praying before the Blessed Sacrament and greeting the five wounds of Jesus,
at each salutation I felt a torrent of graces gushing into my soul, giving me
a foretaste of heaven and absolute confidence in God's mercy.
1338 As I write these
words, I hear the cry of Satan: "She's 'writing everything, she's
writing everything, and because of this we are losing so much! Do not write
about the goodness of God; He is just!" And howling with fury, he
vanished.
1341 When one's
health is poor, there is much one has to bear. For when one is ill, but not
in bed, one is not considered to be ill. For many reasons, therefore, there
are constant occasions for sacrifices, and sometimes big ones. I understand
now that only in eternity will many things be revealed. But I also understand
that if God demands a sacrifice, He does not withhold His grace, but gives it
to the soul in abundance.
1342 My Jesus, let
my sacrifice burn before Your throne in all silence, but with the full force
of love, as I beg You to have mercy on souls.
1343 Third day. In
the meditation on death, I prepared myself as if for real death. I examined
my conscience and searched all my affairs at the approach of death and,
thanks be to grace, my affairs were directed toward that ultimate goal. This
filled my heart with great gratitude to God, and I resolved to serve my God
even more faithfully in the future. One thing alone is necessary: to put my
old self to death and to begin a new life. In the morning, I prepared to
receive Holy Communion as if it were to be the last in my life, and after
Holy Communion I brought before my imagination my actual death, and I said
the prayers for the dying and then the De Profundis for my own soul. My body
was lowered into the grave, and I said to my soul, "See what has become
of your body, a heap of dirt teeming with vermin-that is your
inheritance."
1344 O merciful
God, who still allow me to live, give me strength that I may live a new life,
the life of the spirit, over which death has no dominion. And with that, my
heart was renewed, and I began a new life while still here on earth, a life
of love of God. Nevertheless, I do not forget that I am weakness itself,
though I do not doubt even for a moment that I will obtain the help of Your
grace, O God.
1349 Jesus
comforted me, saying that both our souls had benefited from this. But I
begged the Lord to deign to spare me from being the occasion of anyone's
suffering, as my heart could not bear this.
1350 O white Host,
You preserve my soul in whiteness; I fear the day when I might forsake You. You
are the Bread of Angels, and thus also the Bread of Virgins.
1351 Jesus, my most
perfect model, with my eyes fixed on You, I will go through life in Your footsteps,
adapting nature to grace, according to Your most holy will and Your light
which illumines my soul, trusting completely in Your help.
+J.M.J.
1357 Once, when I
was passing by a group of people, I asked the Lord if they were all in the
state of grace,
because I did not feel His sufferings. Because you do not feel My
sufferings, it does
not follow that they must all be in the state of grace. At times, I
allow you to be
aware of the condition of certain souls, and I give you the grace of
suffering solely
because I use you as the instrument of their conversion.
1358 Where there is
genuine virtue, there must be sacrifice as well; one's whole life must be a sacrifice.
It is only by means of sacrifice that souls can become useful. It is my
self-sacrifice which, in my relationship with my neighbor, can give glory to
God, but God's love must flow through this sacrifice, because everything is
concentrated in this love and takes its value from it.
1359 Bear in
mind that when you come out of this retreat, I shall be dealing with you as with
a perfect soul. I want to hold you in My hand as a pliant tool, perfectly
adapted to the
completion of My works.
1360 O Lord, You
who penetrate my whole being and the most secret depths of my soul, You see that
I desire You alone and long only for the fulfillment of Your holy will,
paying no heed to difficulties or sufferings or humiliations or to what
others might think.
1361 This firm
resolution to become a saint is extremely pleasing to Me. I bless your efforts
and will give you opportunities to sanctify yourself. Be watchful that you lose
no opportunity that My providence offers you for sanctification. If you do
not succeed in taking advantage of an opportunity, do not lose your peace,
but humble yourself profoundly before Me and, with great trust, immerse
yourself completely in My mercy. In this way, you gain more than you have
lost, because more favor is granted to a humble soul than the soul itself
asks for...
1364 Now I can be
wholly useful to the Church by my personal sanctity, which throbs with life
in the whole Church, for we all make up one organism in Jesus. That is why I
endeavor to make the soil of my heart bear good fruit. Although the human eye
may perhaps never see it, there will nevertheless come a day when it will
become apparent that many souls have been fed and will continue to be fed
with this fruit.
1365 O Eternal
Love, who enkindle a new life within me, a life of love and of mercy, support
me with Your grace, so that I may worthily answer Your call, so that what You
yourself have intended to accomplish in souls through me, might indeed be
accomplished. My God, I see the radiance of eternal dawn. My whole soul
bounds toward You, O Lord; nothing any longer holds me back, nothing ties me
to earth. Help me, O Lord, to bear the rest of my days with patience. The
sacrifice of my love burns incessantly before Your Majesty, but so silently
that only Your divine eye sees it, O God, and no other creature is capable of
perceiving it.
1366 O my Lord,
although so many things occupy me, although I have this work at heart, although
I desire the triumph of the Church and the salvation of souls, although all
the persecutions of Your faithful ones affect me, although the fall of each
soul is painful to me, yet, above and beyond all this, I still have a
profound peace in my soul which neither triumphs nor desires nor adversities
can disturb because, for me, You are above all dispensations, my Lord and my
God.
1375 November 1,
1937.
After Vespers
today, there was a procession to the cemetery. I could not go, because I was on
duty at the gate. But that did not stop me at all from praying for the souls.
As the procession was returning from the cemetery to the chapel, my soul felt
the presence of many souls. I understood the great justice of God, how each
one had to pay off the debt to the last cent.
1379 November 10,
[1937]. When Mother [Irene] showed me the booklet with the chaplet, the litany
and the novena, I asked her to let me look it over. As I was glancing through
it, Jesus gave me to know interiorly: Already there are many souls who
have been drawn to My love by this image. My mercy acts in souls
through this work. I learned that many souls had experienced God's grace.
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