Afterlife series: (part V)

The levels of purgatory

by Michael H. Brown

       When we left off we had heard from a nun, Sister M.G., who had died and gone to purgatory. In a revelation granted an imprimatur by the Church, this deceased nun told a living nun that she had been in lowest level of purgatory, what she called the "great purgatory," where there was great pain, and was now in a middle area.

         In most cases, we have to be careful of these things. The Bible tells us that speaking to the dead is "necromancy." No one should seek to do it, and when it comes as a revelation (as opposed to necromancy) it has to be discerned by competent experts.

         That was the case with Sister M.G., who died in a French convent during the 1800s and began appearing to a living nun to warn of punishment after death. After years of testing the spirits, Church authorities discerned it as a holy revelation, one that shed enormous light on the afterworld and explained that purgatory not only exists but has many levels, some daunting. The lowest level, said this nun, was like hell.

       Where there was suffering akin to fire in the lower depth (similar to hell), the middle area was more than anything a place, she said, of loneliness, a yearning to be in the presence of God. At Medjugorje it has been described as a huge area filled with grayness and fog. There is moaning and crying and yet the knowing that someday the soul will be with God.

       Those who had what seem like credible insights into purgatory inform us of a number of fascinating facts. It was Sister M.G.'s claim that most souls are taken from purgatory not on All Souls' Day, as we might think, but on Christmas Day. This corresponds in remarkable fashion with a similar statement from Medjugorje.

       She also commented on interactions between souls.

       "Souls communicate with each other when God permits it, and after the manner of souls, but without words," said Sister M.G., who had been in a 19th-century French convent. 

       What are other levels like? 

       In the second purgatory, said the nun, "are souls of those who died with venial sins not fully expiated before death, or with mortal sins that have been forgiven but for which they have not made entire satisfaction to the Divine Justice. In this part of purgatory, there are also different degrees according to the merits of each soul."

        Lastly, said Sister M.G., "there is the purgatory of desire which is called the Threshold. Very few escape this. To avoid it altogether, one must ardently desire heaven and the Vision of God. That is rare, rarer than people think, because even pious people are afraid of God and have not, therefore, sufficiently strong desire of going to heaven. This purgatory has its very painful martyrdom like the others. The deprivation of the sight of our loving Jesus adds to the intense suffering. It is a continuous martyrdom. It makes me suffer more than does the fire of purgatory. It is so beautiful in heaven. There is a great distance between purgatory and heaven. We are privileged at times to catch a glimpse of the joys of the blessed in paradise, but it is almost a punishment. It makes us yearn to see God. In heaven it is pure delight; in purgatory, profound darkness. Oh, how I desire to go to heaven! What a martyrdom we suffer once we have seen God!"

    And so this is the key: wanting badly enough to go to heaven. It is something we must all yearn for, pray for, desire with the very fiber of our being -- and do so constantly. We have to want to be with God badly enough. If not, there is purgatory, and the average stay, claimed Sister M.G., was comparable to 30 to 40 years of earth time. "Your whole heart and soul must be submerged in Him," said the nun about attaining heaven, "so that you do nothing except what is His pleasure. Rise above earthly things and your surroundings to lose yourself entirely in His Will."

       Once in purgatory, a soul is desperate for our prayers. Many cannot pray for themselves. They are dependent on us. A single Mass can raise a soul to a much higher level, or even spring that soul into heaven. A Hail Mary or Our Father can mean the world for a soul on this spiritual desert. We must always remember our deceased and also those who have no one praying for them.

       Mostly we must love. I have emphasized this before. While on earth we have many trials; it is a constant minute-to-minute struggle. And we have to invoke the Holy Spirit to transcend the devil's temptations and finish this life pure and filled with love.

       That is the route to heaven, which we will be discussing next.

Next: visions of heaven

(The above excerpts are from the booklet "An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory," available by sending a donation of $5 or more to The Reparation Society of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 8006 Caliburn Court, Pasadena, Maryland, 21122-6438)

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