November is the month devoted to the souls in purgatory. There are several passages in the Bible that allude to purgatory. Firstly, in II Maccabees 12:39-46, Judas Maccabeus and his fellow soldiers prayed for the souls of their fallen comrades. He then collected money to be sent to the priests in Jerusalem for a sin offering on behalf of their fallen heroes to atone for their sins and to deliver them from their wrongdoing. It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead so that they may be freed from their sins.

Secondly, in Matthew 5:26, Jesus says one will not be released from prison until one has paid the last penny. The prison signifies purgatory where souls are not released until they have paid to the last farthing for the sins that they committed while on earth. However, prayer for the souls in purgatory can shorten their stay there.

Thirdly, the Bible also says that: “Nothing defiled shall enter heaven.” (Rev. 21:27). Thus, purgatory exists for souls who departed this life in the good graces of God, but who are in need of purification and sanctification before they can see the thrice-holy God, the Holy of Holies. After the soul has been purified by purgatorial fire, the Lord then fills the soul with resplendent light before it can be admitted into the kingdom of heaven. Thus, the righteous will shine like the sun and the stars in the kingdom of their Father for all eternity. (Dan. 12:3; Mt. 13:43).

Purgatory is an act of divine justice and mercy; divine justice because the souls therein must satisfy the justice of God to the last farthing before they can be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven. And it is an act of divine mercy because the souls therein know that God has been merciful to them and one day, through the mercy of God, they will be released from there to join all the angels and saints in heaven to praise God for all eternity.

The purpose of purgatory is not to punish, but to purify the souls therein. “The punishment of purgatory is not intended chiefly to torment but to cleanse: wherefore it should be inflicted by fire alone which is above all possessed of cleansing power.” (Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, Suppl., q. 97, art. 1, reply to obj. 2). The prayers, suffrages of alms, penance, and fasting of the faithful, and particularly the Holy Masses offered for them are sure means of relieving them of their pains, shortening their stay in purgatory, and hastening them to heaven.

The suffering souls in purgatory can do nothing for their own relief nor acquire new merit on their own for the atonement for their sins. They cannot on their own do anything to render satisfaction to God. Nevertheless, they can ask God by their prayer to apply to them the intercession of the faithful on earth; they can invoke their guardian angels for some refreshment and mitigation of their torments; and lastly, they can entreat their guardian angels to inspire the faithful, especially their family members and friends on earth, to perform good works, offer more Masses, and say more prayers on their behalf. Thus, the souls in purgatory implore God to impel the faithful to come to their assistance.

Sometimes, God allows them to appear to their loved ones to pray for them so that their stay in purgatory may be shortened. “The souls in purgatory, because they are essentially in a prison like situation in which they must patiently bear their sufferings, can do nothing to help themselves. Historically, the reason that souls in purgatory would appear to saints or other people is in order to gain mercy through their prayers so that their own sufferings could be mitigated or ended.” (Fr. Chad Ripperger, Dominion, p. 326).

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, I adore, worship, and glorify you. Vouchsafe, I beseech you, to supply from the merits of your precious blood and from the prayers of the glorious Virgin Mary and of all your angels and saints whatever is lacking to the souls in purgatory so that they may be partakers of your triumph and glory in heaven forever and ever. Amen.