The month of November is dedicated to the souls in purgatory. These are the souls of the faithful who have died and are detained in purgatory, to make atonement for their sins. When a person dies, they enter eternity. If they have lived a life pleasing to God, they enter eternity with God in heaven, if they have lived a life displeasing to God, they enter eternity away from God, which is hell. Heaven and hell are two final permanent destinations for a person after death.

Most people, who are destined for heaven, may not directly go to heaven, as they have yet to make reparation for their sins. Purgatory is a place where one atones for their sins, it is a place of suffering. However, it is a temporary place and once delivered from purgatory, the soul is taken to heaven. We can either make atonement for our sins while we are living, and if we fail to make atonement during our life here on earth, then after death, we will remain in purgatory until we have made all the retribution required for our sins. Once the soul is fully atoned, then the soul is taken into heaven. It is easier to make atonement for our sins while on earth, because our body can only bear a certain level of pain before dying. God has promised us that He will not give us more than we can bear. However, for a soul in purgatory, they can bear all levels of pain, because they are not going to die out of that pain, since they are already physically dead. Therefore, the pains in hell and purgatory extend to a greater level than the pains we endure here on earth. Death is not the end of existence; it is a continuation of our existence, and for many, a very painful existence for all eternity in hell.

A living person can make atonement for the souls in purgatory, whereby, easing their sufferings and helping them be released early from purgatory. It is an act of charity and a spiritual act of mercy to pray for the souls in purgatory, especially, for relatives, those who are forgotten, and have no one to pray for them. Imagine, someone is in unimaginable pain. It is not a kind of pain we know; it is not the kind of person a human can bear. For the suffering souls in hell, there is no hope and there is no escape. However, the souls in purgatory can find some relief and you have that power to ease their pains and release them early, through your prayers, sacrifices, and suffrages. If you knew someone who was in intense pain, and if it was the will of God for you to release those souls from their pain, would you ignore them and let them suffer or would you try to release them? Would you leave them there in purgatory and forget about them or would you remember them and pray for them? The greater the virtue in your life, the more powerful your prayer is to release these souls. You can make atonement on their behalf, through penance, prayer, fasting, almsgiving, or indulgences. These penances and indulgences can be used as atonement for your sins, or you can offer it for the intentions of the souls in purgatory and make atonement for their sins.

A soul suffers two kinds of pains in purgatory, one is the pain of loss and the other is the pain of sense. The pain of loss is felt because of the separation from God and the other pain is the pain of sense, where the pain is felt in their faculties. These two types of pains in purgatory are greater than any other pain a person can encounter on earth. Since we have not gone through these kinds of pains, we fail to realise the intensity of them and thereby, tend to ignore them and give them no thought. The saints, through holy revelations, have revealed the kinds of pains a soul suffers in purgatory and hell, and even then, our understanding of the pains of purgatory and hell is not even a glimpse of the reality of the pain one suffers in purgatory or hell.

We do not suffer the separation of God in this life because God is present in our midst. When God created all things, it was all good. Then, sin came into the world, through mankind, and through sin also came its consequences, which is suffering and death. Therefore, in this world, we experience both, good and evil. However, in purgatory and hell, there is no good and the soul only experiences the consequences of sin, which is suffering, and to an intensity greater than ever experienced on earth. For instance, on earth we have fire, and it helps us keep warm, used to generate electricity, for cooking, and numerous other benefits. However, it can also be harmful. The fire on earth is depicted as a soothing image when compared to the intense fire the soul feels in hell and purgatory. Water on earth is beneficial in many ways, such as drinking, cooking, cleaning, etc. However, too much rain causes floods and too little rain causes droughts. The souls in hell and purgatory do not experience the benefits of water as we do. Instead, in hell and purgatory, only the evil effects of it are experienced, such as thirst, icy cold shudders, intense cold, being immersed in an icy lake with no relief, etc. The souls in purgatory know that God alone is good, and all goodness experienced on earth was through God. They long for the presence of God, because without Him, there is no goodness. Their longing for God is very intense and the pains in their faculties very severe. They must go through it and make atonement for all their sins. The souls in purgatory can only receive relief from the prayers, penances, and sufferings of those living, and therefore, it is imperative for us to pray for the souls in purgatory.

We must continually pray for the souls in purgatory, out of love for them, because we are one body in Christ, and if someone is in pain, it is our duty to relieve them of it. Through our baptism, we become members of the mystical body, which consists of the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory, and believers on earth. The souls in purgatory are our brothers and sisters and we must remember them in our prayers, make penance on their behalf, and help them. Even, if you earnestly have no love for the souls in purgatory, you must still pray for them, for the sake of the principle of ‘sowing and reaping’. If you are not motivated for selfless reasons, I hope you are at least motivated through selfish reasons.

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.

(2 Corinthians 9:6-8, NRSVUE)

We need to pray for the souls in purgatory out of love for them. If you have no love for the souls in purgatory, pray to God to give you love for them. Imagine, when you die and are detained in purgatory and then the living have forgotten you, they don’t pray for you or offer any supplications for you. There you remain in agony, completely forgotten. The other benefit of praying for the souls in purgatory is that once they are released from purgatory, they are taken into heaven and become saints. Once in heaven, these saints remember your act of charity towards them, and they unceasingly pray for you, while you are on earth. For a single act of charity towards the souls in purgatory, you receive a far much greater benefit in return. It is a great act of charity to pray for the souls in purgatory, especially those who no one remembers and are completely forgotten. Let us, during this month of November, remember those who are forgotten.

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