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At the Last Judgement, the Angels and Saints who have joined in the praises of Catholics at Mass will gaze upon those Catholics who used to pray with them but who stopped attending. They will look on with pity, as those unhappy souls realise how dreadful has been their carelessness in God's service - or as some souls finally turn away from God, to enter darkness.
By offering up our pains and unavoidable sufferings in union with Christ in His Passion we join in His redeeming work in our generation and bring powerful help to needy souls caught in sin, sadness or near-despair.
There are souls in Hell who are being tormented by demons. In earthly life, they refused to listen to God who loves them. They chose to walk on the path to Hell as they cried out, until death. 'I can do whatever I like'.
The Lord asked me to take care, in my explanations about the Last Judgement painting, especially about the entrance of souls to Purgatory. I must make sure, he said, that I explain it is for purification not punishment.
All over the world, as if through the clouds, the Spirit of God sees the evil in human communities, where people are horribly killed for trivial offenses, or unjustly tormented by armed mobs in pursuit. All the more need, therefore, He said, for the offering-up of sufferings, in union with Christ, to save souls.
Christ told me, as we prayed together, that although I had just been looking at my picture of Hell, He was at that moment seeing the reality. He can see all those souls who refused to listen to Him as He spoke through their conscience, their good friends, and the Church. He gave them freedom; they chose to ignore Him.
It's as if it almost breaks Christ's heart when someone refuses to listen to Him, refuses to accept the truths taught by His Church about good and evil, and deliberately walks away from the life of grace, joy and union with God to enter the fire of Hell, where live Satan and the demons and all rebellious and unrepentant souls.
When we feel threatened by spiritual forces that would disturb our souls, or try to draw us away from Christ, the prayers we offer 'in Christ', and the prayers we request of the Saints and Angels, are so powerful that it's as if, by Divine grace, a strong, beautiful wall is built around us, protecting us from spiritual assaults.
The Lord said that if we looked all over the entire town we would find only a few souls who would act in obedience to Him, in something uncongenial, just because He had requested it. Most do His Will only if it corresponds with their own desires.
They are close to God, and safe; yet like the Chinese statues hidden from sight, the Holy Souls wait in a dimly-lit place, enduring their purification, as they think about their past lives, and suffer heartache because they were lukewarm in the Faith, or lacked faith in some of the Church's teachings - or prayed only occasionally, or made little effort to resist temptations, or to become really holy.
It is the Holy Spirit Who inspires us to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory; and He wants us to know that they are not only helped by our prayers, towards heaven, but also consoled, in the knowledge that they are not forgotten by the Church.
It is said that Catholics in a discussion group must not dispute what is said in the course of the meeting. This is only a man-made rule. It is God's Will that if we hear someone lead others astray by false or distorted versions of the Faith, or by outright denial of truth, we speak to defend the Faith, and to aid confused souls.
The Catholic Faith is something simple enough for a child to understand, even though it also fascinates and satisfies the most profound souls and the greatest intellects. A child can grasp the truth about a loving, Divine Saviour, Whose family, the Church, hands on the truth about how to do good and prepare for Heaven.
The Lord said that of all the millions of souls created, only a few love and serve Him, and persevere to the end, proving worthy of the gift of Heaven. Babies who are aborted not only lose their lives on earth, but lose any possibility of Baptism, through which people inherit Heaven. Deliberately to deny a baby the possibility of birth and Baptism is a terrible thing for sinner and victim, and dreadful in God's sight, Who gives the gift of life.
We have witnessed desperate people calling out to their beloved friends and relations who are trapped underground after an earthquake. The Lord would like us to be as fervent in calling out to Him in prayer, interceding for the Holy Souls who are 'trapped underground' in Purgatory, being purified, and prepared for Heaven's glory
It has always been true; and it is true today: that a person who turns to God in sorrow for her sins, repenting, is forgiven. This is true even of grave sins such as abortion. People who receive forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance can be certain that their sins have been wiped away, and their souls made beautiful in God's sight.
When we pray for the Faithful Departed we not only help them to be drawn closer to the light of Heaven - by the grace of Christ - we also bring them the consolation of knowing that they are not forgotten: that their friends and relations on earth hold them in their hearts, and long for them to find joy, on entering Heaven's glory.
Christ sends down new life from Heaven: the living souls of babies, which are sometimes then rejected by their own mothers, and killed in the womb by Doctors who agree with this practice. Satan boasts, as he points towards parliament, that many of it's members are as guilty as those who do abortions, since legislators voted for it to be made legal.
Christ is overjoyed by those who love and obey Him. One of the worst experiences of Christ's Passion, as He hung on the Cross, was the sight He saw - by His Divine insight - of those who would take no notice of His words, or of His desire to save them. His heartache was indescribable, as He saw souls walking away, towards damnation, through their own choices.
It is important to pray for those enslaved by sin. Our traditional teaching is true: that by the prayers of the Saints and holy Angels - including St. Michael the Archangel - evil can be overcome, by the grace of Christ, souls helped and even earthly problems ameliorated.
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