TREATISE ON PURGATORY
The divine fire which St. Catherine experienced in herself,
made her comprehend the state of souls in purgatory, and that they are
contented there although in torment.
The state of souls in purgatory.--They are exempt from all
self-love.
This holy soul, while still in
the flesh, was placed in the purgatory of the burning love of God, in whose
flames she was purified from every stain, so that when she passed from this
life she might be ready to enter the presence of God, her most sweet love. By
means of that flame of love she comprehended in her own soul the condition of
the souls of the faithful in purgatory, where they are purified from the rust
and stain of sins, from which they have not been cleansed in this world. And as
in the purgatory of that divine flame she was united with the divine love and
satisfied with all that was accomplished in her, she was enabled to comprehend
the state of the souls in purgatory, and thus discovered concerning it:
"As far as I can see, the souls in purgatory can
have no choice but to be there; this God has most justly ordained by his divine
decree. They cannot turn towards themselves and say: `I have committed such and
such sins for which I deserve to remain here;' nor can they say: `Would that I
had refrained from them, for then I should at this moment be in paradise;' nor
again: `This soul will be released before me;' or `I shall be released before
her.' They retain no memory of either good or evil respecting themselves or
others which would increase their pain. They are so contented with the divine
dispositions in their regard; and with doing all that is pleasing to God in
that way which he chooses, that they cannot think of themselves, though they
may strive to do so. They see nothing but the operation of the divine goodness
which is so manifestly bringing them to God that they can reflect neither on
their own profit nor on their hurt. Could they do so, they would not be in pure
charity. They see not that they suffer their pains in consequence of their
sins, nor can they for a moment entertain that thought, for should they do so
it would be an active imperfection, and that cannot exist in a state where
there is no longer the possibility of sin. At the moment of leaving this life
they see why they are sent to purgatory, but never again, otherwise they would
still retain something private, which has no place there. Being established in
charity, they can never deviate therefrom by any defect, and have no will or
desire, save the pure will of pure love, and can swerve from it in nothing.
They can neither commit sin, nor merit by refraining from it.
The joy of souls in purgatory.--The saint illustrates their
ever increasing vision of God.--The difficulty of speaking about their
state.
"There is no peace to be
compared with that of the souls in purgatory, save that of the saints in
paradise, and this peace is ever augmented by the inflowing of God into these
souls, which increases in proportion as the impediments to it are removed. The
rust of sin is the impediment, and this the fire continually consumes, so that
the soul in this state is continually opening itself to admit the divine
communication. As a covered surface can never reflect the sun, not through any
defect in that orb, but simply from the resistance offered by the covering, so,
if the covering be gradually removed, the surface will by little and little be
opened to the sun and will more and more reflect his light.
"So it is with the rust of sin, which is the
covering of the soul. In purgatory the flames incessantly consume it, and as it
disappears, the soul reflects more and more perfectly the true sun who is God.
Its contentment increases as this rust wears away, and the soul is laid bare to
the divine ray, and thus one increases and the other decreases until the time
is accomplished. The pain never diminishes, although the time does, but as to
the will, so united is it to God by pure charity, and so satisfied to be under
his divine appointment, that these souls can never say their pains are
pains.
"On the other hand, it is true that they suffer
torments which no tongue can describe nor any intelligence comprehend, unless
it be revealed by such a special grace as that which God has vouchsafed to me,
but which I am unable to explain. And this vision which God revealed to me has
never departed from my memory. I will describe it as far as I am able, and they
whose intellects our Lord will deign to open will understand me.
Separation from God is the greatest pain of purgatory.--In
this, purgatory differs from hell.
"The source of all suffering is
either original or actual sin. God created the soul pure, simple, free from
every stain, and with a certain beatific instinct toward himself. It is drawn
aside from aim by original sin, and when actual sin is afterwards added, this
withdraws it still farther, and ever as it removes from him its sinfulness
increases because its communication with God grows less and less.
"And because there is no good except by
participation with God, who, to the irrational creatures imparts himself as he
wills and in accordance with his divine decree, and never withdraws from them,
but to the rational soul he imparts himself more or less, according as he finds
her more or less freed from the hindrances of sin, it follows that, when he
finds a soul that is returning to the purity and simplicity in which she was
created, he increased in her the beatific instinct, and kindles in her a fire
of charity so powerful and vehement, that it is insupportable to the soul to
find any obstacle between her and her end; and the clearer vision she has of
these obstacles the greater is her pain.
"Since the souls in purgatory are freed from the
guilt of sin, there is no barrier between them and God save only the pains they
suffer, which delay the satisfaction of their desire. And when they see how
serious is even the slightest hindrance, which the necessity of justice causes
to check them, a vehement flame kindles within them, which is like that of
hell. They feel no guilt however, and it is guilt which is the cause of the
malignant will of the condemned in hell, to whom God does not communicate his
goodness, and thus they remain in despair and with a will forever opposed to
the good will of God.
The difference between the state of the souls in hell and that
of those in purgatory.--Reflections of the saint upon those who neglect their
salvation.
"It is evident that the revolt
of man's will from that of God constitutes sin, and while that revolt
continues, man's guilt remains. Those, therefore, that are in hell, having
passed from this life with perverse wills, their guilt is not remitted, nor can
it be, since they are no longer capable of change. When this life is ended, the
soul remains forever confirmed either in good or evil according as she has here
determined. As it is written: Where I shall find thee, that is, at the
hour of death, with the will either fixed on sin or repenting of it, there I
will judge thee. From this judgment there is no appeal, for after death the
freedom of the will can never return, but the will is confirmed in that state
in which it is found at death. The souls in hell, having been found at that
hour with the will to sin, have the guilt and the punishment always with them,
and although this punishment is not so great as they deserve, yet it is
eternal. Those in purgatory, on the other hand, suffer the penalty only, for
their guilt was cancelled at death, when they were found hating their sins and
penitent for having offended the divine goodness. And this penalty has an end,
for the term of it is ever approaching. O misery beyond all misery, and the
greater because in his blindness man regards it not!
"The punishment of the damned is not, it is true,
infinite in degree, for the all lovely goodness of God shines even into hell.
He who dies in mortal sin merits infinite woe for an infinite duration; but the
mercy of God has made the time only infinite, and mitigated the intensity of
the pain. In justice he might have inflicted much greater punishment than he
has done.
"Oh, what peril attaches to sin willfully
committed! For it is so difficult for man to bring himself to penance, and
without penitence guilt remains and will ever remain, so long as man retains
unchanged the will to sin, or is intent upon committing it.
Of the peace and joy which are found in purgatory
"The souls in purgatory are
entirely conformed to the will of God; therefore, they correspond with his
goodness, are contented with all that he ordains, and are entirely purified
from the guilt of their sins. They are pure from sins, because they have in
this life abhorred them and confessed them with true contrition, and for this
reason God remits their guilt, so that only the stains of sin remain, and these
must be devoured by the fire. Thus freed from guilt and united to the will of
God, they see him clearly according to that degree of light which he allows
them, and comprehend how great a good is the fruition of God, for which all
souls were created. Moreover, these souls are in such close conformity to God,
and are drawn so powerfully toward him by reason of the natural attraction
between him and the soul, that no illustration or comparison could make this
impetuosity understood in the way in which my spirit conceives it by its
interior sense. Nevertheless I will use one which occurs to me.
A comparison to express with how great violence of love the
souls in purgatory desire to enjoy God.
"Let us suppose that in the
whole world there were but one loaf to appease the hunger of every creature,
and that the bare sight of it would satisfy them. Now man, when in health, has
by nature the instinct for food, but if we can suppose him to abstain from it
and neither die nor yet lose health and strength, his hunger would clearly
become increasingly urgent. In this case, if he knew that nothing but the loaf
would satisfy him, and that until he reached it his hunger could not be
appeased, he would suffer intolerable pains, which would increase as his
distance from the loaf diminished; but if he were sure that he would never see
it, his hell would be as complete as that of the damned souls, who, hungering
after God, have no hope of ever seeing the bread of life. But the souls in
purgatory have an assured hope of seeing him and of being entirely satisfied;
and therefore they endure all hunger and suffer all pain until that moment when
they enter into eternal possession of this bread, which is Jesus Christ, our
Lord, our Saviour, and our Love.
Of the marvelous wisdom of God in the creation of purgatory
and of hell.
"As the purified spirit finds
no repose but in God, for whom it was created, so the soul in sin can rest
nowhere but in hell, which by, reason of its sins, has become its end.
Therefore, at that instant in which the soul separates from the body, it goes
to its prescribed place, needing no other guide than the nature of the sin
itself, if the soul has parted from the body in mortal sin. And if the soul
were hindered from obeying that decree (proceeding from the justice of God), it
would find itself in a yet deeper hell, for it would be outside of the divine
order, in which mercy always finds place and prevents the full infliction of
all the pains the soul has merited. Finding, therefore, no spot more fitting,
nor any in which her pains would be so slight, she casts herself into her
appointed place.
"The same thing is true of purgatory: the soul,
leaving the body, and not finding in herself that purity in which she was
created, and seeing also the hindrances which prevent her union with God,
conscious also that purgatory only can remove them, casts herself quickly and
willingly therein. And if she did not find the means ordained for her
purification, she would instantly create for herself a hell worse than
purgatory, seeing that by reason of this impediment she is hindered from
approaching her end, which is God; and this is so great an ill that in
comparison with it the soul esteems purgatory as nothing. True it is, as I have
said, like hell; and yet, in comparison with the loss of God it is as nothing.
Of the necessity of purgatory, and of its terrific
character
"I will say furthermore: I see
that as far as God is concerned, paradise has no gates, but he who will may
enter. For God is all mercy, and his open arms are ever extended to receive us
into his glory. But I see that the divine essence is so pure--purer than the
imagination can conceive--that the soul, finding in itself the slightest
imperfection, would rather cast itself into a thousand hells than appear, so
stained, in the presence of the divine majesty. Knowing, then, that purgatory
was intended for her cleaning, she throws herself therein, and finds there that
great mercy, the removal of her stains.
"The great importance of purgatory, neither mind
can conceive nor tongue describe. I see only that its pains are as great as
those of hell; and yet I see that a soul, stained with the slightest fault,
receiving this mercy, counts its pains as naught in comparison with this
hindrance to her love. And I know that the greatest misery of the souls in
purgatory is to behold in themselves aught that displeases God, and to discover
that, in spite of his goodness, they had consented to it. And this is because,
being in the state of grace, they see the reality and the importance of the
impediments which hinder their approach to God.
How God and the soul reciprocally regard each other in
purgatory.--The saint confesses that she has no words to express these
things.
"All these things that I have
said, in comparison with those which have been represented to my mind (as far
as I have been able to comprehend them in this life), are of such magnitude
that every idea, every word, every feeling, every imagination, all the justice
and all the truth that can be said of them, seem false and worthless, and I
remain confounded at the impossibility of finding words to describe them.
"I behold such a great conformity between God and
the soul, that when he finds her pure as when his divine majesty first created
her he gives her an attractive force of ardent love which would annihilate her
if she were not immortal. He so transforms her into himself that, forgetting
all, she no longer sees aught beside him; and he continues to draw her toward
him, inflames her with love, and never leaves her until he has brought her to
that state from whence she first came forth, that is, to the perfect purity in
which she was created.
"When the soul beholds within herself the amorous
flame by which she is drawn toward her sweet Master and her God, the burning
heat of love overpowers her and she melts. Then, in that divine light she sees
how God, by his great care and constant providence, never ceases to attract her
to her last perfection, and that he does so through pure love alone. She sees,
too, that she herself, clogged by sin, cannot follow that attraction toward
God, that is, that reconciling glance which he casts upon her that he may draw
her to himself. Moreover, a comprehension of that great misery, which it is to
be hindered from gazing upon the light of God, is added to the instinctive
desire of the soul to be wholly free to yield herself to that unifying flame. I
repeat, it is the view of all these things which causes the pain of the
suffering souls in purgatory, not that they esteem their pains as great (cruel
thought they be), but they count as far worse that opposition which they find
in themselves to the will of that God whom they behold burning for them with so
ardent and so pure a love.
"This love, with its unifying regard, is ever
drawing these souls, as if it had no other thing to do; and when the soul
beholds this, if she could find a yet more painful purgatory in which she could
be more quickly cleansed, she would plunge at once therein, impelled by the
burning, mutual love between herself and God.
How God makes use of purgatory to complete the purification of
the soul.--That she acquires therein a purity so great that if she were yet to
remain after her purification she would cease to suffer.
"From that furnace of divine
love I see rays of fire dart like burning lamps towards the soul; and so
violent and powerful are they that both soul and body would be utterly
destroyed, if that were possible. These rays perform a double office; they
purify and they annihilate.
"Consider gold: the oftener it is melted, the
more pure does it become; continue to melt it and every imperfection is
destroyed. This is the effect of fire on all materials. The soul, however,
cannot be annihilated in God, but in herself she can, and the longer her
purification lasts, the more perfectly does she die to herself, until at length
she remains purified in God.
"When gold has been completely freed from dross,
no fire, however great, has any further action on it, for nothing but its
imperfections can be consumed. So it is with the divine fire in the soul. God
retains her in these flames until every stain is burned away, and she is
brought to the highest perfection of which she is capable, each soul in her own
degree. And when this is accomplished, she rests wholly in God. Nothing of
herself remains, and God is her entire being. When he has thus led her to
himself and purified her, she is no longer passable, for nothing remains to be
consumed. If when thus refined she should again approach the fire she would
feel no pain, for to her it has become the fire of divine love, which is life
eternal and which nothing mars.
The desire of souls in purgatory to be purified from every
stain of sin.--The wisdom of God in veiling from them their defects.
"At her creation the soul
received all the means of attaining perfection of which her nature was capable,
in order that she might conform to the will of God and keep herself from
contracting any stain; but being directly contaminated by original sin she
loses her gifts and graces and even her life. Nor can she be regenerated save
by the help of God, for even after baptism her inclination to evil remains,
which, if she does not resist it, disposes and leads her to mortal sin, through
which she dies anew.
"God again restores her by a further special
grace; yet, she is still so sullied and so bent on herself, that to restore her
to her primitive innocence, all those divine operations which I have described
are needful, and without them she could never be restored. When the soul has
reentered the path which leads to her first estate, she is inflamed with so
burning a desire to be transformed into God, that in it she finds her
purgatory. Not, indeed, that she regards her purgatory as being such, but this
desire, so fiery and so powerfully repressed, becomes her purgatory.
"This final act of love accomplishes its work
alone, finding the soul with so many hidden imperfections, that the mere sight
of them, were it presented to her, would drive her to despair. This last
operation, however, consumes them all, and when they are destroyed God makes
them known to the soul to make her understand the divine action by which her
purity was restored.
How joy and suffering are united in purgatory
"That which man judges to be
perfect, in the sight of God is defect. For all the works of man, which appear
faultless when he considers them feels, remembers, wills and understands them,
are, if he does not refer them to God, corrupt and sinful. For, to the
perfection of our works it is necessary that they be wrought in us but not of
us. In the works of God it is he that is the prime mover, and not man.
"These works, which God effects in the soul by
himself alone, which are the last operations of pure and simple love in which
we have no merit, so pierce and inflame the soul that the body which envelops
her seems to be hiding a fire, or like one in a furnace, who can find no rest
but death. It is true that the divine love which overwhelms the soul gives, as
I think, a peace greater than can be expressed; yet this peace does not in the
least diminish her pains, nay, it is love delayed which occasions them, and
they are greater in proportion to the perfection of the love of which God has
made her capable.
"Thus have these souls in purgatory great
pleasure and great pain; nor does the one impede the other.
The souls in purgatory are not in a state to merit.--How they
regard the suffrages offered for them in this world.
"If by repentance the souls in
purgatory could purify themselves, a moment would suffice to cancel their whole
debt, so overwhelming would be the force of the contrition produced by the
clear vision they have of the magnitude of every obstacle which hinders them
from God, their love and their final end.
"And, know for certain that not one farthing of
their debt is remitted to these souls. This is the decree of divine justice; it
is thus that God wills. But, on the other hand, these souls have no longer any
will apart from that of God, and can neither see nor desire aught but by his
appointment.
"And if pious offerings be made for them by
persons in this world, they cannot now note them with satisfaction, unless,
indeed, in reference to the will of God and the balance of his justice, leaving
to him the ordering of the whole, who repays himself as best pleases his
infinite goodness. Could they regard these alms apart from the divine will
concerning them, this would be a return to self, which would shut from their
view the will of God, and that would be to them like hell. Therefore they are
unmoved by whatever God gives them, whether it be pleasure or pain, nor can
they ever again revert to self.
Of the submission of the souls in purgatory to the will of
God
"So hidden and transformed in
God are they, that they rest content with all his holy will. And if a soul,
retaining the slightest stain, were to draw near to God in the beatific vision,
it would be to her a more grievous injury, and inflict more suffering, than
purgatory itself. Nor could God himself, who is pure goodness and supreme
justice, and the sight of God, not yet entirely satisfied (so long as the least
possible purification remained to be accomplished) would be intolerable to her,
and she would cast herself into the deepest hell rather than stand before him
and be still impure."
Reproaches of the soul in purgatory to persons in this
world
And thus this blessed Soul,
illuminated by the divine ray, said: "Would that I could utter so strong a cry
that it would strike all men with terror, and say to them: O wretched beings!
why are you so blinded by this world that you make, as you will find at the
hour of death, no provision for the great necessity that will then come upon
you?
"You shelter yourselves beneath your hope in the
mercy of God, which you unceasingly exalt, not seeing that it is your
resistance to his great goodness which will be your condemnation. His goodness
should constrain you to his will, not encourage you to persevere in your own.
Since his justice is unfailing it must needs be in some way fully satisfied.
"Have not the boldness to say: `I will go to
confession and gain a plenary indulgence and thus I shall be saved.' Remember
that the full confession and entire contrition which are requisite to gain a
plenary indulgence are not easily attained. Did you know how hardly they are
come by, you would tremble with fear and be more sure of losing than of gaining
them.
Showing that the sufferings of the souls in purgatory do not
prevent their peace and joy.
"I see that the souls in
purgatory behold a double operation. The first is that of the mercy of God; for
while they suffer their torments willingly, they perceive that God has been
very good to them, considering what they have deserved and how great are their
offences in his eyes. For if his goodness did not temper justice with mercy
(satisfying it with the precious blood of Jesus Christ), one sin alone would
deserve a thousand hells. They suffer their pains so willingly that they would
not lighten them in the least, knowing how justly they have been deserved. They
resist the will of God no more than if they had already entered upon eternal
life.
"The other operation is that satisfaction they
experience in beholding how loving and merciful have been the divine decrees in
all that regards them. In one instant God impresses these two things upon their
minds, and as they are in grace they comprehend them as they are, yet each
according to her capacity. They experience thence a great and never-failing
satisfaction which constantly increases as they approach to God. They see all
things, not in themselves nor by themselves, but as they are in God, on whom
they are more intent than on their sufferings. For the least vision they can
have of God overbalances all woes and all joys that can be conceived. Yet their
joy in God does by no means abate their pain.
Which concludes with an application of all that has been said
concerning the souls in purgatory to what the saint experiences in her own
soul.
"This process of purification
to which I see the souls in purgatory subjected, I feel within myself, and have
experienced it for the last two years. Every day I see and feel it more
clearly. My soul seems to live in this body as in a purgatory which resembles
the true purgatory, with only the difference that my soul is subjected to only
so much suffering as the body can endure without dying, but which will
continually and gradually increase until death.
"I feel my spirit alienated from all things (even
spiritual ones) that might afford it nourishment or give it consolation. I have
no relish for either temporal or spiritual goods through the will, the
understanding, or the memory, nor can I say that I take greater satisfaction in
this thing than in that.
"I have been so besieged interiorly, that all
things which refreshed my spiritual or my bodily life have been gradually taken
from me, and as they departed, I learned that they were all sources of
consolation and support. Yet, as soon as they were discovered by the spirit
they became tasteless and hateful; they vanish and I care not to prevent it.
This is because the spirit instinctively endeavors to rid itself of every
hindrance to its perfection, and so resolutely that it would rather go to hell
than fail in its purpose. It persists, therefore, in casting off all things by
which the inner man might nourish himself, and so jealously guards him, that no
slightest imperfection can creep in without being instantly detected and
expelled.
"As for the outward man, for the reason that the
spirit has no correspondence with it, it is so oppressed that nothing on earth
can give it comfort according to its human inclinations. No consolation remains
to it but God, who, with great love and mercy accomplishes this work for the
satisfaction of his justice. I perceive all this, and it gives me a great peace
and satisfaction; but this satisfaction does by no means diminish my oppression
or my pain. Nor could there possibly befall me a pain so great, that it could
move me to swerve from the divine ordination, or leave my prison, or wish to
leave it until God is satisfied, nor could I experience any woe so great as
would be an escape from his divine decree, so merciful and so full of justice
do I find it.
"I see these things clearly, but words fail me to
describe them as I wish. What I have described is going on within my spirit,
and therefore I have said it. The prison which detains me is the world; my
chains, the body; the soul, illuminated by grace, comprehends how great a
misery it is to be hindered from her final end, and she suffers greatly because
she is very tender. She receives from God, by his grace, a certain dignity
which assimilates her to him, nay, which makes her one with him by the
participation of his goodness. And as it is impossible for God to suffer any
pain, it is so also with those happy souls who are drawing nearer to him. The
more closely they approach him the more fully do they share in his
perfections.
"Any delay, then, causes the soul intolerable
pain. The pain and the delay prevent the full action both of what is hers by
nature, and of that which has been revealed to her by grace; and, not able as
yet to possess and still essentially capable of possessing, her pain is great
in proportion to her desire of God. The more perfectly she knows him, the more
ardent is her desire, and the more sinless is she. The impediments that bar her
from him become all the more terrible to her, because she is so wholly bent on
him, and when not one of these is left she knows him as he is.
"As a man who suffers death rather than offend
God does not become insensible to the pains of death, but is so illuminated by
God that his zeal for the divine honor is greater than his love for life, so
the soul, knowing the will of God, esteems it more than all outward or inward
torments, however terrible; and this for the reason that God, for whom and by
whom the work is done, is infinitely more desirable than all else that can be
known or understood. And inasmuch as God keeps the soul absorbed in himself and
in his majesty, even though it be only in a slight degree, yet she can attach
no importance to anything beside. She loses in him all that is her own, and can
neither see nor speak, nor yet be conscious of any injury or pain she suffers,
but as I have said before it is all understood in one moment as she passes from
this life. And finally, to conclude all, understand well, that in the almighty
and merciful God, all that is in man is wholly transformed, and that purgatory
purifies him."
THE END
This document (last modifiedOctober 02, 1997) from Believerscafe.com
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