Purgatory, Part One

The following text concerning purgatory comes from visions recounted in Mist of Mercy by "Anne," a lay apostle. She has received permission from her local ordinary, Bishop Leo O’Reilly, for the distribution of messages which she receives from Jesus, God the Father, Our Blessed Mother, the angels and saints (see article, "Discernment of Lay Apostolate of Jesus Christ the Returning King," Marian Private Revelation section). This is part one of a two part series.
– Ed.

May 26, 2006

Jesus

"There is an attempt to obscure the reality of the next life, life eternal. For this reason, many souls do not accept that they have an inheritance awaiting them. Poor souls. How discouraging for them to labor and suffer without understanding the purpose. Is it any wonder there is such an attempt to discover substitutes for true peace? My apostles understand that there is no value in being too comfortable in an earthly body because they will one day relinquish it. The body is not a god, for all the enemy would like to portray it as such. Each body is a creation of the Father. Each soul is a creation of the Father. Humanity, precious humanity, I want you to understand that you are cherished. I, Jesus, love you and cherish you. My enemy does not feel this way. My enemy seeks to hurt you. Do not reject Me. Spend time in silence, considering the remainder of your days on earth and how you would like to conduct yourself. The enemy cannot promise you that you will live forever. Only I can make that promise and only through Me will you find the Father, the One who loves you. Have no fear when considering the next life, regardless of your sins. If you repent, you will be saved. It is that simple. Repent and you will be saved. You will find a welcome in My Kingdom because My Kingdom is your home. Be at peace, little soul. I am with you. I will take care of you."

May 18, 2006

"I wish to teach souls about My mercy. Souls should approach Me with the greatest confidence and joy. In order to assist souls in learning to trust Me and rely on My goodness, I have allowed this little glimpse into the process of purification. How joyful We are in heaven to welcome each soul to the Kingdom. I am Love and all souls in My Kingdom understand and practice divine love. There is no need to be protective or suspicious here. There is no barrier between each soul and My truth. There is no barrier between each soul and My acceptance. Be at peace, little souls of the world. Your God cherishes you and will care for you tenderly and mercifully when you arrive home from your time of exile. Proceed in joyful trust and you will be making the choice of the very wise ones. I give this information freely today because so many misjudge God or do not know God. I understand how this has happened, and yet I cannot allow it to continue. The children of God must know of My great mercy and compassion so that they can live in peaceful anticipation of their time in eternity. Along with this glimpse of purification, I am granting great graces of calm and trust. Dear little beloved soul, accept this gift from your Jesus and believe that you will be welcomed home when you arrive."

Purgatory

Today, Easter Sunday, was a happy and peaceful day. I went down to the chapel to pray. Jesus drew me into a state of union with Him and brought me to a place. It was further away from the place where it is a new day, over another sky and into another place of activity. He told me beforehand that He was taking me to show me where souls would go after they die. It was like a park, beautiful, peaceful. There were people there. I understood that some souls were newly arrived. They were with loved ones, talking and laughing. There was great lightness of spirit and initially I thought these were all children playing. They were not all children, though, although some were children. And they were not all family members in the earthly sense. They were members of our family of God.

In one area souls moved through the air. This was giving them great joy and they were laughing aloud. I understood that they were learning to move at will, to their delight. Jesus let me look for a while, and then drew me away to one end of the area that was misty. I walked into the mist and it became increasingly more and more misty and foggy. There were many souls in the mist. I could hear their prayers as I walked.

Jesus stopped me at one soul and I listened. This man sat up against a tree. He was completely isolated by the mist. He sat with his back to this tree praying. I could hear him. He pleaded with God, saying, "I’m sorry. I’m sorry." Grief for his sins poured out of him. He felt so much regret. Jesus said that this was a place where souls came to be purified. I understood that there were souls all around us. I also understood that as the mist thickened, so did the isolation and remorse.

I said, "Jesus, his prayers are so beautiful, so pure."

Jesus told me that all prayers in this place were beautiful and pure. The man was praying passionately that souls on earth, some of them his loved ones, would be spared such dreadful remorse. Jesus explained to me that this soul had worshipped a false god. He said that this man worshipped the god of materialism and rejected Him, Jesus. This man was being purified.

This was purgatory.

I understood that there were levels and that souls taken now are granted the most extreme mercy imaginable because of the darkness of this time. Jesus is making me write that. I resist it because then I have to listen to souls saying that this time is no darker than any other. This puts me in a position of proving what I cannot prove.

I have to say that I would be quite content to sit in the mist at that tree and tell God how much I loved Him and how sorry I was for my sins. You could pray for everyone on earth, you could praise God, you could do plenty of good there. If Jesus wants me there, I’ll be happy to go.

I would hate to feel that sad about not serving Jesus, though. I assure any reader that this remorse is dreadful. Also, these souls did not see Jesus or experience Him as He went through there so they must be denied any awareness of God’s presence, much as we are here on earth. In the most benign area, where I first entered, souls were with others, but they did not experience Christ. So the isolation lessened as souls became purified.

I was thinking about this experience later, of course, and something occurred to me. My first thought on arriving at this place was that it was a park for children. I understand that this impression came to me not because all of the souls were children, but because all of the souls were child-like in their joy and delight, much as I was that way when Jesus brought me to heaven. It must be that new arrivals are so awed and overjoyed that they become like children.

(I later understood that the souls in this area have just been freed from the mist of remorse.)

Jesus took me back with Him through the night skies, into the holy city where God the Father is, along with the saints. I understand that the souls in the city where it is a new day are united with Christ. They saw me when I was there. The souls in the holy city are obviously united with Christ. But the souls in purgatory did not seem to notice me or Jesus.

When I returned to myself I prayed for that man and begged Jesus to give him relief. I did not need to ask Jesus to forgive him as he is already forgiven or he would not have been in that place at all.

In purgatory the souls have a certainty that God exists. They know His goodness and they know the Truth. Given this, they know that they will spend eternity with Him and with their loved ones. They are free of doubts.

Souls are benefiting the Kingdom with their prayers so they are useful. Surely that is a consolation to them.

April 22, 2006

Today Our Lord brought me mystically to purgatory again. I went in through the park area. It was as beautiful as the last time. I was struck to silence by the beauty of the trees and the wind blowing through them. I could hear voices in the distance, much like one hears the voices of children playing at a distance on a summer night. Such peace and happiness. Jesus drew me in through the mist and today took me further back. It became darker and dimmer. It was grey, with heavier mist. Souls were even more isolated and turned into themselves, as it were.

I stopped at a woman praying. She was nearly curled up in a ball and rocking, so great was her distress at the damage she had done through her disobedience to Jesus on earth. Jesus revealed that she was a fortune teller and that she led many people astray. This woman was repeating over and over again, "I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry." She was in terrific remorse, deservedly so, of course. That is a given. Everything here is just and fair. Jesus drew me away.

I could not leave her in this condition and said, "Jesus, please. What can I do?"

He was so kind and gentle. He said, "She will benefit from your intercession."

At that very moment she stopped saying, "I’m sorry" and began saying, "Praise you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for your goodness, Lord Jesus Christ."

I detected some measure of joy in that prayer now. Consoled, I followed Christ, aware of His mercy. They really need our intercession there. I am acutely aware that our cheerful obedience will do great things for them if we add a simple prayer here and there.

We moved into yet an even darker place. Souls here were so wrapped up in their misery that I could not even hear their prayers. They were not at a level where they were capable of prayer. I sought a word to describe what I felt here and the word I came up with was cheerless. These souls were destined for hell as they had worked actively against Christ and the Kingdom for the bulk of their lives. At the last moment, they chose Jesus and He brought them here. They are compelled, by justice and the need for cleansing and purification, to revisit each sin and each impact of each sin on the souls of others, as well as the impact on the souls impacted by others. This, surely, is a heavy but absolutely necessary burden. Again, these souls worked against God, often making war on His children.

I did not feel prompted to beg God for graces for these souls. I was reverent in the face of their total immersion into the evil of their lives. I was acutely aware of the mercy of our Jesus and the good and loving heart of our God. I thanked Him that these souls were saved and I know we will love them and enjoy them for all eternity. These souls are a triumph for us all. I loved them each so much. Praise God for each one of them and as I write this, I am asking God to move them along as quickly as possible.

Our Lord showed me a glimpse of one small area of hell at this time. I saw a soul with the ugliest red eyes. They are vacant, devoid of all humanity. They are evil.

This demon’s eyes locked onto something and for a moment I thought it was me but he went right past me and began to assault another one such as himself. They are fighting constantly here. They are assaulting each other. They are molesting each other. They are shaming and humiliating each other. They are in the right place. I felt no fear as they cannot hurt us and I know it.

I shifted my gaze and saw the most ominously evil being. It sat in a place by itself, immersed in darkness of thought. I said, "Jesus, what is he doing?" Jesus explained that he was plotting against the Church. I felt a momentary fear for Pope Benedict. Jesus said that he could not hurt Pope Benedict because of the Holy Father’s obedience. He explained and I "saw" clearly that if a soul is obedient to the Church, that soul seals off gaps where the enemy can enter and work. This wretch could plot against the Pope until the cows come home but our beloved leader will always be safe through his obedience.

Other poor souls will allow this demon influence through their pride and subsequent disobedience, but those who stand firm under the protection of Church authority will be safe. I was amazed at how impenetrable a soul can become this way, through obedience.

Suddenly, like a snake striking, this demon lashed out and grabbed another soul, pulling him into his dungeon-like area to torture him. This victim, far from being a sympathetic figure, would be tortured for a while and then move off to plot against and victimize another.

Again, I did not feel sympathy for any of these. I felt that Christ was smart to contain these ones where they could make war on each other and leave God’s children alone. God’s children are vulnerable through sin and persistence in sin but where there is any remorse or humility or even a little bit of love, God protects. I must say, I was repelled, disgusted, even a little upset, but not afraid and not startled. I have seen souls behaving in similar manners in life.