Holy Mother Church exhorts us to pray frequently for the souls of the faithful departed, but never so much as during the month of November, the Month of the Poor Souls. This month’s triduum is the perfect time to reflect upon Purgatory, our duties to the souls there, and to how to avoid going there ourselves.
As its name indicates, Purgatory is a place in which we are purged of what is called the temporal punishment due to sin. You go to Purgatory if you die in the state of grace (with no mortal sin on your soul) but without having offered sufficient atonement for past sins. The “time” spent there will depend on the number and gravity of sins committed in this life, even though they have already been forgiven through the sacrament of penance.
The reason this atonement is required is that in every sin there is a turning away from God and a turning towards the creature. The turning away from God is “fixed” by a good confession, God’s grace is restored and we become friends of God once again. But we have a debt to pay in the sense that by sinning we also turned towards a creature, giving that creature a place in our lives that it should not have. The more intensely and more repeatedly this happens, the more we run up a “bill” that must be paid by prayers, penances, Masses, etc. By offering these for the souls in Purgatory, we are helping them pay off their debt and the gates to Heaven can open sooner for them.
Purgatory is no piece of cake. The saints who have had some experience of it tell us that it is excruciatingly painful and that many souls stay there for many years, even decades and centuries. When we consider that the fire of Purgatory is the same in nature as that of Hell, it sure does make you not want to go there at all, not even for a few minutes! But it should also make you want to help those who are there, to show them compassion by offering up our pains and sacrifices for their deliverance. The really good news is that any souls we help out of Purgatory will be sure to pray for us once they are in the Presence of God.
So how to avoid Purgatory? It’s quite simple: accept this life as your Purgatory. By that I mean accept the aches and pains and disappointments of each day without complaining. Do your daily duty without fail, and without allowing yourself to fall into sloth which wastes precious time that could be used for growing in love for God and helping neighbour. Above all, avoid falling into any mortal sins, for they are the ones that demand the greatest atonement. Such a life is possible, but only with divine grace, and that grace is made available by means of prayers, which is always at our fingertips.
God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it (1 Cor 10:13).