St. Faustina Prayer Book for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Susan Tassone

year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert” (CCC 540).

      “The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms, fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others” (CCC 1434).

      “The fourth precept [of the Church] (‘You shall observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church’) ensures the times of ascesis [self-discipline] and penance which prepare us for the liturgical feasts and help us acquire mastery over our instincts and freedom of heart” (CCC 2043).

       Day Ten

      When I had gone to the chapel for a moment, the Lord gave me to know that, among His chosen ones, there are some who are especially chosen, and whom He calls to a higher form of holiness, to exceptional union with Him. These are seraphic souls, from whom God demands greater love than He does from others. … Such a soul understands this call because God makes this known to it interiorly, but the soul may either follow this call or not. … I have learned that there is a place in purgatory where souls will pay their debt to God for such transgressions; this kind of torment is the most difficult of all. The soul which is specially marked by God will be distinguished everywhere, whether in heaven or in purgatory or in hell. In heaven, it will be distinguished from other souls by greater glory and radiance and deeper knowledge of God. In purgatory, by greater pain, because it knows God more profoundly and desires Him more vehemently. In hell, it will suffer more profoundly than other souls, because it knows more fully whom it has lost. This indelible mark of God’s exclusive love, in the [soul], will not be obliterated. (1556)

      Reflection: The religious and clergy have more means of meriting and expiating their daily faults during life. The most abandoned souls are clergy and consecrated religious. We tend to canonize our religious and leave off too soon our prayers for them. God bestowed special graces to these souls. A more faithful cooperation was demanded. Our prayers are critical for these chosen souls.

      O immense Passion, O profound Wounds, O most bitter Death, O Most Precious Blood, O Sweetness above all sweetness, give them eternal rest. Amen.

       Day Eleven

      I sometimes talk too much. A thing could be settled in one or two words, and as for me, I take too much time about it. But Jesus wants me to use that time to say some short indulgenced prayers for the souls in purgatory. And the Lord says that every word will be weighed on the day of judgment. (274)

      Oh, how good it is to call on Jesus for help during a conversation. Oh, how good it is, during a moment of peace, to beg for actual graces. … [T]here is need of much divine light at times like this, in order to speak with profit, both for the other person’s soul, and for one’s own as well. God, however, comes to our aid; but we have to ask Him for it. Let no one trust too much in his own self. (1495)

      There is life, but there is also death in the tongue. Sometimes we kill with the tongue: we commit real murders. And we are still to regard that as a small thing?… O my silent Jesus, have mercy on us! (119)

      Reflection: Jesus said this to St. Faustina about a talkative soul: “I find no rest in such a soul. The constant din tires Me, and in the midst of it the soul cannot discern My voice” (1008). Take time to keep silent throughout the day.

      O immense Passion, O profound Wounds, O most bitter Death, O Most Precious Blood, O Sweetness above all sweetness, give them eternal rest. Amen.

       Day Twelve

      Once I was summoned to the judgment [seat] of God. I stood alone before the Lord. Jesus appeared such as we know Him during His Passion. After a moment, His wounds disappeared except for five, those in His hands, His feet and His side. Suddenly I saw the complete condition of my soul as God sees it. I could clearly see all that is displeasing to God. I did not know that even the smallest transgressions will have to be accounted for. What a moment! Who can describe it? To stand before the Thrice-Holy God! (36)

      Reflection: Blessed Michael Sopocko, spiritual director of St. Faustina, echoes:

      The souls in purgatory are certain of their salvation, know the state of their soul, are confirmed in good, and love the merciful God. All this affords them great relief in their suffering. Their knowledge of the infinite holiness of God and of their own unworthiness to behold God is great, and prompts them to bear their sufferings willingly and with utter abandonment to the will of God, since these sufferings are the means of their purification and satisfaction for their sins. Moved by contrition the souls in purgatory would rather not go to heaven than stand before God without their wedding garments. They cannot help themselves, and their only relief is God’s mercy which awakens the Christians on earth to make sacrifices for them. (God Is Mercy, pp. 90-91)

      O immense Passion, O profound Wounds, O most bitter Death, O Most Precious Blood, O Sweetness above all sweetness, give them eternal rest. Amen.

An Examination of Conscience Based on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy

      Jesus told St. Faustina:

      [W]rite this for the many souls who are often worried because they do not have the material means with which to carry out an act of mercy. Yet spiritual mercy, which requires neither permissions nor storehouses, is much more meritorious and is within the grasp of every soul. If a soul does not exercise mercy somehow or other, it will not obtain My mercy on the day of judgment. Oh, if only souls knew how to gather eternal treasure for themselves, they would not be judged, for they would forestall My judgment with their mercy. (1317)

      The spirituality of St. Faustina’s order, the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, included the apostolate of the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Each of those works can be a way for us to assist the suffering souls.