By
Barb Ernster
This article originally appeared in Soul Magazine in the Fall issue of 2016.
St. Maria Faustina, through her devotions, meditations and prayers, allowed numerous holy souls in purgatory to reach heaven. Her conversations with Our Lord and Our Lady as recorded in her diary, including her own beautiful prayers and, of course, the Divine Mercy Chaplet, show this important work of mercy – praying for the dying souls and those in purgatory.
“Devotion to the holy souls in purgatory is a very important one for St. Faustina,” says Susan Tassone, author of St. Faustina Prayer Book for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. “She shows us how we can follow her and become ‘Apostles of Purgatory.’”
Tassone wrote the book to help people learn about St. Faustina’s revelations and to provide meditations and prayers to adopt this corporal work of mercy into our lives. Many souls appeared to the saint and provided her insights into the nature of their suffering and how the prayers of people on earth help them.
Once while praying for the souls in purgatory St. Faustina felt the presence of many souls around her. “I understood the great justice of God, how each one had to pay off the debt to the last cent.”
Many souls appeared to St. Faustina especially those in her own Congregation asking for prayers. Tassone says this gives people hope that they will meet the people in their lives who were important to them. In one vision, St. Faustina prayed for a sister who had died and who appeared to her in a terrible condition. She redoubled her prayers and next saw the sister in an even more horrible state. St. Faustina asked her, “Haven’t my prayers helped you?” The sister answered that nothing would help her, but the prayers helped other souls. St. Faustina told the sister if her prayers were not helping then please stop coming to her. The sister disappeared at once, but St. Faustina continued to pray for her. Eventually the sister appeared again and was more radiant and beaming with joy. She urged St. Faustina to never cease praying for the souls in purgatory and added that she herself would not remain there much longer.
Following the Will of God in All Things
St. Faustina was told by the souls in purgatory that the main way to avoid purgatory is to do the will of God in all things. She wrote:
“How very easy it is to become holy; all that is needed is a bit of good will. If Jesus sees this little bit of good will in the soul, He hurries to give Himself to that soul, and nothing can stop Him, neither shortcomings nor falls – absolutely nothing. May you be blessed, O God, for everything You send me. Nothing under the sun happens without Your will.”
The souls also told St. Faustina what they need us to do – offer Mass, fast, pray the Rosary, recite the Eternal Rest prayer. And Jesus told St. Faustina that He wanted short indulgenced prayers and less talking. St. Faustina said we should call on Jesus for help during our conversations that may be prone to endless chatter in order to discern His voice: “There is need of much divine light at times like this, in order to speak with profit, for your soul and their soul.”
The Angels and the Star of the Sea
St. Faustina was once taken to purgatory by her Guardian Angel and saw the suffering souls praying fervently, but to no avail for themselves. “Only we can come to their aid…I asked the souls what their greatest suffering was. They answered me in one voice that their greatest torment was longing for God.”
The angels console the suffering souls and inspire people on earth to have Masses and prayers said for them, and let the souls know who is praying for them on earth, says Tassone.
The souls are also visited by Our Lady; they call her ‘The Star of the Sea’ and she brings them refreshment, according to St. Faustina. She fulfills her role as Mediatrix of Mercy and God distributes His mercies through her.
The Wisdom of St. Faustina
St. Faustina had some pretty special teachers and her wisdom was attained by her relationship with Our Lord and Our Lady, Tassone says. “Her conversations with them regarding the holy souls are recorded in her diary. You can read these conversations in my book, which offers special sections on Adoration for the Holy Souls that include St. Faustina’s own beautiful prayers for them.” It also includes a section describing prayers St. Faustina wrote for the dying and the powerful Divine Mercy Chaplet, which can be prayed for the person even from a distance. Our Lord promises anyone who prays for a dying person will receive His mercy at the hour of their death. He stands between the Father and the dying person as the Merciful Savior, not as the Just Judge.
Tassone, a champion of the souls in purgatory, concludes that we should never stop praying for the deceased, because no prayer is every wasted with God. “In fact, if a deceased no longer needs purification, your prayers can increase their intimacy of God’s love and increase their own intercessory power. St. Thomas Aquinas called this ‘accidental glory.’”
St. Faustina Prayer Book for the Holy Souls in Purgatory is a perfect companion for those who want to become an ‘Apostle of Purgatory.’ It can be purchased online at our Fatima Gift Shop.
Barb Ernster is the National Coordinator/Communications Manager/Editor for the World Apostolate of Fatima, USA.