3rd Week of Lent 2018 - Tuesday - Purgatory and Lenten Suffering

Though the word ‘Purgatory’ is not found in scripture, the scriptural evidence for purgatory is manifold.

St. Paul writes in Corinthians of a fire which will purify the saved of their empty and selfish works (I Cor 3)

And of course the practice of praying for the dead is evidenced even in the Old Testament book of Maccabees.

The Lord Himself speaks about “forgiveness” which is offered in this age and in the “age to come” (Matthew 12).

And this morning’s Gospel, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant is often cited as evidence of Purgatory. For those servants of the Master, those servants of God, who do not embody the Master’s own mercy perfectly, they will be “sent to the torturers” until their debt is payed.

Even our first reading today hints at the experience of purgation. Azariah praying in the fire for God’s mercy is a purgatorial figure. A figure of faith, a figure at prayer, a figure filled with repentance in the flames of a furnace, yet not being consumed. Notice also his absolute confidence in God. Similarly the souls in purgatory are absolutely assured their salvation, already having received their judgment by the Just Judge upon their bodily death.

Lent is a purgatorial season in which we undergo some suffering while in this earthly life to be purged of our selfishness, our lack of mercy. Suffering with Jesus brings joy, as St. Paul asserts, “Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and, in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” Our voluntary penances bring about sanctification, and can be offered up for others: souls who are far from God, souls who struggle with sin, and the souls in purgatory. And we seek to embody the Lord's mercy in our Lenten almsgiving--our acts of self-sacrificial service.

It is best to willingly undergo penances on earth than to undergo them in the afterlife. For the saints, explain that the pains of purgatory are greater than the pains of earth.

So, this Lent, let us willingly embrace many purgatorial penances, for ourselves and for others, that we may know the joy of grace, an increase in charity, and conviction for the Gospel, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -
 
For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For the whole world, that in lasting tranquility and peace our days may truly become the acceptable time of grace and salvation.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may return wholeheartedly to Christ.

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy.

December 14 2017 - St. John of the Cross - Lessons from Prison

For attempting to reform his Religious Order, the Carmelites, St. John of the Cross was imprisoned, nearly starved, and publicly flogged by his own religious brothers. They opposed John’s determination to observe the primitive Carmelite rule which emphasized austerity, poverty, and discipline.

It was in prison that John came to know the cross acutely, for there he learned to unite his suffering with the suffering and death of Jesus, as he sat month after month in his dark narrow cell.

His sufferings did not diminish his desire for holiness, rather, his desire for union with God increased. He passed the time reflecting on the Scriptures which he had memorized and composing poetry. In the darkness of the prison, he bloomed into a great mystical poet and theologian.

He authored books and poems titled The Ascent of Mount Carmel, The Dark Night of the Soul, the Spiritual Canticle, and The Living Flame of Love. 

Of the thirty-six Doctors of the Church, John of the Cross is known as “the Mystical Doctor” for his writings on the mystical union with God the soul achieves through purification and purgation of its selfishness in this life through suffering and penance.

In his Ascent of Mount Carmel, John teaches, evidently from his own experience, that the soul must empty itself of itself, of selfishness, of ego-centrism. The source of our unhappiness in this life isn’t suffering, necessarily. Rather it’s selfishness.

We are restlessly dissatisfied because we seek to fill the infinitely deep caverns of our souls with the petty goods of the finite world: pleasure, sex, power, and prestige.  This drive to fill our hearts with the finite only leads to deeper dissatisfaction.

Yet, when we turn our hearts over to the infinite, to God, our deepest yearnings are met.  The spiritual life, therefore, consists of letting go of false aspirations, ideas, and attachments, and rightly ordering our desires: putting God first, and everything else second and only for the sake of God.

John is an excellent saint for Advent. He teaches us that the best way to prepare for Christ is through the renunciation of selfishness. We prepare best for Christ’s coming into our life through seeking to be free from all that keeps us from knowing, loving, and serving God. By undergoing this purification we become ready to receive the one we are destined to receive, Jesus Christ, whom we wait for, and prepare for, and long for, and hope for, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

- - - - - - -
 
We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.
That through self-denial and embrace of the cross the Christian people may experience ever-deeper union with Christ and a more faithful proclamation of the Gospel.

For the members of the Carmelite Order, that their life of prayer and penance will be for the Church a source of renewal and strength.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life and a strengthening of all marriages in holiness.

That Christ may banish disease, drive out hunger, ward off every affliction, and strengthen all who suffer persecution for the sake of the Gospel.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.