"Give them eternal rest in peace."

"Give them eternal rest in peace."
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As God is perfect in His holiness and purity, only souls with perfect purity can see Him face to face in Heaven.

So souls who leave the earth in the state of sanctifying grace have to have themselves completely purified before entering into beatific vision.

They have to be purified perfectly in purgatory.

Just as we have our legs washed before entering our house, we have our souls to be washed before entering our eternal home.

Purgatory is the threshold of Heaven and hence a part of it.

It is joyful, not gloomy.

The purifying pains of purgatory are incomparably more desirable than the most ecstatic pleasures on earth.

How can pain be joyful?

Pain for purification; joy in the thought of Heaven after the pain.

Purgatory is for sanctification, not justification.

How long will we have to be in purgatory?

In this world our calculation of time is subject to 'chronological time' concept.

But the moment we leave this world due to death we go out of this time concept.

So we cannot calculate our time  in purgatory in terms of hours, months and years.

At most we can say, "We will be in purgatory till we are purified".

The souls in purgatory can pray for us, but not for themselves.

We may request them to pray for us.

We must pray for them.

We can speed up their purification by our prayers.

We must pray for them not only in November, but also throughout the year.

Souls in Heaven, purgatory and we are one family.

Members of the same family must be helpful to one another.

We, together with our brethren in Heaven, must be helpful to our brethren in purgatory through our prayers.

"O most sweet Jesus,

through the unbearable pains

which Thou didst bear

during Thy

most cruel Crucifixion,

have mercy

on our dear brothers

in purgatory

and

give them

eternal rest,

and

your beatific vision

in Heaven.

Amen."

Lourdu Selvam.