St. Frances is led to the deepest Dungeon of Purgatory

The Angel introduced Frances to the bottom level of Purgatory, to a a cavern filled with a roaring hearth, its purple-sizzling flames chopping by means of the black smoke that darkened the cave. But as horrible as it was, Frances stated it was not as sizzling as in Hell. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she may see our bodies being plunged into what appeared to be a cauldron of raging fire, its flames enveloping them, pulling them down. She was instructed that these were souls who had been guilty of committing serious sins, had confessed and have been absolved of their sins by a priest, however had not happy the fallacious carried out by their act in opposition to God.[1] On this imaginative and prescient, she was told that for each mortal sin dedicated and forgiven, a payment of seven years of reparation[2] in Purgatory was necessary to erase it from the soul. Since the harm completed by every mortal sin affects the world in another way, some more deadly and lasting, the size of time and punishment differs. The kind of ache and suffering measured out to every of those souls, was in proportion to the type of sin, the damage finished by the sins, and the variety of wounds inflicted on our Lord’s Sacred Heart by these sins. On this level, she discovered the Poor Souls of the Laity and Religious, alike. Those of the Laity had been souls who had led a life of sin, and converted toward the end of their lives. Conversion to the Lord and His Church is God’s reward to us, as only the Holy Spirit can convert men’s hearts. As that they had not paid their debt on earth, they needed to clear the bill due the Lord here in Purgatory. The Souls of the Religious were those that had not stored the vows they had professed. No sooner had this been defined to her than St. Frances saw the soul of a priest who was very well known. He had a covering on his face, to strive to cover the ugly blemish that had remained. Now, this priest had led a really priestly life, faithfully administering the Sacraments and pastoring his flock. His solely sin had been an intemperate have to gouge himself at mealtime, seeking his reward from God’s creation moderately than God alone. The Angel then led Frances to the Intermediate Dungeon

This region was reserved for those souls who had not sinned as critically as these of the lowest dungeon, nor caused irreparable harm by their transgressions. As their souls weren’t free from the ugly blemishes which might be a result of sin, they had been required to spend time in Purgatory; however because of God’s Justice they didn’t have to spend time suffering the intense punishment of souls in the dungeons below. This dungeon had three compartments: (1) The first was a cavern of ice, sharp icicles threatening the souls beneath. It was extremely chilly in here. She may see the poor souls making an attempt to heat themselves to no avail, as ice gave the impression to be hemming them in, closing in on them, surrounding them; the partitions, the floor, the ceiling, nowhere to get away from the endless freezing chilly! (2) Subsequent, there was an underground prison of boiling oil and pitch.[3] The sickening odor of burning flesh filled the world. She may see the Poor Souls, lined with black pitch, writhing in pain. No matter what they did, they couldn’t escape the boiling petroleum nor the sticky scorching, black mess which clung to them. (3) In the third and final degree she saw Souls struggling to not drown in what appeared to be a pool stuffed with liquefied ore, resembling melted gold and silver. Had these Souls hooked up a lot significance to the rewards of the world, counting the Graces from the Lord as nothing in comparison?

The Saint visits the Higher Dungeon Our Saint does not go into detail on this stage of atonement, solely that this is the place where the Poor Souls condemned themselves, upon seeing that one time[four] earlier than the Lord, how they’d transgressed against Him. The more we study about Purgatory, the more I find myself asking the question, “Am I offending You, my Lord?” This isn’t so much from the viewpoint of suffering in Purgatory (my foremost want being Heaven), however the thought of Jesus and how He will look, as my unrequited sins move earlier than me, the various occasions I failed to put Him first, the missed alternatives to love Him by loving my brothers petroleum equipment company and sisters. Oh my Lord, how my coronary heart breaks considering I may have offended you! The Souls on this dungeon have the anguish which the Poor Souls in Purgatory say is the most painful, the absence of the Beatific Vision. Can you imagine understanding that your liked one is somewhere however you can’t see him or her? Multiply that by 1,000,000-fold and you get a small idea of the way it should be for individuals who, having seen Jesus that one time, can no longer see Him. Oh, Lord, how we lengthy to see Your Face! The consolation of being in this place is that that is the final place before being united with Jesus, Mary and the whole Celestial Household; they know they’re on their manner.