COME, HOLY SPIRIT
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in them the fire of Thy love.
Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created;
And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. LET US PRAY.
O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending them the light of Thy Holy Spirit, grant us by the same Spirit to have right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort.
Through Christ Our Lord. Amen
O Holy Spirit, sweet Guest of my soul, abide in me and grant that I may ever abide in Thee.
Day 20
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
There are souls who are drawn by the pleasures of the world and busy themselves with things that draw them further from God. The evil one may have counted the soul his, and for the decisions the soul had made, it would seem all could be lost. And yet another soul may choose to unite his or her suffering to Our Lord’s for the sake of this wayward soul. In this suffering offered with love, mercy may be poured out sufficient to snatch this soul falling into perdition out of the grasp of the evil one. Our Lord in His love allows souls to provide help and relief for other souls yet to come to judgment (cf. Catechism 1521).5 For “God created us without us: but he did not will to save us without us” (Catechism 1847).5 St. Thérèse the Little Flower was one soul who sought to help souls through her suffering. In her autobiography she shares the reason for her entry into the religious life, “‘I have come to save souls, and especially to pray for priests.’ One cannot attain the end without adopting the means; and as Our Lord made me understand that it was by the Cross He would give me souls, the more crosses I met with, the stronger grew my attraction to suffering.” 6 Tomorrow we will see that Our Lord is so generous that He allows souls on earth to suffer for those who experience purification through Purgatory.
Goal: Suffering united to the suffering of Christ can serve to help save a soul who is lost in sin.
Sit quietly for five minutes, and imagine yourself just being at the foot of the cross to silently show your love to Jesus.
Day 21
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
Suffering can help souls in Purgatory. Souls who have been judged worthy of eternal life but have not been sufficiently purified during their time on earth are allowed to complete this purification in Purgatory. Those in Purgatory are known as the Church Suffering. The souls in Purgatory can no longer help themselves through prayer or offer suffering for themselves. However, the Church has clearly outlined that those still on earth—known as the Church Militant—can help the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Awaiting Heaven
The souls in Purgatory await Heaven, and we can hasten their passage to their eternal home. We read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (Catechism 1030).
Suffering and Purification in Purgatory
There are certain saints that have been granted a higher understanding of the purification that exists in Purgatory. Saint Catherine of Genoa describes, “When the soul beholds within herself the amorous flame by which she is drawn toward . . . her God, the burning heat of love overpowers her. . . . Then, in that divine light she sees how God . . . never ceases to attract her to her last perfection, and that He does so through pure love alone.” Saint Catherine uses the descriptive term “clogged by sin” to describe how a soul perceives itself before God and thus the soul cannot follow the draw toward God until the soul is “wholly free to yield herself to that unifying flame.” It is Purgatory that helps with the final purification. The souls in Purgatory are indeed suffering greatly, but Saint Catherine explains what is a far worse experience for these souls. It is “that opposition which they find in themselves to the will of that God whom they behold burning for them with so ardent and so pure a love.”
Assistance
The souls in Purgatory who are undergoing purification can be helped, and they in turn can help us. The Catechism outlines their need and our ability to offer suffering for them. “‘In full consciousness of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and “because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins” she offers her suffrages for them.’ Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective” (Catechism 958).
It is thus a great thing to become friends with the Holy Souls in Purgatory and help them through the offering of our suffering to make expiation for their sins and pay their debt. Know that they are eternally grateful for such assistance and will not forget us in our times of trial here on earth if we ask for their assistance.
Goal: Suffering can have great merit to help those souls in Purgatory advance in their purification and reach Heaven.
Sit quietly for five minutes, and imagine yourself just being at the foot of the cross to silently show your love to Jesus.
Day 22
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
Suffering can crystallize what is important. Suffering may remove opportunities that the world may see as losses, but with the grace of wisdom, the suffering soul realizes the losses of such opportunities were actually blessings as the opportunities or great expectations really led further from Our Lord and to a place of spiritual loneliness. The opportunities were actually an invitation to allow one’s wood to further decay. The suffering closed the door for further spiritual deterioration. If the wood was intact, the suffering preserves it from the inception of the rot. And if the rot in the wood had already been advanced, the suffering halts further decay. In this we see suffering allows great spiritual protection. Looking through the lens of suffering, the soul sees that the loss of such opportunities actually was God’s Providence at work to protect the soul. One may think of a professional athlete who is at the pinnacle of his career. His body is in perfect condition. Yet through the opportunities that such success affords, this soul may find many opportunities to sin through sins of the flesh, such as indulging in acts of impurity that are available when one is traveling with a sports team. Yet if that athlete were to suffer an injury that pulls him from competing, he might be confined to his home, and in such a place he may not have the occasion to sin as he had when he was traveling. The athlete may at first see the injury as a great harm that is done to him. Yet such a physical injury has spared him from further spiritual harm.
Goal: Suffering protects a soul.
Sit quietly for five minutes, and imagine yourself just being at the foot of the cross to silently show your love to Jesus.
Day 23
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. . .
Yesterday we spoke about lost opportunities that result from suffering. However, suffering may not fully block a soul from continuing in error. Instead, Our Lord may slow a soul through suffering to allow time for the soul to realize his or her errors before making decisions and performing actions that have more severe repercussions. Suffering may also slow the soul by preventing the occasion to be tempted to make poor decisions until the soul is stronger in virtue to pass through the trial. One may think of a young soul that feels he or she is not included in a crowd who are invited to parties or social gatherings. There will be a time when the soul will have such opportunities. Those opportunities may expose the soul to decisions that have great consequences in the spiritual realm. The delay in having the opportunity to attend a party or social gathering allows the soul to mature and strengthen in virtue prior to being tested. This delay may allow the soul to protect the virtue of purity when such purity could have been lost if the suffering had not slowed the soul from tumbling spiritually.
Goal: Suffering may slow a soul and allow the soul time to strengthen in virtue or to realize his or her errors and to make amends.
Sit quietly for five minutes, and imagine yourself just being at the foot of the Cross to silently show your love to Jesus.
Resources
The retreat can be done using a physical book, watching one our videos each day or with our online Consecration journey. Both the videos and online readings are free to use so there is no obstacle to starting! We have a whole website designed just to support the Consecration journey.