Stories about Purgatory (30 Days for the Holy Souls)

Originally arranged as 30 Days for the Holy Souls, this book was written to engrave on the minds and hearts of its readers an indelible understanding of Purgatory: first, that it exists; second, that the souls detained there suffer long and excruciating pains, likely even of the same nature as those of Hell, and thus that they desperately need our prayers, sacrifices, and Mass intentions; and third, that while we are still living, we ourselves should strive mightily to avoid Purgatory.We read in St. Matthew's Gospel, "Be ye therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). Yet we know that none of us is really perfect and that few human beings die in a state of soul with all their past sins atoned for during life. Most people whose souls are saved, therefore, end up detained for a time in Purgatory. Some reports say that the passage of "time" (though they have passed out of time, in a fashion) in these souls' perception is slowed to a hundredth or less of what