“We must not make purgatory into a flaming concentration camp on the brink of hell—or even a ‘hell for a short time.’ It is blasphemous to think of it as a place where a petty God exacts the last pound—or ounce—of flesh….” St. Catherine of Genoa, a mystic of the 15th century, wrote that the ‘fire’ of purgatory is God’s love ‘burning’ the soul so that, at last, the soul is wholly aflame. It is the pain of wanting to be made totally worthy of One who is seen as infinitely lovable, the pain of desire for union that is now absolutely assured, but not yet fully tasted”.            

             ~Leonard Foley, O.F.M., Believing in Jesus

For Reflection:

Oh, the longing and anxiety of when, Lord, when, will I be with you at long last?
When will I be like fire tried gold – with all the dross finally purged from my soul? Am I preparing now so that I can have a happy death and a short time in purgatory at the most?

Divine Mercy in My Soul: Diary of St Faustina
St. Faustina Kowalska  Pb 730 pgs
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PREFACE ORIGINAL PREFACE TO THE POLISH EDITION, 1981

The reader, after just a superficial skimming of the Diary, may be struck by the simplicity of the language and even by the spelling and stylistic errors, but he should not forget that the author of the Diary had but a limited elementary education. The theology alone which is found in the Diary awakens in the reader a conviction of its uniqueness; and if one considers the contrast between [Saint] Faustina’s education and the loftiness of her theology, the contrast alone indicates the special influence of Divine Grace.