Thought for the Day – 4 November – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
More About the Sufferings of Purgatory
“The vision of Purgatory accorded to St Frances of Rome, is well known.
She saw Purgatory divided into three separate sections.
(1) The firs was the part furthest from Heaven and bordering, as it were, on Hell.
In it two kinds of people were suffering terrible torments, namely, lay folk who had committed grave sins and postponed their conversion until the moment of death;
and – men and women who had dedicated their lives to God but on account of venial sins, neglect of duty, tepidity and lack of gratitude for their great vocations, had heavy debt to pay to Divine Justice.
(2) The second place, was the most crowded.
Here, the physical pain was still unimaginably severe, while the desire to be purified and to b with God was the cause of intense spiritual anguish.
The souls in this region, however, were not only resigned to their lot but, even longed for greater sufferings which would finally wash away the imperfections which kept them apart from God.
(3) The Third section was the nearest to Heaven and was the abode of purer and more perfect souls.
These did not have to endure much sensible pain but, their yearning for God was so insistent that, every moment of separation, seemed like an eternity.”
Antonio Cardinal Bacci
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