60 HOLY MASSES TO FREE A NARCISSIST FROM PURGATORY
St Malachi was born in County Armagh, Ireland in 1194. This was 828 years ago, but St Malachi was an Irish archbishop who still fascinates because he made a prophecy that foretold several future Popes. St Malachi metaphorically referred to John Paul II as "the eclipse of the sun", and John Paul was born during a solar eclipse and he was buried during one, too.
Malachi had extraordinary mystical presentations, and he even saw his own sister in Purgatory. During her life, she'd been given to extreme vanity and had been obsessed with the care of her body. She had fetishized her flesh. After her death, she had the condign purification of seeing her body putrefy in the grave. She had to behold the skin she had lavished become like meat that has gone bad, and she could do nothing to remedy her situation. When Malachi saw that she was sentenced to the cemetery, he went and offered Holy Mass for 30 days. But his sister was not released from Purgatory, instead she had moved to the gate of the church. She wore a black veil and was very sorrowful. St Malachi decided to offer 30 more Masses for her.
After a total of 60 Masses had been offered, St Malachi had the glad sight of seeing his sister in the sanctuary of the church and she was radiant in a white robe. He was rewarded with the knowledge that she was about to go to Heaven.
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This post was informed by Fr Charles Arminjon's The End of the Present World, which is available in The Spirit Daily bookstore.
I think she displayed vanity and maybe self-love more than anything else. Narcissism is much, much darker, self-serving and manipulative.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment - thank you. I was using "narcissist" in it classical use, as a term for someone very vain and self-involved to the point of being in love with their reflection. I feel that the term "narcissism" for an anti-social personality disorder that has similarities to sociopathy is, in fact, too kind and that instead of "narcissism" we might call it a personality disorder straight out.
DeleteI was often called narcissistic growing up because of the excessive time I spent grooming and then preening. I have tried to break from sins of vanity.
With St Malachi's sister, I think there was a lot more going on than just her fixation on her looks. This was said to be tactful when she had been much worse in reality - 60 Mass said by a Saint is a lot. Someone could be insecure about their hair and face, and be overly prone to making themselves look good, but I think there are hints that she had a true personality disorder because it seems that she craved special attention for her looks as part of a bigger cluster of issues that she had. This was just her personality disorder on the face of it.
Thank you for the excellent answer, Mary. Note that I am a different person than the original commenter.
DeleteI agree ma'am. I believe his sister had the disorder. Narcissism is seen in some churchgoers, as well as ministerial leaders. This is in all denominations.
DeleteThis confuses me because I have only ever had 30 Gregorian Masses said for a person that had died and I assumed that person had gone to heaven as promised . Now I feel I may have failed to not have more masses said for them .
ReplyDeleteI think our Faith has a lot to do with the efficacy of this practice. If the Church teaches and we believe that the 30 Gregorian Masses will liberate a beloved soul from Purgatory, then Christ will honour His promise; for the Church speaks with His voice.
Delete"Whatsoever you shall bind on earth, it shall be bound in Heaven." Amen.
You will confuse many people by the tell narcissist regardless of what the historical context is. This is not narcissistic behavior in the manner we now understand it.
ReplyDeleteWhere in the Bible is a mention of Purgatory? Where do find out how many masses it takes to get a soul released from Purgatory? It's not anywhere in the word and thus I think it's safe to say Purgatory is a man-made concoction with zero Biblcal support. Wasn't the cross and the blood of Jesus sufficient enough for everyone?
ReplyDeleteI understand questions people have on Purgatory. There are articles concerning this on internet. I happen to believe in it after reading more about it.
DeleteMaccabees and the Gospel of Mark!
DeleteJesus died for us so that we might be saved. It is up to us to choose to be saved by are decisions that we make in life. Purgatory is an absolute must for us to enter heaven, we all need purification from are sins. Most everyone on the planet is attach to sin and struggles with it constantly even all the way up until death. Reconciliation is a sacrament to help us strengthen us in are fight against sin. We can not enter heaven unless we are holy, if we still have attachment to sin we would not be holy at are death. Just remember that it is Purgatory to heaven, meaning if we make to purgatory we will one day be in heaven no matter how long or how much purification we need.
Deletemathew 5 26
DeleteBiblical support for the idea of a purification of the soul after death before their entrance into Heaven: 2 Maccabees 12:44-45, 1 Corinthians 15:29-30, Luke 16:19-31, Matthew 5:26-34, Matthew 18:34, Luke 12:58–59, Matthew 5:48, Matthew 12:32, Philippians 2:10, 1 Peter 3:19, 1 Peter 4:6, 2 Maccabees 12:43-46, 1 Corinthinas 3:13, 1 Corinthians 3:15, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Jude 1:23, Wisdom 3:5-6, Sirach 2:5, Zechariah 13:8-9
DeleteThank you with all my heart for these sublime Sacred Scripture references!
DeleteWhat a horrific tale ! The Catholic Church invented the idea of Purgatory in the Dark Ages so they could collect money for indulgences, like a get out of jail card. It was called out as a sham and eventually started the Protestant reformation. Nowhere is Purgatory mentioned in the Gospels. It was created by corrupt leaders for the purpose of filling Church coffers and continues today for the purpose of controlling by fear. What kind of God needs your soul tossed into fire before you can enter heaven? And it doesn’t matter how kind a person you were, or if you were a good Catholic. If you sinned in life (and who hasn’t?) you have to suffer in Purgatory before moving on?
ReplyDeleteThis is how the Church comforts us when we lose someone?
Far from being horrific, this is a story of God's grace. Malachi's sister had many sins to expiate, otherwise she would have gone to Heaven as a narcissist and made a Hell of Heaven. Just ask anyone who has had to share life with an insufferably vain and self-absorbed person who is besotted with their own appearance and they will tell you of hellish times visited upon them. Purgatory allows the soul to become perfect enough for Paradise.
DeleteNo, the Church did not invent the idea of a place of purification and certainly the concept of purgation after death did not start in the so-called "Dark Ages". In the 3rd century, St Perpetua had detailed visions of her little brother going through Purgatory; he was in a dry, arid desert before he was admitted to everlasting joy. https://thepathlesstaken7.blogspot.com/2019/11/on-death-row-st-perpetua-saw-her.html
Yes, I agree with you fully that it matters that a person is kind and does their utmost to be good; that usually means that they go to Purgatory and not Hell. Hell is permanent, Purgatory is temporary. St Augustine (born in 354) said that after the end of the world and after all souls have done their Purgatory, there will only be Heaven and Hell.
Oh, what a relief! Thank you St Augustine. Be sure to comfort your friends going through the death of a loved one with that image of purifying flame and putrid flesh until the end of the world…. And do not deny or further deflect the invention of paid indulgences by the Holy Church.
DeleteYes, it is a relief that Purgatory will end. I, for one, find it comforting that there is a time of purgation, even if it does entail the purification visited upon Malachi's sister. I am consoled that such a time of expiation for my sins could be given me; it's a hell of a lot better than...Hell.
DeleteAnd the holiest, kindest and most charitable people I've known have been comforted that their loved ones went to Purgatory. It is better than the denial of the need to pay for sin; which is often devoid of mercy; people who are adamant that their loved ones went "straight up" do not often pray sufficiently for their souls. St Malachi offered 60 Masses for his sister, this is the stuff of saintly sacrifice.
You say I deflect, but you are deflecting by pointing to the Church's sins of the past (and crimes) which are not the subject of my post, and this is a way of deflecting from the subject of sin and the corresponding cleansing that is done to the soul after death.
There is a tone of anger in your comments, and being mad is part of the grieving process, and perhaps you have lost a loved one and feel further upset that they will go through further punishment after death; if that is so, I am very sorry for your loss, and would like to emphasize that as the soul is unique, and just because someone like Malachi's sister got a tough time does not mean that every soul will need the same chelating. Padre Pio had a spiritual daughter who did not go to Purgatory at all: https://thepathlesstaken7.blogspot.com/2020/12/padre-pios-twin.html
What angers me most is your presumption of knowledge of what happens to other people’s souls when they pass on. And I am disturbed by the blind acceptance by so many of this flawed and horrific doctrine. I take true solace in the fact that less and less people are being fooled into abject fear hoisted upon us by the Church.
DeleteNo, it is not my presumption of knowledge, it is based on the visions given St Malachi. His other mystical presentations have proven to be accurate. St Malachi is part of a school of mystics and saints who were given similar revelations as to the souls of people in Purgatory.
DeleteTo say that there is "blind acceptance" is a slur on the people who hold St Malachi and many others to be truth-tellers who have valuable (and humbling) insights to impart to us that help us lead better lives and put us in a better position to save our souls. To claim we are "fooled" insults our intelligence because we are able to evaluate the teachings from St Paul who clearly said that souls may pass through "fire" to get to Heaven to relatively recent mystics like Padre Pio who also spoke of purgatorial fire.
It is not the Church that puts fear into the hearts of people; it is the action of their own consciences. If people are afraid of their sins and the ensuing eternal consequences, they may remedy this by giving up sin and going to confession and Holy Communion. No sin, no fear.
You base your presumption on the visions and writings from first and twelfth century religious figures. This does not hold up as impartial evidence of the existence of Purgatory. You seem to have an affinity for Padre Pio. You probably didn’t want to tell your readers that medical examinations of his so-called stigmata revealed these to be self inflicted wounds, similar to those observed in soldiers who acquired these from caustic substances. In short, he was a charlatan. Why anyone would give credence to his ramblings on Purgatory is beyond logic. I will let you have the last word, Mary. Just know that the Church’s doctrine on Purgatory - and this blog- do great harm to many, both to the Faithful as well as those who question, as do the rest of the Church’s many crimes and transgressions over the centuries.
DeleteIn loving memory of those dear to us who departed, and to fallen soldiers who knew true sacrifice for the freedom from tyranny, none of whose memory deserves to be sullied by this cruel and baseless notion of Purgatory.
Thank you for your response.
DeleteYes, I base my understanding of Purgatory on the testimonies of our great saints and mystics, but not only from the 1st and 12th centuries but from many times in history. There is this account from the 16th century of a woman lifted from deathbed despair by the same souls she had helped. https://thepathlesstaken7.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-pious-woman-lifted-from-deathbed.html
Before I did deeper reading into the visions afforded certain souls, I myself saw a woman in Purgatory.
https://thepathlesstaken7.blogspot.com/2019/11/the-holy-soul-who-asked-me-for-prayer.html. I am also doing an interview with a woman who is of excellent character. In recent years she had a woman come from Purgatory asking her for prayer and forgiveness - this woman had wronged her severely when she was a small child and the damage lasted for decades. Purgatory is not cruel; it is condign, the sin is met with the appropriate just punishment.
I have found yet again that you are engaging in the same behavior of which you accuse others. You say the memory of the dead is sullied by awareness of a place of purification, yet you are sullying the memory and reputation of Padre Pio by claiming he is a charlatan. You take a swipe at my character by saying I do "great harm" when you made the choice to read this blog and you imply I have less than honest reasons for not wishing to discuss the medical examinations with Pio, my spiritual father, but I do this at length in my book. There were no formal medical examinations that revealed his wounds were self-mutilation. In fact, the opposite, the best doctors had to conclude his wounds were of supernatural origin. Also, may I request you look at your own logic, you suggest Pio used caustic substances. Had Pio used acid of any kind his hands would have been badly scarred and his fingerprints would have been destroyed. Criminals use battery acid to destroy their prints and it works very effectively. But when he died, Pio's hands were like a newborn babies, free from all scarring and his prints were intact.
You have a heart for those who were wronged by the Church in the past; and this is admirable. Sin and being the victim of serious sin has dire repercussions for the person sinned against, would it not be condign that the abusers, be they priests or nuns or spiritual writers, had a tough Purgatory for their persecution of others?
As for the soldiers in whose name you write, my will is that prayers, offerings and Masses be offered for them. This is not harm, this is love.
Yours in Christ with prayers for your intentions, Mary
To those who are dismayed and angered by the Catholic teaching of a place of purging a soul of the stain of sin (aka, "Purgatory") , may I recommend an excellent book on the subject, "Hungry Souls: Supernatural visits, messages, and warnings from Purgatory," by Gerhard J. M. Van Den Aardveg. He is a Dutch psychotherapist who has collected stories from over the centuries involving people from both Purgatory and Hell visiting the living: the ones from Hell describing their torment and the fact that they are beyond any hope or help; and the ones asking for prayers and sacrifices to help them reach Heaven. Many of these visits involved Protestants, who had no idea how to respond to these requests, as their theology didn't allow for a place called Purgatory.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Jim, for this book recommendation.
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