Best ways to minimise/avoid purgatory.

[Carleendiane]

Even Jesus didn't avoid Purgatory.

He went to the Limbo of the Fathers to release their souls.

True, but the difference of course was he went there to visit,  to release souls, not take up residence like I will me doing.

[St.Justin]

Even Jesus didn't avoid Purgatory.

He went to the Limbo of the Fathers to release their souls.

True, but the difference of course was he went there to visit,  to release souls, not take up residence like I will me doing.

The real difference of course is that in purgatory and the Limbo of the Fathers is that there is no suffering in either the Limbo of the Fathers or the Limbo of the Innocents, unbaptized babies..

[Stubborn]

Pray every day for the grace of a happy death and don't be shy about being quite specific in your prayer. Just add this petition into your morning offering where it is certain to be prayed for every day and (hopefully) have the greatest influence.  Pray that you be delivered from a sudden and unprovided death. Pray that God provide for you a holy Roman Catholic priest to give you the Last Rites and all the blessings of the Church for the dying before you die and that you receive them with the proper disposition - do this and you will have done what you can to avoid purgatory completely and go directly to heaven when you draw your last breath. This is my plan to avoid purgatory.


Read my sig and more about that here .

[Xavier]

Time in purgatory is a given for me. It's going in that direction anyway. I keep doing what I shouldn't and certainly do not spend my time in reparation as I should. There are a few things husband and I have been incorporating in our day, in effort to minimize our sufferings in purgatory. But the time we have wasted, is a crime in itself, though we do continue to remain hopeful and plug away at it.

There is one way I myself can hope will be useful. Brother ass. Yep, my body. If I can just  carry the crosses God sends me with complete resignation and without complaining, it may chip off a small fraction of my purgatory time. Dealing with annoying things like brain damage, palsy, loss of balance, Fake joints, is a gift to me because I am somewhat lazy and a poor sacrificer ( if that's even a word). I go in spurts. I may be all gung ho for a while, then slip back into my default setting. God knows me so well, ands sends these gifts for my benefit. He does this for MANY of us and to me, it's a kindness, truly. I am grateful. Having so much I'm not good at, but sincerely do wish to improve in, I still have things to offer up. Brother ass is hard, but others have it so much harder, as we all know very well. I just have to keep my mouth shut and pray, offer up. Not trying to make it sound easy. It's not. But again, if I do it well in this life, it may serve me well in the next. At the same time I want to start incorporating some of the useful suggestions in this good thread.

Carleen, if you like, you can incorporate the Precious Blood devotion suggested in the OP. It's something simple that God asked of all of us, and the rewards are very great. To say 2 Paters, 2 Aves, 2 Glorias in honor of His precious blood every day for 3 years. I've tried for a few months, but then I mess up and have to start again. : ) imo, we can go beyond the minimum, and say 10 and offer it up for others. God will pour down blessings on us to the extent we have loved and desired blessings for our neighbor. After the 3 years, we can continue it for our loved ones.

St. Gertrude's prayer for the holy souls is also a simple way to liberate souls from purgatory. We can pray it many times a day, especially before Mass, offering up the precious blood and the grace of all the world's Masses for the holy souls. The more souls we liberate, the more souls will pray for us in the hour of our own death. If we seriously resolve to help save just 1 souls a day, we will have more than 10,000 souls specially interceding for us after just 30 years. If we make the heroic act, as Martin mentioned, we receive an indulgence applicable to the holy souls each time we go for confession and communion. "The Heroic Act has been enriched with numerous indulgences by Benedict XIII (1728), Pius VI (1788), and Pius IX (1852). Priests who make it receive the personal privilege of gaining a plenary indulgence for a soul of their choice each time they say Mass (see PRIVILEGED ALTAR). Laymen gain a similar indulgence each time they receive Holy Communion"

Indulgences are also great, as KK mentioned; frequenting the sacraments with devotion will itself minimize purgatory. Confession removes mortal sin; Holy communion inflames charity and removes venial sin; it protects us from future mortal sin. The Way of the Cross and Rosary are among the most heavily indulgenced prayers. We can gain indulgences for the souls in purgatory every day, and will be richly repaid by God, when it is our turn to enter eternity.

http://www.catholictradition.org/Christ/holy-wounds2.htm

The Holy Wounds and the Holy Souls
BAR

Devotion to the Drops of Blood Lost by our Lord Jesus Christ on His Way to Calvary

St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with St. Matilda and St. Bridget, wishing to know something of the Passion of Jesus Christ, offered fervent and special prayers. upon which Our Lord revealed to them:

To all the faithful who shall recite for 3 years, each day, 2 Our Fathers, 2 Hail Marys and 2 Glory Bes in honor of the drops of Blood I lost, I will concede the following 5 graces:

1st: The plenary indulgence and remittance of your sins.
2nd: You will be free from the pains of Purgatory.
3rd: If you should die before completing the said 3 years, for you it will be the same as if you had completed them.
4th: It will be upon your death the same as if you had shed all your blood for the Holy Faith.
5th: I will descend from Heaven to take your soul and that of your relatives, until the fourth generation.

Blessed by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII in Rome, April 5, 1890.

Please keep this prayer card with others that you say daily to remind you to recite these prayers.

The thought of saving souls should always be on our mind. St. John Bosco stated it well. "There is nothing more holy in this world than to work for the good of souls, for whose salvation Jesus Christ poured out the last drops of His blood." St. Vincent de Paul tells us that: "The salvation of men and our own are so great a good that they merit to be obtained at any price."
Sad to say, the great majority of Catholics put forth little or no effort in promoting the greater honor and glory of God and the salvation of souls. Let us keep in mind that if we manage to save one soul, we also ensure the salvation of our own. The Holy Ghost reveals this to us in the Holy Bible. [St. James 5: 19-20]

This little practice gives us a very easy way to save our own soul as well as the ones most dear to us------our family.

[james03]

I would say live a complete Catholic life.  Don't try to take a scalpel and find the magic formula.  Avoiding sin and increasing in Virtue are an iterative process.  As you avoid sin, you open yourself up to Grace.  As you grow in virtue, you detest sin more and more.

Acts of Charity count for a lot.  Every day think about adding value to society and individuals.

Then there are the aids like the Scapula and indulgences.

Go for the complete package and you will be better off than trying to find the magical formula to stay out of Purgatory.

By the way, I commend this question.  It is better to have as our goal to stay out of Purgatory than to stay out of hell.  Set your standards high.

[lauermar]

I caught hell on another thread from others on this site about this very topic. That reparation for the temporal effects of sin so as to mitigate one's purgatory or convert others is not possible to do or is even necessary.

The general consensus from others was that there's no way to make reparation to God for the temporal effects of my sins that remain after confession, or for the sins of others. All that's required is restitution (like repaying after stealing.) Nothing more is necessary because Jesus paid on the cross for every sin ever committed.  It's okay, don't worry, I can be saved by faith.

Well, I reject that idea as not Catholic. Sounds Protestant.

So here's what my mama taught me as a kid on how to avoid or minimize purgatory. To my knowledge, this hasn't been rescinded:

1. Martyrdom
2. Avoiding the near occasion of sin.
3. Frequent confession and sacraments.
4. Keeping custody of my 5 senses and personal modesty.
5. Daily prayer and fasting for myself and others' petitions throughout the year.
6. First Friday or First Saturday devotions.
7. Plenary indulgences: a holy hour followed by communion and confession within 24 hours.
8. Wearing the brown scapular.
9. Offering up my daily trials, tribulations, grief, and hardships without complaining.
10. Giving alms throughout the year.

[Non Nobis]

Please see my response on that other thread: https://www.suscipedomine.com/forum/index.php?topic=19798.msg442307#msg442307

It is certainly TRUE that Christ paid the full price for our sins (His sacrifice WAS Infinite).  But He also asks us (and often requires us) to join in His suffering and reparation.

I think "don't worry, I can be saved by faith" refers more to the Protestant idea that we can SIN as much as we like, and still be saved. The Catholic truth is that we (as a rule) must also SUFFER (or someone must suffer for us), or do the things that you listed, in order to reduce Purgatory - protestants of course don't believe in Purgatory.

But in general your post does a good job of describing what is needed to reduce Purgatory.

[Sophia3]

At Holy Mass today (CandleMass, First Friday), I saw the prayer Our Lord Jesus taught St. Gertrude the Great, "Eternal Father, I offer you the Precious Blood of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all the Holy Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and family" assuring her she would release some souls each time she said it. The prayer card said, Say 3 times before Mass. We can say it frequently throughout the day and we would give the best possible assistance to the holy souls by this means, that the blood of Jesus may wash away the stains of sin that remain in them, and put out the flames of purgatory for them.

Another good prayer Jesus recommended to a holy sister for the holy souls was "Eternal Father, we offer you the Holy Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ to heal the wounds of our souls" telling her specifically, "When offering my wounds to the Father for sinners, you must not forget to offer them especially for the holy souls in purgatory. The Holy Wounds are the Treasure of treasures for the souls in purgatory." These and other prayers can be offered for them. The holy souls in purgatory can pray for us also, and St. Thomas doesn't really deny it, but it seems fitting, given the severity of their suffering, we pray much before asking for their prayers, by means of which we can receive many blessings, as many Saints testify.

Finally, St. Margaret Mary, to whom the Sacred Heart was revealed, was one of the first to make the heroic act of charity in favor of the holy souls. At death, the devil came to tempt her saying falsely and lying to her that because she had sacrificed much for others, nothing remained for her. Then Our Lord appeared, drove the father of lies away, and multiplied the Saint's merits manifold and took her to heaven. So it will be for others who, out of love for God and neighbor, make the heroic vow for the souls in purgatory.

St. Pio said "the souls in Purgatory pray for us, and their prayers are even more effective than ours, because they are accompanied by their suffering. So, let's pray for them, and let's pray them to pray for us."

My brother says the first one everyday.

[pioflower]

our lady pretty much told St Francisco at Fatima what he needed to do to avoid purgatory


"Will Francisco go to heaven" - our lady "he shall, but FIRST he must have to say MANY rosaries"

He was like 9 from a devout family and still had to do lots to get straight to heaven 


I think the rosary is your answer...

[Michael Wilson]

What detains us in Purgatory after our death?  Here is Rev. Ernest Mura Religious of St. Vincent De Paul, in his book: "The Nature of the Mystical Body" pgs. 248-249

The principal cause of the torment of the expiating souls is their remoteness from God...This is not because there remains even the slightest sin in them. Every sin, as far as guilt is concerned, has been fully retracted and wiped out in the first instant after death. These souls are now in the light, and through grace have adhered totally to God their sovereign Good from the instant of their exit from this world. Hence, they completely retract any slight attachments and self satisfactions they may still have held during their mortal life.....Nevertheless, after the remission of guilt, of the offense against the divine Majesty, these souls must still pay the debt contracted by them against the justice of God. They must still expiate the temporal punishment that re-establishes the divine order which has been disturbed by sin. This debt keeps them far from God. St. Catherine of Genoa writes on this subject: "Inasmuch as the souls in Purgatory are free from the guilt of sin, there is no other impediment between God and them than this punishment that has held them back, so that the instinct [of beatitude] has been unable to attain its perfection......
St. Thomas says this clearly, in answer to the following objection against prayer for the deceased: Souls are said to be held in Purgatory so that they may be purified. Now these suffrages do not produce anything in them that effect this purification;  therefore they are useless. To which he answeres: " The Purification of the soul by the punishment of Purgatory is nothing else than the expiation of the guilt that hinders it from obtaining glory." (Summa Sup. q.71, a.6 ad 3).

Obviously, the best way to wipe out the temporal debt incurred by our sins; and therefore to shorten and avoid Purgatory; is to assist frequently at Mass and receive Holy Communion also frequently. 

[Greg]

When you see the Beatific Vision for an infinity of time, then what does it matter whether you spend 10,000 years in Purgatory or 5 minutes?

In a bazillion years it will all be water under the bridge.  Infinity divided by 10000 is the same as Infinity divided by 0.0001

[John Lamb]

When you see the Beatific Vision for an infinity of time, then what does it matter whether you spend 10,000 years in Purgatory or 5 minutes?

In a bazillion years it will all be water under the bridge.  Infinity divided by 10000 is the same as Infinity divided by 0.0001

That's the horrible thing about time, though. The thought of eternity doesn't quite rescue you from it. Our Lord knew He was going to be resurrected and ascend into heaven soon, but that didn't stop Him sweating blood in the garden before His passion. And burning alive isn't any less horrible because you know it will be over very soon.

[John Lamb]

Time in purgatory is a given for me. It's going in that direction anyway. I keep doing what I shouldn't and certainly do not spend my time in reparation as I should. There are a few things husband and I have been incorporating in our day, in effort to minimize our sufferings in purgatory. But the time we have wasted, is a crime in itself, though we do continue to remain hopeful and plug away at it.

There's a touching part in St. Thérèse's diary where she talks about the nuns discussing purgatory. One of the nuns says that she knows she'll be spending time in purgatory, and St. Thérèse iirc tells her not to be so grim and to trust in God's mercy. That nun soon dies and appears to St. Thérèse, telling Thérèse to pray for her because she is indeed in purgatory. The moral that St. Thérèse draws from this is that God gives us what we ask for, and we should not stifle charity and prevent ourselves from asking for the greater gifts. St. Thérèse expresses her desire to never go to purgatory, solely through the mercy of God.

Personally, I have no intention of going to purgatory either. I'm certainly not resigning myself to spending a long period of time there. Apart from the brown scapular and indulgences, I just don't want to go there and I'll periodically remind Our Lord of that fact. I don't think it's so much about "plugging away at it" as simply hoping that God in His love will let you off. In my opinion, purgatory is for the chronically lax, not for people like me who actually want to go to heaven. That's not to say I don't deserve it, because I probably deserve it more than most; just that I have a greater expectation that God will indulge me.

[Xavier]

By the way, I commend this question.  It is better to have as our goal to stay out of Purgatory than to stay out of hell.  Set your standards high.

Well, Thanks.

Go for the complete package and you will be better off than trying to find the magical formula to stay out of Purgatory.

Of course, this is absolutely true. Part of the complete package in my opinion: (1) frequently and devoutly preparing for and participating in Holy Mass, Holy Communion, Eucharistic Adoration, and Divine Office if possible, beside Scripture reading, as Kaesekopf mentioned; (2) to practice all the Devotions, Rosary, Scapular, Little Office, Way of the Cross, Precious Blood and Holy Wounds devotions, beside others I may have forgotten, and (3) make every possible effort, with the help of grace, never to commit especially mortal - which grace always makes possible - but even venial sin again, or at least to do so as rarely as possible. Lauermar's list of top 10 things to do is also just wonderful imo. Thanks to Non Nobis, Sophia, Michael and John also for the tips and responses.

But if Jesus makes a promise to us, and the Vicar of Christ or the Successors of the Apostles have placed their seal of authority attesting it, I think it's a mistake to doubt or be uncertain of the fulfilment of that promise - look at the Sabbatine privilege. Before Vatican II, Catholics knew if you wore the Scapular devoutly, practiced chastity according to your state of life, and recited the Little Office Daily, you would be delivered from Purgatory the First Saturday after your death - this is Mary's promise, attested by the Vicars of Christ. But modernists attempt to cast doubt on it or call it into question, and Catholic devotion catastrophically suffers as a result. Far fewer try praying the Little Office now. And they do many such things, and it's a mistake imho. Combined with the other Scapular promise, wearing it and being consecrated to Jesus through Mary by the Scapular will help all Catholic Christians avoid both hell and purgatory.

"The devils revealed to Francis of Yepes, the brother of St. John of the Cross that three things especially tormented them. The first is the NAME OF JESUS; the second, the NAME OF MARY; and third, THE BROWN SCAPULAR OF OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL. "Take off that habit," they cried to him, "which snatches too many souls from us. All those clothed in it die piously and escape us."...

Our Lady revealed to Venerable Dominic of Jesus and Mary: "Although many wear my Scapular, only a few fulfill conditions for the Sabbatine Privilege." We maintain the majority don't know them. It is an act of charity to make the Sabbatine Privilege known to all.

A soul from Purgatory was asked by a Sister: "What is the average stay of the souls in Purgatory?" The Poor Soul answered: "From thirty to forty years!" Can you see the importance of making Our Lady's Privilege known – if you consider that the flames are the same as the fires of Hell!

A last reminder – we give you the message of one pastor. He said: "If I were positive that all my parishioners died wearing the Brown Scapular, I would be most certain that we would all meet in Heaven." If this pastor can be so certain about his parishioners, why can't all pastors be just as certain? Give your pastor this circular. Why can't every father and mother be certain of their children, family and friends? Explain to them the SCAPULAR PROMISE and the SABBATINE PRIVILEGE. Heed Our Lady's wish: "Wear the Scapular devoutly and perseveringly ... "

...  It shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger, and a pledge of peace ... What is the Peace Plan from heaven? Stop offending God with sin, pray the Rosary daily, offer prayers and sacrifices of reparation including the devotion of the Five First Saturdays, consecrate ourselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and wear the Brown Scapular."

https://www.olrl.org/pray/rosary.shtml

Pioflower, you're so right to remind us of the importance of the Rosary. However, I would say there is no cause for despair; for as St. Dominic related, by the Rosary and the Scapular, Mary will one day save the world, we may piously believe, She will quickly deliver us even from Purgatory, by means of them. Please see Her promises above; at Fatima too, Our Lady emphasized the importance of the Scapular as a sign of consecration along with the daily recitation of the Rosary, and promised numberless graces for these.

1. Martyrdom
2. Avoiding the near occasion of sin.
3. Frequent confession and sacraments.
4. Keeping custody of my 5 senses and personal modesty.
5. Daily prayer and fasting for myself and others' petitions throughout the year.
6. First Friday or First Saturday devotions.
7. Plenary indulgences: a holy hour followed by communion and confession within 24 hours.
8. Wearing the brown scapular.
9. Offering up my daily trials, tribulations, grief, and hardships without complaining.
10. Giving alms throughout the year.

Great, great list. Thanks for this.

I would beg every one here to take seriously the Lord's Promise in the Catholic Tradition site for being devoted to His Precious Blood, approved by Pope Leo XIII. You will not only avoid Purgatory, but receive a Martyr's Crown. And beside the minimum, we can offer it for all our family and friends, and for all who die daily, and suffering souls in Purgatory, and all else who need our help. Life is short and eternity is for ever. The labor short, the glory infinite, the reward everlasting, Our Lady said to Mary of Agreda. Let us give our best for as long as life shall last. The more we pray, the more graces we will see released for the Church and the world as well. Jesus and Mary want souls to pray, and to have devoted love for Them. Everything else is vanity.

Regarding point 1, of course martyrs go to heaven without purgatory. Also, we can try to practice what victim souls call white martyrdom, which is what Our Lady Herself (also St. Joseph and St. John the Apostle) practiced. To die daily, as even St. Paul, a "red martyr" said, to offer up all our sufferings for the Church and Her Shepherds, to unite all our crosses to the Lord's Cross, to seek Christian perfection by what saintly Thomas Kempis calls "the Royal Road of the Holy Cross".

Greg, the real inference would be that any suffering in time, even from the beginning to the end of the world, would be worth it to save souls, and enter a blissful eternity with Jesus and Mary, even at the end of time, as the last soul to leave Purgatory. Do we live as if we really believe that?

[Stubborn]

When you see the Beatific Vision for an infinity of time, then what does it matter whether you spend 10,000 years in Purgatory or 5 minutes?

In a bazillion years it will all be water under the bridge.  Infinity divided by 10000 is the same as Infinity divided by 0.0001

As regards time itself, it matters very little.

As regards suffering, 5 minutes in purgatory is like hours, perhaps years. We cannot really fathom the immense intensity of the suffering in purgatory, which is the same as hell (except we know that at some point, it will end), but even a moment suffering in purgatory is too long for me, I am absolutely afraid of spending any time at all there - and if it can be avoided - and it can - then we'd be the biggest imbeciles in history to not do everything possible to avoid it completely.

Light a match and use it to burn your hand, see how long you can you stand it before you pull it away. Then hold a lit match to the bottom of your foot, then your eyes, then your lips, and so on - most likely you could not stand it for 3 seconds, and that is only a match stick. How would you fare being completely engulfed in a fiery furnace whose very purpose is that of cleansing your soul? Fire is fire, and even blast furnaces on earth are but a cool breeze when compared to the flames in purgatory.

Gregg, don't think that way, we all have got to lose that kind of thinking and must strive, with the grace of God, to avoid purgatory at all cost, because no matter what, even 5 minutes there is 5 minutes too long.