Vigils Reading – All Souls

A reading from “Purgation and Purgatory” by

ST CATHERINE OF GENOA

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The souls in purgatory cannot think, “I am here, and justly so because of

my sins,” or “I wish I had never committed such sins for now I would be in

paradise,” or “That person there is leaving before me,” or “I will leave before that

one.” They cannot remember the good or evil in their past nor that of others.

Such is their joy in God’s will, in his pleasure, that they have no concern

for themselves but dwell only in their joy in God’s ordinance. They see only the

goodness of God, his mercy toward all. Should they be aware of other good or

evil, theirs would not be perfect charity. Only once do they understand the

reason for their purgatory: the moment in which they leave this life. After this

moment, that knowledge disappears. Immersed in charity, incapable of

deviating from it, they can only will or desire pure love. There is no joy save that

in paradise to be compared with the joy of the souls in purgatory.

As the rust of sin is consumed the soul is more and more open to God’s

love. Just as a covered object left out in the sun cannot be penetrated by the

sun’s rays, in the same way, once the covering of the soul is removed, the soul

opens itself fully to the rays of the sun. Having become one with God’s will, these

souls, to the extent that he grants it to them, see into God…

All that I have said is nothing compared to what I feel within, the

witnessed correspondence of love between God and the soul; for when God sees

the soul pure as it was in its origins, he tugs at it with a glance, draws it and binds

it to himself with a fiery love. God so transforms the soul into himself that it

knows nothing other than God. He will not cease until he has brought the soul to

its perfection.

That is why the soul seeks to cast off any and all impediments, so that it

can be lifted up to God; and such impediments are the cause of the suffering of

the souls in purgatory. Not that the souls dwell on their suffering; they dwell

rather on the resistance they feel within themselves against the will of God,

against his intense and pure love bent on nothing but drawing them up to him.

And I see rays of lightning darting from that divine love to the creature, so

intense and fiery… The soul becomes like gold that becomes purer as it is fired,

all dross being cast out…

These flaws are burned away in the last stage of love. God shows the soul its

weakness, so that the soul may see the workings of God. If we are to become

perfect, the change must be brought about in us and without us; that is, the

change is to be the work not of human beings but of God… The overwhelming

love of God gives the soul a joy beyond words. In purgatory great joy and great

suffering do not exclude one another.