The Heroic Act is quite similar to Total Consecration, in that we deliver the satisfactory value of all our works to Our Lord through Our Blessed Mother, but here the focus is on assisting the Holy Souls. To make the act with real heroism, we should be willing, as the Saints showed us, even to have a longer Purgatory ourselves, if we can better succor others in Purgatory, and aid those on earth as well. That may be frightening, but the good news is, God very often rewards those who sincerely make the act with no Purgatory at all! "The Heroic Act consists in offering to God in favor of the Souls in Purgatory all the works of satisfaction we practice during life and all the suffrages that will be offered for us after death. If God rewards so abundantly the most trifling alms given to a poor man in His name, what an immense reward will He not give to those who offer all their works of satisfaction in life and death for the Souls He loves so dearly. This Act does not prevent Priests from offering Mass for the intentions they wish, or lay people from praying for any persons or other intentions they desire. We counsel everyone to make this act ... St. Gertrude was fiercely tempted by the devil when she came to die. The evil spirit reserves a dangerous and subtle temptation for our last moments. As he could find no other ruse sufficiently clever with which to assail the Saint, he thought to disturb her beautiful peace of soul by suggesting that she would surely remain long years in the awful fires of Purgatory since, he reminded her, she had long ago made over all her suffrages to other souls. But Our Blessed Lord, not content with sending His Angels and the thousands of souls she had released to assist her, came Himself in person to drive away Satan and comfort His dear Saint. He told St. Gertrude that in exchange for all she had done for the Holy Souls, He would take her straight to Heaven and would multiply a hundredfold all her merits." http://www.sufferingsouls.com/part3.htm It is impossible every soul we help will not want to help us much more. It is impossible that God, Who is so Good and Generous, will not give so much more to those who are truly good and generous to Him. But we must have firm and living faith and charity that believes these Truths and lives them. If we make the Act, every day of our life must be consecrated and dedicated to making offerings to Jesus and Mary to save souls. The CE on the heroicity of the Heroic Act and the Indulgences the Popes had granted to Priests and Laity. "The practice of the Heroic Act is based on the communion of saints, in virtue of which the good deeds of one member of Christ's body benefit all other members. Its meritoriousness results from the more intense charity (love of God and His suffering friends) which inspires it, and on which the intrinsic perfection of all our good deeds depends. Its heroicity arises from the willingness it involves to take upon one's self the dreadful pains of purgatory for the love of one's neighbour, although there remains the reasonable hope that God in His goodness, and the sainted souls in their gratitude, will not allow the punishment to be exacted to the full. The Heroic Act has been enriched with numerous indulgences by Benedict XIII (1728), Pius VI (1788), and Pius IX (1852). Priestswho 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, also each Monday they hear Mass for the departed; in both cases the usual visit to a church and prayers for the intention of the pope are required. Any formula for the Heroic Act can be used, but Catholic Tradition has a common one, to Jesus through Mary. http://www.catholictradition.org/Mary/heroic-act.htm "O MY GOD! for Thy greater glory, and to imitate as closely as possible the generous Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer, and also to testify my devotion to the Blessed Virgin, my Mother, who is also the Mother of the Souls in Purgatory, I place in her hands all my satisfactory works, as well as the fruit of all those which may be offered for my intention after my death, that she may apply them to the Souls in Purgatory according to her wisdom and good pleasure. Amen." Imagine gaining an Indulgence each time we receive Holy Communion. We could liberate thousands of souls over a lifetime, if we practiced this devotion fervently. Priests could liberate several tens of thousands. If tens of thousands of Priests and Faithful made it, millions more would be saved every daily Mass. So, we must try to practice the Heroic Act as best we can, and encourage others to do so. Have you made or would recommend making this Act?
Thank you for posting this, Xavier. I consider this a very selfless, generous gift to all holy souls. My spiritual director, a priest with a ministry of formation for the laity, so admired St. Padre Pio's promise not to enter the gates of heaven until all of his spiritual children arrived there safely, made that same vow. The goodness of such an act is akin to surrendering one's reward for love of another, an imitation of Christ.
Thanks, DJ, that's a very edifying story. St. Padre Pio was such a great Saint. It is a blessing to ask him to be our spiritual Father. In some small way, we can try to follow him, by bearing the little crosses of our own state of life, which will never be as great as his many and heavy crosses were. Truly, a great Saint and an inspiration. We should all, then, entrust ourselves to St. Padre Pio's patronage and protection as a Spiritual Father, so that he may help us all go to Heaven and be detached from sin. I found the story: http://caccioppoli.com/Padre Pio an...rayer. Gift of tears. The Prayer Groups..html "I have made a pact with the Lord: I will take my place at the gate to paradise, but I shall not enter until I have seen the last of my spiritual children enter." Padre Pio smiling. "When the Lord entrusts a soul to me, I place it on my shoulder and never let it go." "I accept you as spiritual child; and don't make me lose face." "I see all my children who come to the altar, as if in a mirror." "I love my Spiritual Children as much as my own soul and even more." "Once I take a soul on, I also take on their entire family as my spiritual children."
St. Padre Pio, a true Alter Christus, worked wondrous miracles in this life by his union with Christ, and God is pleased to continue to work marvelous things through his intercession even after his departure from this life. Testimonials Drinking Problem Late one night walking to my home from work, I was praying the Rosary for help to overcome a problem I had with alcohol, which was worsening. I was newly married, had an infant son and I realized that unless my drinking problem was defeated my future would be filled with disaster. I was determined to overcome the problem and in my worry about it, I turned to Padre Pio for help as I prayed the Rosary. Suddenly I became aware of a fragrance of indescribable character. It seemed to envelop me with its delightful aroma, which produced a deep sense of peace and satisfaction. Suddenly the fragrance stopped. A few steps later I was home and as was my practice, the first thing I did, was to visit my infant son asleep in his crib. As I entered my son’s room, again, the fragrance returned. Then it vanished. Remember, I had asked Padre Pio to help me overcome my alcohol problem. Quite amazingly I must tell you, from the night of the fragrance to this very day, I developed and have maintained a deep disgust for alcohol, and for more than twenty years have had no desire whatsoever to drink alcohol in any form. It was after this experience that I learned that Padre Pio often uses fragrances as a sign that a prayer will be answered. – Name Withheld My Prayer Was Taken to Padre Pio’s Tomb I had a dear childhood friend, Timothy, who had been homeless for five years after struggling with addiction and depression. He had no family and his whereabouts was unknown to all of his former friends, including myself. I was able to send a written prayer petition concerning Timothy with another friend who was visiting the tomb of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo. Out of millions of homeless people, my old friend, Timothy was chosen to be helped in a special way by a non-profit organization that works to rehabilitate those who are addicted and in great need. They raised a lot of money for him, sent him to rehab, and found distant family members that he never knew he had. His relatives then took him in to their home. He now lives near them, has a job and an apartment. He is happy with his new life. The odds of this happening and of me finding out about it stagger all comprehension and I give all glory to all powerful and all loving God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, through the intercession of Padre Pio. – Jim Stewart Healed in a Dream After suffering for ten years, in December, 1983, I started the novena to Padre Pio. In February, my condition grew worse. My ankles became swollen and the pain was unbearable. On February 10th, I was healed in a dream. I was in a beautiful chapel and Padre Pio came to me. He told me to sit and then he touched my swollen ankles. He touched my back and then he said, “Get up and walk. You are healed.” I awoke immediately from my bed and I walked without a single pain in my body. That morning I attended Mass to thank our Lord. The pain came back, but only for a moment because soon what felt like a warm hand touched my back and took my pain away. I have never known that pain again. – Gregory William Collins Consolation Through Padre Pio’s Intercession I lost my only son very tragically last year. I was very troubled as to whether my son was happy in his new dwelling. I prayed faithfully and daily to Padre Pio for some sign from my son. One night my son came to me in a dream and told me that God was very just and that he, my son, was happier than he had ever been on earth. I feel that this was more than a dream. – M. Feeney Healing from Cancer We were asked to pray a novena to Padre Pio for a 13 year old lad who was dying from progressive malignant cancer in the lower abdomen. The sick child, Michael Andrews, had a tumor the size of a baseball sitting on his left pelvis and it could be clearly seen and felt as a large swelling. One night, Michael’s mother heard him shouting and screaming in pain. She rushed to his room but when she got there she found him sound asleep. She was mystified. Something made her look behind at the Padre Pio picture in his bedroom. All the white areas in the picture were glowing in the dark. In order to ensure that it was not some light creeping in, she closed all the doors. However, the picture of Padre Pio continued to glow. She ran her fingers over the glowing areas. They were real enough. After a little while the visitation went away and all fell into darkness. Next morning Michael found that the large tumor so prominent in his lower abdomen had disappeared. When taken back to the hospital, the doctor could find nothing. – M. Shaw Mental Anxiety I would like to share with you the grace I received from Padre Pio. In October of 1987, I was very depressed and nearly had a nervous breakdown. Because of this mental state, my thoughts were very threatening and very, very frightful. In my darkest moment, my mother introduced me to Padre Pio and told me he would help. From that day onward I put all my trust and faith in Padre Pio and prayed to him daily for a cure for my state of mind. Then one night, I awoke suddenly and saw the figure of a monk in a brown robe with a beard. The next morning I told my mother of this experience. She told me it was Padre Pio watching over me. From that night onward I began to feel better. Today I feel great and I am a dedicated follower of Padre Pio. – Pasquale Presta From: https://padrepiodevotions.org/testimonials/ Please see the link for more.
