AS THE SOUL ASCENDS-Michael Brown

http://spiritdaily.com/Afterlife2015b.htm
AS THE SOUL ASCENDS
AS THE SOUL ASCENDS

Adapted from After Life:

As the soul ascends through Purgatory, as it enters the upper reaches after so much suffering, it reaches places that, while lacking God's Presence, take on some characteristics of Heaven.

This is the Purgatory of desire. This is the Threshold. This is where many who have been holy, loving, and diligent on earth -- but who have unpurged faults -- are sent. It is also where souls from the lower reaches eventually ascend. Here one can only imagine the colors that begin to take shape above the gray areas and the more frequent visits from the Virgin Mary, St. Joseph, and St. Michael.

It's a place where there is more happiness than sadness. It's a place of anticipation. It's a place where the spiritual body has been beautified.

In all our life we have never encountered the kind of beauty we will be given as we approach paradise.

It's not Heaven and there is still purification but it's beautiful because souls see the spiritual world. They see angels. They occasionally hear from Christ. They are given knowledge about matters elsewhere in the afterlife or even events on earth when so permitted as the veil scrolls like a curtain between two worlds and God gives the grace to see beyond time and space.

In a book called Treatise on the Purgatory of St. Patrick, an English Cistercian monk named H. of Sawtry related the vision of a knight named Owen who was shown a place of flowers, fruit, and grass with an aroma "on whose fragrance he felt he could subsist forever."

It was upper Purgatory. There was no night, no heat, no cold.

Here the final lessons are learned, the final impatience is purged, the last of anger is erased, the tiniest residues of lust and dislike and resentment replaced with total love.

The more a soul loves God, the more a soul loves others, the more beautiful, purified, and radiant it becomes. The Threshold is a place that puts a soft glow on death. "Seen in the light of God, death becomes a sweet encounter," wrote Father Alessio Parente. "It becomes not the sunset but a beautiful dawn, the forerunner to eternal life with God. When the heart is filled with God, death no longer frightens, but it becomes a sweet caress -- the caresses of God as He welcomes His creature."

At the upper reaches of Purgatory, at the highest stage, the immediate environment is said to resemble Heaven. There is still pain but there is also a certain peace, comfort, and beauty. No doubt many holy people who had some minor need of purification do their entire purgatories here. Love is pure and for Heaven there must be pure love.

At the high levels souls can probably communicate more readily and pray with less effort than in the oppressive lower levels. I imagine there are many souls at that stage who would have gone directly to Heaven but for a bit too much pride and self-love.

We're told there are souls who would have made the grand entry but didn't have a strong enough desire, while on earth, to see God.

[Adapted from Michael Brown's After Life]

http://spiritdaily.com/Afterlife2015b.htm

 

Here the final lessons are learned, the final impatience is purged, the last of anger is erased, the tiniest residues of lust and dislike and resentment replaced with total love.

This line struck a chord! Powerful and true. In the light of God every minor flaw is exposed and purified.

Yesterday in confession under inspiration of the Holy Spirit (I hope!) I confessed in a different way than I ever have before. I confessed sins that I had committed in my heart, those through my tongue and finally those committed through my eyes.

I felt led to ask for forgiveness for even the smallest sins and grudges that I carried in my heart, then I confessed the sins that I committed as a result of the power of my tongue and finally the sins I committed through my eyes.

I am sure the priest wondered who this oddball was!!

 

I think this last stage of Purgatory is lived out ,very often in Church in frnot of the Blessed Sacrament as a special favour. I have, from time to time seen the Holy Souls in CHurches waiting and praying.

On one occasion I saw a whole crowd of them in from of the statue of St Joseph at his shrine and sereveral of them one, by one rising up to heaven with their arms outstretched. It was very beautiful.

 

But yesterday , at the Eucharist in front of St Joe's Shrine I saw something even more beautiful . I was giving out the Eucharist to people and it suddenly came to me that nowhere and at no time are epople more beautiful than when they recieve the host. I also saw how grateful tehy were to me as Minister and as they passed on I felt a blessing of gratitude from each one. Blessing after blessing. How good is that?

I also felt as each one came and I looked into their eyes that I could see their souls and how very,bery beautiful the soul, in a state of grace is as she or he comes to recieve.

How holy they all seemed , real sisters and brothers. It was like a moment in heaven. I felt as though each and every one of them gave me a big hug. How like an angel the Minsiter is who gives the host. Who places Our Lord on hands and tongues.

 

My own private belief is that very,very few souls get taken directly to heaven. We mostly all need our pots scrubbed in some fashion.

I also believe as we give so are we given ; inasmuch as we have prayed for teh dead so too wil lwe be prayed for.

The givers; given.

I recall walking through an Islamic graveyard one time and being amazed how many holy souls turned up begging my prayers on a hot summers day in Turkey. A large host of every age. I have never seen this In Ireland. A large host of them , of every age.

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Oh! Oh! Iif only, if only you could see the Glory and Wonder of the soul that receives the Lord in The eucharist in a State of Grace. You would fall to your knees in Joy and Awe.

Tears of great joy run down my cheeks as I remember this. The Gateway to Heaven.

God is so very,very good. We cannot even beging to imagine how good.

Many tears of Joy. I wonder sometimes that I can see such things and live.

That the Joy and Awe of it does not end my life. Oh how I long for Heaven. The Great Eucharist!!!

 

Aww I am sitting here crying my eyes out remembering. Some things are better left to wait for heaven to see.

But such a great gift , a memory to have.

 

Love this! I can't wait!

 

Very beautiful Padraig.
Peace Brother,
Ed

 

Thanks for sharing this Padraig. I too am blessed and honored to be an extra-ordinary Eucharistic Minister in my parish. I have the same experience. I love to look into the eyes of those receiving Communion and I see so much in that quick moment. I see love in so many of these eyes. In fact, I often begin to tear up because this love - Christ love is just so powerful and wonderful. I often think what will it be like when we see Him face to face and in full and Complete Communion - our souls will just be bursting in joy and love.

 

Perhaps it is that at this moment we are most like new born babies, at our most open to love.

Something is going on anyway. I just wish people were like that all the time, we would all be in heaven already.

 

What you have written above is very edifying for me personally.

My brother Brendan died on the 22nd of October 2000 at 36 years of age and I was concerned for his soul and wondered whether he had made it to purgatory. After praying to Our Lord and asking to see or hear Brendan, the Lord in His Mercy granted an encounter/visit on the 27th October 2000 the day after Brendan’s funeral. I was shown many things on that day. Below are some of the amazing things my brother told me.

At first a vision opened up in front of me and I was shown Brendan as a child, of about the age of 7 years. He was in a mist, about 30 feet away from me and about 15 feet up in the air, he was reaching to me smiling and he looked beautiful, innocent and loving


He spoke to me telling me to stay close to God. He thanked me for my prayers.


Not knowing why I was seeing him as a little boy, I told him I wanted to see him as I have known him, as a 36 year old man.

He said, It is still me, I wish to hold you.

I asked God at this point to show me the Brendan I know and then the child disappeared and adult Brendan appeared in the mist, closer than where the child was and to the Childs left, and he was not 15 feet up in the air but standing 5 feet in front of me.


Brendan’s face was so peaceful and beautiful, yet I could not see him completely clear, it was as if there was a veil or a thick mist stopping me from seeing him totally clear but I saw his expressions clearly (love, peace, beauty)


We then spoke to each other again. I’ll just write Brendan’s words, as they are so amazing.


He asked me to continue to pray for him and then he describes where he was.



I’m safe and happy.
It’s like heaven.
I’m being washed.
I see God and everyone, heaps of people.
I get happier all the time.Occasionally the sin plunges me into a pain, a fire, where I feel the same pain as I did on earth. It hurts and then releases and I see again. I need prayer.


When I said to Brendan that I love him, he said:


That makes me so happy, you don’t understand, when you say that it’s funny, it causes a great affection to my heart.
Say it to God lots, it makes Him so happy.
He’s given me so much! sometimes I can’t bear it, it’s so good; then I receive the pain again to wash me, so I can bear the happiness, until it’s all over; and I’ll just be with Him

.
God is so Good Carolyn.
I wish I knew before, but God doesn’t care that I didn’t!
He is just so good to me, I can’t stand it!
Tell people.


I balked at having to tell people and he says

Just pray Carolyn.

Just before the encounter ends, he says

I love you.
Thank God for allowing this.
Tell Him you Love him.
See Ya, Carolyn.
I love you Carolyn.

Interestingly in the following January 2001, I received a little booklet on Maria Simma and I nearly fell over when I read her explanation of purgatory, stating that souls are being washed because that is exactly what Brendan had said to me.

I started reading a lot on Louisa Piccaretta and the Divine Will and interestingly she says we should say to Our Lord ‘I LOVE YOU’, many times throughout the day, as that is one of the greatest consolations we can give to God and Brendan had told me the same thing; say I LOVE YOU to God lots as it makes him so happy


But this is what really touched me the most at that time and Brendan said it twice


God is so good Carolyn, I just can't stand it.


And again God’s given me so much! Sometimes I can’t bear it, it’s so good;


You know here on earth if we can’t stand something or can’t bear something, its normally something that’s painful in a bad way.

But when Brendan described not being able to stand the happiness he felt or bear Gods love, I understood in a deeper way God's magnificence and realised that happiness would be painful, if we had offended Him, and that is why we need the fires of purgatory to wash us of self and sin, so we can bear the happiness and Love of God.

In purgatory the souls are only too willing to undergo agony, so they can bear the happiness of heaven.

 

Wow - profound, touching, incredible yet simple insight into purgatory.

Beautiful - I am in tears - so, so beautiful and much to ponder.

There are incredible revelations in this encounter - thanks Carolyn for posting.

 

I get happier all the time.

Simply wonderful.

 

He’s given me so much! sometimes I can’t bear it, it’s so good; then I receive the pain again to wash me, so I can bear the happiness, until it’s all over; and I’ll just be with Him

He is just so good to me, I can’t stand it!

Purification through Love

 

Occasionally the sin plunges me into a pain, a fire.

Purification through suffering

 

it causes a great affection to my heart

Our prayers and acts of love for the Holy Souls are propitious.

 

As I sit here at 2:00am with my dying mother who is sruggling with her last breaths of air, I am so comforted with these thoughts of our loving creator. I will no longer question telling God how much I love him knowing this pleases him so much. May God have mercy on us all for not seeing fully the love he has for us all. And may all the souls in purgatory pray for us as we pray for themm