In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the life of Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque the Souls of purgatory were her patient friends
for whom she frequently prayed for relief and release from purgatory.
She tells us: I once saw a nun in a dream who had died a long time before, and she told
me that she suffered extremely in purgatory, but that God had just made her suffer an incomparable
pain, which had been the sight of one of her relatives precipitated in Hell.
She kept telling me: “Pray to God for me, offer Him your sufferings, united with those
of Jesus Christ, to alleviate mine.
Give me everything you do until the first Friday in May, when you take communion for me”.
And I did so with the permission of my Superior.
But my suffering increased in such a way that it overwhelmed me, I felt unable to find relief
or rest, because by obedience I went to rest.
As soon as I was in bed it seemed to me that the soul of this nun was by my side, saying
these words: "You are there in your bed very comfortable and look at me lying on a bed
of flames, where I suffer intolerable pain ”. And she showed me that horrible bed that
makes me shudder every time I think of it.
The soul of the nun told me: “Now my heart is torn by thoughts of criticism and disapproval
against my Superiors.
My tongue is eaten by worms in punishment for the words I have spoken against charity.
My mouth is all ulcerated by my lack of silence.
How I wish that all the souls consecrated to God could see me in such terrible torment!
If I could make them feel the magnitude of my pain and of those who are prepared to live
their vocation negligently, without a doubt they would walk with more fervor on the path
of exact observance and would take care not to fall into faults that cause me such horrible torments!”
I cried out when I heard all this.
They wanted to give me some remedies and the soul of the nun told me: “They think a lot
about alleviating your ills, but nobody thinks about alleviating mine!
One day of strict and complete silence throughout the community would heal my ulcerated mouth.
Another day in the practice of charity, without making any fault against it, would heal my tongue.
And another day in which no word of criticism or disapproval was said against the Superior,
would heal my torn heart”.
After having applied the communion that the soul of the nun asked for, she told me that
her horrible torments had diminished much, but she would still be in purgatory for a
long time, where she suffered the pains due to lukewarm souls in the service of God.
On another occasion Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque said: Being in the presence of the Blessed
Sacrament on the day of His feast, a person made all of fire appeared before me, whose
flames penetrated me so much that it seemed to burn me with this soul.
The deplorable state in which the soul was in purgatory made me shed many tears.
He told me that he was the Benedictine religious who had once heard my confession and told
me to receive Holy Communion.
He asked me to offer for him all that I could do and suffer for three months.
Having promised everything to him after having obtained the permission of my Superior for
this, he told me that the cause of his great sufferings was first of all that he had preferred
self-interest instead of the glory of God because of too much attachment to his own
reputation; the second for the lack of charity towards his brothers, and the third for the
excess of natural affection he had for creatures and the excessive tests that he had given
to others in spiritual conversations, which greatly displeased God.
It would be very difficult to be able to explain how much I had to suffer in these three months,
because he did not abandon me for a moment and the side where he stood seemed to me to
have everything burned, and with such intense pain that he moaned and cried almost continuously.
Out of compassion, my Superior ordered me to do great penances.
After three months I saw him in a very different way; Filled with joy and glory, he was going
to enjoy his eternal bliss, and thanking me he told me that he would protect me in the presence of God.
I received great joy on the morning of Good Shepherd Sunday on May 2nd, 1683, two of my
good patient friends came to say goodbye to me when I woke up, and this was the day that
the sovereign Shepherd received them in His eternal fold with more than a million other
souls in whose company they marched with songs of inexplicable joy.
One is the good Mother de Monthoux, the other my Sister Juana who constantly repeated these
words to me:
Love triumphs, love enjoys.
God's love rejoices.
The other soul said: "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, and the religious who
live and die in the exact observance of their rule!"
They want me to tell you on behalf of them that death can move away friends, but they
still will be together.
If only they knew how my soul is with joy!
When I spoke to them, it seemed to me that I saw them little by little engrossed and
as if submerged in glory.
They ask me to pray in thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity, one “Te Deum”, one “Laudate”, and five “Gloria Patri”.
I begged them to remember us and they have told me by their last words that ingratitude
has never entered heaven.
Our Mother allowed me on behalf of the souls in purgatory to spend the night of Holy Thursday
on April 15th, 1683 in front of the Blessed Sacrament and part of the time I was surrounded
by these poor souls with whom I have built a close friendship.
Our Lord Jesus Christ told me that He made me available to them during this year to do
all the good that I could.
They are frequently with me and I call them my "patient friends."
There is one that makes me suffer a lot and I cannot relieve her as much as I would like.
I cannot say her name, but I can ask for help for her and she will not be ungrateful.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, as heir to the treasures of the Sacred Heart, could ask for
health for some people and Jesus granted it to her.
Among them was for her brother Santiago, the parish priest of Bois-Sainte-Marie, for whom
hope was already given up.
Saint Margaret wrote to him saying: I have promised Jesus that you would take the papers
I send you for nine days of fasting, each day take one paper, and that you would celebrate
or have nine Masses celebrated on nine Saturdays in honor of the Immaculate Conception of the
Blessed Virgin Mary and many other Masses of the Passion on nine Fridays in honor of
the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
She herself tells Mother Saumaise what she asked of the sick to be healed.
She says: Several people who were at the extreme end have been cured in a miraculous way, my
priest brother is one of them.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque gives the sick five small pieces of paper to swallow in the
morning, on which it is written on one side: "The Sacred Heart of Jesus heals you", and
on the other side: "Praised be forever the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Mother of God."
All in shorthand, if it’s required.
Another concrete case of extraordinary healing happened like this: One of our sisters on
the first day she entered the Congregation, wanting to cut wood with an ax seriously injured
her leg, which she did not dare to say, fearing she would be dismissed.
She endured her wound for three weeks, suffering severe pain that was increased by a blow that
reopened the sore, which was extremely distressing.
Since she held in high esteem the virtue of our Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, whom she
considered to be a very great saint, she came up with the idea that if she could approach
her so that she could touch her injured leg with her habit, perhaps it would be cured,
which she did with success, leaving the wound completely healed the next day.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.