Sin has three consequences: Guilt, Debt, and Stain of Sin. Confession can remove the guilt; the sinner or anyone on behalf of the sinner can “pay” the debt, but only the sinner can remove the stain of sin by by amending their life and correcting their spiritual malfunctions. To say of the recently departed that “the dead are no longer suffering” belies a profound lack of charity for those souls. The souls in Purgatory suffer incredibly for even the smallest transgression; we ought to offer indulgences and Masses for the Poor Souls.
How long do the Poor Souls remain in Purgatory? How does Mass remove the stain of sin for souls in Purgatory? How are the Poor Souls focused on the will of God? Learn the answers in these excellent videos in this month of November, dedicated to the Poor Souls.
(Source)
Catholicism Pure & Simple 
“The souls in Purgatory suffer incredibly for even the smallest transgression; “
What kind of utterly unreal, bizarre, incredibly obscene, and idiotic nonsense is this?
Would any single one of us allow such a situation- if we could prevent such a revolting outcome?
Is God supposed to be that uncaring, that mindless, that unjust?
…does God apparently behave even worse than I do? Blimey.
And how do we know one single word of all this Purgatory business is true?
Logic?
Reason?
Two plus two? I think not.
Am I actually kinder, more compassionate, and more forgiving, than God? If I am, we are all in big trouble.
If so, I want nothing to do with Him. (Not that I have much to do with him, anyway.) I just talk to Him, in an informal way.
But I have to think He must really be utterly compassionate and forgiving , even to bad people like Hitler and Stalin – because they, along with all the other deeply horrible people like me, are His children and nobody else’s.
But I don’t know. I just think it’s all awful, mindless, and stupid….And horrible.
LikeLike
“…unreal, bizarre, incredibly obscene…idiotic nonsense…awful, mindless…stupid…horrible.”
All of which remains to be seen. When we do, I believe we will accept our time in Purgatory as entirely logical, merciful and just. You are not “kinder, more compassionate, and more forgiving than God” actually. He is pure Love, and to think it desirable to become one with Him before one is perfectly purified is a shallow, forlorn, childish ambition. Justice and righteousness are part and parcel of God’s merciful compassion. I do not expect or wish to enter Heaven in the condition I’m now in, which is why I’m thankful for Purgatory, considering the only other alternative.
Some people – not mentioning any names other than Pope Francis – hope and believe that Annihilation rather than Hell is the fate that awaits the irredeemably evil, although what theological basis there is for such a hope and belief I do not know. We shall see.
LikeLike
Although the priest’s style of delivery may be a little old-fashioned, what he delivers is the bedrock of truth.
For me, there were two elements in his sermons that were particularly moving. The first was his idea that even though the souls in purgatory are suffering, they do feel a certain joy in the knowledge that they are conforming to the will of God. That does make the prospect of purgatory a little less frightening.
The second element that affected me in these sermons, was the priest’s repetition of the idea that we must embrace our cross and love it. Of course we’ve all heard that idea before, but something in the way he expressed this thought – despite his rather dated way of speaking – impressed itself on my mind more deeply than ever before.
It is good to consider all these things in November, the month of the souls in purgatory. I think many other people who read this blog are surely grateful for this posting.
LikeLike
And one other thing: I thing johnhenrycn’s comments above are wise and good, as his comments always are.
LikeLike
I can accept the theory of “cleansing” before entering heaven – but why must it consist of “incredible suffering”? Taking a bath doesn’t.
How do we know anything about the supposed conditions in Purgatory, anyway?
Revelation? Or what?
LikeLike
“How do we know anything about the supposed conditions in Purgatory, anyway?”
Toad, I think we discussed biblical passages just recently on another thread that refer or allude to Purgatory, and there are instances of dead souls coming back to tell us about their agonies there or in Hell (depending) which you’re quite at liberty to take with a large grain of salt as is your wont, but personally, I take statements such as the above – “The souls in Purgatory suffer incredibly for even the smallest transgression…” literally and metaphorically, which is to say they experience incredible suffering but we do not know the ways in which they do, although it seems logical and just to suppose their suffering relates to their ways of living before dying –
gluttons in one way, lazy people in another and so forth.
It also seems to me that our suffering (and degree thereof) in Purgatory may mostly, perhaps entirely, be a matter of separation from Jesus. You and I remember the terrible agonies of “puppy love” during adolescence when the girls who stole our hearts were not ours to hold. Now multiply that by infinity and we might have an inkling of what suffering in Purgatory is like. God bless.
LikeLike
A very thoughtful and considered answer JH – and I mean that neither ironically nor patronisingly.
When I was a Toadpole , “Love God, or go to Hell.” was daily dinned into my little green hide.
(Other decrepit and ancient pre-Vat2 Catholics would confirm this if they were honest enough.)
And that rather draconian ukase proved a stumbling block. It still does.
Anyway, why does God apparently feel the need to command us to love Him – or else suffer agonisingly for eternity?
Or is that another stupid question?
My job is to love, as I see it, my family, my friends, my neighbours, and my animals. None of them are required to love me in return.
LikeLike
Yikes! Toad’s name has miraculously changed!
LikeLike
I saw that too and wondered why. Actually, I first read that new name as “morganatic41”, and while I know you’ve been around the block a few times, I don’t recall it being as many as 41 times, let alone to 41 women of lower social rank than you. But you were born in 1941 (?) so I suspect you oiked that new name yourself despite your expression of surprise.
LikeLike
I meant “picked” obviously, not “oiked”, unless my subconscious was coining a new word.
LikeLike
I preferred “oiked.”
Freudian, on your part, no doubt.
I ran my password by mistake*. This happened because I suffer from a little-known malady that is referred to within medical circles as “stupidity.”
* …So had to change it.
LikeLike