"No tongue can express, nor any mind form any idea of what Purgatory really is. As to the suffering, it is equal to that of hell." St. Catherine of Genoa, a Saint that was shown Purgatory by God, describes Purgatory as such. Purgatory has all the pains of hell, except one, which is the most horrible of the pains of hell. This one difference between Purgatory and hell is the one seldom thought of by people, especially if they are on their way to hell. This greatest suffering of the lost souls of hell is that they are separated from God forever. The souls in Purgatory have as their one hope, their sole consolation, the knowledge that one day, maybe centuries away, but one day they will be with God forever.

But in a way, that increases their grief in the terrible delay that they made for themselves in that ocean of fire called Purgatory. How long must they wait? To get a clearer understanding of this, read the "Time and Duration" of Purgatory, located on the Poor Souls home page. But while they wait, what may seem like a minute to Catholics on earth, is two weeks to those in Purgatory! Why does it seem so much longer? The pains. Saints have described sparks from Purgatory as being greater than every fire on earth combined, if one could unite them. What must it be like to be immersed in the flames?

Logically, it is far better to make atonement in this life; for the pains of Purgatory (like the joys of Heaven) are of such intensity as to be beyond our understanding or experience. Now, while we’re alive on the earth, we possess the time for obtaining merit. God also revealed to St. Catherine of Genoa that, "he who purifies himself of his faults in this life, satisfies with a penny a debt of a fortune, but he who waits until the next life to pay his debts agrees to spend a fortune for a debt that could have been paid in this life with a penny." God, in His generosity, allows the good works, prayers and sacrifices that we do in this life to expiate our sins and those of others, infinitely more than the pains that we suffer in the next life.

There are two types of sufferings in Purgatory. The first and greatest torment is that the Holy Souls are completely cut off from being with God until their time is done. St. Teresa of Avila explains this pain. "The pain of loss, or the denial of the sight of God, exceeds all the most excruciating sufferings we can imagine, because the souls urged on towards God as to the center of their aspiration, are continually repulsed by his Divine Justice. Picture to yourself a shipwrecked mariner who, after having long battled with the waves, comes at last within reach of the shore, only to find himself constantly thrust back by an invisible hand. What torturing agonies! Yet those of the Souls in Purgatory are a thousand times worse." But do not be confused into thinking that God is cruel to force them to remain in their fire or even that He is the only one that keeps them there. Read "Purgatory, God’s Mercy" to understand how the Holy Souls desire their purification, while it causes them sorrow unimaginable, in order to reach and earn their place in Heaven.

The second pain is that of the senses, the suffering which Purgatory is known for. The fire is unknown to this earth, and the cold is infinitely fiercer than any blizzard in the history of the world. The following true story gives us a small understanding of how frightful the torments of Purgatory are.

Ven. Stanislaus Chocosca, a religious of Poland, was once praying the Holy Rosary for the dead when a soul appeared to him. She begged him to have pity on her for she suffered so greatly in Purgatory. Stanislaus asked her if the fires in Purgatory could be as painful as those on earth? With a heavy sigh the deceased replied, "All the fires of the earth compared to that of Purgatory are like a refreshing breeze." Stanislaus, like the rest of us, found this hard to believe. "I wish to have a proof. If God will permit, for your relief, and for the good of my soul, I consent to suffer a part of your pains." "Alas! you could not do this," she replied, "no human could suffer such torment and live. However, God will permit you to feel it in a light degree. Stretch forth your hand. "Stanislaus put out his hand to her. The girl then let fall a single drop of sweat. The moment the sweat touched his hand he let out a great cry of pain and crumbled to the floor in a faint. The religious of the community immediately rushed to his aid and brought him to his bed. When Stanislaus came back to consciousness he told his fellow religious what had happened. Seeing his hand was all the proof they needed. "Ah! my dear Fathers," Stanislaus said, "if we knew the severity of the Divine chastisements, we would never commit sin, nor would we cease to do penance in this life, in order to avoid expiation in the next." After that day, Stanislaus had to stay in his bed. He suffered the most terrible torments from the wound. He lived for one more year in this condition and then peacefully died in Our Lord. If just one drop of the sweat of Purgatory caused so much pain, what then must the fires that produced that sweat feel like?

Some might ask how the Holy Souls can suffer since they have no body. God, supplying for the need of the body, makes it possible for the souls to experience the torments. It is possible for God to do that, even in this life. St. Don Bosco would experience such things in his special prophetic dreams that God would give him. In his dreams he would smell and feel things. If he was walking on a road of thorns he could feel it, even though he was only dreaming. So it is possible. You yourself might have experienced similar effects. Have you ever felt the pain of a shot before the needle touched your skin? People not resigned to being ill, increase their pains even physically, through the power of their mind. The mind is incredibly powerful. People have actually died from thinking that they would, while their health was in fine shape. God is the Creator of our minds and is infinitely more powerful. Thus, the Poor Souls can experience the pains of Purgatory as if they had, although they are without, human bodies.

In Purgatory, each type of sin committed has a special punishment to expiate it. The Holy Souls have on numerous occasions described to humans on earth the pains they suffer in accordance to the lives they led. For example, one had the sins of being lazy and as punishment was chained to a bed of red hot sharp spikes. Those that spoke uncharitably and gossiped of their neighbors and those in charge of them suffer their tongue to be torn apart again and again. St. Bridget of Sweden was shown Purgatory on many occasions. She once saw the torments of a lady that had led a very worldly life. The unfortunate woman told Saint Bridget what she had to undergo to expiate her sins: "I suffer for the worldly life that my mother did not prevent me from leading. Alas! This head, which so loved to be adorned, and which sought the attention of others, is now devoured in a pit of flames within and without, and these flames are so violent that it seems at every moment I must die. These shoulders, these arms, which I loved to see admired, are cruelly bound in chains of red-hot iron. These feet, formerly trained for the dance, are now surrounded with vipers that tear them with there fangs and soil them with there filthy slime; all these members which I have adorned with jewelry, flowers, and other divers ornaments, are now prey to the most horrible torture." This is how one soul suffers in Purgatory to expiate just the sins of her worldly life.

On another occasion, St. Bridget saw the judgment of a soldier. He had led a life of sin and was saved by Our Lady because of the respect he had always had for her. He was, however, in justice, sentenced to a long time in Purgatory. His punishments were terrifying. The Judge read the sentence, "The punishment of the eyes, shall be to contemplate the most frightful objects; that of the tongue, to be pierced with pointed needles and tormented with thirst; that of the touch; to be plunged in an ocean of fire." Those are just some examples of the punishments of Purgatory. But the love of Our Blessed Mother did not end with saving this poor soldier from an eternity of unending torments. On account of his love and respect for her, she did yet more for him and procured for him a lighter sentence in Purgatory! Such is the power of Our Lady’s intercession.

As you read this, countless souls in Purgatory are enduring the most excruciating torments. Certainly among them are some of your own family, friends, and also your enemies. You should, if not for love of them (or of God) then certainly in the justice which you owe to them (and to God), do something to mitigate their misery. "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins." (2 Mach. 12:43-46) Divine Love is never outdone in generosity. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." (St. Matthew 5:7) Offer then, to His Justice, prayers, sufferings, good works, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and alms to help pay the debt of those in Purgatory. He will reward you in ways you cannot conceive of, to degrees beyond your imagination.