Take all souls to heaven

Divine Mercy

Take all souls to heaven

And after each one of the mysteries, my children, I want you to pray in this way: O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell. Take all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need.” 

Holy Mary, Our Lady of Fatima, taught Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta this prayer, to say after each mystery of the Rosary, on June 13, 1917. Both Mary and the Angel spoke candidly with the three children about the realities of heaven and hell, and there is an unmistakable urgency to their message. But in truth, Jesus’ call to repentance in the Gospels is no less urgent. If the message of Fatima seems more urgent, it is only because we have grown overly familiar with the Gospels, and Jesus’ message is not hitting us as urgently as it should.

Jesus speaks of heaven and hell frequently (Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 9:42-48, and Luke 16:19-31 are just three examples). He speaks of them frequently because he loves us, he knows they are real places and that we will all spend eternity in one or the other. And he very much wants us to spend eternity with him in heaven. It breaks his Most Compassionate Heart, it breaks Mary’s Most Immaculate Heart, when we die without his grace. The worst part about hell is that we are separated from his love forever.

In his Divine Comedy, Dante described his fictional travels through hell, then purgatory, and then heaven. Mary in her appearances to the children showed them a vision of heaven in her first two appearances, but revealed hell to them in her third. I’m going to follow Dante’s route in this post. I think a catechist cannot neglect to discuss the consequences of sin, but the focus must return again and again to God’s love and mercy, which culminates in our place at the heavenly banquet.

On July 13, 1917, Mary showed the children a vision of hell, which you may read here. Whether you read it or not (it is sobering reading), remember that God’s love for you is infinite and his mercy is infinite. Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta felt this deeply when Mary showed them heaven, as you’ll see below, and we can be with him in heaven too if we believe and we persevere to the end. We can say yes, or say no, to his love and his mercy. He sent Mary to remind us of the consequences of our choice because he loves us so much.

While the children did not see a vision of purgatory, Mary confirmed the existence of purgatory to them at her first appearance, on May 13, 1917. The children asked about friends of theirs who had passed, one of whom Mary said was in heaven, and one was in purgatory.

We do not know a lot about purgatory, nor did Mary reveal more than the reality of it at Fatima. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.”  The Catechism cites Matthew 12:31 and 2 Maccabees 12:46 as the Scriptural basis for the belief in Purgatory.

Death is a painful process, but a necessary step on our journey to heaven. For some souls, purgatory is likewise a painful but necessary step on the journey to heaven. The intent of purgatory is not punishment but purification, for the Bible tells us that “no unclean thing will enter heaven.” (Revelation 21:27) The flames of purgatory are not physical, since only souls can go there. Rather, “the fire by which we’re purified is an interior burning for the love of God,” intensified by complete understanding of God’s love and complete understanding of the evil of sin. Through this process the soul is separated irrevocably from sin. Dante described sinners in purgatory suffering gladly, knowing that they are being prepared for an eternity of heavenly glory.

Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta received a foretaste of heaven when Mary first appeared to them. Mary told them, “You will have a great deal to suffer, but the grace of God will be with you and will strengthen you,” and then (in Lucia’s words):

“She opened her hands, and we were bathed in a heavenly light that appeared to come directly from her hands. The light’s reality cut into our hearts and our souls, and we knew somehow that this light was God, and we could see ourselves embraced in it. By an interior impulse of grace we fell to our knees, repeating in our hearts: ‘Oh, Holy Trinity, we adore You. My God, my God, I love You in the Blessed Sacrament.’”

Heaven is perhaps more difficult to envision than hell. We have books and movies to show us all the cruelties men inflicted on each other in the 20th Century, which are near enough to what hell is like. But perfect love, perfect truth, and perfect beauty seem more elusive, more at odds with our everyday experience. Grace tells the children, and tells us, where to look – to Jesus, and especially to his Body and Blood in the Eucharist. This is an excellent point to meditate on the next time you are at mass. It is also an excellent reason to attend Eucharistic adoration. An hour of quiet time spent in the presence of Christ is the closest you can come in this world to the reality of heaven. It brings peace and refreshes the soul, just as surely as heaven brings an eternity of peace.

Michael Haverkamp

Michael Haverkamp is a lifelong member of the Roman Catholic Church. He is grateful to his parents for raising him in the faith. He resides in Columbus, Ohio with his amazing wife and three sons. By day he is a (usually) mild-mannered grant writer.

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