The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma [Paperback]

Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1997

This small book contains an interview with Maria Simma, an elderly Austrian woman, who testifies to being regularly visited by souls in Purgatory who answer secrets about that realm and who plead for the prayers of the living.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Queenship Pub Co (December 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579180043
• ISBN-13: 978-1579180041
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Catholic
  • #3 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Other Practices > Mysticism
  • #6 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Theology > Eschatology

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

248 of 252 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book will change how you look at life!, February 15, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma (Paperback)

I have always wanted to know more about Purgatory, but there isn't much information on it out there. When I came across this book, I read it with great interest. According to this woman, Purgatory is where souls go to be cleansed of sin. They initially see God (or at least the light of God) when they die, and all they want to do is be embraced by Him. However, they must first have their souls cleansed in Purgatory. The type of suffering that takes place in Purgatory is the soul's burning desire to be with God. Angels often come to Purgatory to comfort the souls, and we can help them by praying for them. It is made clear in this book that the souls in Purgatory do not want to come back to earth, as their future is much more certain than anyone's on earth. They also have a lot more knowledge than the living do. However, they do envy the living, because the living still have time to change their ways and gain merits with God. By the time a soul gets to Purgatory, it is helpless and depends on the prayers of others. People who believe in Jesus Christ, and are truly sorry for their sins, will be saved from hell. Satan is real, and he wants us to turn away from God. This book not only teaches us to reject Satan and sin, but it also tells us to make every moment count in life. Life is a gift that should not be wasted!

110 of 111 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid Description of Purgatory, July 24, 2002

By 

John P. Rooney "John" (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma (Paperback)

"The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory" by Sister Emmanuel of Medjugorje. Book's subtitle is "An Interview With Maria Simma". Queenship Publishing company, Goleta, CA 1997.

This is a very short (58 pages) book, relating the interview of Maria Simma, a devout Catholic, who, for many years, has visits from the souls in Purgatory. These souls will ask Maria Simma to have prayers said for them: a Mass, or a Rosary, or the Stations of the Cross. The author, Sister Emmanuel, interviewed Maria Simma through an interpreter, and," for the sake of brevity and clarity" (page 3), Sister Emmanuel summed up some of Maria's answers.

This book is not a summary of the Church's doctrine on the issue of Purgatory. Rather, the book recounts the answers of Maria Simma to the questions asked by Sister Emmanuel. That Maria Simma has been visited by the souls from Purgatory is confirmed by incidents (not fully documented in this book) of a deceased person relating details to Maria Simma, and her telling the family of the deceased these details. Maria would have all the details concerning the field, or the exact amount of money, or the property and..."the family would be staggered to discover that she knew all these details". (p. 38)

For anyone wanting to discover what Purgatory is like, this small book gives a description of that place by one woman who has had visions for most of her life. Maria must be approaching her 90s, since she was listed as 82 in the year of publication (1997).

The last few pages are a call to prayer for the souls in Purgatory by the author, Sister Emmanuel. The book is well worth the small price, and ... delivered the book quickly.

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Inspires One To Pray For The Dead, March 10, 2001

By 

Thomas J. Pernice (Gainesville, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Amazing Secret of the Souls in Purgatory: An Interview with Maria Simma (Paperback)

This illuminating interview of a simple Austrian woman, who God graced with the charism of communicating with souls from purgatory, will motivate you to have Masses said, without delay, for your deceased relatives and friends as well as for those unfortunate souls in purgatory who have no one to pray for them. Maria Simma is a highly credible mystic, well known in her native country for finding the living relatives of souls who have appeared to her and implored her to have their relatives make reparations for the wrongs they have done. She has, in numerous instances, possessed information that no one in her capacity could have obtained, but from the decedent himself. It is a short book, but makes the important point that God is so holy that we must be perfectly purified to be in his Divine presence. Contrary to what one of the other reviewers stated, there are two types of pain in purgatory: the pain of separation from God; and the pain of sense (physical suffering). Make no mistake, it is a place of excruciating suffering. Almost all theologians teach that the souls in hell and the souls in purgatory suffer the action of the same fire. The same fire, says St. Gregory, torments the damned and purifies the elect. In my opinion, the quintessential book on purgatory is "Purgatory", by the 19th century French theologian, Fr. F.X. Shouppe, S.J. Amazon sells it. Thank you.