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Purgatory: Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints

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"Purgatory"; "Explained By The Lives And Legends Of The Saints", by Fr. F.X. Schouppe, S.J. Tan Books, Rockford, Illinois.

This book received its IMPRIMATUR on October 11, 1893, so these writings of the Jesuit priest, F.X. Schouppe, are more than a century old. Fr. Schouppe collected and compiled the descriptions of Purgatory as recorded in the lives of saints and various holy people. Some of the saints are well known (St. Catherine of Genoa and St. Gertrude) while others are less familiar, e.g. St. Odilo, or, for example, Blessed Stephana Quinziani. The book is divided into two parts, "Purgatory: the Mystery Of God's Justice" and "Purgatory: the Mystery Of God's Mercy". If you read only the first part, it would, in my opinion, be very easy to lose hope. The suffering of the souls in Purgatory is real and they suffer for great things and for the least little offense. The Foreword, selected from St. Matthew's Gospel, makes Fr. Schouppe's point,
"... that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render
an account for it in the day of judgment" Matt. 12:36.

The second part of the book, written, you will recall, before the 20th Century St. Faustina was born, is called "Purgatory: the Mystery Of God's Mercy" and the good Jesuit author makes the point that God's charity will not be out done. In this second part of the book, as in the first, the author relates examples of "... how efficacious are the smallest prayers, the shortest supplications, to alleviate the sufferings of the poor souls". P.237. Schouppe gives examples of the efficacy of, first of all, The Mass, and then, the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross, in the relief of the suffering of souls in Purgatory. This book presents some frightening aspects of the punishment in Purgatory, thereby providing motivation for good works in this life and the earning of indulgences.

Read this book to learn about Purgatory, the place.

After reading this book I can honestly say that it the best and most informative piece of information I have encountered on the subject. This is a must read for every Catholic and for anyone else who believes that there is a God and that we must be in a state of grace before we see Him. For the first time purgatory makes sense and for the first time I believe I have a much truer understanding of just what it is I have to do before my life ends here on this earth. Additionally, the book also covers the topic of why it is so important to pray for our dead and there is a section of appropriate prayers in this book as well. And for those who may be wondering, it is marked "Nihil Obstat" and "Imprimatur" thus making it a reliable source for those seeking authentic Catholic teachings.

This is a wonderful book. Do not by this book, though, looking for an argument on why Christians should believe in Purgatory. Instead, this fascinating work discusses visions of Purgatory and of souls from Purgatory. It is divided into two sections- the first section talks about the Justice and is meant to inspire holy fear of Purgatory, while the second section is meant to show the mercy of God in giving such a place, so as to keep any inordinate fear of it in check. It inspires one to pray for the poor souls there while inspiring that person to avoid sins. A wonderful book overall, even if it is 100 years old!

In reading this book (3X's) I must say that it truly shows God's love for us. This book is not written to convert those non-believers but rather to show God's infinite wisdom, and his knowledge of human weekness. Although it is frightning at times in the first half of the book, the second half is truly uplifting! If you read this book pray that the Holy Spirit guides you through and that you will truly be touched....

Must read for all Christians. Fr. Shouppe dispells the notion, within The Dogma of Purgatory, that a Merciful God cannot have a purgatory or hell. He proves using the lives of the Saints that we all need a better understanding of what is purgatory and how it effects our growth towards holiness.
This book can be used as a general reference and as a study guide for your writing and sermons.
If you do not understand or believe in purgatory you will when you finish this book, or you will when you get there!

People seem to have forgotten about the doctrine of purgatory and the importance of praying for the souls in purgatory as well as letting our trials and sufferings go to waste without offering them up for their relief. This is a great book that explains in great detail just what purgatory is about and what the Catholic teaching says about it. I was very impressed by the first few pages that actually cites rulings from the Council of Trent of the 16th century on the issue which itself cites the authority of this teaching as coming from the early church fathers as well. Clearly this doctrine is not a recent "invention" but has been accepted and understood from the early days of the church fathers. Everything you've ever wanted to know about purgatory and essential reading for all Christians let alone Catholics.

There is absolutely no value we can put to the knowledge we can learn from this book. I am extremely glad to be a Roman Catholic.

I'm 21 and going to a very secular private university in southern California which is full of lukewarm Christians...especially lukewarm Catholics. My generation has all but lost a sense of fear in God's Justice, and this book is exactly what we need. It helps to clarify everything you ever wanted to know or were curious about Purgatory, restore the gravity and incalculable value of Mass in the mind of the reader, and develops a profound appreciation and inspiration of the Saints of the past.

I had a very rough notion of what Purgatory was before I read this book and boy am I glad I read it. The cover makes it look really ghetto and like some cult book which I wish they kind of changed, but nevertheless, never judge a book by its cover AMEN!

Very few books have covered a topic so well nor have deepened my faith like this one. I think in an age where we have forgotten the concept of guilt, this book is a must read for all Catholics.

More people my age should read this, because it does such a good job of setting values and priorities straight in one's life, creates a strong urgency in a person to change for the better and to strive for perfection, to grow the right type of fear in God's Justice, to better understand and become confident in His Infinite Mercy and most importantly, the book ends on a note of charity and suggests a variety of ways we can fulfill this Divine Commandment towards our brothers and sisters -the Souls Departed.

What can I say?

I love God even more after this and there can be nothing but good that comes out of that :)

Looking forward to reading the book again and again throughout my lifetime.

Peace

Across a broad spectrum of titles, subjects and the like, this is by far one of the best books I have ever read. It is very difficult to put down, once you get into the meat of it. I've never ever had Purgatory explained to me so well and so concise. If you don't believe in Purgatory...think again. If you think Purgatory is simply a stopping off or resting place prior to Heaven...get ready for a BIG TIME reality check. On the good side, if you've made it to Purgatory, at least you are on your way to Heaven. The whole idea, though, is to work here in this life to get straight to Heaven. It's a whole lot simpler and eternally less painful to purge oneself of sin in this life...and not wait until the next. This book needs to be read by all.

As a Catholic I have always been curious about Purgatory. This book is a great way to understand and view Purgatory as the saints saw it. I could not put this book down. It's really a gripping and very interesting book. I have this as one of my top 5 favorites because of the enormous impact it made on me. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone trying to understand what Purgatory is. This book will define it VERY clearly to you, and you'll be left w/no doubts or reservations of what purgatory is.