From Forums of the Virgin Mary [translated from Portuguese]:

How time passes in Purgatory.

A shiver will probably run through your body when you think about Purgatory.

On the one hand, you might see it favorably, because falling there would be an indicator that you were saved.

But on the other hand, perhaps you are weighed down by the uncertainty of how long you will spend purifying yourself, in the event that you pass through there.

Have you reflected on this?

Here we will unravel the mysteries of time in Purgatory.

What factors determine the length of a person’s stay in Purgatory?

Is the weather there the same as what we know on Earth?

How can we shorten our time if we fall there?

We know many things from the testimonies of souls from Purgatory who visit Earth and from the Scriptures.

And we can come up with several practical tips on how to quickly get to Heaven, which we will tell you here, and they will be very helpful to you.

Which you have hardly heard of.

According to the Catechism, the Church is made up of 3 parts:

The Triumphant Church, which is in Heaven, the saints.

The Church Militant, which pilgrims on Earth

And the Purgative Church that is purified in Purgatory.

The goal of all souls is to move from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant, at the end of life. 

But to get to Heaven you must be perfect, since nothing imperfect can enter there. 

And this implies being free from all stains of sin, having made all reparation to Divine Justice.

On Earth, God’s greatest attribute is His mercy. 

With a simple act of love, we can cover entire sins and erase the penalties due to them.

But in Purgatory, on the other hand, the mercy that the soul can receive has already been applied, and now Divine Justice rules. 

In Matthew 5:26 he explains it when he says, “I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you pay the last cent.”

But once in Purgatory, souls can no longer help themselves.

Since they no longer possess a physical body and have seen the face of God, they can no longer make sacrifices in reparation for their sins.

They are helpless and forced to rely on the love of God, the intercession of the Virgin Mary, and the prayers and sacrifices of the Church Militant of Earth.

Now, it is clear that those who reach Purgatory know that they are saved and that they will go through purification until they reach Heaven.

But they do not know the harshness of the Purgatory they will have or its duration.

Mystics who are visited by souls from Purgatory have said that some have harder and longer purgatories, depending on the responsibility they have been given on Earth.

The process of Purgatory takes place outside of “time” as we conceive it here on Earth.

The souls will be treated by a purifying fire, eliminating imperfections, just as gold is purified in the furnace.

But it is absolutely different from the fire applied to the damned in hell. 

This purification process is mysterious to us.

And all this leads us to wonder how long souls remain in Purgatory? what does it depend on?

It depends on the number of your faults.

Of the malice and deliberation with which the faults were committed.

Of penance done or not, and satisfaction done or not, for the sins committed during life.

And of the suffrages offered by them after their deaths: masses, sacrifices, prayers.

The intercession of the Church Militant on Earth is fundamental.

Saint Vincent Ferrer says that after his sister’s death, he prayed fervently for her soul and offered many Masses for her liberation. 

And she appeared to him at the end of his Purgatory, and told him that, if it were not for his powerful intercession before God, she would have been there for a very long time.

In the Dominican Order it is a general rule to pray for superiors on the anniversary of their deaths. 

And many have died several centuries ago and were eminent men for their piety and wisdom. 

And it is said that a holy nun in Pamplona managed to free several Carmelites from Purgatory, who had remained there for 30 or 40 years.

So, what will be the fate of those who live immersed in the temptations of the World, and with its hundreds of weaknesses?

Terrible!

Saint Bede the Venerable said that those who spend much of their lives committing serious sins and confess them on their deathbed can be held in Purgatory until the Last Day.

Now, when we talk about years and centuries in Purgatory, does it mean the same as on Earth?

Does time in Purgatory pass the same way as on Earth?

Time, as well as space, are notions related to the material universe and in Purgatory we are talking about the spiritual realm.

Theologians explain that time in Purgatory can be measured in two ways. 

The first corresponds to time as we measure it on Earth. 

And the second corresponds to the amount of time that the souls judge that they suffered.

That is why we see testimonies of souls, who after a few hours in Purgatory, complain that they have spent years or even centuries of suffering.

Saint Thomas Aquinas tells of a monk who suffered from a terrible illness that caused him great pain and he begged God to let him die.

His Guardian Angel appeared to him and offered that he could suffer his illness for another year and go straight to Heaven when he died, or die now and suffer in Purgatory for three days. 

He chose the latter, but after being in Purgatory for an hour, the guardian angel visited him and the monk complained that he had already spent several years purging.

What happens is that a soul, once separated from the body, is no longer limited by the limitations of matter. 

All the senses within the soul are intensified and even thought itself becomes instantaneous.

Therefore, when a soul experiences any form of pain, it is processed and felt in a different and complete way.

So the consequences of a mere second on Earth can seem like hours to a soul in Purgatory.

And can we estimate the difference between both times?

The most common testimonies from souls visiting Earth indicate that 15 minutes on Earth feels like a year in Purgatory.

And therefore 40 years on Earth would feel like 1.4 million years in Purgatory.

Of course this is not intended to be exact, but rather to show the magnitude of the difference in the perception of time between Earth and Purgatory. 

This is why María Simma suggests that we must accept all the suffering that God sends us before dying. 

Because the sufferings on Earth are worth much more compared to the sufferings of Purgatory. 

And he also suggests asking for 30 masses for each dead person and on their anniversaries, and taking communion with that intention.

Pray for them, especially the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. 

Fast with that intention Wednesday and Friday.

Giving alms to the poor and other corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Well, that’s it for what we wanted to talk about, about how time passes in Purgatory, what we should do to shorten this time and how to help our loved ones who are there.

And I would like to ask you if you take it upon yourself to do things for your loved ones who are presumably in Purgatory and what you do.