Friday, October 14, 2016

The bishop cometh

Today the Bishop of the Catholic Ordinariate to which the parish belongs which I attend most Sundays for mass is coming to attend the sacrament of Confirmation for our younger sentient members. It is a time of great excitement. The Greek word for Bishop, επίσκοπος, simply means "overseer". May he be welcome, and likewise be delighted by the ministry in our Parish he oversees.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Easiest Way to Avoid Time in Purgatory

It occurred to me the other day, "I wonder what the easiest way to avoid any time in Purgatory is, since there have been various apparitions granting relief from such things?" Most sources just give ways to minimize your time, but I wanted to find a traditional method that eliminates it. For the purpose of answering the question, I assumed that all apparitions and promises reported by Catholic saints were true that have a tradition going back more than 100 years.

This appears to be the easiest one (There are several I found):

"St. Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, with St. Matilda and St. Bridget, wishing to know something of the Passion of Jesus Christ, offered fervent and special prayers. upon which Our Lord revealed to them:
To all the faithful who shall recite for 3 years, each day, 2 Our Fathers, 2 Hail Marys and 2 Glory Bes in honor of the drops of Blood I lost, I will concede the following 5 graces:
1st: The plenary indulgence and remittance of your sins.
2nd: You will be free from the pains of Purgatory.
3rd: If you should die before completing the said 3 years, for you it will be the same as if you had completed them.
4th: It will be upon your death the same as if you had shed all your blood for the Holy Faith.
5th: I will descend from Heaven to take your soul and that of your relatives, until the fourth generation.
Blessed by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII in Rome, April 5, 1890."

I've seen it in several places on the internet. Seems too good to be true, if you believe in Purgatory. But, then, isn't the whole salvation story "too good to be true" for sinners as well?