Fr. Cliff Ermatinger's Homilies on Purgatory

source

It's been a great blessing to have Fr. Cliff Ermatinger presiding at some of the early morning Masses at Old St. Mary.  He is a powerful homilist and so very reverent.  Attending Mass when he is presiding keeps me from distraction and I'm always inspired.  My pen flies when he begins his homily because I don't want to miss a thing he has to share!  He recently gave two very engaging homilies on purgatory.  During this month of prayer for Holy Souls,  Fr. Cliff's words are encouraging for all of us who are striving to be saints and to spend as little time as possible in purgatory.  Here you will find the Gospel reading and my notes on Fr. Cliff's homily.

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Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain-and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot-and so it is.  You hypocrites!  You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right?  If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison.  I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”  ~ Luke 12:54-59

This is the foundational text for belief in purgatory.  If we have the smallest speck of disordered attachment in our heart we need purgatory.  Purgatory is God’s mercy so we can see God’s face without shame.  Purgatory is painful in its shame, yet souls are happy there because they know they are going to heaven. 

Our venial sins and attachments keep us from union with God.  We have a choice.  We can have purgatory in this life or in the next.  The trials that come our way are God’s mercy.  It’s our chance to offer it up without complaining and in doing so our hearts are re-ordered to see the face of Christ.

The Lord gives us opportunities to configure ourselves with him; to suffer in a meritorious way.  In purgatory suffering is passive.  There is no possibility of any more merit.  The purpose of our trials in life is for our own configuration with Christ.

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Jesus passed through towns and villages, teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.  Someone asked him, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” 

He answered them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.  After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door, then will you stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ He will say to you in reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ And you will say, ‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’  Then he will say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.  Depart from me, all you evildoers!’ And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God and you yourselves cast out.

And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the Kingdom of God.  For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.” ~Luke 13:22-30

Pope Benedict looks at key scriptural words and their use in other parts of scripture.  The mustard seed becoming a large bush is compared to the Kingdom of God, but elsewhere he says if your faith is the size of a mustard seed you can tell the mountains to move and they will.  Then “faith” and “kingdom” become interchangeable terms.

Making an act of faith is the work of grace.  It’s not from ourselves.  It’s our will in cooperation with grace.

Knowing that new life comes when the seed dies we see the truth of the ancient Christian saying that the blood of martyrs is the seed of Christianity.  We see martyrs today in the Middle East and in France and their deaths strengthen the Kingdom and our faith.  They prove to us that there are things worth dying for.  The martyrs don’t pass through purgatory.  Their martyrdom is their sacrifice.

Our sacrifices are powerful. When our faith is tried and encroached upon as is occurring right now in this country, then our faith is strengthened.  In our trials and crosses we’re given a chance to grow, to bear fruit and to be configured to Christ.

Myrrh Bearing Women

"The priest is God saying, "I'm here and I'm not leaving you." ~Jacob Boddicker, SJ

Myrrh Bearing Women by Christi Jentz

I've had the great honor of organizing the Monthly Prayer Request for Priests calendar for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee since September 2010.  The calendars are arranged in alphabetical order, listing all of the active and retired priests of the Archdiocese as well as requesting prayer for the Archbishop, bishops, religious order priests, seminarians and those in discernment for the priesthood on days that are fitting to their particular vocation.

During the past four years I've taken occasional phone calls from priests and lay faithful with questions about how the calendar is organized.  One such phone call was from Fr. Paul Weishar, a retired priest who, at the time of the phone call, was coming upon his 92nd birthday.  He was wondering why his name wasn't listed on his birthday and when I explained the alphabetical listing of the calendars he remarked that retired priests are often forgotten and nobody seems to care about them anymore.  How terribly heartbreaking!  Since that phone call, I exchanged a few more phone calls and letters with Fr. Paul and forwarded his name to our Archdiocesan priest who ministers to the retired priests asking him to contact Fr. Paul and to pray for him.

Earlier this month, I heard that Fr. Paul had passed away.  I was grateful that my supervisor allowed me to adjust my work schedule so that I could attend his funeral.  When I arrived at the quaint, little church, I was so happy to see my friend, September S. and her lovely daughter, Lauren, already there.  Like me, September feels it deeply in her heart to pray for deceased priests, whether she knew them well or not.  And, it wasn't long afterward that our friend, Erin Berghouse, the founder of Ahava Productions, joined us in prayer as well.  Sweet Erin had stopped at the parish to drop something off for the pastor, Fr. John Burns, who told her that a funeral was just about to begin for a priest.  She said that as she was walking back to her car, she was struck by the fact that she just happened to stop at the parish immediately before a priest's funeral and decided that the Holy Spirit must have had something to do with that timing and she decided to stay and pray for him.

Following communion as we were kneeling in thanksgiving, I was overcome with the image of the Myrrh Bearing Women in my heart.  I felt that here we were, modern-day Myrrh Bearing Women, offering the myrrh of our prayers at the tomb of an alter-Christus, Fr. Paul Weishar.  My hope is that in the final years of his life, Fr. Paul could feel the prayers that were offered for him and that now, in his death, the prayers for his soul will continue.  May we all offer the myrrh of our prayers for our priests both living and dead, for what would we be without them and the sacraments they so lovingly and willingly bring to us?

Eternal rest grant unto Fr. Paul Weishar, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.  May his soul, and all of the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.  Amen.

Funeral for a Priest

As an Oblate of the Precious Blood, I feel compelled to pray, not only for living priests, but for the souls of deceased priests as well.  Last May I attended a funeral for a good and holy priest, Fr. Joseph Baran.  According to his long-time friend, Fr. Norbert Kieferle from Indiana, "Fr. Baran was the oldest Polish priest in the Badger State.  He was 92 years old when he died from a sudden heart attack, although he didn't have heart disease, and his mind remained sharp until the end."  The funeral Mass was sparsely attended which made me sad.  I've always imagined that people would be spilling out of the church at the funerals of priests as a witness to all of the lives that they have touched, but perhaps, due to his advanced age at passing, most of the lives he had touched had gone before him.  Hopefully the few people there prayed all the more for Fr. Baran's soul and made up in fervor for what was lacking in physical presence.

I didn't know Fr. Baran personally, although he had sent me a letter with a donation for Roses for Our Lady a few years previously.  His letter and donation gave me great encouragement in my work with Roses for Our Lady. When I heard of his passing I wanted to pray for him at his funeral in gratitude for his kindness to me and the organization that is so dear to my heart.

Fr. Baran had pre-planned his funeral and chose his friend, Bishop Fabian Bruskewitz from Nebraska, to preside and preach.  Bishop Bruskewitz drove through the night to reach Milwaukee in time for the Mass as his flight had been canceled.  He gave a beautiful and brilliant homily.  He said, "We're not here to canonize Fr. Baran, but we are here to pray for him, to shorten his time in purgatory.  Any dust that has collected on his garments through the years, any mud that gathered on his shoes, we are to pray that clean so he may hurry to the moment when Christ will meet him and say ''Well done my good and faithful servant.'"  He spoke about the dignity of the priesthood and the great role that the humble parish priest has in the lives of his parishioners, and then shared just a few memories of the great friendship that he shared with Fr. Baran when the bishop was still a priest in Milwaukee.

I was especially grateful for Bishop Bruskewitz's comments about purgatory and the necessity of praying for Fr. Baran's soul.  In the words of the Purgatory Lady, Susan Tassone, "No one is more dead than a dead priest because no one prays for him.  We tend to leave off too soon praying for our deceased priests and religious. We tend to "canonize" our clergy and loved ones immediately after death. They are the most abandoned souls in purgatory including those souls whose families do not believe in the doctrine of purgatory and  our protestant brothers and sisters.  We say  they have suffered enough, they are in Heaven. We determine the state of their soul at death. Only God can judge their souls. If they are in Heaven, praise God! Our prayers are never wasted.

There is a great shortage of priests. We do not know whether we will have the privilege of having a priest at our side at the hour of our death. Pray for our deceased priests in purgatory. Beg them to intercede to grant the grace of final repentance for you and your whole family and all future generations until the end of time and in exchange you will pray for them. At the hour of your death, you will be surrounded by all the priests for whom you opened the door to Heaven.  

In turn, they will escort you to the heavenly banquet."

Not only did I pray for Fr. Baran at his funeral and continue to pray for his soul daily, but I also pray to him, certain that he now has a special place in the heart of God and can intercede ever more strongly for those who pray to him.  On the Feast of St. John Vianney, patron of priests, won't you join me in praying, not only for living priests, but for the souls of all of those priests who have passed this earthly realm, as well as to ask for their intercession on your own behalf and on the behalf of your loved ones?

The Holy Cure of Ars by E. Cabuchet

A Prayer For Priests  from the Sanctuaire D'Ars-www.arsnet.org
(my words in italics)

Lord Jesus, with Saint Jean-Marie Vianney, we entrust to your care all the priests we know, those we have met, those that have helped us, those you give to us today as fathers, and those who have passed from this life.

You have called each by name.  For each one, we praise you and we beseech you:  keep them faithful to your Name.  For you consecrated them so that, in your Name, they might be our pastors.  Give them strength, confidence and joy in accomplishing their mission.

May the Eucharist that they celebrate nourish them and give them courage to offer themselves with you on behalf of the lambs that we are.  Plunge them into your heart of Mercy, so that they always bear witness to your forgiveness.  May they be true worshippers of the Father, so that they teach us the true path to holiness.

Father, with them we offer ourselves to Christ for the Church:  may She be a missionary Church moved by your Spirit.  Teach us quite simply to love our priests, to respect them and to receive them as a gift that comes from your hand, so that together we accomplish better your work for the salvation of all.

Amen.

A Prayer for Deceased Priests (source)

O God, you raised Your servant, 

to the sacred priesthood of Jesus Christ, 

according to the Order of Melchisedech, 

giving him the sublime power to offer the Eternal Sacrifice, 

to bring the Body and Blood of Your Son Jesus Christ down upon the altar, 

and to absolve the sins of men in Your own Holy Name. 

We beseech You to reward his faithfulness and to forget his faults, 

admitting him speedily into Your Holy Presence, 

there to enjoy forever the recompense of his labors. 

This we ask through Jesus Christ Your Son, our Lord. 

Amen.

Schoenstatt Shrine

My sister invited me to daily Mass at her parish, St. Vincent Pallotti in Milwaukee, to pray for my dad on the 8th anniversary of his death on July 1st.  Daily Mass at St. Vincent is quite early at 6:25 am, so after Mass I found myself with a little extra time on my hands before I had to leave for work.  I decided to spend that time in prayer in the little Schoenstatt Shrine that is directly behind the church.

The Schoenstatt Shrine is charming but even more so were the hospitable sisters that I found praying their morning prayers when I arrived.  How quickly they had arrived at the chapel following Mass!  I joined them in their prayers whenever I could, such as praying the Angelus, and when they were through they invited me to sign their visitor book, thanked me for praying with them and were very gracious when I asked about taking a few pictures.

This wasn't my first time praying at the Schoenstatt Shrine; I've gone there for adoration from time to time, but this visit moved me in a special way, perhaps because of the kindness that the sisters showed me, or maybe it was because my dad was praying for me as my sister and I were praying for him, and I could feel his love more deeply than ever that morning.

The original Schoenstatt Shrine is in Germany, home of the lay movement's founder, Fr. Kenneth Kentenich, and there are 180 replica shrines throughout the world, including four in Wisconsin. Mass is offered at the Milwaukee Schoenstatt Shrine, 5310 W. Wisconsin Avenue, on Wednesdays at 7:30 pm, and Eucharistic Adoration is held from 9 am-2 pm Monday through Saturday.  To learn more about Schoenstatt visit this link.

Schoenstatt Prayer of Good Intention

All I experience today,

What I say and what I dare,

All my thoughts and all my actions,

What I love and what I merit,

All that I direct and conquer

All my joys and all my sorrows,

All that I am and have,

I give to you as a gift of love.

Use it so the holy stream of grace

Flows richly from this shrine

To win hearts for Schoenstatt

Lead there all those whom you have chosen

That the work we offer to the triune God

May be fruitful.  Amen.

I was impressed that the stained glass window portrays an image of the chapel

Our Mother Thrice Admirable is the centerpiece of every Schoenstatt Chapel-this year Schoenstatt is celebrating it's 100th anniversary so the banner across the altar and the candle in the center are in honor of that joyous occasion

Purgatory: The Forgotten Church and the Purgatory Lady

Recently, Mary at the Beautiful Gate, mentioned that Padre Pio had prayed for his mother to have a happy death after she had already died.  That thought just boggles my mind and I have been frequently pondering it. The thought that, with God, there is no yesterday or tomorrow, but only right now, is hard to fathom, and yet, thinking that He could change the past and the future is even more mind-blowing.  With God there is so much hope for us all, isn't there?

When I consider hope, one of the first thoughts that comes to my mind is purgatory.  Purgatory, which at one time had seemed like such a frightening place to me, is truly a place of hope.  The souls who are not immediately drawn to heaven upon death, continue to have the opportunity to reach heaven and the loving arms of God, through our earthly and prayerful assistance.  Isn't it beautiful that our prayer can reach beyond time and space and bring peace and heavenly bliss to those souls who may be waiting to be cleansed and purified before witnessing the beatific vision?

Friar John Clote, OFM Conv., is the creator of a wonderful documentary, Purgatory:  The Forgotten Church, which features my friend, Fr. Jim Kubicki, SJ, the national director of the Apostleship of Prayer, as well as several other experts on the Church's teaching regarding purgatory, such as Cardinal George from Chicago.  The stories of near-death experiences and of souls who appear to selected people who seem to  have a special calling to pray for those who have died are fascinating!  Author Susan Tassone, who often goes by the nickname, The Purgatory Lady, was one of the experts featured in the film.  I had the opportunity to listen to her speak at the Basilica of St. Josephat in Milwaukee recently, and was fascinated by her insight.

Tassone spent over 20 years researching purgatory through Church history and the lives of the saints.  She explained that there are five truths that illuminate the Church's doctrine and reveal significant details regarding purgatory:

Truth 1:  Purgatory exists.  It's a declared doctrine and part of our tradition.  The apostles prayed for the dead and early Church fathers taught us about it.

Truth 2:  Purgatory exists because of God's love, mercy and holiness.  It is a masterpiece of God's mercy.  It is not a punishment.  It's God's loving and merciful way of preparing us to stand before Him.  It's His love that cleanses us.  God is unspeakable purity and we need purification and healing to stand before Him.  Souls in purgatory know that they belong there and they willingly undergo their time in purgatory so they can prepare to see God.  It's a place of restoration.  In purgatory, the outrage we've committed against God's glory is healed.

Truth 3:  Purgatory is not a punishment.  Yes, it is spiritually and psychologically demanding.  Faith, hope and selfless love are fashioned there.  God will purge the remnants so that they may be purified and mature. It's like losing weight, quitting smoking, working through counseling or preparing for the Olympics.  It requires pain to reach the goal.  Purgatory is the pain required to reach the goal of heaven.  We want to do what needs to be done to get to heaven.  It's a joyful pain.  Why joy?  Because the souls in purgatory can no longer sin.  They know they are going to see God and they are saved.  He's preparing us for the joys of heaven.  God does not regard our failures as final.  Shallowness and selfishness are overcome.  Benedict XVI said that "If there were no purgatory then we'd have to invent it.  For who would dare say of himself that he was ready to stand before God?"  Purgatory is a means of receiving God's love.

Truth 4:  The primary suffering in purgatory is the loss of the sight of God.  Upon death, we see God briefly and then purgatory is the loss of that vision.  Once the soul leaves the body it has one desire-to be united with God.  It's as if it is drawn like a piece of iron to a powerful magnet.  The soul sees the providence of God clearly.

Truth 5:  Purgatory is not a physical fire.  The fire in hell is a consuming fire but the fire in purgatory is a cleansing fire, an inner burning, a spiritual fever.  It is God's longing for souls that causes the soul's longing for God.  It's a heartsickness for God.  The saints had this burning love of God here on earth.  St. Teresa of Avila said, "To see God himself would wrench the heart from my bosom."  When the longing for God is denied, it causes these burning pains that cannot adequately be expressed by the human word for fire.

Here on earth we are given the privilege and the duty to help release the souls in purgatory.  The most effective means to release them is by attending Mass.  Who hurt you?  Who do you miss the most?   Have a Mass said for them.  Pray for the most abandoned souls.  Pray for your priest. It's been said that there are many priests in purgatory and that very few people pray for them because it's assumed that they are already in heaven, and they have very little family to pray for them.   At every Mass you attend, say one Hail Mary for the priest saying the Mass.  It's very powerful!  The next most abandoned souls are those of Protestants because they don't believe in purgatory.

The more you pray for the souls in purgatory, the more powerful their intercession is for you.  Are you having legal problems?  Pray to dead lawyers.  Money problems?  Pray to deceased bankers.  Health problems?  Pray to dead doctors.  Spiritual problems?  Pray to dead priests.  Submit yourself to the influence of these holy souls who will help you to recognize your faults.

Never stop praying for the dead.  Even if they are in heaven, they become closer to God through our prayers and their intercessory power is strengthened.  And if they are in hell?  Well, we don't know that.  We are the Church of the Resurrection-we are always hoping.  There is no list of the communion of the damned, only the communion of the saints.  We cannot ever give up on anybody  Don't stop praying, even when it seems hopeless.

For more from Susan Tassone, visit her website here, where her many books on purgatory are available for purchase.

Visit this link to watch the trailer for Purgatory: The Forgotten Church and to place an order for the DVD.  Be sure to click on the "Enroll Souls" link and list the names of your beloved dead so that they will be remembered in prayer at a Mass celebrated at the Shrine of St. Maximilian Kolbe in Chicago on May 13th, 2014.

Funeral Envy

Throughout my life, whenever someone has hurt or rejected me, I get even by fantasizing about my future funeral.  I picture scads of people talking about how much they love me and how wonderful I am, and there is the offending party in deep anguish, saying, "If only I had been nicer to her when she was alive!  If only she were here so I could tell her how much I love her and how sorry I am for having hurt her!"  It's my imaginary way of building up my wounded pride, I suppose, and I admit that I take more than a bit of comfort from it.  It's definitely a self-esteem booster.

But in reality, I really do have the perfect funeral planned out in my mind.  When I die, I want Roses for Our Lady to lead the congregation in the rosary right before the Mass.  Panis Angelicus, Ave Maria, and Pie Jesu have to be sung.  And years ago I made up my mind that I want three priests to concelebrate and they must all cry because when my aunt Monica died three priests all cried for her at her funeral.  I thought that was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

With each funeral that I attend, I add or subtract another element from my dream funeral. 

A few weeks ago I attended the funeral of Mary Ann Kitzke, the mother of  Fr. Tim Kitzke. Clearly,  Mary Ann was a warm and loving woman of strong faith who did much good in this world.  There were one thousand people, two bishops and 40 priests in attendance, all praying fervently.  It put my three priest dream right to shame, although I'm not sure that any of the forty priests were actually crying.  The funeral choir was outstanding, with all three of my required funeral songs perfectly performed.  I cannot fathom how a priest is able to say the funeral Mass for his own mother, but Fr. Tim was well composed, sharing humorous stories that he fondly recalled about his mother and his family life.  At the final commendation,  Archbishop Listecki mentioned that each priest present at the funeral represented a Mass offered on behalf of Mary Ann's soul.  I left that funeral thinking about how much I want to be the mother of a priest!  How I would love to know that there would be 40 Masses offered for my soul upon my death, all by priests who knew me personally.  And I am certain that my soul will need those Masses with all of the sinful spiritual avarice and funeral envy that dwells within  it!  It looks like I'm going to need a lot of help in getting to heaven!

Then I thought about my own parent's funerals, both lovely Masses, with lots of prayer and the rosary, and a delightful luncheon, but only one priest present at each.  Both of my parents, Elmer and Mary, were holy and prayerful people.  They had pre-planned most of the details of their funerals well in advance.  But most important to both of them was that there would be lots of Masses prayed for their souls after their death.  They knew that a period of purgation was inevitable before they could rest eternally in heavenly joy and peace, and they further knew that it would take a lot of prayer to help them get there.

And so ultimately, based on the example of my parents,  I know that whether I have one, three or forty priests at my funeral, whether the Ave Maria is sung off-key or Pie Jesu is omitted, whether anyone laughs or cries, whether I'm laid to rest in a mahogany casket or a cardboard box, all that really matters is that my family and friends who know and love me, band together to pray my soul from purgatory to heaven, offering Masses and rosaries as well as the joys and sorrows of their everyday lives.  With that promise of prayer I will have the richest funeral of all.  And to that end, why wait until I'm dead to ask for prayer for my soul?  Why not begin right now?  Here's a beautiful prayer for a good death.  Let's pray it together!

Eternal rest grant unto Mary Ann Kitzke, Monica Geiger, and Elmer and Mary Reindl, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May their souls, and all of the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

For a Good Death

O most merciful Jesus, I praise and thank Thee for Thy most bitter death, and I beseech Thee, by Thy death and by the breaking of Thy Heart, to grant me a happy death. When my soul leaves my body, may it be immediately delivered from all sin, set free from all debt, and mercifully received into eternal joy. I know, O Lord, that I ask of Thee a very great favour, and a sinner like me ought not to presume to ask it; but it is as easy to Thy goodness to forgive few or many sins. It is not, indeed, our merits, but Thy infinite mercy that procures for us even the least share of heavenly beatitude. In order to be made worthy and fit to receive this favour, grant, O good Lord, that I may now truly and completely die to the world and to myself. From this time forth, may all appear to me worthless that is not Thee. May nothing interest me but Thee alone. For Thy sake may I look on everything with contempt, and may I rejoice when I am despised for Thee. O good Jesus, may I ever be wounded with Thy most pure and fervent love; may all that is not Thee be bitter to me, and may all that is pleasing to Thee become dear to me. Be Thou, my Lord and God, dearer to me than all besides, or rather, be Thou truly all in all to me." 

~Dom John of Torralba, Ancient Devotions to the Sacred Heart of Jesus