Series: None
Publication Date:
Aug. 1, 2005
Source: Purchased
Goodreads Summary:
This book was written to give readers an indelible understanding about
Purgatory--first, that it exists; second, that the souls detained there suffer
long, excruciating pains, just like those of Hell, and thus that they need our
prayers, suffrages and Mass intentions; and finally, that while we are still
living, we should strive to avoid Purgatory.
Review: 30 Days
for the Holy Souls is divided, as one would surmise, into thirty sections
that the reader is intended to read individually for a month, thus taking four
weeks to focus on the souls suffering in Purgatory. The book in facts assumes the reader will
begin in November and refers to that month several times, which is logical but
also seems somewhat restrictive for those who read it at a different time.
The average section has about three parts: an introduction,
a reflection or prayer, and a story about Purgatory (such as visions the living
received from those recently died and in Purgatory). This is somewhat surprising, as the title
suggests the book is primarily story-based, but it does provide good points of
meditation for the reader. The parts of
each section do not always seem related either, which is puzzling, but each
still has its individual merit.
The book as a whole was interesting, but may or may not have
its desired effects, depending on the reader.
I certainly developed a greater passion for praying for souls in
Purgatory, as their suffering and their need was made abundantly clear. I am not sure how much I was inspired to live
a better life in order to avoid those same sufferings myself. Rather, the stories were sometimes a little too frightening; very holy men would
appear to their friends or religious brothers and explain that they were condemned
to intense agony for long years because they had done something “trivial” such
as being negligent during some of their prayers or preferring a candidate for
pope who was not selected. My immediate
reaction was not to pray more fervently, but to be worried every time I prayed
that I was in some way doing it wrong!
And to be terrified about what would happen to me if all these good and
devout men were suffering so greatly. In short, I could not read this book in
the expected thirty days because I kept stopping out of terror. Reading it at night was also a bad idea.
Unfortunately, though I know it was not the intention, the
book came across as a bit of scare tactic to get me to behave better, and I was
not a fan of the approach. I still have
a greater affection for the souls in Purgatory and I am grateful for the
appendix of prayers and the comfort offered by visions who claimed these
prayers helped, but I will not be reading this book or a similar one anytime
soon.
