Do Most Souls Go to Purgatory When People Die?
YES, MOST SOULS GO TO PURGATORY, since most people are not perfect as Jesus told us to be in Mt. 5:48. Jesus also said: Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few (Mt. 7:13-14). It is NOT helpful to say or imply that people go directly to heaven, as our clergy have taught us. It is EXTREMELY HELPFUL to ask everyone to pray for the soul of every deceased person and they will be very thankful for our prayers and sacrifices.
Medjugorje visionary Mirjana Dragicevic Soldo asked Mary about eternity… She writes in her book, My Heart Will Triumph: So, one day during an apparition I asked Our Lady, how can God be so unmerciful as to condemn people to Hell for eternity? [Our Lady responded:] Souls who go to Hell have ceased thinking favorably of God, Our Lady told me. In life they cursed Him, she explained, and in death they will continue to do the same. In essence, they have already become part of Hell. God does not send people to Hell. They choose to be there.
But even if people go to Hell, can’t they pray for salvation, I asked. Surely God could still deliver them, I thought. People in Hell do not pray at all, said Our Lady, explaining that they blame God for everything instead. They become one with Hell and they get used to it. They rage against God, and they suffer, but they always refuse to pray. In Hell, they hate God even more than they hated Him on Earth.
But even if people go to Hell, can’t they pray for salvation, I asked. Surely God could still deliver them, I thought. People in Hell do not pray at all, said Our Lady, explaining that they blame God for everything instead. They become one with Hell and they get used to it. They rage against God, and they suffer, but they always refuse to pray. In Hell, they hate God even more than they hated Him on Earth.
Of course, the line between salvation and exile is not as black-and-white as some people seem to think. Everything in the hereafter is governed by love. The Church teaches of a place between Heaven and Hell, and Our Lady has confirmed its existence. I asked her once where most people go when they die. She said that most go to Purgatory before ultimately passing through to Heaven. The next greatest number go to Hell, and few go directly to Heaven. Our Lady once showed me a brief glimpse of Purgatory. In something similar to a movie projection, saw a vast, gloomy mist in which few seconds and it troubled me deeply, but Our Lady assured me tha few seconds and it troubled me deeply, but Our Lady assured me that obscure human forms shivered and writhed. The vision only lasted a Purgatory was more of a mercy than a penalty. Since nothing can live in the sight of God but pure love, she said, God’s justice cleanses. There are different levels to Purgatory, she explained-levels closer to Hell and levels closer to Heaven. Every soul there is already saved, which is why I envision Purgatory to be more like an outer rim of Heaven instead of a separate place altogether. Even the word place is inadequate to describe something that exists beyond the temporal world. John Paul II described Purgatory as the process of purification for those who die in the love of God but who not completely imbued with that love…. (P. 150) John Paul II said that every attachment to evil and imperfection in our soul must be eliminated before we enter God’s Kingdom, adding, Those who live in this state of purification after death are not separated from God but are immersed in the love of Christ. (P. 151)
-FROM SR. EMMANUEL MAILLARD: Mary tells us. It is wrong to believe that after death, there is nothing. Ignorance about our final destiny can prevent us from making the right choices during life. Who goes to hell? We have all received freedom from God. Who goes to hell is the one who decides to go there, the one who stubbornly refuses God’s mercy, always offered, even to the most hardened of sinners. Here we touch upon the mystery of iniquity. The key word for hell is the deliberate will to say no to God…. The visionary, Vicka, often recounted fragments of her guided tour of heaven, purgatory, and hell with the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1981. She and Jakov were taken by Mary to see these three places, and their bodies disappeared for 20 minutes. Upon their return, Mary instructed them to tell everyone what they had seen. Hell is a terrible place. In the middle, there is a great fire, but it is not a fire like the one we know on earth… We saw perfectly normal people throw themselves into this fire. No one pushed them. When they came out, they looked like ferocious beasts, shouting their hatred and rebellion, and blaspheming. They were disfigured. Faced with this, we were terrified. Our Lady then explained to us. These people go to hell of their own free will. It is their choice, their decision. Do not be afraid! God has given everyone freedom. On earth, everyone can choose to be for God or against God. Some people on earth always do everything against God and against His will, consciously. These people then begin a hell in their own hearts. And when the time of death comes, if they do not repent, that same hell continues… God cannot force anyone to love Him. He does everything to save us. Jesus died on the cross in order to save each of us, and His love is great for all. He always invites us to draw closer to His Heart, but what can He do when faced with someone who doesn’t want His love? Nothing! Love cannot be forced…” (From Children of Medjugorje) SEE SHORT VIDEO HERE. READ MORE AT: https://sremmanuel.org/
-WHEN SHOULD YOU CALL A PRIEST TO ADMINISTER THE LAST RITES? It is advisable to not wait for the last days to call a priest to administer this sacrament because the priest may be otherwise delayed. One may also receive this sacrament prior to a surgery or during any serious illness. But, for those in danger of death, do not wait until the person can no longer speak, think clearly, or swallow…. READ MORE HERE.
-APOSTOLIC PARDON BRINGS TOTAL FORGIVENESS BEFORE DEATH. Learn about an indulgence for the remission of temporal punishment due to sin given to a dying person who is in the state of grace, but Fr. John Trigilio said recently on EWTN that it is necessary to have NO attachments to sin which is difficult. SEE: https://www.
-HOLY CARD FOR APOSTOLIC PARDON, Powerful Help for the Dying -NEW Official 2026 Translation: READ MORE HERE.
-WHISPER THIS IN THE EAR OF ANY PERSON WHO IS CLOSE TO DEATH: Jesus loves you. Ask Him to forgive all your sins and know that the angels will come and bear you up into His kingdom. Jesus I love You, have mercy on me, a poor sinner. (Recommendation from Mother Angelica)
-WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CATHOLIC FUNERAL? See the great explanation from Fr. Joe Krupp when someone wrote to him saying: One of my dear friends died. She was a daily communicant and a faithful member of her church. I was so shocked and sad that she did not have a funeral Mass. Fr. Joe replied, in part: I cannot tell you how often in the last 10 years I have found out about a parishioner dying by reading the paper, not because the family told us. I am learning that while Mass was important to their parent, it might not be to them, so they do not have a funeral Mass…. If you are reading this and want to have a funeral Mass, then you need to put that in your estate planning…. READ MORE AT: https://www.
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GOD GAVE HIM AMAZING MIRACLES: He met his unborn daughter who came to him after she died with her Guardian Angel and a week later he saw his wife in Glory. Great witness from priest who was married before he was called to the priesthood and before his wife and premature child died. (A short version of his testimony was recently on EWTN Divine Mercy in My Soul.) Father Daniel Papineau is a Diocesan Priest for the Diocese of Charleston, SC. He was ordained at the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in 1998. He also experienced miracles during his military service in Vietnam prior to the passing of an expecting wife at the age of 24. SEE TESTIMONY OF FR. PAPINEAU (START AFTER 26:00 MINS.):
MEDJUGORJE? WHY SUCH SIMPLE MESSAGES? Because the world had lost the value of the five basic practices that were not being emphasized for several decades. Since June 1981, Medjugorje and Our Lady have been teaching and telling us to: Pray the Rosary. Go to Mass. Fast. Read the Bible. Go to Confession. Our Lady is still begging Catholics to do these things, because the need is still great.
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VATICAN APPROVES NIHIL OBSTAT DECLARATION FOR MEDJUGORJE -Sept. 19, 2024– The Vatican’s doctrine office offered a cautiously positive assessment of Medjugorje, authorizing the local bishop to issue a declaration of nihil obstat (nothing stands in the way). READ MORE: https://www.
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POPE FRANCIS PERMITS PILGRIMAGES TO MEDJUGORJE AS APPARITIONS CONTINUE TO BE STUDIED- https://www.
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VATICAN APPROVES NIHIL OBSTAT DECLARATION FOR MEDJUGORJE -Sept. 19, 2024– The Vatican’s doctrine office offered a cautiously positive assessment of Medjugorje, authorizing the local bishop to issue a declaration of nihil obstat (nothing stands in the way). READ MORE: https://www.
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POPE FRANCIS PERMITS PILGRIMAGES TO MEDJUGORJE AS APPARITIONS CONTINUE TO BE STUDIED- https://www.
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Setting the Record Straight on Ongoing Apparitions at Medjugorje: Majority of Ruini Experts Viewed Ongoing Apparitions Positively -Dec. 14, 2017-MORE HERE
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NOTE: Catholics everywhere are allowed to explore private revelation. Catholics Love Jesus is faithful to Catholic teaching regarding private revelations. We do not take apparitions for granted and are obedient to the Catholic Church represented by the Pope and Magisterium united with him. We explore private revelations that help us live the Catholic Faith (CCC, 67). We Listen to St. Paul: Do not despise prophesy. Test all things. Hold fast to what is good (1 Thes. 5:21-22). We await official pronouncements of the Catholic Church to which we humbly submit.
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–ST. FAUSTINA DIARY IN A YEAR WITH FR. JOE ROESCH, MIC -Start anytime at: https://divinemercyplus.
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Author: John W. Beutler, 2026