This article is the third part of a series about Purgatory, a topic that is rarely discussed today. A knowledge of Purgatory is essential if souls are to avoid the pains of this place of expiation. The first article can be found here.
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Visions of Purgatory are seldom discussed, even in Catholic circles. The modern practice of focusing homilies on the Gospel lesson for the day disinclines priests to explain these very important occurrences. That tendency is unfortunate because God intends such visions to have salutary effects in both the life of the visionary and we who hear or read them.
Impeccable Provenance
Few are familiar with Saint Christine the Admirable (c.1150-1224). Her story comes to us from third- or fourth-hand sources. In my training as a historian, I was taught to immediately distrust such stories. However, the provenance of this account is unimpeachable.
As with other articles in this series, the narrative of Saint Christine the Admirable’s vision comes from Father F. X. Schouppe’s enlightening book Purgatory.1 Father Schouppe read it in the writings of Saint Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621), a leading figure of the Counter-Reformation and a Doctor of the Church. Saint Robert Bellarmine’s source was James of Vitry (c.1160-1240), who served as the Dean of the College of Cardinals and wrote one of the best sources for information about the Crusades, “Historia Orientalis seu Hierosolymitana.”
Having established a “chain of custody” for this account, it is time to introduce readers to the main character. Father Schouppe calls her Saint Christine the Admirable. In other sources, she is referred to as Christina Mirabilis.
A Penniless but Pious Life
What is known of Saint Christian’s early life was unremarkable, except for her childhood piety. She lived in St. Trond (also known as Sint-Truiden) in modern-day Belgium. She was orphaned at about the age of fifteen, and afterward worked as a shepherdess. Her life changed drastically after she had some sort of seizure about the age of twenty. Apparently dead, she suddenly revived in the middle of her funeral Mass, appearing to be in perfect health.
As astonishing as this event must have been, Christine’s story was far more amazing.
A Request Directly From Our Lord
“As soon,” said she, “as my soul was separated from my body, it was received by angels, who conducted it to a very gloomy place, entirely filled with souls. The torments which they there endured appeared to me so excessive, that it is impossible for me to give any idea of their rigor. I saw among them many of my acquaintances, and, deeply touched by their sad condition, I asked what place it was, for I believed it to be Hell. My guide answered me that it was Purgatory, where sinners were punished who, before death, had repented of their faults, but had not made worthy satisfaction to God. From thence I was conducted into Hell, and there also I recognized among the reprobates some whom I had formerly known.
“The angels then transported me into Heaven, even to the throne of the Divine Majesty. The Lord regarded me with a favorable eye, and I experienced an extreme joy, because I thought to obtain the grace of dwelling eternally with Him. But my Heavenly Father, seeing what passed in my heart, said to me these words: ‘Assuredly, my dear daughter, you will one day be with Me. Now, however, I allow you to choose, either to remain with Me henceforth from this time, or to return again to earth to accomplish a mission of charity and suffering. In order to deliver from the flames of Purgatory those souls which have inspired you with so much compassion, you shall suffer for them upon earth; you shall endure great torments, without, however dying from their effects. And not only will you relieve the departed, but the example which you will give to the living, and your life of continual suffering, will lead sinners to be converted and to expiate their crimes. After having ended this new life, you shall return here laden with merits.
“At these words, seeing the great advantages offered me for souls, I replied, without hesitation, that I would return to life, and I arose at that same instant. It is for this sole object, the relief of the departed and the conversion of sinners, that I have returned to this world. Therefore be not astonished at the penances that I shall practice, nor at the life that you will see me lead from henceforward. It will be so extraordinary that nothing like to it has ever been seen.”
Searching Out Occasions for Suffering
She lived up to her word.
First, she exchanged all comforts for a life of perfect simplicity. She gave away her few possessions. For the remaining forty-two years of her life, she lived in the open air with neither “house nor fire.”
However, such privations were, in her mind, insufficient. She eagerly sought occasions for greater suffering. In the winter, she plunged into the icy waters of the Meuse. However, unlike modern “polar bears” who plunge in and then immediately emerge to the comforts of warm blankets, she remained in the water for entire weeks as she implored God’s mercy for the poor souls.
On at least one occasion, the current of the river carried her down to the waterwheel of a riverside mill. She was caught in the workings of the wheel, which spun her around its circumference in such a way that would kill anyone without divine protection, yet she emerged uninjured.
Another time, she threw herself into a furnace where her cries of agony were piercing. Yet, on emerging, she was unburned. At one point, dogs attacked her, biting and tearing at her flesh. To escape the dogs, she ran into a thicket of thorns. This repulsed the dogs, but left Christine covered in her own blood. Yet, there were no lasting wounds or scars.
A Reputation for Sanctity
Needless to say, accounts of these events spread fast, leading to many conversions. After her death, several miracles were attributed to Saint Christine’s intercession.
To modern ears and eyes, such accounts repel rather than attract. Modernists and even those who would describe themselves as faithful Catholics refuse to understand those who embraced suffering. Today, many treat a headache, a sleepless night or a missed meal as if it were a disaster of unprecedented horror.
What, many ask, is the point of a life like that of Saint Christine? Why didn’t she simply accept Our Lord’s invitation when, at the age of twenty, He offered her eternal bliss?
Discerning the Purpose of Suffering
Saint Robert Bellarmine assessed God’s purpose in Saint Christine’s incredible life. “God willed to silence those libertines who make open profession of believing in nothing, and who have the audacity to ask in scorn, ‘Who has returned from the other world? Who has ever seen the torments of Hell or Purgatory?’ Behold [Saint Christine. She assures us that she has] seen them, and that they are dreadful.”
Modern Purgatory is no different from that revealed in medieval times. The fact that many people do not believe in it does not mean that it has expired, just as modern so-called theologians’ confidence that Hell is empty does not make it so. Such visions are signs of wisdom and grace to understand these teachings and be moved to alter one’s patterns of living in accord with them. At the same time, the Church Militant offers prayers and penances for the huge number of loved ones who disregarded the pains of Purgatory in their own lives.
Photo Credit: © Kirk Fisher – stock.adobe.com
First Published on TFP.org
Footnotes
- All quotations in this article use the 1905 version of Father F. X. Schouppe’s Purgatory, published in Great Britain by Burns, Oates and Washbourne, Ltd. It is in the public domain and available through the Internet Archive. The spellings of certain words were Americanized by the author.