to you.
After the general judgment there will be Heaven and Hell, but no
Purgatory, for there will be no men living or dying upon the earth in
its present condition to go there. All will be dead and judged and sent
to their final abodes. Those in Purgatory are the friends of God; and
knowing Him as they do now, they would not go into His holy presence
with the slightest stain upon their souls; still they are anxious for
their Purgatory to be ended that they may be with God. They suffer, we
are told, the same pains of sense as the damned; but they suffer
willingly, for they know that it is making them more pleasing to God,
and that one day it will all be over and He will receive them into
Heaven. Their salvation is sure, and that thought makes them happy. If,
therefore, you believe any of your friends are in Purgatory, you should
help them all you can, and try by your prayers and good works to shorten
their time of suffering. They will help you--though they cannot help
themselves--by their prayers. And oh, when they are admitted into
Heaven, how they will pray for those that have helped them out of
Purgatory! If you do this great charity, God will, when you die, put in
some good person's heart to pray for you while you suffer in Purgatory.
There must be a Purgatory, for one who dies with the slightest stain of
sin upon his soul cannot enter Heaven, and yet God would not send him to
Hell for so small a sin. But why does God punish those He loves? Why
does He not forgive everything? He punishes because He is infinitely
just and true. He warned them that if they did certain things they would
be punished; and they did them, and God must keep His promise. Moreover
He is just, and must give to everyone exactly what he deserves.

*415 Q. Can the faithful on earth help the souls in Purgatory?
A. The faithful on earth can help the souls in Purgatory by their
prayers, fasts, almsdeeds; by indulgences, and by having Masses said for
them.

*416 Q. If everyone is judged immediately after death, what need is
there of a general judgment?
A. There is need of a general judgment, though everyone is judged
immediately after death, that the providence of God, which, on earth,
often permits the good to suffer and the wicked to prosper, may in the
end appear just before all men.

"Providence of God." Sometimes here on earth we see a good man always in
want, out of employment, sickly, unsuccessful in all his undertakings,
while his neighbo