Purgatory, Hell & Heaven

Set out below is an account of the experience of a priest who died and was shown Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. It is of course only his personal experience but there is nothing in it which is contrary to faith and I trust that some of you might find, as I did, that it was a warning and an encouragement.

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On Sunday April 14, 1985, the Feast of the Divine Mercy, Fr Tom Maniyangat was going to celebrate Mass at a mission church in the north part of Kerala, and he had a fatal accident. He had a head on collision with a jeep. He was rushed to a hospital about 35 miles away but he died on the way.

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Fr Tom's soul left his body and he experienced death. He saw his body and the people who were carrying him to the hospital. He heard them crying and praying for him.He then met his Guardian angel. His angel said to him: "I am going to take you to Heaven, the Lord wants to meet you and talk with you." He also said that as part of that journey he wanted to show Fr Tom hell and purgatory.

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This is how Fr Tom describes his visit to Hell and Purgatory Hell"First, the angel escorted me to hell. It was an awful sight! I saw Satan and the devils, an unquenchable fire ,worms crawling, people screaming and fighting, others being tortured by demons. I was told there are seven "degrees" or levels of suffering in the netherworld. Those who committed "mortal sin after mortal sin" in life were suffering the most intense heat. They had bodies and looked very ugly, so cruel and ugly, horrifying. They were human but like monsters: fearful, ugly-looking things. The angel told me that all these sufferings were due to unrepented mortal sins.Then, I understood that there are seven degrees of suffering or levels according to the number and kinds of mortal sins committed in their earthly lives. The souls looked very ugly, cruel and horrific. It was a fearful experience. I saw people whom I knew but I am not allowed to reveal their identities. The sins that convicted them were mainly abortion, homosexual acts, sins of the flesh, euthanasia, hatefulness, lack of forgiveness and sacrilege.

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The angel told me that if they had repented they would have avoided hell and gone instead to purgatory. I also understood that some people who repent from these sins might be purified on earth through their sufferings. This way they can avoid purgatory and go straight to heaven. I was surprised when I saw in hell even Priests and Bishops, some of whom I never expected to see. Many of them were there because they had misled the people with false teaching and bad example.

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After the visit to hell, my Guardian angel escorted me to Purgatory. Here too, there are seven degrees of suffering and unquenchable fire. But it is far less intense than hell and there was neither quarreling nor fighting. The main suffering of these souls is their separation from God. Some of those who are in Purgatory committed numerous mortal sins; but they were reconciled with God before their death. Even though these souls are suffering, they enjoy peace and the knowledge that one day they will see God face to face.I had a chance to communicate with the souls in Purgatory. They asked me to pray for them and to tell the people to pray for them as well, so they can go to heaven quickly.

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When we pray for these souls we will receive their gratitude through their prayers and once they enter heaven their prayers become even more meritorious.

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Next, my angel escorted me to heaven passing through a big dazzling white tunnel. I never experienced this much peace and joy in my life. Then immediately the heaven opened up and I heard the most delightful music, which I never heard before. The angels were singing and praising God. I saw all the saints, especially the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, and many dedicated holy Bishops and Priests who were shining like stars.

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And when I appeared before the Lord, Jesus told me: "I want you to go back to the world. In your second life you will be an instrument of peace and healing to my people. You will walk in a foreign land and you will speak in a foreign tongue. Everything is possible for you with my grace." After these words, the Blessed Mother told me, "Do whatever He tells you. [John 2:5] I will help you in your ministries."Words can not express the beauty of heaven. There we find so much peace and happiness, which exceed a million times our imagination.

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Our Lord is far more beautiful than any image can convey. His face is radiant and luminous and more beautiful than a thousand rising suns. The pictures we see in the world are only a shadow of His magnificence. The Blessed Mother was next to Jesus; she was so beautiful and radiant. None of the images we see in this world can compare with her real beauty. Heaven is our real home: we are all created to reach heaven and enjoy God forever.

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Back to Earth.

As they were moving my dead body to the morgue, my soul came back to the body. I felt an excruciating pain because of so many wounds and broken bones. I began to scream and then the people became frightened and ran away screaming.One of them approached the doctor and said: "The dead body is screaming." The doctor came to examine the body and found that I was alive. So he said: "Father is alive. It is a miracle - take him back to the hospital."

The Bargain ...

A young soldier found himself and his army being soundly defeated by the enemy. He and his comrades hastily retreated from the battlefield in defeat, running away in fear of their very lives. The enemy gave chase.

The young man ran hard and fast, full of fear and desperation, and soon found himself cut off from his comrades. The soldier eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a cave. Knowing the enemy was close behind, and that he was exhausted from the chase, he chose to hide there.

After he crawled in, he fell to his face in the darkness, desperately crying to God to save him and protect him from his enemies. He made a bargain with God. He promised that if God saved him, he would serve Him for the remainder of his days.

When he looked up from his despairing plea for help, he saw a spider beginning to weave its web at the entrance to the cave. As he watched the delicate threads being slowly drawn across the mouth of the cave, the young soldier pondered its irony. He thought, "I asked God for protection and deliverance, and He sent me a spider instead. How can a spider save me?"

His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would soon discover his hiding place and kill him. Soon he did hear the sound of his enemies, who were now scouring the area looking for those in hiding.One soldier with a gun slowly walked up to the cave's entrance. As the young man crouched in the darkness, hoping to surprise the enemy in a last-minute desperate attempt to save his own life, he felt his heart pounding wildly out of control. As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the cave, he came upon the spider's web, which by now was completely strung across the opening.

He backed away and called out to a comrade, "There can't be anyone in here. They would have had to break this spider's web to enter the cave. Let's move on."Years later, this young man, who made good his promise by becoming a preacher and evangelist, wrote about that ordeal.

What he observed has stood by me in times of trouble, especially during those times when everything seemed impossible:"Where God is, a spider's web is as a stone wall. Where God is not, a stone wall is as a spider's web."~ Author Unknown ~

The Tate Family

Do you know how many members of the Tate family belong to your church?
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There is old man Dic-Tate who wants to run everything, while Uncle Ro-Tate tries to change everything. There's sister Agi-Tate who stirs up plenty of trouble, with help from her husband, Irri-Tate.
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Whenever new projects are suggested, Hesi-Tate and his wife, Vege-Tate, want to wait until next year. Then there is Aunt Imi-Tate, who wants our church to be like all the others. Devas-Tate provides the voice of doom, while Poten-Tate wants to be a big shot.
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But not all members of the family are bad. Brother Facili-Tate is quite helpful in church matters. And a delightful, happy member of the family is Miss Felici-Tate. Cousins Cogi-Tate and Medi-Tate always think things over and lend helpful, steady hands. And of course there is the white sheep of the family, Ampu-Tate, who has completely cut himself off from the church.
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How about it - do you know anyone in the Tate family ?

Who is my neighbour ? ..

“See that you do not despise one of these little ones…” – Matt 18:10

As soon as the light turned red and our car stopped, like a bolt of lightning, the young girl, perhaps seven years old, threw a pint of soapy water onto our car window. She then began to wipe, scrub and bubble away. It was in the middle of the road on a cool December night. But I was not cool. She caught me by surprise. And the other kids, wearing wet, soiled clothes were running around with buckets and foam.

Despite my growing impatience, I was drawn to this girl. She could have been in a school Christmas party this moment, I thought. But she was here working so as to eat. When she cleaned my window, I looked into her eyes. Was that sorrow? The light turned green when she begged for my half empty cup of cola. There was no time and cars behind us were honking. As we started to move, I stared through the now crystal-clear glass before me.

All of a sudden, I felt a empty. I missed my chance to bless one of God’s little ones.

See below some archive footage from Ethiopia in 1984, a similar scene to Darfur and so many areas of Sudan right now. Help if you can.. see Medjugorje International Relief

Do you have a difficult person in your life ?

“Lord, help me to bless people today.”
That’s my daily morning prayer… uh, when I’m happy. And usually, I am. But once in awhile, I don’t wake up happy. And usually, it’s because of a difficult person in my life.

That’s when I pray, “Lord, how can I bless this… this… this… creature?” I’m a very patient person, so this doesn’t happen too often. But it happens.
Friend, do you have a difficult person in your life?
And do you sometimes want to pray, “Lord, if you will allow it, let a 50,000 megawatt bolt of lightning strike (Name of Difficult Person) right now. Not to kill him, Lord. Just enough to wake him up and give him second degree burns. Just kidding Lord, but with all due respect, what were you thinking when you created this pathological human being? I don’t want to sound offensive, but were you sleeping on the job when you created this creature? He’s a mess. He’s a composite of all the villains of Spiderman put together….”

Do you sometimes wonder if this difficult person heard God in the middle of the night say, “My child, your ultimate mission in life is to be difficult. That’s the entire purpose of your existence. You shall be the thorn in someone’s flesh. Do everything in your power to annoy him. Be irresponsible. Or be demanding. Or be totally negative. Or be selfish. Or be constantly angry. Or be possessive. Or be always depressed. It doesn’t matter. Your objective is to make his life hell on earth.”

Yes, I must admit that I don’t like a few unlovable characters here and there, but generally, I think the Almighty has done a fantastic job inventing human beings.
I also believe that God allows difficult people to come into our lives to give us very special gifts. What could these gifts be?

I could list down a hundred gifts, but keeping the list short will make it easier to appreciate.
Are you ready? Here are the big 4 gifts you receive from difficult people. (Note: Check out especially Gift #2, because that’s what many people don’t do…)

Gift 1:
Difficult people can teach you how to love, preparing you for Heaven!

You learn to become more patient, more understanding, more persevering.
You have pity for them because you realize that “Hurt people hurt people”
You learn to see the good qualities even among difficult people.
You learn how to be compassionate as God is compassionate.
You learn how to forgive, to remove bitterness from your heart.

Gift #2:
Difficult people can teach you to protect yourself and learn to say “No” to abuse.

You learn to love yourself, respect yourself, by no longer allowing abuse.
You learn to be courageous and stand up against bullies.
You learn to give tough love—refusing his abuse again. It may be the most loving thing you can do for a difficult person.
You wizen up, learn tact, and learn how to distance yourself from harmful people.

Gift #3:
Difficult people can help you get to know your weaknesses.

Difficult people remind you that you too could be difficult to others.
Difficult people teach you many important lessons in life. By seeing the tragic results of their actions, you’re inspired to do the very opposite of what they do.

Gift #4:
Difficult people can bring you closer to God.

Difficult people force you to pray a lot. (“Lord, help! I can’t take it anymore!”)
Difficult people force you to trust in God. (“Lord, I give up! I’ve done everything but she’s still a monster…”)
Praying for difficult people may not change them, but YOU will.
“Your cross (difficult person) is your key to heaven…” St. Poveda
You realize that YOU are God’s difficult person—yet you’re still loved by God..
Friend, God allows difficult people into your life to give you these 4 gifts. Don’t miss receiving them!

May your dreams come true,
Articles by Bo Sanchez

I will be with you always...

During China's 1911 Republican Revolution or the earlier Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901), anti-Catholic militants seized a Catholic parish. They confined the pastor to house arrest. From his rectory window he witnessed the desecration of the Church.
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He knew that there had been thirty-two consecrated hosts in the tabernacle. An eleven year old girl was praying at the back of the church and the guards either did not see her or else paid no attention to her.
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She returned to the Church that night and made a Holy Hour and then consumed one of the sacred hosts, bending down to receive Jesus on her tongue. She continued to return every night, making a nightly Holy Hour and consuming one sacred host.
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On the last night, the thirty-second night, unfortunately a guard was awakened after she consumed the sacred host. He chased her, grabbed her, and beat her to death with his rifle.
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Archbishop Fulton Sheen became aware of her martyrdom while he was a seminarian. He was so inspired by her sacrifice that he promised to pray a holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament each day for the rest of his life.
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The eleven year old girl could have had no idea how she would have influenced a future bishop who would in turn influence millions and promote Eucharistic Adoration. We also have no idea how our witness and sacrifices influence others.

Prayers for Healing of AIDS

I met a woman today who testified of Jesus' love and forgiveness. She is a living testimony that the good Lord lives today! She was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 2002 and lost one of her children to this dreadful disease a few years ago.
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She was on her death bed and was in hospital and, according to her own words, she was so ill she was in diapers! Her only living child was also dying from AIDS and there seemed to be no hope! Until she was introduced to the Lord Jesus Christ! In one week she met Christ and invited Him into her life. She declared Jesus as Christ and Savior and gave her life to Him.
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In that same week she visited my sister-in-law' s church and they prayed over her and laid their hands on her and prayed for her healing. She thought nothing of it and later that week went to the clinic to collect ARV (Anti-retroviral) medication and as is procedure they did a CD4 count and her count resembled that of a normal person which alarmed the nurses so they called in the doctor to do an HIV/AIDS test and she tested negative!
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The doctor could not believe it so they did several more tests which all came out negative. She was amazed and quickly went home to get her only living daughter who also had AIDS and got her tested too and amazingly her daughter tested negative too! In that same week she went for an interview and got a job as a child minder in a nursery school.