Things began subtly and imperceptibly. I came to the 1st NATIONAL CONGRESS of the PRAYER WARRIORS OF THE HOLY SOULS (PWHS) only because it was organized by a very, very dear friend, Chita Monfort, and it fell on her birthday. For whatever its worth, I didn’t want to disappoint her.

As I reflect now on what transpired on July 29, it was a day that unfolded beautifully. It revealed to me how I could, while still living here on planet earth, do simple, holy acts, be sorry for my own sins and in doing so, help me shorten my stay in Purgatory, if not avoid it totally. Purgatory is that place where my soul has to go to (assuming and provided that I have confessed my sins and was given absolutions by a priest), as part of a purging and cleansing process before I can be accepted into God’s kingdom. I could do this by frequently offering prayers, masses, sacrifices, and acts of charity for the holy and poor souls in purgatory and for the soul of my son, Titus Christian, my parents, brothers, sisters, in-laws, friends and forgotten souls.

These simple holy acts and my sincere desire to help them, benefit not only their souls, but myself, too, as they will become my prayer warriors once in heaven. And when it is my time to meet my Creator, these souls are my ticket to heaven. Fat chance that I’d miss this opportunity!

Jesus Christ in His great love and mercy for me has given me a ticket to heaven. All I need to be able to use it is to make sure that I am spiritually fit and ready for the long journey back to His house.

Fr. Jojo Zerrudo, one of the speakers in the Congress and the Spiritual Director of PWHS, opened my eyes on how I could skip going to purgatory. But why would I be interested in Purgatory? For one, only very, very few souls – some of the saints and martyrs – go straight to Heaven. Secondly, Fr. Jojo says there’s only a hairline difference between Hell and Purgatory. Since my soul can no longer be saved once in hell, I certainly must exert all efforts while still alive to avoid hell. And if I did my holy acts conscientiously, religiously and with love (no pun intended), my soul need not languish long in purgatory, this place of incomparable sufferings.

This Year 2000, the Jubilee Year, is the best time for me to start earning my ticket. Why during the Jubilee Year? Well, Fr. Jojo says it all started when light was created ahead of the sun, moon and stars. The sun, moon and stars were then created to mark the feasts of the Lord. The first feast of the Lord is the Sabbath – a day sacred to the Lord and therefore, it is made holy. How? It is the time to remember the creations of the Lord. It is in this context that the concept of the Holy Year, or the Year of the Lord, or the Great Jubilee Year revolves.

In Lev 25:1 and following, the 7th year is the sabbatical year. Seven groups of seven years equal 49 years. The 50th year is the celebration of the Jubilee Year: a time holy to the Lord, a time to remember God’s creations, to remember the mercy of God through rest. It is a time when all slaves can return to their families and gain freedom, when captives are set free. A time when all debts are forgiven.

When do we incur debts to the Lord? Through our sins, we accumulate debts to the Lord. But how? Remember that our lives, all that we have, belong to God. Because He is our Creator, He deserves nothing from us except love, devotion, and obedience to His will. Sin is our refusal to do the will of God; our refusal to obey Him. Debts revolve around the concept of Justice. Justice is given to someone what he deserves to receive.

How are debts repaid to the Lord? Jesus Christ had to die first so we can repay our debts. The Divine God Jesus had to take a human form; He became man to pay for our sins. When He was born, He pardoned those who were slave to sins. When He died on the cross, He paid for our sins.

The wages of sin is death. However, it is not only Jesus Christ who had to die to pay for our sins. We also have to do our part. We must be willing to pardon those who owed us debts – those who have sinned against us. The remission due on our sins, in return, are reduced thru Indulgences. We, human beings, pay for Temporal Punishment. Jesus Christ pays for Eternal Punishment.

How do we pay for our sins through Temporal Punishment? First, recognize that we have sinned; go to confession and ask absolution for the sins we have committed. Guilt of sin is forgiven in confession. Remission of sins remains.

Second, we have to make reparation in order to receive the Justice of God. We can do this via:

a. Voluntary work of penance. For example, when we accept our illness and sufferings for the love of Jesus Christ.

b. Giving alms to the poor.

c. Going to mass on days other than Sundays and holidays of obligation

d. Receiving Communion as often as possible.

If we do not do voluntary works of penance and acts of mercy on earth, we will pay for the remission of our sins in Purgatory.

In the Great Jubilee Year, the Lord, through the Catholic Church, gives plenary indulgences for the forgiveness of temporal punishment for sins that have been forgiven. To gain an indulgence, therefore, we must:

· Go to confession

· Attend mass and receive communion

· Visit the Jubilee Churches (if one cannot go to pilgrim churches, visit the sick)

· Pray for our intentions and for the intentions of the Holy Father

Once we have gained plenary indulgences for ourselves by doing all these, we offer succeeding plenary indulgences earned to the souls in purgatory.

All these indulgences come from the spiritual treasury of the Church. The spiritual treasury contains all the goodness done by saints and holy people, including Jesus’ death on the cross.

How do we help souls in Purgatory? In Purgatory, souls cannot gain merits; souls can only suffer. The souls already in heaven can only help those in purgatory in a limited way because they can no longer do works of penance. The merits they receive are those at the point of their death. Saints can no longer atone or make reparations for others because they can no longer gain merits. They can only pray and intercede to God that people on earth (those living) be enlightened to pray for the souls in purgatory. They can only ask God to accept our (those living) works of penance.

We, who are still living, help the souls in purgatory through masses, prayers, the Holy Rosary and works for expiation of sins such as giving alms, fasting, going to pilgrimages and by embracing our sufferings and trials on earth.

In the Doctrine of Spiritual Treasury, we who are still living, carrying our crosses here on earth, can still do acts of penance, works of mercy and sacrifices. We can assume death for death. By accepting sorrows in life, we cancel the debts of those who refuse to accept their sins when they were alive. We make up for what is lacking in the holiness of another. The more sufferings and trials we embrace, the more we become holy; the more we become Christ-like, and the many more souls we help.

The Monfort "Shared Blessings" Foundation, through Chita Monfort, has done it so well. It has made many others aware of the plight of the holy souls in purgatory and the great contributions that we, the living, can do to bring the dead and the living to holiness.

Thank you, Chita, for mounting a brilliantly successful congress of the PRAYER WARRIORS OF THE HOLY SOULS. I am counting the days when you can bring us back together again, in another gathering with no pomposity, no over-stated positions, only simple yet binding and compelling time of holy desires and prayers. By Dohdo Tonbonliong, Head, Healing and Intercessory Ministry, Spirit of Love Catholic Community