I went to the PWHS site and was shocked at the "benefits to members" part where it stated that members have assurance of shorter stay in purgatory. I am bothered by it because I cannot believe any organization can promise, much more assure such with finality and authority! (It is the Lord that promises such, not man.) I cannot agree with it in the same manner I do not agree with chain letters, emails and text messages from men promising blessings if you pass on to so many others. It is God who makes miracles happen, not man, not formulas.

I am sorry but it turned me off completely and I refuse to read on further. I will pray for them and you that you might not be misled specially with your beautiful intention of helping the poor souls in purgatory. I pray for them too and I know my prayers will be answered and that the Lord will release my loved ones and other deserving souls in purgatory because He wants to and its is time for them to be released according to His will and time.

God bless you!

The objection is "I went to the PWHS site and was shocked at the ‘benefits to members’ part where it stated that members have assurance of shorter stay in purgatory. I am bothered by it because I cannot believe any organization can promise, much more assure such with finality and authority! (It is the Lord that  promises such, not man.) I cannot agree with it in the same manner I do not  agree with chain letters, emails and text messages from men promising blessings if you pass on to so many others. It is God who makes miracles happen, not man, not formulas."

First of all when people start to say "It is God who makes miracles happen, not man, not formulas" you begin to sound "un-Catholic". It sounds similar to "Jesus saves, not religion." When the Protestants dissociated themselves from the Catholic Church, they started saying such things in contempt for the institution of the Church and her Sacraments. That is why I really question the claim that the one who gave this objection is truly a Catholic. He sounds Protestant to me.

Second, the controversial issue is the statement: "Assurance of a shorter stay in Purgatory, depending on involvement and commitment as a Prayer Warrior of the Holy Souls"

I agree that the statement sounds unbelievable but he should have read the text very well. It said, "Assurance of a shorter stay in Purgatory, DEPENDING ON INVOLVEMENT AND COMMITMENT AS A PRAYER WARRIOR OF THE HOLY SOULS." What involvement and commitment are we talking about? If he read on, he would have chanced upon the Responsibilities of a Member:

Responsibilities of a Member:

 

1)   Offer masses for the Holy Souls;

2)   Go to mass at least one extra day of the week (aside from Sunday mass) especially for the souls who have no one to pray for them and for the ones who have stayed longest in Purgatory;

3)   Pray for the Holy Souls everyday; the oftener the better;

4)   Offer good works and acts of self-denial for the intentions of the Holy Souls;

5)   Recruit more members to become prayer warriors, too;

6)   Give away booklets like "Read Me or Rue It" to friends and others.

7)   Donate what you can afford (no specific amount) when you can (no specific time) to the "Prayer Warriors of the Holy Souls" to propagate its objective of creating and spreading awareness of the plight of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. (optional)

 

Responsibilities 5-7 are intended to propagate the apostolate. Please take note that number 7 is optional. We do not buy our way to heaven.

Look at responsibilities 1-4. Are they not the ordinary ways which the Church proposes to us as means to Christian perfection: the Sacraments (the Mass), Prayer, Works of Charity (good works) and Penance/ Mortification (acts of self-denial). Do they not fall under the tripod of Christian Spirituality: Prayer, Penance, and Charity? Are these inconsistent with the Spiritual Tradition of the Church? What Catholic would deny the saving efficacy of the Sacraments, especially the Mass? (Protestants would do so because to them the Mass is only a "formula") What Christian would deny the efficacy of Prayer? (Even Protestants pray) Who would deny the saving efficacy of Acts of Charity? (Scripture speaks of "Charity covers a multitude of sins") Who would deny the necessity of Penance and Mortification? (Even Jesus says: "Whoever wishes to be my disciple must DENY HIMSELF, take up his cross, and follow me.") Any person steeped in the Catholic Tradition will easily understand this.

The PWHS does not pretend to be an authority. That is why we embrace the Spiritual legacy of the Church. We believe in the authority of the Church! While it is true that only God could make such promises, we must never forget that Jesus has shown the Church the way for us to obtain such promises: the way of the Sacraments, Prayer, Charity, and Penance. If only we take seriously this way, we will never have to go to purgatory. Many souls spend their time in purgatory on account of the neglect of their Catholic duties. Is not Purgatory the prison which the Lord speaks of where one stays "until he has paid the last penny"?

When we speak boldly of the "assurance of a shorter stay in purgatory" we do so because we believe that the Sacraments, Prayer, Charity, and Penance are truly the means of Christian perfection. These have purified and perfected all the Saints in the past. We believe that these still have the power to bring about in us Christian perfection. This is the beauty of the Catholic Church. We can afford to speak with such boldness because we are confident that the Church is truly Christ’s mystical Body. The Church continues the saving work of Jesus on earth. This is the true Church founded by Jesus the Son of God.

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