Hope in Purgatory, by Father Richard Frederick Clarke, SJ

Saint Augustine tells us that the fire of Purgatory is of the same nature as the fire of Hell, and consequently the sufferings of the Holy Souls in Purgatory do not differ in kind to those of the lost. Yet those who are paying the penalty of sins, repented of, but not fully expiated, are supremely happy amid their Sufferings, while those who are undergoing the punishment of unrepented sin are supremely miserable. God grant that I may not depart with any serious sin still unrepented of, for this will be to die without hope and with the prospect of the flames of hell forever.

The chief agony Of hell is the absence of hope. To all eternity their anguish will continue the same. The gnawing worm of remorse will gnaw forever; the torturing flames will never lose their power to torment. But in Purgatory, instead of hopelessness and despair, there is a hope and confidence in God, surpassing altogether the hope and confidence even of the saints on earth. There is the absolute certainty of eternal happiness; a bright light in the distance lighting up the gloom of their prison house.

The Holy Souls in Purgatory are thus happier than any, save the redeemed in heaven. They have not the happiness of present enjoyment, on the contrary, they are plunged in sadness and suffering unspeakable. But all through those weary years they are consoled by the thought of the future joy, and the time of waiting seems unspeakably long and tedious. Yet they are supported by the happiness of hope; and while they cry, "How long, O Lord, how long?" they know that they are on the border-land of heaven, and that nothing can hinder them from entering in.

- text from Beautiful Pearls of Catholic Truth; it has the Imprimatur of Archbishop Michael Augustine Corrigan, Diocese of New York, 6 October 1897