A NECESSARY QUESTION FOR GHOSTS
IT'S not even Halloween, plus our country is reeling from a virulent Covid-19, furious over a terrorism law, scourged by swine flu in Luzon, and this section dwells on mystic Maria Simma and her ghosts?
Some justification was cited here before, but it bears repeating if only to underscore its importance: it is in the most trying times that we have to keep faith in the afterlife, that no matter the swirl of daily burden, there is hope. Simma, who had lived a holy life in her tiny village of Sonntag, Austria, remains a testimony to everlasting life whose initial stage for some though has to be spent in Purgatory (as demanded by Divine Justice). That’s where most of Simma’s ghosts came from.
Some justification was cited here before, but it bears repeating if only to underscore its importance: it is in the most trying times that we have to keep faith in the afterlife, that no matter the swirl of daily burden, there is hope. Simma, who had lived a holy life in her tiny village of Sonntag, Austria, remains a testimony to everlasting life whose initial stage for some though has to be spent in Purgatory (as demanded by Divine Justice). That’s where most of Simma’s ghosts came from.
The thought of Purgatory should also remind us that sins, even those already forgiven, still have to be paid for--but not necessarily in Purgatory. Sufferings on earth can be offered as mortification so that one can readily fly off to the perfection of Heaven after leaving the body, no more purgation needed. While the Covid-19 and other unfortunate scenarios weigh us down, there is the option to offer the trials as purgatory on earth, a recompense for past transgressions. After all, saints have said that sufferings in Purgatory are much more intense than the pains on earth.
And again, as had been stressed before, Simma’s experiences echo the need for Masses and prayers for the deliverance of the departed. This is the most important.
(Before we go on, allow this apology for typo errors in this space now and then. No, I am not blaming the devil yet, but I am not getting any younger and lapses can come many and in between.)
And again, as had been stressed before, Simma’s experiences echo the need for Masses and prayers for the deliverance of the departed. This is the most important.
(Before we go on, allow this apology for typo errors in this space now and then. No, I am not blaming the devil yet, but I am not getting any younger and lapses can come many and in between.)
And so to go on with writer Nicky Eltz’s interview of Maria Simma (1915-2004).
Q. When they’re (ghosts from Purgatory) with you, how long does the visit last?
Simma: Normally it happens very quickly and they’re gone again. Just a couple of seconds. So usually when one comes, I simply say, "what can I do for you?" And that one says, for instance, "I need five Holy Masses." And in that instant, it’s gone. But if they remain standing there, that’s a signal for me that I may ask questions or pass along names for whom the information has been requested. That can take two or three minutes and they rarely answer immediately. Usually, that soul then leaves and I have to wait weeks or even months for another to come and to respond to those earlier requests. But on a rare occasion, it has happened that they answered immediately.
Q. When they’re (ghosts from Purgatory) with you, how long does the visit last?
Simma: Normally it happens very quickly and they’re gone again. Just a couple of seconds. So usually when one comes, I simply say, "what can I do for you?" And that one says, for instance, "I need five Holy Masses." And in that instant, it’s gone. But if they remain standing there, that’s a signal for me that I may ask questions or pass along names for whom the information has been requested. That can take two or three minutes and they rarely answer immediately. Usually, that soul then leaves and I have to wait weeks or even months for another to come and to respond to those earlier requests. But on a rare occasion, it has happened that they answered immediately.
Q: Have you ever permitted someone to be present in the evenings that you are visited by Poor Souls?
Simma: Many people have asked, but the Poor Souls have told me that we should not be curious in these matters, so they really do not want it to happen. But once I was in a town with a woman who had a house full of tourists, and she asked me whether they could be present to experience a visit. Either to see it or to hear it. To this, I said, "Well, you might be able to hear something, but I doubt very much if anybody will see anything." I made sure to ask if there were any people around with heart conditions. There were, so I said no. This I asked because if a person with a bad heart sees or hears anything at all and merely thinks it’s a Poor Soul, they could very well suffer a heart attack. So my friend then asked whether I would sleep in the room next door to her and just leave the door open. And I agreed thinking that if the Poor Souls do not like it, then they just won’t show up. But then a Poor Soul did come after all and asked me to pray a Lord’s Prayer with it. I prayed it in silence and it was impossible therefore for anybody to hear. But the Poor Soul prayed it in a normal voice and then disappeared. The next day, the woman was acting very strangely which made me wonder what was wrong with her. So I asked her, "Are you all right?" --"Yeah, but let me ask you something. Did a Poor Soul pray a Lord’s Prayer with you last night?" --"Why do you ask?" --Well, I have to tell you, I heard a Lord’s Prayer being prayed last night and it sounded as if it was coming from the bottom of a deep cave. I was so afraid, I was sweating." And so I had to tell her that she was the first one in my experience to have heard anything.
Q: You said, "if the Poor Souls don’t like this..."
Simma: Many people have asked, but the Poor Souls have told me that we should not be curious in these matters, so they really do not want it to happen. But once I was in a town with a woman who had a house full of tourists, and she asked me whether they could be present to experience a visit. Either to see it or to hear it. To this, I said, "Well, you might be able to hear something, but I doubt very much if anybody will see anything." I made sure to ask if there were any people around with heart conditions. There were, so I said no. This I asked because if a person with a bad heart sees or hears anything at all and merely thinks it’s a Poor Soul, they could very well suffer a heart attack. So my friend then asked whether I would sleep in the room next door to her and just leave the door open. And I agreed thinking that if the Poor Souls do not like it, then they just won’t show up. But then a Poor Soul did come after all and asked me to pray a Lord’s Prayer with it. I prayed it in silence and it was impossible therefore for anybody to hear. But the Poor Soul prayed it in a normal voice and then disappeared. The next day, the woman was acting very strangely which made me wonder what was wrong with her. So I asked her, "Are you all right?" --"Yeah, but let me ask you something. Did a Poor Soul pray a Lord’s Prayer with you last night?" --"Why do you ask?" --Well, I have to tell you, I heard a Lord’s Prayer being prayed last night and it sounded as if it was coming from the bottom of a deep cave. I was so afraid, I was sweating." And so I had to tell her that she was the first one in my experience to have heard anything.
Q: You said, "if the Poor Souls don’t like this..."
Simma: Yes, yes, but that is just a manner of speaking because it is up to the Mother of Mercy with Jesus’ permission when they show up and when they do not.
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