Return to Index of Articles

The Heroic Act of Charity for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

by Rev. Fr. Benedict Hughes, CMRI

Originally published in The Reign of Mary, No. 94 (Summer 1998)

Father Gaspar Olider, a devout Theatine priest who lived in the early part of the eighteenth century, preached a practice of charity known as the Heroic Act of Charity toward the souls in Purgatory. This devotion was approved by the Church and highly indulgenced by Popes Benedict XIII, Pius VI and Pius IX. In order for us to understand better this Heroic Act, let us first review what is meant by the word suffrage.

Suffrages for the Deceased

Every good work we perform in eith4e state of grace possesses a triple value: It has meritorious, impetratory and satisfactory power. The meritorious value of our good works indicates thr ability to earn an increase in merit, which is a right to a heavenly reward. Thus each good work earns for the one who performs it an increase in heavenly glory. Our merits are incommunicable — we cannot cede them to others.

Impretrations and satisfactions, on the other hand, are applicable to others. The impetratory value of our good works indicates their power to obtain from God some grace. As with any prayer, we can offer our impetrations for others. Likewise the satisfactory value of our good works, which is the power they possess to atone for the temporal punishment due to sin, can be applied to the souls in purgatory or used for our own benefit.

Suffrages is a word used to include both impetrations and satisfactions, the twofold value of our good works that can be applied to others. The souls in purgatory cannot pray for themselves, gain indulgences, attend Mass or receive the sacraments. They can but suffer to atone for the temporal punishment due to their sins. We can relieve them of their sufferings and satisfy for their sins by our suffrages. Christian charity inspires us, as members of the Church Militant, to do all that we can for these, our brethren of the Church Suffering.

Elements of the Heroic Act

The Heroic Act is a total donation to the souls in purgatory of all that we can give them. A decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences of December 18, 1885, thus describes this donation: “The Heroic Act of Charity in favor of the souls detained in purgatory consists in this, that a member of the Church Militant… offers to God for the souls in purgatory all the satisfactory works which he will perform during his lifetime, and also all the suffrages, which may accrue to him after his death.”

The heroism of this act consists in this: that by it we give to the suffering souls not only the satisfactory value of all the works of our life, but also all the suffrages which shall be given to us after our death, without reserving anyting wherewith to discharge our own debt. The act is thus one of selfless charity. Moreover, we deposit these treasures into the hands of the Blessed Virgin Mary, that she may distribute them according to her good pleasure, to those souls which she desires to deliver from purgatory. By so doing, we even sacrifice the freedom to apply our suffrages to departed souls of our own choice. We thereby surrender on behalf of the suffering souls even the pleasure of denoting the beneficiary of our charity. By this devotion we relinquish all that we possibly can — a heroic act indeed.

How, then, does one make this heroic act? The Sacred Congregation replies, through the decree quoted above, that a member of the Church Militant makes this donation, “either using a set formula or simply by an act of his will.” It is important, however, that one fully understands what he is doing before making the Heroic Act, and thus one ought to consult his confessor before undertaking the Act. Should anyone who has made the act ever regret having done so, he may revoke it by a mere act of his will.

Objections to This Devotion

Any objections which might be raised against this devotion center around the fear that, by so doing, one endangers the salvation of his own soul. Certain good Christians fear that by so thorough a renunciation they will leave themselves without the aids they will need for their salvation. They also fear that, having sacrificed all their suffrages, they will be condemned after death to purgatory for an indefinite length of time, perhaps even until the end of the world.

Fr. Mumford, as quoted by Shouppe in Purgatory, speaks of Christians who make this entire donation on behalf of the Poor Souls of all the fruit of their good works which are at their disposal. He states: “I do not believe that they can make a better use of them, since they render them more meritorious and more efficacious, as well for obtaining grace from God as for expiating their own sins and shortening the term of their purgatory, or even of acquiring an entire exemption therefrom” (pp. 206-7).

These words indicate the precious advantages of the Heroic Act. Let us understand that the act does not prevent us for praying for particular departed souls. We must, however, keep in mind that the application of our prayers is subject to the disposition of the adorable Will of God. Far from thinking that our Blessed Lady would abandon those for whom we pray, let us consider that it would give her pleasure to grant the petitions of one who has made this generous sacrifice.

Moreover, as is stated above, the act may be revoked at any time. Just as it can be made by a mere act of the will, so an act of the will suffices to revoke it. While it may be made without the use of any particular formula, however, it would be well for us to renew it often using the formula to be found on this page. Such a renewal stimulates our zeal for the relief of the Poor Souls and serves as a reminder of the sacrifice we have made on their behalf.

Finally, let us not think that we will subject ourselves to a long and dreadful purgatory by this cession of our suffrages in favor of the deceased. While it is true that, in essence, this practice involves the willingness to take upon one’s self the dreadful pains of purgatory for the love of one’s neighbor, it is inconceivable that such a generous soul would be abandoned to a long purgatory. To think thus, as St. Louis Marie de Montfort states, is to think unworthily of Jesus and Mary.

This fact is demonstrated by a story related of St. Gertrude, which is recounted by Fr. Shouppe. The saint, being at the point of death and considering the sins of her life, feared that, having done so much for the souls in purgatory, she had exhausted her satisfactions and would be left to suffer a great deal in purgatory. Our Lord deigned to appear to her in order to console her by these words: “The generous donation you have made of all your works to the holy souls has been singularly pleasing to me; and to give you a proof thereof, I declare to you that all the pains you would have had to endure in the other life are remitted; moreover, in recompense for your generous charity, I will so enhance the value of the merits of your works as to give you a great increase of glory in Heaven” (p. 208).

Indulgences Granted

Those who are familiar with the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary, as taught by St. Louis Marie de Montfort, will find this surrender of one’s satisfactions to be part of the consecration which he teaches. They may then wonder if there is any point in their making this heroic act as they have, in essence, already surrendered their suffrages.<

I recommend that they make the Heroic Act of Charity, and that for two reasons:
1) By making the Heroic Act, they are reminded of the donation of their suffrages which they made through the Holy Slavery, a donation which they perhaps never fully understood.
2) This act is enriched with wonderful indulgences, and it is highly important that we gain all the indulgences we can for the relief of the Poor Souls.

The two main indulgences attached to this act are as follows: 1) Priests who make it receive the personal privilege of gaining a plenary indulgence for a soul of their choice each time they say Mass. 2) The faithful may gain a similar indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, each time they receive Holy Communion and also on each Monday on which they hear Mass for the departed. In all the above cases, the usual conditions are required for the gaining of these indulgences.

“It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins” (II Mach. 12:46).