St. Lidwina was a 15th century Dutch mystic. As a teenager, she fell and broke a rib while iceskating and never fully recovered. She devoted the rest of her life to prayer and fasting and became well-known as a holy woman. A sinful man was converted by her prayers and counsel shortly before his death. She asked her guardian angel what became of him in the next life and was blessed with the incredible vision of Purgatory:
‘He is there,’ said her angel, ‘and he suffers much. Would you be willing to endure some pain in order to diminish his?’ ‘Certainly,’ she replied, ‘I am ready to suffer anything to assist him.’ Instantly her angel conducted her into a place of frightful torture. ‘Is this, then, hell, my brother?’ asked the holy maiden, seized with horror. ‘No, sister,’ answered the angel, ‘but this part of purgatory is bordering upon hell.’
“Looking around on all sides, she saw what resembled an immense prison surrounded with walls of a prodigious height, the blackness of which, together …More