Originally published at The Catholic Thing
Awaiting her execution, Vibia Perpetua, a young mother and spiritual leader of a group of early Christians, had a vision: her brother Dinocrates, who died of cancer at age seven was “burning hot and thirsty, his face dirty and complexion pale.” So, Perpetua “began to pray profusely concerning him and I wailed to the Lord.” The sensus fidelium, keenly aware that the dead need the help of our prayers, has Purgatory right and the Reformers, departing from Tradition and from the Church, have it wrong.
