Purgatory is something Martin Luther did not believe in, I gleam from his life, because he did not think he could live up to the ideal Jesus Christ created for humans to be able to meet (the catholic ideal), for a relatively nominal amount of effort on a human’s part, given that they have the humility to remember to continually ask God for help (1thessalonians 5:16-18). We say nominal only here today, given a civilized society like we have today not the barbaric one that Jesus Christ (the first of His brethren, and the best example to His brethren, both male and female, to be martyred) and His hundreds of martyrs helped abolish, with their heroic efforts! Christs (Catholic – from the Greek meaning universal) ideal posited that man could, with the aid of baptism and the Catholic religion, erase the wound of original sin and bring himself nearly to perfection if not perfection through prayer, God’s help and the help of the helpers God sent to be with each one of us, our guardian angel (Matthew 18-10). The this first books on Purgatory is in a question and answer format and is a short 32 pages:
“Q.A. Purgatory” by Fathers Leslie Rumble and Charles Mortimer Carty (Originally published by Radio replies Press, Inc St. Paul, Minnesota) the reprint that I have is Copyright 1976 by Tan Books and Publishers, printed in 1992.
ISBN-10 : 089555108X
ISBN-13 : 978-0895551085
Imprimatur: Joannes Gregorius Murray
Archiepiscopus Sancti Pauli
The second is 39 pages long and is a “how to” book on avoiding purgatory.
“How to Avoid Purgatory” by father Paul O’Sullivan. First Published circa 1936 for the Association of the Holy Souls in Lisbon, Portugal, by Edicoes do Corpo, Lisbon, Portugal. Retypeset and rprinted in 1992 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., with permission of Saint Martin de Porres apostolate, Dublin, Ireland.
ISBN: 0-89555-458-5
Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 92-64438
Imprimatur: Can. Emmanuel Anaquim, VG
Lisbon
September 29, 1936
Next, a book about purgatory itself, “The Dogma of Purgatory” by Father F. X. Shouppe, S.J., Translated from the French and published by Tan Books and Publishers, Inc. 1973, Rockford, Illinois, but originally published in the United States by Benziger Brothers. The following is information on the reprint, which should be a reliable copy, but if in doubt check with a reliable parish priest. The approbations are from my 1973 copy.
Publisher : Aeterna Press (April 30, 2016)
ISBN-10 : 1785166808
ISBN-13 : 978-1785166808
Nihil Obstat: H.M. Bayley,
Censor Deputatus,
Imprimatur: Hurbertus Card. Vaughan,
Archiep. Westmonasterien,
Oct. 11, 1893
Finally, “Charity for the Suffering Souls: An Explanation of the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory” by Father John A Nageleisen is, as indicated in the title, on the Catholic Doctrine of Purgatory.
Publisher : TAN Books & Publishers; Reprint edition (July 1, 1994)
Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0895552000
ISBN-13 : 978-0895552006
Imprimatur: +Joseph Rademacher,
Bishop of Fort Wayne
February 2, 1895
Traditional Thomistic Catholic 