A Pebble in Hand
The Road to Hana on Maui is laced with 617 hairpin turns and 59 one-lane bridges. I drove it recently with one of my sons, and it left my head spinning. Near mile marker 32, we pulled off the road to check out the black sand beach there. Waves gently rolled over a field of large volcanic stones. As I ran my hand along the water’s edge, a reddish, heart-shaped pebble caught my eye. I picked it up, pondering how this pebble had been forged from molten lava and polished to its current beauty by 750,000 years of unrelenting tides.
I recalled Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, a story I loved as a child. Then my thoughts turned to the holy souls in Purgatory, who share aspects of Sylvester’s plight with his magic pebble.
Sylvester’s Storybook Journey
Sylvester is a sweet donkey who loves collecting pebbles of unusual shape and color. One rainy day, he finds an extraordinary one–flaming and red, and round like a marble. He discovers by accident that it magically grants his every wish! But when a lion eyes him for supper, he panics and wishes to be a rock. Suddenly, he’s a donkey-sized boulder, stranded in a meadow far from home, his magic pebble impossible to reach without arms. Unable to wish on it, he’s trapped as a boulder.
Seasons pass, and spring returns. His parents, still grieving, visit the meadow and place their picnic lunch on the boulder. Mr. Donkey spots the red pebble and picks it up– a treasure his son would have loved! He sets it on the “table”. Mrs. Donkey wishes Sylvester could be with them again. Sylvester, unaware that he’s now touching the magic pebble, cries silently in his own grief for his parents’ pain. “Oh, how I wish I were myself again!”
In a miraculous instant, the boulder is transformed, and Sylvester stands in their midst. The family rejoices!
Like Sylvester, holy souls in Purgatory depend on others’ prayers to bring God’s healing touch. Our prayers, in communion with the saints, draw God’s merciful hand to restore them fully. This sacred process unfolds in Purgatory.
Stripping it Down: Purgatory is a Merciful Place!
Ever have that awful dream where you walk into the greatest party, only to see everyone staring at you in horror? You’re in your birthday suit, and gym workouts just aren’t your gig. Everyone’s ready for the paparazzi flash except you. You wish someone had stopped your bare-naked entrance! Thankfully, God provides a gatekeeper for well-intentioned but underprepared souls.
Purgatory, like a coat check room outside a 3-star Michelin restaurant, is a merciful place of purification (Catechism, 1030–1032). Holy souls arrive spiritually under-dressed. God knows they long to join His feast! The Bible shows how God prepares them: He refines them with fire (1 Corinthians 3:13–15), smooths their hearts’ hard edges with water (Job 14:19), dresses them in salvation’s garments (Isaiah 61:10), and welcomes them to His wedding feast (Matthew 22:2). He promises “no more tears” once through that door (Revelation 21:4).
Our prayers can aid their restoration (Catechism, 1030–1032 and 2 Maccabees 12:43–46). That beach pebble from Hana is my reminder to pray for the miracle of God’s grace to heal them.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon them. Amen.
Want to Learn More About Purgatory?
Here are a few good resources to help you learn even more about Purgatory!
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1030–1032: Purgatory’s role in preparing souls for Heaven.
- “Purgatory: The Purifying Flame of God’s Love” by Catholic Answers: A clear explanation.
- Spe Salvi by Pope Benedict XVI: Purgatory as God’s merciful bridge.
- Diary of St. Faustina, 20: Her vision of souls in Purgatory longing for God.
