November. The Souls in Purgatory.
A truly Christian soul will, during this month, think with love of the faithful departed. There is nothing more pleasing to God, or more profitable to ourselves, than the practice of praying for the souls in purgatory, that He may relieve their sufferings and speedily admit them to His glory. We see our friends dropping from the ranks of the living, and entering that state which is so mysterious. The Church tells us that we can help them on their way to heaven by our prayers, if they have been detained in purgatory to atone to God's justice for their transgressions.
St. Alphonsus says, “It is a duty, for Christian charity commands us to relieve our neighbors who stand in need of our assistance; but who among all our neighbors have so great need of our help as these holy prisoners, deprived for a time of the sight of God?” Many indulgences, both plenary and partial, are applicable to them; let us gain them, so that the mercy of God may be moved in their favor. Let us also remember the poor souls who have no one to pray for them. And in return these blessed souls will not neglect to obtain for us many graces from God, particularly the grace of eternal life.
Considerations and Prayers for Every Day.
First Day.
Often meditate on the sufferings of the souls in purgatory. The thought will inspire you with the proper and holy fear of God's justice, which requires expiation in purgatory for sins unatoned for in this life. It will also move you to have compassion [pg 437] on the poor souls, and to relieve them by your good works. The souls in purgatory endure dreadful punishments; it is the opinion of theologians that they suffer the pains of fire. They also suffer the pain of loss, which is more severe than that of sense. You should ask yourselves: Shall we suffer these dreadful pains in purgatory, or shall we escape them? Let us take warning from the unhappy souls who are to be miserable for eternity, and cultivate a salutary fear of God's justice and so avoid sin. Let the happiness of the saints encourage us to lead virtuous lives, and confide in the mercy and goodness of God. Standing between the eternity of happiness and the eternity of misery, we must make our choice. Through God's grace and the intercession of the Blessed Virgin and the members of the heavenly court, let us resolve, in future, to avoid not only mortal but also venial sin. Let us resolve also to atone for our past sins, and pay the debt which we owe to God's justice, so that when our souls are separated from our bodies we may go at once to enjoy God in heaven.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from the bonds of their sins; and by the assistance of Thy grace may they escape the sentence of condemnation, and enjoy the bliss of eternal light. Amen.
Second Day.
We are told that few of those who save their souls, except children who have not lost their baptismal innocence, go to heaven without passing [pg 438] through purgatory. How many are surprised by death in venial sin! how many who receive forgiveness for the guilt of mortal sin still owe some temporal debt for it! how few leave this life without some stain on their souls! Yet every stain must be wiped away, every farthing of the debt paid, before the soul can leave the prison of purgatory. We have no time to lose, death may be at our doors. Why not now use the means of avoiding purgatory? Why do we count a suffering in the future which in the present we would be in no way ready to accept, but would employ every effort to escape? How soon must we leave this world never to return! How soon will day and night have no meaning for us! Our bodies, mouldered into dust, will come to life again only at the sound of the last trumpet, and then only for judgment. Friends who love us, possessions on which we have set our hearts, will be taken from us. We will leave as we came, alone. Why, then, attach ourselves to those things in such a way as to bring upon us the displeasure of God, and the sufferings which His displeasure entails? Better far to live here with the thought of the bitterness which goes with wrongdoing and a sense of security for the future, than thoughtlessly to incur the punishment which is to be found in purgatory.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Third Day.
The earth is only a vast cemetery. Our ancestors are mixed up with its clay, whether they lie beneath the surface or have had their ashes scattered [pg 439] to the four winds. How soon were they forgotten! Of all the generations which have gone before us how few individuals are known! Of some history tells the noble deeds, of others the dark ones. The really wise and great men of every age are the virtuous, now the friends of God. Their names come down to us in benediction. History may record the names of the wicked, but their memory is held in execration. What matters it to all those who are dead whether men speak of them or not? The one thing of importance is how God has regarded their lives. We too will soon be forgotten. The birds that will sing near our graves will be listened to and admired by the visitor to the cemetery, but we will not receive even a passing thought. Even those for whom our hearts throbbed with anxiety, those for whose happiness we strove with so much labor, will scarcely think of us. We will have been gathered to the dead, our term of activity will have passed, our day will have ended, and with it all interest in us will also end. We will be one of the millions laid away in the cemetery. Has this thought no meaning for us? It ought to suggest the importance of giving more attention to that which God had in view in creating us. Not ambitious of what men may think of us, but ambitious of securing that which we alone can obtain for ourselves, happiness in the life to come. Then will our lonely and forgotten condition matter very little.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Fourth Day.
You have, perhaps, stood at the grave, and seen the earth cover the remains of a dear one. It may have been the remains of the most beloved one you ever knew. Oh, how you stood in need of consolation! There were moments when you felt as if your heart must break. Yet when faith came to your aid, and you remembered that the separation was only for a time, that the moment of reunion would come, and you would again see the dear one, only purified, glorified, and free from all the blemishes life on earth entails, there was an awakening, a consolation, a strengthening, which no other thought could bring. With this new feeling came the resolve to help the one gone by such gifts as your love would dictate and your faith direct. What if that dear one was condemned to tarry in a place of purgation? What if you by your good works and prayers could assist, but instead spent your time in fruitless lament and regrets? Then it was that you felt all your old love quicken, and the eagerness which had led you to care for the loved one in life, received a new incentive. You recollected that the time in which he could help himself had passed, and he had to rely entirely on the good services of his friends—that the hand of God was to lay heavy upon him until the full measure of expiation had been paid. There is comfort in the reflection that we can still be of service to those we loved in life; we can be charitable to them, and improve ourselves by the practice of that charity. The true Christian mourns his friends, but he mourns over them, not with a vain hope, but with a prayerful appeal to the throne of mercy.
[pg 441]Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Fifth Day.
The doctrine of purgatory implies two truths. First, that after a mortal sin is forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance, and the eternal punishment due to it is remitted, there still remains some debt of temporal punishment to pay, either in this life—by deeds of penance—or in the next in purgatory. Second, even venial sins are a stain which prevent the soul from entering into heaven. These stains, therefore, must first be wiped off, if the soul is to enter the abode of all holiness. Now, purgatory is the place where the souls predestined to eternal glory are detained for a time, and this period is fixed by God's justice for the purpose of expiation and purification, until they are quite worthy of the everlasting bliss prepared for them. Until the end of the world, until the last Day of Judgment, there will be an intermediate place between heaven and hell. Heaven is the place where only the just and holy are admitted. Hell is the dungeon into whose depths are plunged the souls of the impious and unrepenting. But purgatory lies between the two, and is meant to receive for a time those souls of the just who will require some further purification. And I am hurrying to one or the other place. Which shall it be? Whichever it is it will be of my own making and choice. God is now giving me time and opportunities sufficient to gain the one and avoid the other. Let me reflect whither my course is leading me. Let me do it now—to-morrow may be too late. [pg 442] God has given me only one life in which to accomplish my salvation. According to the eternal decree that life will end at the appointed time.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Sixth Day.
The Church is the mystical body of Jesus Christ, of which He is the Head, and all the faithful are the members. It is divided into three parts: the Church Militant on earth, consisting of the faithful who are still fighting for their faith and struggling for their salvation; the Church Triumphant, consisting of the saints in heaven; and finally, the Church Suffering, consisting of the souls in purgatory. All the dead, then, who die in the Lord, belong to the great mysterious body of Christ, either as members glorified already, or as still awaiting the glory to come. But all are united among themselves and form one great communion of saints. Therefore when we consider what faith teaches us concerning the Church Suffering, or purgatory, we cannot help exclaiming: “O faith! how beautiful thou art! How touching is the communion of saints!” We children of the Church Militant stretch forth one hand towards our brethren of the Church Triumphant for help and protection; and with the other extended we supplicate by our prayers, our alms, and patient sufferings, that the time of probation for our brethren of the Church Suffering may be shortened. We feel they entreat us to alleviate their torments, and their gratitude for our good services will incline them to help us in our infirmities [pg 443] and weakness. How often does this thought occupy our attention? It should engage us frequently. As we are now so once were the souls in purgatory; as they are now so we hope to be—for once in purgatory it means that heaven is within our reach.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Seventh Day.
The Bible, in its very first pages, shows us that a custom of praying for the dead existed among the people of the earliest centuries. This implies the existence of purgatory, because it stands to reason that we do not pray either for the saints in heaven or for the damned in hell. For, says St. Thomas Aquinas, those prayers would be useless and in vain, if there were no purgatory, because prayers cannot be offered up for those who have already arrived at their end, but only for those who have not yet reached their final destiny. When Jacob and Joseph were about to depart from this world they earnestly besought those who stood around their death-beds, especially their own children, to convey their mortal remains to Palestine. For those pious patriarchs well knew that their descendants there would offer sacrifices of expiation, and they hoped these offerings would gain for them the longed-for peace and rest. On the announcement of the death of Saul all the inhabitants of Jabes imposed upon themselves a seven days' fast. The inspired poet-king takes part, not only in the sorrow, but also in the sacrifices. He himself sings in touching, elevated strain, the [pg 444] doctrine of purgatory, when describing the inexpressible joy and delight of those souls who have happily passed through the fire and water of tribulation, and have arrived at the ardently longed-for joy and refreshment of the Lord. The prophet Micheas says: “I shall arise, when I sit in darkness, the Lord is my light. I will bear the wrath of the Lord because I have sinned against Him, until He judge my cause and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth into the light, I shall behold His justice.”
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Eighth Day.
Instructed by holy and exalted prophets, the people of Israel, from the earliest times, made sacrifices and offerings for the dead, and thereby clearly showed their belief in purgatory. The records of all the past centuries referring to the subject clearly show that not the smallest doubt can be entertained on this point. When the star of the Jewish civilization began to fade, the heroic line of the Machabees gathered all their force once more together, in order to inaugurate a new epoch of power and glory. In the description of their noble and heroic actions we come across the unmistakable proof of their universal tradition and belief. Judas, the mighty hero, having lost a great number of soldiers in battle, did not confine himself to merely giving them an honorable burial. He commanded a collection to be made, and sent the sum to Jerusalem for a sacrifice to be offered for the fallen heroes. [pg 445] Holy Scripture concludes the narrative with the words: “It is therefore a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins”—that is from all temporal punishment due to those sins. This thought is justly called holy, because it springs from a holy source, that of faith and charity. It is called wholesome, in the first place to the poor souls themselves, because it comforts and encourages them in their sufferings, in the next place to those who pray for them, because they increase their own merits thereby, and gain new, faithful friends in heaven.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Ninth Day.
The Holy Scriptures imply, in the narration of the action of the great leader Judas, the existence of purgatory, or some such place of purification in the next world, where the souls of the departed can be assisted by our prayers and sacrifices, and be cleansed from their sins. Certainly it would have been impossible, in such heavy time of war, to gather from the people such large sums of money, or to all at once introduce an innovation in religious practice of that kind, if this belief in purgatory had not been long and firmly implanted in their hearts. All the passages from the Old Testament clearly prove the truth of the Catholic doctrine, which teaches us that there exists a place for the purification of such souls as die in a state of grace, but have not yet fully expiated all their sins; and that those souls [pg 446] can be delivered by the prayers and good works of the faithful. The son of Sirach bears witness to the same when he says: “A gift hath grace in the sight of all the living, and restrain not grace from the dead,” which means that we should pay our dead the last respects and offer up sacrifices for them. This passage supports the general belief of the Jews, that we can assist the departed by good works. The Jews even now believe in the existence of some place of purification, and are in the habit of praying for their dead. The Jewish belief in purgatory rested on a very firm foundation.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Tenth Day.
In the fulness of time the divine Saviour Jesus Christ appeared on earth. While disowning in His teaching all the false theories and erroneous traditions of Scribes and Pharisees, while condemning with the greatest precision their errors on the subject of death and resurrection, He never uttered one syllable against the general belief in purgatory, or against the public practice of praying for the dead. On the contrary He left it just as it existed under the Old Law. Could the Son of God, Who had come down to make known the will of His Father, have acted thus if this were not a holy, just, and pious custom? The Redeemer did not find it necessary to give lengthy proofs of the existence of this place of punishment. It was enough to simply remind the people of it. For, in truth, He addressed [pg 447] a people who had never entertained the smallest doubt on the subject. In one of His sermons He unmistakably alludes to purgatory, where He speaks of a prison from which no one can be delivered except on the payment of the full debt. What other prison but purgatory can here be meant? Heaven cannot be meant, and out of hell there is no redemption. The Gospels have preserved another saying of the Son of God which presupposes the existence of purgatory: “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in the world to come.” There are, then, sins which can be atoned for in the next world.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Eleventh Day.
With regard to the doctrine of purgatory the apostles taught as their divine Master did. St. Paul says: “For other foundation no man can lay but that which is laid, which is Christ Jesus. Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble, every man's work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire, and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work burn he shall suffer loss: but he himself [pg 448] shall be saved, but so as by fire.”—1 Cor. iii. 12. He who appears before the Judgment Seat of God with works still stained and imperfect, will reach indeed his happy end, but not before those stains and imperfections have been cleared away by a process which is like unto the crucible of fire. The fire which the Apostle speaks of cannot be the fire of tribulation, or the sufferings of this life; for he speaks of a fire which burns on the Judgment Day; that is, after this life. Again, it cannot mean the mere ordeal of the Judgment, because here the soul is not only tried, but also burns and suffers from the burning. Nor can it mean the fire of hell, because he who burns in the fire will come out of it and be saved, which cannot be said of those in hell. The Apostle could only have had the fire of purgatory in view—that fire which burns for the purification of souls not quite spotless, and which will continue until the Day of General Judgment.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twelfth Day.
Tradition excludes every doubt, even the least shadow of doubt, as to the existence of purgatory. We have testimony from a whole army of renowned writers of the Church: Sts. Augustine, Chrysostom, Epiphanius, Jerome, Cyril, Gregory, up to Tertullian who lived in the second century. The tradition is contained not only in the writings of the Holy Fathers, but also in the practice of the Church reaching down to the apostolic age, according [pg 449] to which prayers and sacrifices were at all times offered up to God for the souls of the departed. Tertullian speaks of the sacrifices for the dead as of an apostolic tradition, and St. John Damascene says, in his sermon on the dead: “The apostles and disciples of our divine Saviour, who had seen the eternal Word with their own eyes, and had converted the multitudes of the living world, taught that in the awful, immaculate and life-giving mysteries of the Eucharist, remembrance should be made of those who died in the Lord.” In confirmation of it he alleges the testimony of St. John Chrysostom in these words: “That John, who on account of his eloquence was called the golden-mouthed, teaches that not inconsiderately or accidentally was it ordained by those wise disciples of God and transmitted to the Church, that the priest should offer prayers for the dead in the celebration of the awful divine mysteries.”
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Thirteenth Day.
We will now hear from the great St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. I am quoting from his treatise on the care for the dead. Mark how beautifully he writes: “We read in the book of Machabees that there were sacrifices offered up for the dead, but even if there had been no mention made of the subject in the pages of the Old Testament, the authority of the Church would be sufficient as manifested in her practice, according to which the priest at the altar makes commemoration of the faithful departed.” [pg 450] By her funeral rites, offices and commemorations of the dead, as well as her ancient Ordos, the Catholic Church has at all times clearly and definitely testified to, and declared her belief in, the existence of purgatory. Further, she has solemnly declared it an article of faith in several Councils—as, for instance, in the General Council of Trent, which defines that there is a purgatory, and that the faithful can come to the assistance of the souls suffering therein by their prayers, and oblations of the most holy sacrifice of the Mass. And it even threatens with excommunication from the Church all those who maintain that every penitent sinner, having received justification, is forgiven as to his guilt and eternal punishment in such a way that there remains no temporal punishment to be expiated in purgatory.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Fourteenth Day.
What a touching proof we have of the faith in the intercession of the living for the dead, in the story of the life of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine! As her son stood by the bedside of his dying mother, and with difficulty tried to restrain his tears, Monica said to him: “Only one thing I beg of thee; remember me always at the altar of God, wherever thou dost chance to be.” St. Augustine, therefore, often offered up the holy sacrifice for his mother, and in his “Confessions” he entreats God in the following touching prayer: “O God, grant that all Thy servants, who are my brothers and to [pg 451] whom I have dedicated this book, grant that all who read these prayers may, in their prayers before Thy altar, think of Thy handmaid, my dearest mother, and pray for her in loving remembrance.” When St. Paul says that at the mention of the sacred name of Jesus every knee shall bend in heaven, on earth and under the earth, by this last expression “under the earth,” according to the general opinion of the Holy Fathers of the Church, he pointed to that temporal, intermediate place, wherein imperfect souls must abide until they are purified from all stain of sin, but even yet, while still there, are united in common adoration with the saints who are in the full enjoyment of heaven, as well as with all the Christians of the Church Militant on earth. But St. Paul teaches us no less by example to offer up prayers and petitions to God almighty for the souls of those who have died in the Lord.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Fifteenth Day.
We may, without great difficulty, infer the existence of purgatory from the truths known by faith. Our faith teaches us that in the Sacrament of Penance our sins are forgiven, together with the eternal punishment due to them. The temporal punishment due to them is not always forgiven, however, and consequently it remains to be endured either in this world or in the next. Call to mind the examples of David, Moses, Peter and Mary Magdalene. They were all forgiven their sins and the [pg 452] eternal punishment due to them, and yet how much did those dear servants of God bewail their offences during their whole lives and expiate the temporal punishment due to them! Again there is another argument and ground on which our reason demands the existence of a purgatory. It may be that a soul just departed this life is free from all mortal sin—even free from all temporal punishment due to grievous sin, but perhaps not free from certain light and venial sins, which, though not destroying the grace of God in the soul, still darken and stain its full splendor. It may be that all those venial sins are atoned for and wiped away by the patiently borne agony of death, but how often it happens that the Christian is suddenly surprised by death in different forms, and when least expecting it. It would be contrary to God's mercy and justice to cast that soul into hell, or to receive it at once into heaven.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Sixteenth Day.
The doctrine that sinners, even after the guilt and eternal punishment due to sin are remitted, have still, as a rule, to satisfy the justice of God in some way, has been acknowledged by the Church both in deed and by express word. By deed, because of her severe penitential discipline in the early days of the Church, because of the works of penance enjoined in the confessional, and the granting at all times of indulgences. By express word because of the definition of the Council of Trent. Now if according to the certain [pg 453] doctrine of faith, some temporal satisfaction remains to be made after the remission of sin and eternal punishment, what, we ask, will become of those souls who are suddenly called away before they have done such penance as their sins required—before they have given full satisfaction? Into heaven, where nothing impure can enter, they cannot be received until the full debt is paid. Into hell they cannot be cast, because they died in a state of grace and are friends and children of God. Therefore, reason says, there must be a place where those just and holy, though not yet thoroughly cleansed souls, must linger till purified completely, and fully worthy of God's sacred presence. Were it otherwise our reason would be darkened and troubled by doubts, either as to the justice or as to the infinite mercy of God. Reason tells us that there is a state of virtue not good enough for heaven, and a state of vice not bad enough for hell. Common sense tells us that there is a difference between sin and sin, and that consequently there must be a difference in the punishment.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Seventeenth Day.
The souls in purgatory suffer. They are sent there to suffer. They are detained there to suffer. The time of action is gone; the time of passive suffering has come. Their whole existence, or life, is, as it were, taken up with suffering. What are they suffering? Of what kind and character are their sufferings? The pains of purgatory are just the [pg 454] same as the torments of hell, with the exception of eternity and despair. The difference between the two is, that the pains of purgatory come to an end, and are not severed from the sweet hope of eternal happiness. Like the pains of hell, so also the pains of purgatory are of two kinds. They are the pain of loss and the pain of sense. These two kinds of pain correspond to the twofold disorder contained in every sin. For every sin is first of all an aversion or turning away from God, the highest and uncreated good—either a complete aversion as in the case of mortal sin, or a partial aversion as in the case of venial sin. Second, every sin is a conversion to, or a turning towards, a created, real or apparent good as our highest good, which is, of course, a disorderly conversion. Now this twofold inordinateness must be expiated by a twofold corresponding punishment. For wherein a man sins, says the Scripture, therein is he punished.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Eighteenth Day.
Man sins, and thus turns away from God; the punishment, therefore, must be an eternal or temporary deprivation of God, the highest good of man. He sins, and thus turns towards a created good, and derives pleasure and satisfaction from it; the punishment, therefore, for this illicit, sensual pleasure, is the pain of sense, the pain inflicted by created things. Now fire is a pain of sense; and it is a doctrine sufficiently warranted by Scripture and tradition, that the fire of purgatory is a real fire, by [pg 455] which the souls are chastised and purified. The Holy Fathers explain that the greatest imaginable sufferings here on earth, the most dreadful martyrdom of the holy confessors of Christ, the worst pains of the most terrible illness, can bear no comparison with the torments and pains suffered by the poor souls in purgatory. Well known is the exclamation of St. Augustine, “Here burn, here cut, here crucify, but spare me in eternity, O God!” The sufferings of this life can be soothed by consolation, can be softened by many distractions; now and again there is a respite granted to the greatest sufferer, and time heals many woes. But the sufferings of purgatory continue without any alleviation or interruption.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Nineteenth Day.
According to the writings of the Fathers, the pain of loss is the greatest of all the pains of purgatory. Together with the bitter remembrance of having done evil and omitted to do good, is the consciousness of being deprived of the beatific vision, than which there can be no greater pain. St. Alphonsus says: “Far greater than the pains of the senses are the pains of loss arising from the deprivation of the presence of God.” Because the poor souls are inflamed with not only the natural, but the supernatural love of God, they are almost violently drawn towards Him, their supreme good; and because they have the consciousness of being debarred from perfect union with God by their own sins and imperfections, [pg 456] they feel such exceeding great pain that it would kill them were it possible for them to die. “Therefore,” says St. Chrysostom, “is this pain of loss greater than that of sense, and the greatest of all pains. A thousand fires of hell could not produce greater pain than that which is caused by the fully realized loss of God.” Here on earth, while confined in their bodies of sin, their souls could not enjoy the beatific vision; but once delivered from their mortal bodies, the time is come when they are able to see God, Who would be their everlasting joy were it not for their own fault. It is this pain of separation that makes the pain of purgatory a cleansing fire in the fullest sense of the word.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twentieth Day.
In this valley of tears the sighs of holy persons are full of pain and sorrow, of pining after God and heaven. How painful must have been this burning love and yearning desire in such souls as St. Paul's, St. Augustine's and St. Teresa's! Yet what was their suffering compared to the consuming fire of yearning in the souls of purgatory? For, however much we may pine after God, our only good, still while on earth we have many things that comfort us and deaden our pain. The very burden of our body, the distracting events of life, the possibility of great age, or larger store of merit, all these things are so many means of comfort to us. But the poor souls in purgatory have none of these consolations; there is nothing to assuage their pain of yearning and unfulfilled [pg 457] desire. More than the panting hart do they thirst after the fountain of eternal light and life. This unspeakable thirst is, in their case, all pure pain, unmingled with any soothing alloy. Oh, what a burning sea of sorrow those poor souls are plunged into! Flames within, flames without, flames all around them! Were it not that God's omnipotent hand upheld them, their spirit would almost be consumed by those flames of fire. As you have noticed I have left you to draw from the proofs, as also from the description of the flames of purgatory, your own pious deductions and resolutions. But now I ask is there a doctrine in the Church which calls for more serious and pious consideration than this belief in purgatory, for your own spiritual benefit, and then for the help you can afford those whom God's justice has condemned there?
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-first Day.
It has always been a doctrine of the Church, no less than a practice, that by our prayers and good works we can help the souls in purgatory. For the Church not only taught the doctrine, but from the earliest times encouraged the faithful to offer up the holy sacrifice for them. It was at the great Council of Trent that the doctrine became an article of faith. We are united to them in the communion of saints. This community is like the members of one body. As in the body all the members help each other, so in the communion of saints all have a share in the [pg 458] common goods, as the Psalmist says, “I am a partaker with all them that fear Thee.” If Christ could make vicarious atonement to His heavenly Father for our sins, and the eternal punishment due to them, then, also, the members of the community founded by Him can, through His power and merits, assist and make satisfaction for one another as regards the temporal punishment due to their sins. So that, as the Apostle says, the abundance of one may supply the want of the other, so that there may be an equality. The souls in purgatory, then, since they are souls departed in the love of God, belong with us to that great brotherhood, the communion of saints. So we can come to their assistance, and by our efforts help to discharge the debt they are still owing to God's justice. Or united to them by the bonds of love, we form as it were one person. We pass the value of our good works to them, and our heavenly Father looks upon the price we pay for them as if paid by themselves.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-second Day.
Let us consider more particularly by what means we can assist the poor souls. We can greatly and powerfully assist them, and the holy Council of Trent expressly points out the means we should use. It says particularly that the faithful can help the poor souls detained in purgatory by their prayers, and by the most holy sacrifice of the Mass. This, as you will perhaps observe, has been said several times [pg 459] already in this book. True, but it is in order that I may point out the conditions which are required to make those means effective that I again speak of them now. What is necessary, primarily, is that we have the intention of helping the poor souls, otherwise our good works are all put down to our own account, or if we do not stand in need of them, they are put into what is called the treasury of the Church, and then they are beyond our disposition. It is not, however, necessary to make a new intention before every action. It is sufficient to make once for all an intention of doing certain things for the sake of the suffering souls, and then not withdrawing it again. Still it is advisable to renew it now and again, as for instance at morning prayers or at Mass. It is necessary to be in a state of grace if we wish to help the souls by our good works or by our own personal prayers, penance, indulgences, and so forth. He who is in a state of sin cannot make satisfaction for himself; how then can he do so for others? How can he who is a captive redeem himself, or give freedom to others?
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-third Day.
The giving of alms for the benefit of the souls in purgatory, is one of the means over which the Fathers of the Church grew eloquent. Nor indeed is it necessary to make use of the sayings of the early Fathers, for we can find abundant proof of the efficacy of alms related in the Holy Scriptures. The [pg 460] angel Raphael said to Tobias: “Alms delivereth from death, and the same is that which purgeth away sins, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting.” Elsewhere we find: “Water quencheth a flaming fire, and alms resisteth sin.” But let us listen to the Fathers of the Church. St. Leo writes: “Alms atone for sin, destroy death, and extinguish the flames of eternal fire.” St. Chrysostom calls alms-giving “a heavenly ladder, leading to God's right hand, and a sure refuge for those who give as well as for those who receive.” St. Paulinus praises a Roman nobleman, who on the death of his beloved wife assembled all the poor and destitute of the city in St. Peter's Church, and distributed food among them in order to comfort and help her whose loss he bewailed. And St. Hieronymus, speaking of the same nobleman, says that while other husbands adorn their wife's graves with violets, roses and lilies, this one pours the balm of alms over the sacred dust and venerable remains of his beloved wife. The petition for alms from the worthy poor is like the knocking at your door of a poor soul in purgatory.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-fourth Day.
What a beautiful Catholic practice is this of giving of the goods which the good God has entrusted to us, for the benefit of the poor souls! Could we not also set aside something for such a noble purpose? The alms we give to the poor souls in purgatory may be likened to so many checks [pg 461] signed by names dear to God, and which when presented He will not dishonor. When it is difficult for us to give money in alms, we can at least give other things of less value—even things that are no longer of use to us. How many things there are in our homes that are not of the least use to us, which if given in alms for the suffering souls might be of the greatest benefit to us as well as to them! We give them in alms to the poor and forsaken ones on earth, that they may benefit them as well as the poor forsaken souls in purgatory. Perhaps you have a list of debtors, and perhaps in that list there are many from whom you never expect to recover anything. Why not make a promise, in case of the recovery of certain sums, to give half to the deserving poor for the benefit of the suffering souls in purgatory? It is not impossible that the guardian angel of purgatory may help to restore to us money otherwise lost. Remember it is not the wealthy alone who can give alms for this purpose, but the poor as well; at least they can give their good-will. Do you remember that the angels sang at the birth of the Redeemer: “Peace on earth to men of good-will”?
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-fifth Day.
We have the authority of Holy Scripture for the efficacy of prayers: “It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead.” It is holy because it is most pleasing to God; it is wholesome because we have reason to believe that through the infinite mercy and compassion of His Sacred Heart, [pg 462] Our Lord accepts prayers offered in atonement for the sins of those suffering in purgatory. If the prayers we offer for temporal goods are often heard and granted, how much more so when we offer them for spiritual goods, for the souls tenderly loved by God? Well might St. Augustine say: “One cannot conceive a holier or more wholesome practice than praying for the dead.” The “Imitation of Christ” has the following: “Full of love and charity, we must remember in our prayers the souls of the faithful departed, but particularly the souls of our parents, friends and relations, and those who have been our benefactors on earth. For that is a work of real love and charity. As we entertain the most earnest hopes that we shall be remembered when we shall have departed this life, we ought to make every effort in our power to assist them to arrive speedily at their promised abode of bliss, and by our prayers shorten the weary days of their pilgrimage in purgatory. And we must remember that every one who actively assists in the deliverance of these poor souls, gains for himself the greatest advantages. By offering his prayers for their eternal repose, he by no means loses the fruits of those prayers, for they are remembered to him, and are before him when his time comes to die. And moreover one is rewarded even in this life for such prayers.”
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-sixth Day.
The holy sacrifice of the Mass is the surest and most effectual means we possess for procuring [pg 463] the eternal repose and happiness of the departed. “The sacrament of love, the revelation of unity, and the bond of friendship,” says St. Augustine. “We pray for all who have departed this life, with the most confident conviction that the prayers at the altar are the most profitable to them,” says St. Cyril. And again: “Supposing a king who was offended by a subject has banished him from his kingdom, and the friends of the outlaw wish to restore him to the king's favor, and for that purpose form a deputation to the royal personage, and presenting a costly gift, venture to plead for pardon for the offender; would not the king comply with their request, and either grant the pardon, or mitigate the punishment to some extent? Well, in like manner we, although sinners, plead for pardon from the King of heaven and earth for our banished friends, and with much surer hopes of success, for the gift we offer is not an earthly crown, but is the body and blood of His own well-beloved Son, Who has bled for the sins of the whole world.” The holy sacrifice is, I again repeat, the most effectual and the most powerful means we have for assisting the suffering souls in purgatory.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-seventh Day.
Let me now suggest how you may act and pray during the holy sacrifice. At the Confiteor let us imagine the souls in the depths of purgatory; place ourselves in the midst of them and hearken to their entreaties for help. At the Elevation let us [pg 464] say: “O my God, in memory of the painful death Thou didst endure, have compassion on these poor souls for whom I pray. O my God, behold Thy precious blood, which was shed for their deliverance. Oh, let the saving fruits of this precious blood come to the poor souls, let its cleansing streams flow into purgatory. Remember with what great love Thou didst shed it for Thy elect, so many of whom are now languishing in the fiery dungeon.” We can fix our eyes on the crucifix placed over the altar; it will help us to make our supplications more direct. The thorn-crowned head will remind us of our superiors, spiritual and temporal, perhaps in purgatory. The wounded right hand our parents, friends and benefactors. The left hand the souls of those who have wished to do us harm in life. Nor would it be amiss, while contemplating the wound in Our Saviour's side, to recommend one's own soul. At the Communion when we see the sacred Host in the hands of the priest, let us consider that it is the body of Him Who commanded us to pray for the dead. For it is He Who said: “If you ask the Father anything in My name He will give it to you.” Let us remind Him of His words, and implore Him by His love. This is a favorable moment to have our prayers heard.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-eighth Day.
The Catholic doctrine of the intercession of the saints must not be lost sight of in this series of thoughts on the November devotion. In our [pg 465] wants, personal wants, spiritual and temporal, we, true to our Catholic instinct, first address ourselves to our Mother Mary for help. We must not forget her in the matter of the poor souls. Mary's loving heart is not less loving for the souls in purgatory than it was for the same souls while in life. How can she abandon them? She never abandons a sinner on earth. For a stronger reason she does not forget the souls of the just. Mary loves them still, for her love is eternal. She is the Mother of Him Who said, “I was in prison and ye visited Me;” of Him Who descended into hell. Therefore it is an opinion well worthy of acceptance and respect, founded on trustworthy revelations and authentic declarations, that the Blessed Virgin assists in a most special manner the souls in purgatory. They are souls and are poor, and therefore the Blessed Virgin loves them. They are souls and are suffering; souls are the magnet of Mary's heart. Priceless is the value of a soul, and no one has better shown it than Our Lord Himself. Satan, by offering Him the whole world, could not prevail upon Him to fall down; but by trying to rob Him of souls he caused Him to bow down even to the earth under the weight of the cross. But, after Jesus, who could better know the value of a soul than Mary, who comes next to Him in the work He did for souls?
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Twenty-ninth Day.
Mary stood by when her Son died for the redemption of souls. But through her whole [pg 466] holy life she had constantly before her mind the work He had come to accomplish. Now she sees those souls red with the divine blood by which they were purchased. She lives in the joys of heaven, to which all souls are likewise destined. Her Son gave His life for the souls of men; but she as Mother gave her Son for that purpose. Therefore the love of her heart embraces also purgatory; and therefore she is also the loving Mother of the souls in purgatory. The woman in the Gospel who so eagerly and persistently sought after her lost groat, is but a faint symbol of the love of Mary for the souls which she has lost—though only for a time—which she sees separated from heaven, from her Son, and from herself, and suffering in the flames of fire. She burns with love for those poor souls, well remembering the words of her divine Son, when He said that even a cup of water given in His name would be rewarded with the joy of heaven. And if Jesus, while hanging on the cross, cried out, “I thirst,” which, according to the opinion of the Holy Fathers, meant “I thirst for souls,” can we suppose that Mary will not satisfy His desire, and still His thirst? “Those who love and truly serve this most gentle Mother can indeed be called fortunate, for not alone here on earth, but also hereafter in purgatory, will she be their helper and comforter.”
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Thirtieth Day.
All the great servants of God had a great devotion to the souls in purgatory, as we have [pg 467] seen. But as Our Lady is Queen of the heavenly host, we cannot better conclude the treatment of the month than by giving the last consideration to her. Mary loves the poor souls in purgatory, because she has gone through a fire of tribulation—not in punishment for her sins, for she had none—but that she might have more compassion for us, and be more fully entitled to the name by which she is so well known, “Comforter of the afflicted.” For this reason her life was a sea of sorrow; for this reason she endured tribulation, poverty, exile, and persecution. For this reason she suffered tortures of mind and soul, in the three days' loss of her Child, and in the more tragic separation on the cross. All these sufferings were a real purgatory to her. Let us therefore venerate Mary, and beg of her even now, while we still sojourn in this valley of tears, to daily increase our ardor and give us perseverance in good works, to obtain for us a happy death. But the best means to obtain this grace is to imitate the love of the Blessed Virgin for the poor souls. Let us try and be zealous in the cause of the poor souls, and often have recourse to this Mother of mercy for the same purpose. In the recitation of the holy Rosary we have a spiritual bunch of roses, which we can often offer to her for the faithful departed. Let us scatter these spiritual roses plentifully over the graves of our departed parents and friends. Mary, the Mother of poor souls, will find them fragrant, and not only accept our offering but also protect and guard us when our turn comes to die.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.