November 2nd - All Souls Day

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November 2nd - All Souls Day

The Church teaches us that the souls of the just who have left this world with traces of venial sin remain for a time in a place of expiation, where they suffer whatever punishment may be due to their offenses. Even if pardon has been obtained for our sins, satisfaction must be made to God, our Creator, in this world or in the next; for His sanctity has been, as it were, insulted by the self-will of one of His ignoble creatures. The more noble the person offended, the more serious the offense, even according to human laws. It is a dogma of our faith that the suffering souls are relieved by the intercession of the Saints in heaven and by the prayers of the faithful upon earth. To pray for the dead is therefore an act of charity and of piety, certainly obligatory for a Christian who professes to have charity in his heart. We read in Holy Scripture: It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins. (II Maccabees 12:46)

When towards the close of the tenth century, Our Lord inspired Saint Odilon, Abbot of Cluny, to establish in his Benedictine Order a general commemoration of all the faithful departed, the practice was soon afterwards adopted by the entire Western Church and has been continued unceasingly to our day. Let us always bear in mind the departed who have died in the love of God, and offer up our prayers and sacrifices to help expiate for them. By showing this mercy to the suffering souls in purgatory, we gain for ourselves very devoted friends, who will in their turn pray for us. We shall then be entitled to be treated with mercy at our departure from this world, and to share more abundantly in the suffrages of the Church, continually offered for all who have fallen asleep in Christ.

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Instruction On The Feast Of All Souls [November 2]
Taken from Fr. Goffine's The Church's Year

What is All Souls' Day?

It is the day set apart by the Catholic Church for the special devout commemoration of all those souls who have departed this life in the grace and friendship of God, for whom we pray, that they may soon be released by God from the prison of purgatory.


What is purgatory?

Purgatory is a middle state of souls, suffering for a time on account of their sins. St. Paul writes to the Corinthians: And the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built there upon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. (i. Cor. in. 13-15.) "And when St. Paul," says St. Ambrose (Serm. 20. in Ps. cxviii.) "says, yet so as by fire, he shows that such a man indeed becomes happy, having suffered the punishment of fire, but not, like the wicked, continually tormented in eternal fire." St. Paul's words, then, can only be understood to refer to the fire of purification, as the infallible Church has always explained them.


Are the heretics right in denying that there is such a place of purification as purgatory?

By no means, for by such denial they oppose the holy Scriptures, tradition and reason. The holy Scriptures teach that there is a purgatory: it is related in the Second Book of Machabees, that Judas Machabeus sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem, to be used in the temple, to obtain prayers for those who fell in battle, for he believed it a good and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins. But for what dead shall we pray? Those in heaven do not require our prayers; to those in hell they are of no avail; we must then pray for those who are in the place of purification. Christ speaks of a prison in the future life, from which no man comes out until he has paid the last farthing. (Matt. v. 25, 26.) This prison cannot be hell, because from hell there is never any release; it must be then a place of purification. Again Christ speaks of sin which shall be forgiven neither in this world nor in the next, (Matt. xii. 32.) from which it follows that there is a remittance of some sins in the next world; but this can be neither in heaven nor in hell, consequently in purgatory. As the council of Trent says, (Sess. 6. c. 30.) the Church has always taught, according to the old tradition of the Fathers, in all her councils, that there is a purgatory, and every century gives proofs of the continual belief of all true Christians in a purgatory. Finally, man's unblinded reason must accept a purgatory; for how many depart this earth before having accomplished the great work of their own purification? They cannot enter heaven, for St. John tells us: There shall not enter into it any thing defiled. (Apoc. xxi. 27.) The simple separation of the soul from the body does not make it pure, yet God cannot reject it as He does the soul of the hardened sinner in hell; there must then be a middle place, a purgatory, where those who have departed not free from stain, must be purified. See how the doctrine of the Church, reason and the holy Scriptures all agree, and do not let yourself be led away by false arguments from those who not only believe in no purgatory, but even in no hell, so that they may sin with so much more impunity.


For what, how much, and for how long must -we suffer in purgatory?

Concerning this the Church has made no decision, though much has been written by the Fathers of the Church on the subject. Concerning the severity of the punishment in purgatory, St. Augustine writes: "This fire is more painful than any that man can suffer in this life." This should urge us to continual sanctification and atonement, so that we may escape the fearful judgment of God.


How can we aid the suffering souls in purgatory?

St. Augustine writes: "It is not to be doubted that we can aid the souls of the departed by the prayers of the Church, by the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and by the alms which we offer for them." The Church has always taught-that prayers for the faithful departed are useful and good, and she has always offered Masses for them.


What should urge us to aid the suffering souls in purgatory?

1. The consideration of the belief of the Church in the communion of saints, by which all the members of the Church upon earth, in heaven, and in purgatory are united by the bonds of love, like the members of one body, and as the healthy members of a body sympathize with the suffering members, seeking to aid them, so should we assist our suffering brethren in purgatory. 2. The remembrance that it is God's will that we should practice charity towards one another, and that fearful judgments are threatened those who show no charity to a brother in need, together with the recollection, of God's love which desires that all men should be happy in heaven. 3. We should be urged to it by love for ourselves, for if we should be condemned to the pains of purification, we would assuredly desire our living brethren to pray for us and perform good works for our sake, while the souls who have found redemption, perhaps through our prayers, will not fail to reward us by interceding for us.


Can we aid the souls in purgatory by gaining indulgences?

Yes, for indulgences, (as explained in the Instruction on the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost,) are a complete or a partial remittance of the temporal punishment due to sin, bestowed by the Church to penitent sinners from the treasury of the merits of Christ and His saints. If we gain such a remittance, we can apply it to the souls in purgatory. Such an indulgence, however, can be transferred only to one soul.


For which souls should we pray?

We should, on this day especially, offer prayers and good works for all the faithful departed, but particularly for our parents, relations, friends and benefactors; for those who are most acceptable to God; for those who have suffered the longest, or who have the longest yet to suffer; for those who are most painfully tormented; for those who are the most forsaken; for those who are nearest redemption ; for those who are suffering on our account; for those who hope in our prayers; for those who during life have injured us, or been injured by us; and for our spiritual brethren.


When and by what means was this yearly commemoration of the departed introduced into the Church?

The precise time of its introduction is not known. Tertullian (A. D. 160) writes that the early Christians held a yearly commemoration of the faithful departed. Towards the end of the 10th century St. Odilo, Abbot of the Benedictines at Cluny, directed that the yearly commemoration of the faithful departed should be observed on the 2nd of November with prayers, alms and the Sacrifice of the Mass, which time and manner of celebration spread through various dioceses, and was officially confirmed by Pope John XIX. This day was- appointed that, having the day previously rejoiced at the glory of the saints in heaven, we might on this day most properly pray for those who are yet doing penance for their sins and sigh in purgatory for their redemption.


The Introit of this day's Mass as of all Masses for the dead reads: Eternal rest give to them, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon them. A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion; and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem: hear my prayer; all flesh shall come to Thee. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord: and let perpetual light shine upon them.

COLLECT O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins: that through pious supplications they may i obtain the pardon which they have always desired. ! Who, livest &c.

EPISTLE (i. Cor. xv. 51-57.) BRETHREN, behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall all indeed rise again, but we shall not all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible: and , we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. And when this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? Now the sting of death is sin: and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

GOSPEL (John v. 25-29.) At that time, Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews: Amen, amen, I say unto you, that the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so he hath given to the Son also to have life in himself: and he hath given him power to do judgment, because he is the Son of man. Wonder not at this, for the hour cometh wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that have done good things shall come forth unto the resurrection of life: but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.

The Epistle and Gospel of this day speak of the resurrection of all men and of the judgment, when every one according as he has lived, sinful and impenitent, or pure and innocent, will receive an eternally miserable or an eternally happy life. Purgatory will then end and there will be only heaven and hell. It remains with us to choose which of these two we shall possess.

At the Offertory of the Mass the priest prays:

O Lord Jesus Christ, King of Glory, deliver the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the deep pit: deliver them from the mouth of the lion, that hell may not swallow them up, and they may not fall into darkness: but may the holy standard-bearer, Michael, introduce them to the holy light: which Thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed. We offer to Thee, O Lord, sacrifices and prayers: do Thou receive them in behalf of those souls whom we commemorate this day. Grant them, O Lord, to pass from death to that life which Thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed.


We may profitably and devoutly repeat the following as often as we pass a graveyard.

V. From the gates of hell,
R. Deliver their souls, O Lord.

V. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord,
R. And let perpetual light shine upon them.

V. May they rest in peace,
R. Amen.

V. May the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace,
R. Amen.

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November 2 – All Souls Day

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger  (1841-1875)

We will not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them that are asleep, that you be not sorrowful, even as others who have no hope. The Church today has the same desire as the Apostle thus expressed to the first Christians. The truth concerning the dead not only proves admirably the union between God’s justice and his goodness; it also inspires a charitable pity which the hardest heart cannot resist, and at the same time offers to the mourners the sweetest consolation. If faith teaches us the existence of a purgatory, where our loved ones may be detained by unexpiated sin, it is also of faith that we are able to assist them; and theology assures us that their more or less speedy deliverance lies in our power. Let us call to mind a few principles, which throw light on this doctrine. Every sin causes a twofold injury to the sinner: it stains his soul, and renders him liable to punishment. Venial sin, which displeases God, requires a temporal expiation. Mortal sin deforms the soul, and makes the guilty man an abomination to God: its punishment cannot be anything less than eternal banishment, unless the sinner, in this life, prevent the final and irrevocable sentence. But even then the remission of the guilt, though it revokes the sentence of damnation, does not cancel the whole debt. Although an extraordinary overflow of grace upon the prodigal may sometimes, as is always the case with regard to baptism and martyrdom, bury every remnant and vestige of sin in the abyss of divine oblivion; yet it is the ordinary rule that for every fault, satisfaction must be made to God’s justice, either in this world or in the next.

On the other hand, every supernatural act of virtue brings a double profit to the just man: it merits for his soul a fresh degree of grace; and it makes satisfaction for past faults, in exact proportion to the value, in God’s sight, of that labor, privation, or trial accepted, or that voluntary suffering endured, by one of the members of his beloved Son. Now, whereas merit is a personal acquisition and cannot be transferred to others, satisfaction may be vicarious; God is willing to accept it in payment of another’s debt, whether the recipient of the boon be in this world or in the next, provided only that he be united by grace to the mystical Body of our Lord, which is one in charity. This is a consequence of the mystery of the Communion of Saints, as Suarez explains in his beautiful treatise on Suffrages. Appealing to the authority of the greatest and most ancient princes of science, and discussing the objections and restrictions since proposed by others, the illustrious theologian does not hesitate to formulate this conclusion, with regard to the suffering souls in particular: “I believe that this satisfaction of the living for the dead is a matter of simple justice, and that it is infallibly accepted with its full value, and according to the intention of him who applies it. Thus, for instance, if the satisfaction I make would, if kept for myself, avail me in strict justice for the remission of four degrees of purgatory, it will remit exactly the same amount to the soul for whom I choose to offer it.”

We well know how the Church seconds the good-will of her children. By the practice of Indulgences, she places at their charitable disposal the inexhaustible treasure accumulated, from age to age, by the superabundant satisfactions of the Saints, added to those of the Martyrs, and united to those of our blessed Lady and the infinite residue of our Lord’s sufferings. These remissions of punishment she grants to the living by her own direct power; but she nearly always approves of and permits their application to the dead by way of suffrage, that is to say, in the manner in which, as we have seen, each of the faithful may offer to God who accepts it, for another, the suffrage or succor of his own satisfactions. Such is the doctrine of Suarez, who adds that an Indulgence ceded to the dead loses nothing either of the security or of the value it would have had for ourselves who are still militant.

Now, Indulgences under every form are continually coming in our way. Let us make use of our treasures, and exercise mercy towards the poor suffering souls. Is any condition more pitiable than theirs? So great is their anguish that no distress on earth can approach to it; and withal so nobly endured, that not a murmur breaks the silence of that “river of fire, which in its imperceptible current bears them on little by little to the ocean of Paradise.” All heaven cannot help them, for there is no merit to be gained there. God himself, though most merciful, owes it to his justice not to deliver them until they have paid the whole debt that they carried with them beyond the world of trial. The debt was contracted perhaps through our fault, and in our company; and it is to us they turn for help, to us who are still dreaming of nothing but pleasure, while they are burning, and we could so easily shorten their torments! Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched me.

Whether it be that Purgatory is now more than ever overflowing with the multitudes daily sent thither through the worldliness of the age, or that the last and universal judgment is approaching—the Holy Ghost is no longer satisfied with keeping up the zeal of ancient confraternities devoted to the service of the departed. He raises up new associations, and even religious families, whose one aim is to promote, by every possible means, the deliverance or the solace of the suffering souls. In this kind of redemption of captives there are likewise to be found Christians, who at their own risk offer to take upon themselves the chains of their brethren, by utterly foregoing, for this purpose, not only all their own satisfactions, but even the suffrages which may be offered for them after death: a heroic act of charity which must not be lightly undertaken, but which the Church approves; for it greatly glorifies our Lord, and in return for the risk incurred of a temporary delay of beatitude, merits for its author a greater nearness to God, both by grace here below, and in glory in heaven. If the suffrages of the simple faithful are of such value, of how much more are those of the whole Church, in the solemnity of public prayer, and the oblation of the awful Sacrifice, wherein God himself makes satisfaction to God for every sin? From the very beginning the Church has always prayed for the dead, as did even the Synagogue before her.

As she honored with thanksgiving the anniversaries of her martyred sons, so she celebrated with supplications the memory of her other children, who might not yet be in heaven. In the sacred Mysteries she daily uttered the names of both, for this twofold purpose of praise and prayer. As in each particular church it was impossible to name all the Blessed of the entire world, a common mention was made of them all; and in like manner, after the recommendations peculiar to each place and day, a general commemoration was made of all the dead. Thus, as St. Augustine remarks, those who had no relatives and friends on earth were henceforth not deprived of suffrages; for to make up for their abandonment, they had the tender compassion of the common Mother.

The Church having always followed the same method with regard to the commemoration of the blessed and that of the departed, it might be expected that the establishment of All Saints’ Feast in the ninth century would soon lead to the solemn Commemoration of All Souls. In 998, according to the Chronicle of Sigebert of Gembloux, St. Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, instituted it in all the monasteries under his crosier to be celebrated in perpetuity on the morrow of All Saints’. In certain visions, recorded in his Life, Odilo and his monks had been denounced by the demons as the most indefatigable helpers of the holy souls, and most formidable to the powers of hell; and this institution was the Saint’s retaliation. The world applauded the decree; Rome adopted it, and it became the law of the whole Latin Church.

The Greeks made a general Commemoration of the dead on the eve of our Sexagesima Sunday, which with them is called Apocreos or Carnival, and on which they celebrate the second coming of our Lord. They give the name of “Saturday of all souls” to this day, as well as to the eve of Pentecost, when they again pray solemnly for the departed.

Mass of the Dead

Today the Roman Church doubles her task of daily service to the divine Majesty. The Commemoration of the Dead does not distract her from the Saints. The Office of the second day within the Octave preceded the Dirge; Tierce of All Saints has been followed by the corresponding Mass; and it is after None of the same Office that the holy Sacrifice is offered for the faithful departed.

On account of this increase, and her solicitude to maintain the harmony she has established between the two liturgical objects of this day, Rome has never countenanced the extension of a privilege existing in Spain, which allows each Priest to offer three Masses for the Dead. For a long period Rome alone, with a few churches that kept the most closely to her, recited the Office of All Saints on the second of November. Most of the Western churches said only that of the Dead. At the day Hours, as well as at Matins and Lauds, the Hymn and the Deus in adjutorium were suppressed; the ordinary Psalms were concluded with Requiem æternam; and the Collect for the Dead was said at the close, as is still the custom among the Friars Preachers. The one Solemn Mass, that of the Dead, was celebrated after Tierce. This Commemoration of the faithful departed usually ended at None; the Cluny maintained, up to the 18th century, the custom of celebrating second Vespers.

As to the obligation of resting from servile works on All Souls’ day, it was of semi-precept in England, the more necessary works being permitted; in some places the obligation lasted only till mid-day; in others assistance at Mass was alone enjoined. For some time, Paris kept the 2nd of November as a Feast of obligation; in 1673 the command to observe it until mid-day was retained in the statutes by the Archbishop Francis de Harlay. The precept no longer exists, even at Rome.

The remark of Amalarius, quoted above with regard to the Office of the Dead, is no less applicable to the Mass. Not to mention the suppression of the Gloria in excelsis and of the Alleluia, the Priest omits the Psalm Judica me at the foot of the Altar, as in Passiontide. As on Good Friday, he is clothed in black vestments; most of the blessings are omitted, as also the kiss of peace, and the various marks of honor shown to the celebrant; the altar is thurified but once; and the singing of the Gospel is done as on that great day, viz: the Deacon receives no blessing from the Celebrant, lights and incense are not used, and the Priest does not kiss the sacred text. So closely, even in death, does the Church draw her children to him whose members they are.

The Introit Antiphon is the same earnest supplication, which takes the place of every doxology throughout the Office, and which was suggested by a passage in the fourth Book of Esdras (4 Esdras 2:34-35). The Verse is taken from the second Psalm of Lauds.

Introit
Requiem æternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.

Ps. Te decet hymnus Deus in Sion, et tibi reddetur votum in Jerusalem: exaudi orationem meam, ad te omnis caro veniet. Requiem.
Ps. A hymn, O God, becometh thee in Sion; and a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem: O Lord, hear my prayer; all flesh shall come to thee. Eternal rest, &c.


In the Collect, Mother Church makes her own the prayer of the suffering souls; she presents it to her Spouse, God made Man, calling him by his titles of Creator and Redeemer; for these titles remind him of all he has done for these souls, and invite him to perfect his work.

Collect
Fidelium Deus omnium Conditor et Redemptor, animabus famulorum famularumque tuarum remissionem cunctorum tribue peccatorum: ut indulgentiam, quam semper optaverunt, piis supplicationibus consequantur. Qui vivis et regnas cum Deo Petre in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omnia sæcula sæculorum.
O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, give to the souls of thy servants, men and women, the remission of all their sins; that by pious supplications they may obtain the pardon which they have always desired. Who livest and reignest with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.


Epistle
Lesson of the Epistle of St. Paul, the Apostle, to the Corinthians. 1 Ch. v.

Brethren, behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again: but we shall not all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible: and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption; and this mortal must put on immortality. And when this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting? Now the sting of death is sin: and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

While the soul is supplying in Purgatory for the insufficiency of her expiations, the body she has quitted returns to the earth in virtue of the sentence pronounced against Adam and his race from the beginning of the world. But with regard to the body as well as the soul, justice is full of love; its claims are a prelude to the glory which awaits the whole man. The humiliation of the tomb is the just punishment of original sin; but in this return of man to the earth whence he sprang, St. Paul would have us recognize the sowing necessary for the transformation of the seed, which is destined to live again under very different conditions. For flesh and blood cannot possess the kingdom of God; neither can corruptible members aspire to immortality. The body of the Christian, which St. Ignatius of Antioch calls the wheat of Christ, is cast into the tomb, as it were into the furrow, there to leave its own corruption, the form of the first Adam with its heaviness and infirmity; but by the power of the new Adam reforming it to his own likeness, it shall spring up all heavenly and spiritualized, agile, impassible, and glorious. Blessed be he who willed to die for us in order to destroy death, and to make his own victory ours!

In the Gradual, the Church continues to pray for the deliverance of the departed souls.

Gradual
Requiem æternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis.
Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them.

℣. In memoria æterna erit justus: ab auditione mala non timebit.
℣. The just shall be in everlasting remembrance; he shall not fear the evil hearing.


Tract
Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omni vinculo delictorum.
Absolve, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from every bond of sins.

℣. Et gratia tua illis succurrente, mereantur evadere judicium ultionis.
℣. And by the help of thy grace may they be enabled to escape the judgment of punishment.

℣. Et lucis æternæ beatitudine perfrui.
℣. And enjoy the happiness of light eternal.


The Church, as we shall see, did not formerly exclude from the funerals of her children the joyful Alleluia; it expressed the happiness she felt at the thought that a holy death had secured heaven to the new elect, although his expiation might not yet be completed. But the adaptation of the Liturgy for the Dead to the rites of Holy Week having altered this ancient custom, it would seem that the Sequence, originally a festive sequel to the Alleluia, ought also to be excluded from the Requiem Mass. Rome, however, has made a welcome exception to the traditional rule, in favor of the remarkable poem of Thomas de Celano. This and the Stabat Mater of Fra Jacopone have won renown for the Franciscan lyre. The Dies iræ was first sung in Italy in the fourteenth century; and in two centuries more it had spread to the entire Church.

Sequence

Dies iræ, dies illa,
Solvet sæclum in favilla,
Teste David cum Sibylla.

The day of wrath, that awful day, shall reduce the world to ashes, as David and the Sibyl prophesied.


Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando Judex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus.

How great will be the terror, when the Judge shall come to examine all things rigorously!


Tuba mirum spargens sonum
Per sepulchra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum.

The trumpet, with astounding blast, echoing over the sepulchers of the whole world, shall summon all before the throne.


Mors stupebit et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Judicanti responsura.

Death and nature will stand aghast, when the creature shall rise again, to answer before his Judge.


Liber scriptus proferetur
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus judicetur.

The written book shall be brought forth, containing all for which the world must be judged.


Judex ergo cum sedebit,
Quidquid latet, apparebit:
Nil inultum remanebit.

When, therefore, the Judge shall be seated, whatsoever is hidden shall be brought to light; nought shall remain unpunished.


Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
Cum vix justus sit securus?

What then shall I, unhappy man, allege? Whom shall I invoke as protector? when even the just shall hardly be secure.


Rex tremendæ majestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis.

O King of awful majesty, who of thy free gift savest them that are to be saved, save me, O fount of mercy!


Recordare, Jesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuæ viæ:
Ne me perdas illa die.

Remember, O loving Jesus, ’twas for my sake thou camest on earth: let me not, then, be lost on that day.


Quærens me, sedisti lassus:
Redemisti, crucem passus:
Tantus labor non sit cassus.

Seeking me thou satest weary; thou redeemedst me by dying on the Cross: let not such suffering be all in vain.


Juste judex ultionis,
Donum fac remissionis
Ante diem rationis.

O righteous Awarder of punishment, grant me the gift of pardon before the reckoning-day.


Ingemisco, tamquam reus;
Culpa rubet vultus meus:
Supplicanti parce, Deus.

I groan as one guilty, while I blush for my sins: oh! spare thy suppliant, my God!


Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Thou didst absolve Mary Magdalen, and didst hear the prayer of the thief: to me, then, thou hast also given hope.


Preces meæ non sunt dignæ:
Sed to bonus fac benigne
Ne perenni cremer igne.

My prayers deserve not to be heard; but thou art good: grant, in thy kindness, that I may not burn in the unquenchable fire.


Inter oves locum præsta,
Et ab hœdis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.

Give me a place among thy sheep, separating me from the goats and setting me on thy right hand.


Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis:
Voca me cum benedictis.

When the reprobate, covered with confusion, shall have been sentenced to the cruel flames, call me with the blessed.


Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis,
Gere curam mei finis.

Prostrate in supplication I implore thee, with a heart contrite as though crushed to ashes; oh! have a care of my last hour!


Lacrymosa dies illa,
Qua resurget ex favilla

A mournful day that day shall be, when from the dust shall arise


Judicandus homo reus:
Huic ergo parce, Deus.

Guilty man, that he may be judged; spare him, then, O God!


Pie Jesu Domine,
Dona eis requiem. Amen.

O tender Lord Jesus, give them eternal rest. Amen.


Gospel
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to St. John. Ch. v.

At that time Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews, Amen, amen, I say unto you, the Son cannot do any thing of himself, but what he seeth the Father doing: for what things soever he doth, these the Son also doth in like manner. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things which himself doth: and greater works than these will he shew him, that you may wonder. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and giveth life: so the Son also giveth life to whom he will. For neither doth the Father judge any man, but hath given all judgment to the Son. That all men may honour the Son, as they honour the Father. He who honoureth not the Son, honoureth not the Father, who hath sent him. Amen, amen I say unto you, that he who heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath life everlasting; and cometh not into judgment, but is passed from death to life. Amen, amen I say unto you, that the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself, so he hath given the Son also to have life in himself: And he hath given him power to do judgment, because he is the Son of man. Wonder not at this; for the hour cometh, wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God. And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.

Purgatory is not eternal. Its duration varies according to the sentence pronounced at each particular judgment. It may be prolonged for centuries in the case of the more guilty souls, or of those who, being excluded from the Catholic communion, are deprived of the suffrages of the Church, although by the divine mercy they have escaped hell. But the end of the world, which will be also the end of time, will close forever the place of temporary expiation. God will know how to reconcile his justice and his goodness in the purification of the last members of the human race, and to supply by the intensity of the expiatory suffering what may be wanting in duration. But whereas a favorable sentence at the particular judgment admits of eternal beatitude being suspended and postponed, and leaves the bodies of the elect to the same fate as those of the reprobate, at the universal judgment, every sentence, whether for heaven or for hell, will be absolute, and will be executed immediately and completely. Let us, then, live in expectation of the solemn hour when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God. He that is to come will come and will not delay, as the Doctor of the Gentiles reminds us; his arrival will be sudden, as that of a thief, we are told, not only by St. Paul, but also by the Prince of the Apostles and the Beloved Disciple; and these in turn are but echoing the words of our Lord himself: As lightning cometh out of the East and appeareth even unto the West: so shall also the coming of the Son of Man be.

Let us enter into the sentiments contained in the beautiful Offertory. Although the poor suffering souls are sure of their eternal blessedness, yet they entered upon this road to heaven at a moment of utmost peril: the supreme effort of the devil in his last assault, and the agony of the judgment. The Church, therefore, extending her prayer to every stage of this painful way, does not forget its opening. Nor is she afraid of being too late; for to God, who sees all times at one glance, this day’s supplication was present at the moment of the dread passage, and obtained assistance for the straitened souls. This same prayer follows them also in their struggles with the powers of hell, when God permits these, according to the revelations of the Saints, to be the ministers of his justice in the place of expiation. At this solemn moment, when the Church is offering her gifts for the tremendous and all-powerful Sacrifice, let us redouble our prayers for the faithful departed. Let us implore their deliverance from the jaws of the infernal lion. Let us obtain from the glorious Archangel, whom God has set over Paradise and appointed to lead souls thither, that he would bear them up to the light, to life, to God, who is himself the reward promised to all believers in the person of their father Abraham.

Offertory
Domine Jesu Christe, Rex gloriæ, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de pœnis inferni, et de profundo lacu: libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum: sed signifer sanctuc Micahel repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam: * Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini ejus.
O Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, delivery the souls of all the faithful departed from the pains of hell and from the deep pit: deliver them from the mouth of the lion, that hell may not swallow them up, and they may not fall into darkness, but may the holy standard-bearer Michael introduce them to the holy light; * Which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed.

℣. Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus: tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam fecimus: fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. * Quam olim.
℣. We offer to thee, O Lord, sacrifices and prayers: do thou receive them in behalf of those souls whom we commemorate this day. Grant them, O Lord, to pass from death to life; * Which thou didst promise of old to Abraham and to his seed.


The holy souls had the gift of faith, and did the works of faith, while on earth; their eternal reward is therefore secured, and God mercifully accepts the offerings we make for them, as the Secret implies.

Secret
Hostias, quæsumus Domine, quas tibi pro animabus famulorum famularumque tuarum offerimus, propitiatus intende: ut, quibus fidei christianæ meritum contulisti, dones et præmium. Per Dominum.
Mercifully look down upon this sacrifice which we offer to thee for the souls of thy servants, O Lord, we beseech thee; that to those to whom thou didst grant the merit of Christian faith thou mayest also grant its reward. Through our Lord.


At the Agnus Dei, instead of asking as usual for peace for the living, we pray that the dead may have eternal rest.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, give them rest.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, give them rest.

Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, give them eternal rest.


Like myriad silent snowflakes falling earthward on a winter’s day, the delivered souls, white and lovely, are mounting heavenward at this hour, when the Church, the whole world over, concluding her long supplications, pours over the expiatory flames the sacred Blood of Redemption. Strong in the power given to our prayer by our participation in the divine mysteries, let us say with her in the Communion Antiphon:

Communion
Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine, * Cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es.
May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord: * With thy saints for ever, because thou art merciful.

℣. Requiem æternam dona eis Domine: et lux perpetua luceat eis. * Cum Sanctis.
℣. Eternal rest give to them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. * With thy saints.


Such, however, is the impenetrable and adorable mystery of God’s justice, which baffles all human conception, that for some souls the expiation must still be prolonged. The Church, then, without growing weary or losing hope, prolongs her prayer also in the Postcommunion. Moreover, at every Hour of the daily Divine Office, and at every Mass offered throughout the year, the faithful departed are remembered by their Mother.

Postcommunion
Animabus, quæsumus, Domine, famulorum famularumque tuarum oratio proficiat supplicantium: ut eas et a peccatis omnibus exuas, et tuæ redemptionis facias esse participes. Qui vivis.
We beseech thee, O Lord, that the prayer of thy suppliants may benefit the souls of thy servants; that thou mayest deliver them from all their sins, and make them partakers of thy redemption. Who livest.


In Masses in which the Gloria in excelsis is omitted, Benedicamus Domino is said instead of Ite missa est, but in Masses for the Dead the following petition is substituted.

Requiescant in pace.
℟. Amen.

May they rest in peace.
℟. Amen.


The Absolution

After Mass, the clergy preceded by the Cross range themselves round the catafalque, which is placed in the nave of the church, to represent the dead, at the very spot where their bodies once rested before the altar of God. The cantors intone the ninth Responsory of Matins; it is followed by the Prayers said at the conclusion of the Office, during the singing of which, the Priest honors the dead with holy water and incense, as on each one’s funeral-day. This rite is called Absolution from the Prayer Absolve, the one most frequently used, although, as today, the Collect of the Mass may be chosen instead, or some other Prayer according to circumstances.


Responsory
Libera me, Domine, de morte æterna, in die illa tremenda: * Quando cœli movendi sunt et terra: * Dum veneris judicare sæculum per ignem.
Deliver me, O Lord, from eternal death, in that dreadful day, * when the heavens and earth are to be moved, * when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.

℣. Tremens factus sum ego, et timeo, dum discussio venerit, atque ventura ira, * Quando.
℣. I tremble and do fear, when the examination is to be, and thy wrath to come. * When the heavens and the earth are to be moved.

℣. Dies illa, dies iræ, calamitatis et miseriæ, dies miagna et amara valde. * Dum veneris.
℣. That day is the day of anger, of calamity, and of misery, a great day, and very bitter, * when thou shalt come to judge the world by fire.

℣. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine: et lux perpetua ludceat eis.
℣. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine on them.

℣. Libera me, usque ad primum
℣. Deliver me, as far as the first.

℣.Kyrie, Eleison.
Christe, eleison.
Kyrie, eleison.
Pater noster, quod secreto prosequitur.

℣.Lord have mercy upon us.
Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord have mercy upon us.
Our Father, the rest in secret.

℣. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem.
℣. And lead us not into temptation.

℟. Sed libera nos a malo.
℟. But deliver us from evil.

℣. A porta inferi.
℣. From the gate of hell.

℟. Erue Domine animas eorum.
℟. Deliver their souls, O Lord.

℣. Requiescant in pace.
℣. May they rest in peace.

℟. Amen.
℟. Amen.

℣. Domine exaudi orationem meam.
℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.

℟. Et clamor meus ad te veniat.
℟. And let my cry come unto thee.

℣. Dominus vobiscum.
℣. The Lord be with you.

℟. Et cum spiritu tuo.
℟. And with thy spirit.


Prayer
Absolve, quæsumus Domine, animas famulorum famularumque tuarum ab omni vinculo delictorum: ut in resurrectionis gloria, inter Sanctos et electos tuos resuscitati respirent. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. ℟. Amen.
Absolve, we beseech thee, O Lord, the souls of thy servants from every chain of sin: that rising again in the glory of thy resurrection, they may enjoy a new life amongst thy saints and the elect. Through Christ our Lord. ℟. Amen.

℣. Requiem æternam dona eis Domine.
℣. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord.

℟. Et lux perpetua luceat eis.
℟. And let perpetual light shine on them.

℣. Requiescant in pace.
℣. May they rest in peace.

℟. Amen.
℟. Amen.

The Missal of Marmoutier offers us the following Sequence wherewith to honor the Saints,
whose Octave is celebrated side by side with the Commemoration of the Dead.

Introit

Ut sequamur pari zelo
Sanctorum vestigia,
Nobis horum vitam, mores
Proponis Ecclesia.

That we with equal zeal may tread the footprints of the Saints, the Church proposes to our contemplation their life and actions.


Offert nobis tria: rosam,
Violam et lilium,
Ut ostendat nobis viam
Ad cœleste bravium.

She offers us the rose, the violet, and the lily; emblems of the triple way leading to the heavenly reward.


Rosa signat Martyres
Per colorem rubeum;
Confessores viola
Per florem purpureum;

The rose by its ruby color signifies the Martyrs; the violet’s purple flower the Confessors.


Virginalem candidatum
Attestatur lilium:
Per hoc ergo sequi Deum
Nos oportet trivium.

The lily proclaims the lover of Virginity: by these three ways, then, must we follow our God.


Nos mactet ut martyres
Vera patientia,
Confessores faciat
Jugis abstinentia.

Let true patience make us suffer as Martyrs; and by continual abstinence let us be Confessors.


Nos conservet virgines
Jugis castimonia,
Aut lapsos aliquando
Firma continentia.

May constant purity preserve us Virgins; but if any have fallen, courageous continence will save them.


Adjuvent nos Sancti quorum
Colimus sollemnia,
Ut horum prece possimus
Assequi cœlestia.
Amen.

May the Saints, whose feast we celebrate, come to our assistance; that by their intercession we may be enabled to attain the heights of heaven. Amen.

[Stone]

Tales from The Golden Legend's "The Commemoration of All Souls"
By Jacobus de Voragine, Archbishop of Genoa, A.D. 1275

...It is read that some fishers of S. Thibault that fished on a time in harvest, and took a great piece of ice instead of a fish. And they were gladder thereof than of a fish, because the bishop had a great burning of heat in his leg, and they laid that ice thereto and it refreshed him much.

And on a time the bishop heard the voice of a man in the ice, and he conjured him to tell him what he was. And the voice said to him: I am a soul which for my sins am tormented in this ice, and may be delivered if thou say for me thirty Masses continually together in thirty days. And the bishop emprised to say them, and when he had said half of them he made him ready to continue forth and say the other.

And the devil made a dissension in the city, that the people of the city fought each against other, and then the bishop was called for to appease this discord, and did off his vestments and left to say the Mass.

And on the morn he began all new again. And when he had said the two parts, him seemed that a great host had besieged the city, so that he was constrained by dread, and left to say the office of the Mass. And after, yet he began again service, and when he had all accomplished except the last Mass, which he would have begun, all the town and the bishop's house were taken by fire. And when his servants came to him, and bade him leave his Mass, he said: Though all the city should be burnt, I shall not leave to say the Mass. And when the Mass was done the ice was molten, and the fire that they had supposed to have seen was but a phantom and did no harm.

✠ ✠ ✠

There was a master which was chancellor at Paris named Silo, which had a scholar sick, and he prayed him that after his death he should come again to him and say to him of his estate. And he promised him so to do, and after died.

And a while after he appeared to him clad in a cope written full of arguments fallacious, and sophisms, and was of parchment, and withinforth all full of flame of fire. And the chancellor demanded him what he was. And he told to him: I am such one that am come again to thee. And the chancellor demanded him of his estate, and he said: This cope weigheth on me more than a mill-stone or a tower, and it is given me for to bear, for the glory that I had in my sophisms and sophistical arguments, that is to say, deceivable and fallacious. The skins be light, but the flame of fire withinforth tormenteth and all to-burneth me.

And when the master judged the pain to be light, the dead scholar said to him, that he should put forth his hand and feel the lightness of his pain. And he put forth his hand, and that other let fall a drop of his sweat on it, and the drop pierced through his hand sooner than an arrow could be shot through, whereby he felt a marvellous torment. And the dead man said: I am all in such pain. And then the chancellor was all afeard of the cruel and terrible pain that he had felt, and concluded to forsake the world, and entered into religion with great devotion.

✠ ✠ ✠

As S. Augustine saith: Sometimes souls be punished in the places where they have sinned, as appeareth by an ensample that S. Gregory reciteth in the fourth book of his Dialogues, and saith that there was a priest which used gladly a bath, and when he came in to the bath he found a man whom he knew always ready for to serve him.

And it happed on a day, that for his diligent service and his reward, the priest gave to him a holy loaf. And he weeping, answered: Father, wherefore givest thou me this thing? I may not eat it for it is holy. I was sometime lord of this place, but after my death, I was deputed for to serve here for my sins, but I pray thee that thou wilt offer this bread unto Almighty God for my sins, and know thou for certain that thy prayer shall be heard, and when then thou shalt come to wash thee, thou shalt not find me. And then this priest offered a week entire sacrifice to God for him, and when he came again he found him not.

✠ ✠ ✠

And Peter, abbot of Cluny, saith that there was a priest that sung every day Mass of requiem for all Christian souls, and hereof he was accused to the bishop, and was suspended therefor of his office.

And as the bishop went on a day of great solemnity in the churchyard, all the dead arose up against him, saying: This bishop giveth to us no Mass, and yet he hath taken away our priest from us, now he shall be certain but if he amend he shall die. And then the bishop assailed the priest, and sang himself gladly for them that were passed out of this world. And so it appeareth that the prayers of living people be profitable to them that be departed, by this that the chanter of Paris rehearseth.

✠ ✠ ✠

There was a man that always as he passed through the churchyard he said De Profundis for all Christian souls. And on a time he was beset with his enemies, so that for succour he leapt into the churchyard. And they followed for to have slain him, and anon all the dead bodies arose, and each held such an instrument in his hand that they defended him that prayed for them, and chased away his enemies, putting them in great fear.

✠ ✠ ✠

There was a knight that lay dead and his spirit taken from him, and a while after the soul returned to the body again. And what he had seen done he told, and said there was a bridge, and under that bridge was a flood, foul, horrible, and full of stench, and on that other side of the bridge was a meadow, sweet, odorous, and adorned full of all manner of flowers. And there on that side of the bridge were people assembled, clad all in white, that were filled with the sweet odour of the flowers. And the bridge was such that if any of the unjust would pass over the bridge, he should slide and fall into that stinking river, and the righteous people passed over lightly and surely into that delectable place.

And this knight saw there a man named Peter, which lay bound and great weight of iron upon him, which when he asked why he lay so there, it was said to him of another: He suffereth because if any man were delivered to him to do vengeance, he desired it more to do it by cruelty than by obedience.

Also he said he saw there a pilgrim that, when he came to the bridge, he passed over with great lightness and shortly, because he had well-lived here and purely in the world, and without sin.

And he saw there another named Stephen, which when he would have passed, his foot slid that he fell half over the bridge, and then there came some horrible black men and did all that they might to draw him down by the legs, and then came other right fair creatures and white, and took him by the arms and drew him up.

And as this strife endured, this knight that saw these things returned to his body and knew not which of them vanquished. But this way we understand that the wicked deeds that he had done strove against the works of alms, for by them that drew him by the arms upward it appeared that he loved alms, and by the other that he had not perfectly lived against the sins of the flesh.

✠ ✠ ✠

Like as S. Gregory recounteth, in the fourth book of his Dialogues, that one of his monks named Justus when he came to his last end, he showed that he had hid three pieces of gold, and thereof sorrowed sore, and anon after he died. And then S. Gregory commanded his brethren that they should bury his body in a dunghill, and the three pieces of gold with him, saying: Thy money be to thee in perdition. Nevertheless, S. Gregory commanded one of his brethren to say for him every day mass, thirty days long, and so he did. And when he had accomplished his term, the monk that was dead appeared on the thirtieth day to one which demanded how it was with him, and he answered to him: I have been evil at ease unto this day, but now I am well. I have this day received Communion, and thie sacrifice of the altar profiteth not only to them that be dead, but also to them that be living in this world.

✠ ✠ ✠

It happed there was a man which was with others, laboured in a rock for to dig for silver, and suddenly the rock fell on them and slew them all save this one man, which was saved in a crevice of the rock, but for all that he might not issue ne go out, and his wife supposed that he had been dead, and did do sing every day a Mass for him, and bare every day to the offering a loaf and a pot of wine and a candle. And the devil which had envy thereat appeared three days continually to this woman in form of a man, and demanded her whither she went, and when she had said to him, he said to her: Thou goest in vain, for the Mass is done. And thus she left the Mass three days that she did not sing for him.

And after this another man digged in the same rock for silver, and heard under this the voice of this man, which said to him: Smite softly and spare thine hand, for I have a great stone hanging over my head. And he was afeard, and called more men to him for to hear this voice, and began to dig again, and then they heard semblably that voice, and then they went more near and said: Who art thou? And he said: I pray you to spare your smiting, for a great stone hangeth over my head.

And then they went and digged on that one side till that they came to him and drew him out all whole. And they enquired of him in what manner he had so long lived there. And he said that every day was brought to him a loaf, a pot of wine, a candle, save these three days. And when his wife heard that, she had great joy, and knew well that he had been sustained of her offering, and that the devil had deceived her that she had do sing no Mass those three days.

✠ ✠ ✠

And as Peter, the abbot of Cluny, witnesseth and saith that, in the town of Ferrara in the diocese of Grationopolitana, that a mariner was fallen into the sea by a tempest, and anon a priest sang Mass for him, and at the last he came out of the sea all safe. And when he was demanded how he escaped, he said that when he was in the sea and almost dead, there came to him a man which gave to him bread, and when he had eaten he was well comforted, and recovered his strength, and was taken up of a ship that passed by. And that was found that it was the same time that the priest offered to God the blessed sacrament for him.


...a solemn doctor which rehearseth that, there was a woman which had her husband dead, and she was in great despair for poverty. And the devil appeared to her, and said that he would make her rich if she would do as he would say to her, and she promised to do it. And he enjoined her that the men of the church that she should receive into her house, that she should make them do fornication. Secondly, that she should take into her house by daytime poor men, and in the night drive them out void, and having nothing. Thirdly, that she should in the church let prayers by her jangling, and that she should not confess her of none of all these things.

And at the last, as she approached towards her death, her son warned her to be confessed, and she discovered to him what she had promised, and said that she might not be shriven, and that her confession should avail her nothing. But her son hasted her, and said he would do penance for her. She repented her, and sent for to fetch the priest, but tofore ere the priest came, the devils ran to her and she died by the horribleness of them. Then the son confessed the sin of the mother and did for her seven years penance, and that accomplished he saw his mother, and she thanked him of her deliverance. And in likewise avail the indulgences of the Church.

✠ ✠ ✠

It happed that a legate of the pope prayed a noble knight, that he would make war in the service of the church and ride to the Albigeois, and he would therefor give pardon to his father which was dead. And the knight rode forth, and abode there a whole Lent, and that done his father appeared to him more clear than the day, and thanked him for his deliverance.

✠ ✠ ✠

Whereof is read that when a knight lay in his bed with his wife, and the moon shone right clear which entered in by the crevices, he marvelled much wherefore man which was reasonable obeyed not to his Maker, when the creatures not reasonable obeyed to him. And then began to say evil of a knight which was dead, and had been familiar with him; and then this knight, of whom they so talked, entered into the chamber and said to him: Friend, have none evil suspicion of any man, but pardon me if I have trespassed to thee.

And when he had demanded him of his state, he answered: I am tormented of divers torments and pains, and especially because I defouled the churchyard and hurt a man therein, and despoiled him of his mantle which he ware, which mantle I bear on me and is heavier than a mountain.

And then he prayed the knight that he would do pray for him. And then he demanded if he would that such a priest should pray for him, or such one, and the dead man wagged his head, and answered not, as he would not have him.

Then he asked of him if he would that such a hermit should pray for him, and then the dead man answered: Would God that he would pray for me. And the living knight promised that he should pray for him, and then the dead man said: And I say to thee that this day two years thou shalt die, and so vanished away. And this knight changed his life into better and at the day slept in our Lord.

✠ ✠ ✠

As Turpin the archbishop of Rheims saith, that there was a noble knight that was in the battle with Charles the Great for to fight against the Moors, and prayed one that was his cousin that if he died in battle, that he should sell his horse and give the price thereof to poor people. And he died, and that other desired the horse and retained it for himself.

And a little while after, he that was dead appeared to that other knight, shining as the sun, and said to him: Cousin, thou hast made me to suffer pain eight days in purgatory, because thou gavest not the price of my horse to poor people, but thou shalt not escape away unpunished. This day devils shall bear thy soul into hell, and I being purged go into the kingdom of heaven.

And suddenly was a great cry heard in the air, as of bears, lions, and wolves, which bare him away. Then let every executor beware that he execute well the goods of them that they have charge of, and to beware by this ensample heretofore written, for he is blessed that can beware by other men's harms. And let us also pray diligently for all Christian souls, that by the moyen of our prayers, alms, and fastings, they may be eased and lessed of their pains.

[Stone]

The Feast of All Souls
by Father Francis Xavier Weninger, 1876



"When shall I come and appear before the face of God?"--Psalms xli, 3.

On the Feast of All Souls, and whenever we are reminded of Purgatory, we can not help thinking of the dreadful pains which the souls in Purgatory have to suffer, in order to be purified from every stain of sin; of the excruciating torments they have to undergo for their faults and imperfections, and how thoroughly they have to atone for the least offenses committed against the infinite holiness and justice of God.

It is but just, therefore, that we should condole with them, and do all that we can to deliver them from the flames of Purgatory, or, at least, to soothe their pains. Sufferings, however, are not the only cause which renders the state of the poor souls deplorable in our eyes, and moves us to commiseration. There is yet another reason, which, though it occurs less frequently to our minds, yet, if duly considered, will prove a powerful incentive to charitable exertion in behalf of the souls of our departed brethren. I allude to their ardent yearning for God, and their sincere desire of being united with Him forever in heaven; a desire, which as long as it is not satisfied, will be no less painful to them than the keenest flames of their place of torture. We should, then, with the same eagerness with which we try to deliver the poor souls from the pain of fire, endeavor to obtain for them the accomplishment of their ardent longing to be united with their heavenly Spouse. I say: all that can increase the pain of desire and eager yearning in our hearts, makes the longing of the poor souls after God and heaven immeasurably great and tormenting.


Let us now reflect on this, and endeavor, if possible, to open for them today the gates of their heavenly home.


O Mary, Mother of mercy, obtain for us the grace to hasten to the relief of thy suffering children in Purgatory, and to offer them, even this day, to thy maternal embrace! I address you, dear Christians, in the name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

Theologians rightly maintain that the pain of the damned in hell is a twofold one--namely, that of fire and that of loss of the beatific vision or contemplation of the unveiled splendor of the Divinity and the other delights of heaven. This last pain torments the damned still more, increases their sorrow and despair to a higher degree than all the suffering which they undergo in the expiating flames. Now, in like manner is the agony of the souls in Purgatory twofold--namely: the pain of the purifying flames; and of the delay in beholding God and enjoying the other pleasures that await them in heaven. To comprehend this more clearly, we need but consider the pain which an ardent longing for that which is most dear to us produces in our hearts, as long as it is withheld from us, and then compare our state with that of the poor afflicted souls.

The first source or cause of a desire to be delivered from any state in life is, when that state is connected with great embarrassment and afflictions. Hence it is that the sick long so eagerly for the presence of the physician and for the medicine that will cure them; in like manner the starving long for bread and nourishment; the thirsty, for water; the poor, for the sentence of the judge, that will declare them heirs to riches, and save them from destitution. So also does the wayfarer upon the billows of the stormy ocean sigh for the port, yearn to reach the place where a happy future awaits him; and so does the prisoner in his dreary cell anxiously expect the hour of his delivery. How great, therefore, must not be the desire of the poor souls to be ransomed from Purgatory.

The fire of Purgatory, as the doctors of the Church declare, is as intense as that of the abode of hell; with this difference, that it has an end. Yea! it may be that today a soul in Purgatory is undergoing more agony, more excruciating suffering than a damned soul, which is tormented in hell for a few mortal sins; while the poor soul in Purgatory must satisfy for millions of venial sins.

All the pains which afflict the sick upon earth, added to all that the martyrs have ever suffered, can not be compared with those of purgatory, so great is the punishment of those poor souls. We read, how once a sick person who was very impatient in his sufferings, exclaimed: "O God, take me from this world! "Thereupon the Guardian Angel appeared to him, and told him to remember that, by patiently bearing his afflictions upon his sick-bed, he could satisfy for his sins and shorten his Purgatory. But the sick man replied that he chose rather to satisfy for his sins in Purgatory. The poor sufferer died; and, behold, his Guardian Angel appeared to him again, and asked him if he did not repent of the choice he had made of satisfying for his sins in Purgatory by tortures rather than upon earth by afflictions? Thereupon the poor soul asked of the Angel: " How many years am I now here in these terrible flames?" The Angel replied: " How many years? Thy body upon earth is not yet buried; nay, it is not yet cold, and still thou believest already thou art here for many years!" Oh, how that soul lamented upon hearing this. Great indeed was its grief for not having chosen patiently to undergo upon earth the sufferings of sickness, and thereby shorten its Purgatory.

In that abode of sorrow the departed souls hunger after the possession of God, and with so famishing a desire that nothing on earth can be compared with it. They thirst after the fountain of eternal life with that thirst which knows no comparison in this world. They suffer; poor and destitute of all worldly goods. Yea! they are even deprived of all those consolations which at times lessen our desires, and afford us moments of repose. Here upon earth, though we long and sigh ever so much after a thing, still we can sleep; and the pains produced by our heart's desires in our waking moments leave us, we feel them no longer. We can engage ourselves in other occupations; other cares may distract our minds. We may, at times, enjoy various pleasures, and partake of the good things of this life. Now all these things remove, or, at least, soothe the pain and care of our desires. Not so, however, is the condition of these distressed souls. They have no refreshing slumber; they are incessantly awake; they have no occupation; they can not indulge in other cares, in other distractions. They are wholly and continually absorbed with the burning desire of being liberated from their intense misery.

Again, upon earth, persons who anxiously seek another abode or another state of life, often know not whether, perhaps, they may not fall into a more wretched condition. How many have forsaken the shores of Europe, with the bright hope of a better future awaiting them in America? All has been disappointment! They have repented a thousand times of having deserted their native country. Now, does this disappointment await the souls of Purgatory upon their deliverance? Ah! by no means. They know too well that when they are released heaven will be their home. Once there, no more pains, no more fire for them; but the enjoyment of an everlasting bliss, which no eye hath seen, nor ear heard; nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive. Such will be their future happy state. Oh, how great is their desire to be already there.

Another circumstance which especially intensifies hope in the breast of man, is intercourse, union with those who are near and dear to him. How many, indeed, have bid a last farewell to Europe, where they would have prospered; but oh, then there are awaiting them in another land their beloved ones,--those who are so dear, and in whose midst they long to be! Oh, what a great source of desire is not this, for the poor souls in Purgatory to go to Heaven!

In heaven they shall find again those whom they loved and cherished upon earth, but who have already preceded them on the way to the heavenly mansion. There with their friends shall they share forever untold bliss and glory. Not only will they possess this happiness, but they will, moreover, partake of the glory, blessedness, and love of all the angels and saints. Yea, even Jesus and Mary will share their blessedness with the now happy souls. There is still another feature, another circumstance which presents itself in the condition of the poor souls in Purgatory. I mean the irresistible force or tendency with which they are drawn towards God; the intense longing after Him, their last aim and end.

So long as man is burdened upon earth with his mortal body and its appetites, so long will he not feel this attraction with such intensity. But immediately upon his soul's separation from its mortal frame does it, as the image of God, experience this incomprehensible desire for its Creator and aim.

Like the balloon that rises aloft as soon as the cords are detached, and rapidly soars higher and higher; just so the soul which leaves this world in the grace of God mounts upward with inconceivable rapidity towards God; and the more pure and spotless she is, the greater is its intensity. Hence it was that David, filled with an ardent longing after God, sighs aloud: "When, when, O Lord, shall I appear in Thy presence? " Oh, with what intense anxiety and longing is not a poor soul in Purgatory consumed, to behold the splendor of its Lord and Creator!

But also with what marks of Gratitude does not every soul whom we have assisted to enter heaven pray for us upon its entrance. Therefore, let us hasten to the relief of the poor suffering souls in Purgatory. Let us help them to the best of our power, so that they may supplicate for us before the throne of the Most High; that they may remember us when we too shall one day be afflicted in that prison-house of suffering, and may procure for us a speedy release and an early enjoyment of a blissful eternity. Amen!

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"Have pity on me, at least you my friends."--Job xix, 21.

That it is a duty, a truly Christian duty, to help the poor afflicted souls in Purgatory, no one can doubt. We are commanded even as men, but especially as Christians, to love and assist our neighbor as ourselves. But the souls in Purgatory do not cease to be deserving of our love and service because they are in an abode of punishment, for they are still our brethren, and they are the more deserving of prayers as they can not help themselves. When it will be our turn one day to dwell in those flames, and be separated from God, how happy will we not be if others alleviate and shorten your pains! Do you desire this assistance for your own soul? Then begin in this life, while you have time, to render aid to the poor souls in Purgatory.

As the teachers of Divinity justly observe, all that we can render to the souls in Purgatory is our intercession before God in their behalf. Our heavenly Father accepts our appeal in proportion to their condition in that place of confinement. But he who does not assist others, unto him shall no mercy be shown; for this is what even-handed justice requires. Hence, let us not be deaf to the pitiful cries of the departed ones.

We, moreover, fulfill a duty assigned us the more cheerfully when there are many and weighty motives for complying with it; but especially is this the case if we perceive that thereby some advantage accrues to ourselves equal to or greater than that which falls to the share of him whom we assist. Now, that is precisely the case when we help the souls in Purgatory through our prayers and good works, whether we consider ourselves and our own salvation, or the good we render those beloved, but afflicted ones of God.

The main reflection which should be drawn from all that has been said, and which should be deeply engraved upon the mind, is that all the pains the poor souls in Purgatory suffer tend to sanctify our own souls, and to shorten hereafter our own misery in the same place of torment.

How this can be accomplished I shall endeavor to explain in the present sermon.

O Mary, Mother of mercy, secure for us the grace of making what we now hear enter deeply into our hearts, in order that, from this day forward, we may hasten to the aid of the souls in Purgatory! I speak to you in the holy name of Jesus, for the greater glory of God! I said, that which pains the poor souls in Purgatory tends to sanctify our soul here upon earth, and hereafter to shorten the term of our punishment in the purifying flames of Purgatory.

The first thing that torments the poor souls in Purgatory is the longing, the burning desire to behold God, to be with Christ and Mary, and to be among the number of the Blessed; in a word, to possess the joys of Heaven. This is their constant desire. The hope of one day entering into the mansion of heavenly delights is what makes their stay doubly painful. Oh, with what torments are not these souls afflicted through their yearning to be with their God! Were there no other suffering beyond this desire, it alone would be exceedingly agonizing.

Now, this very thought elevates our heart and tends to sanctify our lives. Whence arises the fact that we live so tepidly, so regardless of our Christian duties? Why are we more anxious to possess the perishable things of the world than to own the everlasting treasures of heaven? I answer: We think too little of God, of the glorious attributes of His infinite divine perfection; in brief, we are too careless about our union with God. Were we steadily to walk in the presence of God, to sigh for Him, oh, how clearly would not such a disposition place before our eyes the misery and heinousness of the smallest sin and imperfection, and thus impel us to shun it forever! Should we, however, have the misfortune to commit an imperfection or a venial sin, we would without delay be filled with the spirit of penance of a St. Aloysius, banish it from our heart, and thus shorten our Purgatory hereafter.

Again, we betray too little regard for Jesus. Were this not the case, oh, how would we not avail ourselves of His presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar to advance our sanctification by repeated visits to that sacred shrine, where He reposes; by devout attendance at Mass; by frequent union with Him in Holy Communion; in fine, by closely following the example of His earthly career.

The same remark may be made of our love for Mary, the Mother of Christ Jesus. How great was not the ardent affection of a blessed Leonard of Port Maurice or a St. Stanislaus, for Mary! It was on account of this filial love for her that they entered without delay into heavenly bliss, for they, living on earth, copied the image of Mary the Mirror of justice. Yes, should we have had the happiness of worthily wearing the Scapular of Mt. Carmel, through a desire of imitating Mary's virtues, then, as we are informed in the holy Office of the Church, Mary will assist us after our departure from this life, and soon deliver us from Purgatory, to receive us, her dear children, into heaven.

The same observation holds true concerning the yearning of the poor souls in Purgatory to be in the companionship of all the Angels and Saints. We, again, regard too little the image presented to us in the life and actions of the Saints. Were we oftener to recall it to our minds, we would share in the encouraging reflection of St. Augustine while contemplating their lives, and say with him: "If these have done such things, why can not I do the same?" What is the reason that we, instead of imitating their zeal for virtue, are content with abstaining from grievous sin only? Ah, we do not reflect that, as children of the Church, we possess the same means as the Saints used, and by which they became holy. We do not consider that it is now time for us, while we yet sojourn upon earth, to gain at every moment new merits, to reap a harvest of heavenly glory, that in the hereafter we may elevate ourselves to the splendor of heaven in the Communion of the Saints!

What torments the souls in Purgatory is the knowledge that they are no longer able to merit any thing for heaven. They can not help themselves; they are entirely dependent upon others. They wait, and wait, and have nothing to do but to yearn and suffer. Oh, how they grieve and lament that while on earth they thought so little of heaven; that they accomplished so little to gain it, and did so much for this world; that, in fine, they have rashly squandered their precious time! Could they in Purgatory practice good works, spread the kingdom of God, save souls, how readily would they perform these duties; but, alas! it is now too late.

We, however, have this rich treasure, this great blessing--time. We can, if we desire it, make use of it even if it costs the severest effort and toil. We have still command over the priceless gift. Let us employ it well. What afflicts those poor, helpless souls still more is the circumstance that, despite their patience in suffering, they can earn nothing for heaven. With us, however, such is not the case. We. fortunately, by our patience under affliction, may merit much, very much indeed, for Paradise. The cross of misery and suffering borne with resignation, carried bravely for love of God, and in compliance with His divine will--that cross which weighs so heavily in heaven's just scale of retribution--will be for us a pledge of untold bliss in heaven. Christ Himself expressly assures us of this, and St. Paul declares it when he says: "The sufferings of this world can not be compared with the weight of glory, which they prepare for us in Paradise."

I well remember a certain sick person who was sorely pressed with great sufferings. Wishing to console him in his distress, I said: "Friend, such severe pains will not last long. You will either recover from your illness and become well and strong again or God will soon call you to Himself." Thereupon the sick man, turning his eyes upon a crucifix which had been placed for him at the foot of his bed, replied: "Father, I desire no alleviation in my suffering, no relief from my pains. I cheerfully endure all as long as it is God's good pleasure; but I hope that I now undergo my Purgatory." Then, stretching forth his hands towards his crucifix, he thus addressed it, filled with the most lively hope in God's mercy: " Is it not so, dear Jesus? Thou wilt only take me from my bed. of pain to receive me straightway into heaven!"

These were the words of one who confided in the goodness of an all-merciful Father. Are we resigned like that poor afflicted sufferer on his couch of pain? Have we the same Christian fortitude and hope? If not, let us strive to imitate his example. Impatience--I say impatience is the fountain of innumerable defects and venial sins against God and our neighbor. It is this that so frequently prevents us from resigning ourselves to God's most holy will. On the other hand, how efficacious is the recollection of the suffering of the souls in Purgatory! Soon, and perhaps very soon, I, too, will be of their number, and will have to endure intense agony without reward. When I consider the patience of those souls, how encouraged ought I to be to endure all patiently and to resign myself entirely to God's will.

Besides these circumstances, there is in the condition of the poor souls still another, and one which, above all others, characterizes their state. It is the circumstance that all who suffer in Purgatory are holy souls--souls most dear to God. While there, they are no longer in danger of being tempted to sin by intercourse with worldly-minded and imperfect persons. If we were very careful to shun the company of sinners and the children of the world, oh, how many sins and faults would we not avoid--sins and imperfections that make us guilty before God, and from which we shall have to be cleansed by the flames of Purgatory.

Therefore let us strive to associate ourselves in spirit with those distressed souls; often think of them; pray and work for their release. If we were to do this, how much would it not conduce to mend our lives, to sanctify us, and thus assist us to escape Purgatory, or at least to shorten our stay there; for all the circumstances that mark the state of the souls in Purgatory are so well adapted to encourage us in the path to perfection!These circumstances are, as I have said, first, their great yearning to be with God, with Jesus and Mary, and in the society of the Angels and Saints; secondly, their inability to labor meritoriously or to gain merit by suffering things, however, which we can do by entire conformity with the most divine will of God.

Therefore how true and important is not the counsel of the Holy Ghost, "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead"--when we reflect that through our assistance they may the sooner enter into the joys of heaven; that here upon earth we, by devotion to them, may lead the life of Saints, that thereby we may be delivered, if not entirely, at least in a short time, from Purgatory, to enjoy the unspeakable bliss of the celestial Paradise forever in company with all the Saints and Angels. Amen!

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"It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead."--2 Machab. xii.

All the feasts of the Church are sacred, and produce the wholesome effect of sanctifying her children. Hence, the faithful have good reasons for celebrating these solemn occasions with great fervor, and in the spirit of our holy Mother, the Church. But especially is this the case on this day, when the Church exhorts us to remember and efficaciously to assist the departed souls. There is scarcely another feast of the Church, in whose celebration the hearts of her children are more prompt, than in this consecrated to the memory of the dead.

The remembrance of their pitiable state, and the desire to help them, in consequence of our natural sympathy, are calculated to awaken the tenderest feelings, and to move the hearts of the children of the Church to celebrate this feast with zeal.

But, besides the motive of natural sympathy for all in distress, there are motives of faith which impel us to procure their relief not only on All Souls Day, but on every day of our life. For this our love and interest in their regard is a work not only pleasing to God and meritorious for us, but also efficacious for the relief of the departed souls.

Hence, we see evinced in the lives of all the saints a most ardent zeal in the cause of these poor afflicted ones. For their relief they offered to God not only prayers, but also the Masses, penances, the most severe sicknesses, and the most painful trials; and all this as a retribution and a practical display of the belief which they cherished--that they who have slept in Christ are finally to repose with Him in glory. Now, I maintain that we, too, shall feel in our breasts this same strong, this same ardent zeal, if we carefully weigh the assurance of the Holy Ghost and practice the counsel it implies: "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.


How holy, how wholesome, this practice is we shall endeavor to consider today for the consolation of the poor souls and of ourselves.


O Mary, most compassionate, most tender Mother, inspire our hearts with a deep compassion for the poor souls in Purgatory, so that we may be moved to pray for those suffering children of thine and assist them with all our power! I speak in the most holy name of Jesus, to the greater glory of God!

When the Church, on her festive days, offers up prayers and sacrifice, she thereby wishes to remind the faithful of the solemnity of the occasion, and to exhort them to draw profit, for their spiritual welfare, by meditating upon what they witness. Therefore, it is but just and proper that we place before our eyes, upon this day, the motives and proofs which show forth the holiness of the act of praying for the departed souls, and the spiritual blessings that will accrue from the practice to them and to us.

Now, as to what regards the holiness of the act, it is plain that it is one performed through love of God. It is an act that tends to relieve the souls that have left this world in the state of grace and advance them, somewhat sooner, to, the contemplation of the splendor and beatific vision of God.

It is, moreover, an act which enables these same souls the sooner to praise God in the presence of the Angels and Saints, for the accomplishment of the work which He began in their creation and finished in their redemption and salvation.

Who can tell what ardent praise the happy soul offers to God in heaven; what heartfelt thanks it lavishes upon its Lord when it reaches the realms of everlasting bliss; how much it rejoices the heart of God to receive all this exaltation and thanks from the lips of a soul forever saved! It is a most holy act, which at the same time rejoices and comforts so exceedingly the heart of Jesus in heaven, and affords the now happy soul an occasion of thanking Him for all that He has accomplished for it by His life and death on the cross. The same may be said of the heart of Mary. What a most holy and praiseworthy deed does he not perform who assists the soul of the elect the sooner to receive the affectionate embraces of Mary, to do her homage, and to return her everlasting thanks, in heaven, for her motherly care. Yea, the entire Church triumphant feels an increase of glory as often as a soul enters into heaven, and thanks that pious soul who was the instrument, in the hands of God, of conducting it the more rapidly into the celestial Paradise.

The same, again, may be said of the Church suffering. She, too, is a part of God's kingdom; for in the Church we distinguish the Church militant, the Church suffering, and the Church triumphant. By the interest we display in the cause of the poor souls, we acknowledge them as our brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Besides, by this we honor the Church, because we thereby solemnly acknowledge that all who are of her fold, in the grace of God, are heirs and heiresses of Heaven.

It is a holy thought, moreover, to pray for the dead, as our text affirms. And why? Because all that we perform for the help and delivery of the poor souls in Purgatory, are works of Christian faith and piety. Such are prayer, the august sacrifice of the Mass, the reception of the holy sacraments,, alms-deeds, and acts of penance and self-denial.

It is a holy and at the same time a wholesome thought; because it so powerfully excites within us the desire to sanctify our own self. This will be evident if we only consider what are the predominant causes of that lukewarmness of ours in the service of God, which, in spite of all the promises, the encouragements and counsels of the Holy Spirit, still hinders us from advancing with the zeal of the Saints, in the path of Christian perfection. The sources of our spiritual misery may particularly be traced to an inordinate love for worldly goods and interests, the pampering of our bodies, and thoughtlessness in the matter of venial sins and imperfections.

First, the undue attachment to the things of this world is a serious, a very serious, impediment to piety and zeal, and the foundation of innumerable defects. There are, indeed, many reasons, if we were only to seek for them, which indisputably prove to us the vanity and folly of this inordinate yearning after the possession of earthly goods. But nothing places this folly so forcibly before our eyes as the thought of the poor souls in Purgatory, the warning cry of poor souls from the grave: "Our money is lost; lost to the last farthing. Today my turn; tomorrow yours!" Remember, dear Christians, that we, too, shall once be poor, helpless, and suffering souls in Purgatory; and what shall we carry with us of all our earthly goods and treasures? Not a single farthing!

Therefore, how important is it not to avoid the pitfalls which the anxious care of goods and chattels, of gold and possessions, prepares in our path to salvation. Even were there no danger of offending God grievously through inordinate worldly cares, still, how great are not the obstacles they oppose to the practice of good works and to our efforts after Christian perfection. Yes, alas, it is often too true, and that in the case of many of the most zealous members of a congregation. What prevents them from actually carrying out the many purposes of amendment which they so often form? It is naught else than their inordinate love and care for the perishable goods of this earth.

The second source of our tepidity in the service of God, and which gives rise to so many imperfections, is sensuality. This is an avenue broad and convenient, by which the Evil Spirit frequently approaches our heart. How often has he not, in this way, come upon it unawares and vanquished us? How often have we not yielded to sensuality on the plea of necessity, or of conforming to others? Yes, the inordinate love of comfort, of seeking pleasures for the body, is a great check to progress in the spiritual life. Here, also, we have sufficient proof to show how foolish and deceitful is the thought that the joys of the world and the pleasures of the senses can replenish us with all good, and satisfy our desires. Blinded men, who are not afraid of Purgatory, provided they can enjoy this transitory life! Yet they shall not be satisfied, because the heart of man is so great that its Lord and Creator alone can satisfy its desires.

To remind us forcibly of this insane love of earthly comforts and happiness, we need only think of the great, the powerful, and the wealthy, whose bodies are moldering in the dismal grave. Think of the poor souls who, having left their bodies upon earth, are now undergoing intense suffering for the sins they committed by over-indulgence. Oh, how they now lament having surrendered their bodies to sensual delights, and having, on this account, too often shunned carrying the cross of Christ.

Finally, the third cause of lukewarmness, and the fountain of innumerable imperfections, is the great disregard of venial sins. Of course, every Christian knows that a deliberate venial sin offends the majesty of God, and is next to mortal sin, the greatest evil that can befall a soul. Its heinousness can not be more strongly impressed on the mind than by considering those excruciating pains, which afflict the poor souls in Purgatory, in punishment of such an offense. To understand their condition, we should know what Purgatory is. It is, as theologians maintain, the same fire that burns and rages so intensely in Hell, and whose glowing heat penetrates the poor, sad soul, as no other fire can do.

What is not the agonizing anguish that fills a mother's breast upon hearing the heart-rending cries of her child as she beholds it rushing forth from an adjoining apartment, all in flames? And yet, what is a mother's heart and her love for her child in comparison with the heart of God, as Creator.

Nevertheless, God confines souls, that are His most dear children, and are still in His grace, in Purgatory. There they suffer, not only for hours and days, but for years and years; and yet He receives them not into His fatherly embrace before they have become spotless in His sight. Yes, these souls themselves would not leave Purgatory until every trace of the least imperfection were washed away.

We read, in the life of St. Gertrude, that God once allowed her to behold Purgatory. And, lo! she saw a soul that was almost upon the brink of Purgatory, and Christ, who, followed by a band of holy virgins, was approaching and stretching forth His hands toward it. Thereupon the soul, which was almost out of Purgatory, drew back, and of its own accord sank again into the fire. "What doest thou?" said St. Gertrude to the soul. " Dost thou not see that Christ wishes to release thee from thy terrible abode?" To this the soul replied: "O Gertrude, thou beholdest me not as I am. I am not yet immaculate. There is yet another stain upon me. I will not hasten thus to the arms of Jesus."

O, children of the Church, what a motive for us to live religiously, to avoid the smallest sin, and to do penance for the past. What a stimulus to practice all virtues and good works, to display our zeal for souls with the diligence and perfection of the Saints, remembering, at the same time, the words of the Holy Ghost: "Blessed are the dead who have slept in the Lord, for their works follow them, and they now repose from their labors in everlasting peace," through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Amen.

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Yesterday the Catholic Church placed all the Saints of heaven before our eyes, to induce us to give due honor to them, to invoke them, and to follow them in the path of virtue. Today, she represents those souls to us, which, though destined to rejoice eternally in heaven, at present still suffer in purgatory; and she enjoins us to assist them to the best of our ability. To understand this rightly, it is necessary to know what the true faith teaches in regard to it.

It teaches, firstly, that there is a place which we call purgatory; secondly, that the souls who are there can receive help and comfort from us who are still on earth. In regard to the first of these points, it is known that unhappily a great many people leave this world in disgrace with God, guilty of mortal sins. These go forthwith to hell, without any hope of redemption; and for them we can do nothing. Some, but few, die in the grace of the Almighty, entirely purified from all sin, as they either have not become guilty of sin or have done perfect penance, and fully discharged the debt of temporal punishment which they had deserved. These go immediately to heaven. Lastly, there are others and their number is large, who, although they die in the grace of God, have not expiated all their misdeeds in this world. To these heaven is sure; but they do not enter it immediately; they have to suffer in a third place until they have perfectly atoned for all their sins. This is an article of faith, by which we truly believe that to be absolved from sin as far as the guilt is concerned, does not release us always from all the punishment due to sin.

The eternal punishment which we deserve by a mortal sin, will be remitted by a good confession, or, if we cannot confess, by perfect contrition; but the temporal punishment still remains, as the Catechism teaches us and as Holy Writ clearly shows. Venial sin is also forgiven by confession or contrition, in so far as the guilt is concerned; but its temporal punishment is not always entirely remitted at the same time. If, therefore, one has not endeavored, during his life, to gain remission of his temporal punishment by voluntary penance, good works, indulgences, patience under crosses and sufferings, he cannot enter heaven immediately after his death, as " nothing defiled can enter there;" but he goes to a place where he will suffer until he is wholly cleansed. This place is called Purgatory.

Concerning the second point, the true faith teaches us that the faithful, who are still living in the world, can help and comfort the souls in purgatory, by assisting at Holy Mass, by prayers, by alms, fasting, indulgences and other good works. This doctrine is founded on the communion of saints, of which the ninth article of the Apostolic Creed speaks. To this communion belong the Saints in heaven, the faithful on earth, and the suffering souls in purgatory.

The first are the triumphant, the second, the militant, and the third, the suffering Church. The communion among these three portions of the Church consists in this, that the Saints in heaven pray for us, while we honor and invoke them. For those who are in purgatory, we offer up our prayers and good works; and they pray for us now whilst they suffer, and will pray for us also after they shall have been admitted into the presence of the Most High. Thus has the Catholic Church, which, on account of the continued assistance of the Holy Ghost, cannot fail, always believed and taught. Hence it has always been the custom of the faithful to pray for the dead.

The holy Fathers, Chrysostom and Augustine, testify that the custom of praying for the dead in Holy Mass dates from the time of the Apostles." It was not instituted by the Apostles without a purpose, writes the former, "that we should remember the dead when we offer the unbloody sacrifice; they knew what benefit the dead would derive from it." "We cannot doubt," says the latter, "that the souls of the dead receive help from the prayers of the holy Church, the sacrifice of the Holy Mass, and from alms given with the intention that they may derive the benefit attached to that good action. For this has been left to us by the Fathers (the Apostles), and the whole Church observes it, that we pray for those who have died in the communion of the body and blood of Christ, when commemoration of them is made during the holy sacrifice, or when it is offered up for them."

It is also known, from the books of the Maccabees that, in ancient times, prayers and sacrifices were offered for the dead. Although there is a daily memento for the suffering souls in purgatory during Holy Mass, and though almost all Catholics pray much and daily for them, the Church has instituted that this day should be particularly devoted to their remembrance, and that the faithful should offer their prayers and good works for them with especial fervor to the Almighty. It may be that there are many souls for whom no one prays during the year, because they either left no relatives or friends, or because they are forgotten by them. Hence, on this day, the Church desires that prayer and sacrifice, alms-deeds and other good works be offered for them all. To act in accordance with this holy desire of the Church is but just. Holy Writ urges us to pray for the dead by the following well-known words: "It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." (II Maccab. xii.)

To have compassion on the poor souls, and to help them according to our means, is holy and wholesome. It is holy, because it springs from the love of God and of our neighbor; for, whoever loves God, loves also those who are loved by God and who love Him; and it is quite certain that the souls in purgatory love God and are loved by Him, although they are punished for a time. It is love of our neighbor, as those suffering in purgatory are perhaps persons nearly related to us, or from whom we have received many benefits, and whom we are therefore obliged to assist. But even if there are none of these, they are still the souls of our fellow-men; and this alone should incline and urge us to help them. Love towards our neighbor requires that we do to him as we wish that he would do to us. If you were in the place where these souls are, and if you had to suffer as they, would you not wish to be helped?

Therefore try to help them now, if you really love your neighbor. Do not imagine that their suffering is but little, and that it is of little consequence whether they are sooner or later released from it. St. Augustine says: "The fire that cleanses is sharper and more painful than all the suffering which we can conceive in this world." "In my opinion," says St. Gregory, "the fire of purgatory, although it eventually ceases, is more tormenting than all the torments of this world." Other holy Fathers say the same, and add that the difference between the pains of hell and those of purgatory is, that the former are endless, while the latter last but for a time. How long each soul remains in purgatory is unknown to man; the duration differs, as also the greatness of their tortures. Their suffering is according to their sins.

Their greatest pain is that of privation, or the pain of loss; for as they have an intense longing to behold the Almighty, nothing can exceed the pangs of their grief, at being deprived of His sight until they have entirely expiated their sins. It is most certain that they endure this and other torments with perfect resignation to the will of the Most High; yes, though they suffer extremely, nevertheless they praise His justice. They are unable to help themselves or to shorten their pains, because their day of labor and merit is past. Hence, what is more just than that we should assist them, that they may be sooner released from their torments?

We can do it, and do it so easily; and the love which we should bear to our neighbor requires it. It is a holy work, it is even more than holy, it is also a useful and wholesome work. The assistance we give to the souls in purgatory, not only helps them to be sooner released from their pains and to see God, but it is also beneficial to ourselves. We lose nothing by offering up our prayers and other good works for them, but we gain much; for, the Almighty will not permit our charity to them to go without a reward. He is merciful to them that show mercy. And do you suppose that the souls, which, by our prayers, have come so much sooner into the presence of God, will forget us, and not show themselves grateful ? Be assured that we shall have constant intercessors in them before the throne of the Most High. Holy Writ assures us, that " alms delivereth from death, and maketh to find mercy and life everlasting." (Tob. xii.) The kindness you show to the souls in purgatory is an alms you give to them, an act of charity; and it will result in God's being merciful to you and granting you the grace of doing penance, that you may obtain pardon for your sins and life everlasting.

And if, one day, you too are restrained from the presence of God, in those penal fires, doubt not that they whom you will have freed from them will pray most efficaciously for you, that you may soon be admitted into heaven. Reflect then on these benefits which you may draw from being merciful to the poor souls in purgatory, and make today the resolution to aid them with all your strength as long as you live. Should you neglect it, you will have to fear that the words of Christ will be exemplified in you: " For with the same measure that you shall mete withal, it shall be measured to you again." (Luke, vi.)

"Pray for the dead," says St . Augustine, "that they may also pray for you, when they shall have attained eternal glory. They wait to receive help from us. They call on us daily in their torments. If you desire, O man," continues this holy teacher, " that the Almighty should have mercy on you, have mercy on your fellow being who suffers in purgatory; for God will show you the same kindness that you show to your neighbor. Hence, pray for the dead." And again he says: "One of the most holy practices is to offer sacrifice for the dead, to pray for them and give alms."

In like manner do other holy Fathers speak. Richard of St. Victor confirms what has been said and encourages us to observe it, when he says: "The ransomed souls pray without ceasing in heaven for those by whose help they have been released; and the Lord refuses them nothing."

PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS

I. The fire of purgatory is intended not only for those who, after having committed mortal sin, have been freed from it in so far as its guilt is considered, but also for those who die in venial sin. These too shall be for a time punished by not seeing the Almighty, and besides this, by other terrible torments; for, nothing defiled can enter heaven. Hence you can conclude how great the wickedness of a venial sin must be, since the just God punishes it so severely, and that in souls which He loves most dearly; for, all those who suffer in purgatory are God's friends, and will reign forever with Christ in heaven.

Yet the Almighty does not admit them into His presence, until they are entirely cleansed by severe suffering. How blind and foolish, therefore, are those who regard a venial sin as only a trifle, or do not esteem it worthy of any thought at all. God, who is just, would not punish venial sin so severely were its wickedness not great in His sight. "We read in the laws," says St. Salvianus, " that those who had transgressed the least commandment of the Lord were most severely punished; so that we might understand that nothing is trifling which touches the Majesty of God. For, what seems small, in regard to the evil done by it, is yet great, because it offends the Lord." Therefore, think not lightly of venial sin, but endeavor to avoid it with the utmost care. We should rather die and suffer all possible torments, than commit a sin, not only a mortal, but even a venial sin.

II. Be more solicitous to atone here on earth for the sins of which you have been guilty, that you may not have to suffer too long in purgatory. I know there are men who fear not purgatory, and who therefore are little concerned about expiating their sins. They say: " If I only escape hell, I will be satisfied." Others depend upon the prayers of relatives and friends, or upon the Masses for which they have made or intend to make provision in their will, or upon the prayers of the members of the Confraternity to which they belong, to be speedily released from purgatory. The former may read what I have cited above from the works of St. Augustine and St. Gregory, and draw from it, that this thought in regard to purgatory, and the negligence in atoning for offenses, which results from it, are so dangerous and so displeasing to the Almighty, that they may easily be misled by it into mortal sin and go to eternal destruction.

The latter may take to heart the words of the pious Thomas a Kempis, who writes: " Do not place too great confidence in friends and acquaintances, and do not defer your salvation to the future; for men will forget you much sooner than you imagine. It is better to make provision in time, and to send some good in advance of you, than to hope for the assistance of others after your death. If you do not take care of yourself now, who will care for you when you are gone?" St. Gregory desires to impress the same upon us when he says: "Man acts more securely, if he himself does, during his life, what he wishes others to do for him after his death."

[Stone]

THE CRY OF THE SOULS IN PURGATORY TO US
by Rev. John Evangelist Zollner, 1884



"Friend, lend me three loaves."--Luke, 11: 5

The efficacy of continued, fervent prayer, our dear Lord one day illustrated to His disciples by a very consoling example: A man went to a friend’s house at midnight, asking him to lend him three loaves of bread, because he had nothing to set before a friend of his who had come off his journey to visit him. We may easily imagine, that this petition, at midnight, was very inopportune to the friend, who with his children, had retired to rest for the night; he, therefore, refused the petitioner, in these words: "Trouble me not, the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee."--Luke, 11:7. But he does not go away. On the contrary, he continues knocking the longer and louder, and because of his importunity, his friend rises from his couch more unwilling than willing, opens the door and gives him the three loaves. This petition, "Friend, lend me three loaves," the souls detained in the prison of purgatory direct to us on this day of All Souls, for they are certainly in greater distress, and need our help far more, than the petitioner mentioned in the Gospel. They cry out to us at midnight, in the dark night, i. e., from the dismal prison in which they are detained; they call us their friends, and ask us to lend them three loaves of bread. Let us contemplate this cry for help of the suffering souls, and reflect upon it word for word. Let us consider--


I. The word "Friend,"
II. The word "Lend"
III The word "Me" and finally,
IV. The words "Three loaves."


Part I.--"Friend."

The suffering souls in purgatory cry out to us: "Friend" and justly, for we are related to them both spiritually and corporally.

1. Spiritually. Our spiritual relationship with the suffering souls consists in this, that we and they are members of the One Church, which will exist until the end of the world in a triple state; militant upon earth, suffering in purgatory, and triumphant in heaven. By reason of this triple relationship--

(a) We believe that there is a place called purgatory, in which the souls who depart this life without being perfectly cleansed from all imperfections are detained and must suffer until they have fully satisfied the justice of God. This faith is founded upon Scripture, tradition, and reason. In the Old Testament we read: "It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."--II. Mach. 12:46. St. Paul writes: "If any man's works burn, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."--I. Cor. 3: 1 5. The Apostle here speaks of a state in the other world, in which souls are tried by fire for some time; or, in other words, he speaks of purgatory. Of the Fathers of the Church who give testimony to the existence of purgatory, I shall mention only one, St. Gregory of Nyssa, who says: " If any one has departed this life knowing the difference between virtue and vice, he cannot approach the Deity, until a purifying fire has obliterated the stains with which the soul is contaminated." Reason also teaches us that there is a purgatory. How many people die who have not been guilty of mortal sins, but are not free from lesser faults. Where will they go? To heaven? Impossible, because nothing defiled can enter. To hell? By no means. For it would be contrary to the mercy and justice of God to condemn man to hell for all eternity on account of a few small faults, counterbalanced by a living faith and numerous good works. Therefore, there must be a middle place where souls are detained until they have rendered that fall satisfaction to God which they neglected here, after which they are admitted into heaven.

(b) We hope that with the suffering souls we shall one day be admitted into heaven, for which we are still combating, and they suffering. Is it not just, that we assist those suffering souls as far as we can, to attain the happy end for which they sigh, and to which we also aspire, and where we wish one day to be united with them forever? Indeed, if any one would take no interest in the suffering souls, and do nothing for their relief and release, of him we should judge, that he is not solicitous either for his own salvation, and that he has no desire to be numbered among the elect in heaven. But such a disposition would evidently be unchristian, and would lead, not to heaven, but to hell.

© We love the suffering souls, and endeavor to help them as much as we can in their great need. Consider the members of a body, what sympathy one has for the other; how willingly they assist one another as often as is necessary. For instance, if a hand is wounded, is it not the eyes that carefully look at the wound, the tongue that asks for help, the feet that move to obtain the appropriate remedies, the other hand that applies the remedies? Now, since all Catholics, whether living upon earth, or suffering in purgatory, or triumphing in heaven, are members of one body, should there not be the same sympathy, the same love as amongst the members of a natural body? Should we not in particular willingly and with readiness succor the suffering souls in their utmost need? Would it not be a violation of Christian charity, if we should leave them without help in their need?

2. Corporally. In a wider sense we are corporally related to the suffering souls, because we have a human nature in common with them, and like them are descendants of the first human pair, Adam and Eve. There subsists, however, a still closer corporal relationship between us and the suffering souls. There is scarcely one among us who has not lost by death a father or mother, or perhaps both parents, a brother or sister, a wife or husband, a son or a daughter, or other near relations. These departed souls, in all probability, do not yet enjoy the beatific vision; they are suffering perhaps for faults committed on your account; and should you be indifferent towards them?

Should you neglect to console them in their abandonment and to assist them to reach heaven? Would this not be very uncharitable, would it not be sinning against the debt of gratitude which you owe them, since they, while on earth, did so much good for you? Would it be right for you, children, if you would scarcely ever say an Our Father for your parents, who during their life toiled so hard and did so much for you, and who, perhaps for faults committed on your account, are suffering in purgatory? Would you deserve the name of grateful children? And with what eyes would your parents look upon you, when you would meet them in eternity. Take care, then, that you do not violate the love and gratitude which you owe the suffering souls, who are spiritually and corporally related to you.


Part II.--"Lend."

The suffering souls in purgatory do not cry out to us: "Give," but "Lend." They ask no help of us without requital, but only, so to say, to lend them help. What we do for them is, as it were, a capital, which will be returned to us with interest. The benefits which we confer on these suffering souls will be richly repaid,

1. By themselves. When Joseph of Egypt was in prison he requested the chief butler of Pharaoh, to whom he had foretold his deliverance from prison and reinstatement in office: "Only remember me when it shall be well with thee, and do me this kindness, to put Pharaoh in mind to take me out of this prison."--Gen. 40: II. But the butler forgot his benefactor for two years, and probably would have forgotten him forever if he had not been reminded of him by a special event. Not so the suffering souls. They do not forget us when all is well with them in heaven, but remember us in grateful love for the good we did them while in prison. They supplicate God graciously to keep from us all that might injure us in soul or body, to preserve us in his love, to grant us a happy death, and after our departure from this world to give us eternal rest and to let perpetual light shine upon us. We may also believe with many divines that the suffering souls even while in purgatory intercede with God for us and obtain many benefits for us; for although they are not able to help themselves or acquiremerits, they can pray for us, and since God loves them there is no doubt that he will graciously hear them. St. Catherine of Bologna testifies that she obtained many graces and benefits through the intercession of the suffering souls, even such as she could not obtain through the intercession of the Saints in heaven.

2. From heaven. If we show ourselves merciful towards the suffering souls, we gain the gratitude of the whole heavenly court. The Angels and Saints will look down upon us with particular pleasure, because by the release of these souls we increase their number and also their joy in heaven. If according to the words of Christ they re joice so much over the conversion of one sinner, who, because he is yet capable of sins, is not entirely sure of heaven, how much more will they rejoice over the release of the suffering souls, since they are sure of their eternal salvation. We thereby even confer a favor upon our Blessed Lord himself, for He loves them and ardently desires to see them with him in heaven. Finally, by our mercy and compassion for the suffering souls we merit the love of the Blessed Trinity; for these souls, if I may be permitted to use the expression, are daughters of God the Father, sisters of God the Son, and spouses of God the Holy Ghost, and are deprived of the blessed vision of the most Holy Trinity, because they are yet defiled by the stains of some imperfections.


Part III.--"Me."

Every soul suffering cries out to us: in order to express thereby her great torments. And really, their sufferings are great,

(a) On account of the pain of loss, since they are banished from heaven and the vision of God, for whom they long most ardently. In order to conceive an idea of this pain, represent to yourselves a man who is tormented by the most violent hunger and the most burning thirst. He sees before him a table supplied with the best meats and viands, but he can touch nothing, although he knows that all has been prepared for him; will not his sorrow be very great? Behold, similarly situated are the suffering souls. Separated from the burden of the body, from sensual enjoyments and from all the distractions of the world, their thoughts are directed exclusively to God, the centre and object of all beauty and loveliness; they feel within themselves an irresistible impulse to be united with Him; they know, too, that they are destined to possess God and the unspeakable joys of heaven; how painful, therefore, must it be to them, that they cannot possess the object of their most ardent desires! How often and how fervently may they not sigh with the Psalmist: As the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after thee. My soul hath thirsted after the strong living God; when shall I come, and appear before the face of God? My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God?"--Ps . 41: 2-4.

2. On account of the pains of the sense, that is, on account of the real pains which they have to endure. The holy Fathers unanimously teach that these pains are very great, and that no earthly sufferings can be compared with them. St. Augustine says: "Although we are saved by fire, yet that fire will be more severe than all whatsoever man can endure in this life." St. Gregory the Great says: "I believe that the passing fire (in purgatory) is more intolerable than every present pain." Venerable Bede is of the opinion that no punishment of the martyrs can be compared with the purifying punishments of the suffering souls. From these and similar expressions of the holy Fathers we may infer the greatness of the pains which the suffering souls in purgatory have to endure. How great were the sufferings of the martyrs! We shudder when we hear or read of the tortures they endured! How much misery there is in this world! Who can describe the pains which people often have to endure in their sickness! And behold, these pains are nothing in comparison to what the souls in purgatory have to suffer. There is no difference between the pains of hell and those of purgatory except that the former will last forever, and the latter will end in glory; the souls of the damned suffer in despair, the souls in purgatory inflamed with love and comforted by angels. What wonder, then, that these poor souls stretch out their arms to us, exclaiming: "Me, me!" "Lend me!" "Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you, my friends, for the hand of the Lord has stricken me." "O help me, because I am tormented without measure, and am unable to help myself. Help me, that I may be freed from my torments and may be permitted to enter into the eternal rest of heaven."


Part IV.--" Three Loaves."

What are these three loaves for which the suffering souls pray?

1. The white bread, or the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Judas Machabeus had sacrifices offered for the dead, of which the Scripture says, that they were wholesome. Now, when the sacrifices of the Old Law, which consisted only of animals and fruits, were wholesome for the dead, what rich blessing must the adorable Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the crucified God-man, Jesus Christ Himself, afford to the suffering souls! Hence in the earliest ages of Christianity the Sacrifice of the Mass was offered for the dead. Thus Tertullian, in the second century, numbers it amongst the duties of a pious widow to have the Sacrifice of the Mass offered for her deceased husband on the anniversary of his death. St. Augustine declares prayer and sacrifice for the repose of the souls of the departed to be an Apostolic ordinance, saying: "Because it is observed in the whole world, that the Sacrifice is offered for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed, and prayers are said for them, we believe that it is an Apostolic Tradition; for it is everywhere observed by the Catholic Church." From the most ancient liturgies we perceive, that from the beginning, as today, a memento was made for the dead, and the fruits of the Sacrifice of the Mass applied to them. Hence the Council of Trent teaches that the prayers of the faithful, but especially the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, are very useful to the souls in purgatory.

2. The home-made bread , which we use daily, or Prayer, which we offer for the suffering souls, e.g., the "Our Father," "Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them," "a Rosary," "the way of the Cross." That our prayers are of benefit to the suffering souls is evident from the Sacred Scripture: "It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins." Prayer for the faithful departed was customary in the primitive ages of the Church, and St. Chrysostom expressly remarks that it was ordained by the Apostles that the departed should be remembered at the celebration of the holy mysteries. St. Ephrem, in his last testament, desires that prayers should be offered for him after his death. The emperor Constantine the Great ordained that his body should be interred in the Church, that he might become a participator in the prayers which the faithful say in that place. And St. Monica, shortly before her death, said to her son, St. Augustine: "Lay this body anywhere; be not concerned about that. The only thing I ask of you is, that you make remembrance of me at the altar of the Lord wheresoever you are." St. Augustine scrupulously complied with the wish and mandate of his mother; he prayed for her himself and conjures all readers of his confessions to pray for her.

3. The black bread , which is usually given to the poor, or alms. The constant belief of the Church proves that the souis in purgatory can be helped by alms and other works of mercy. St. Augustine says: "Without doubt the works of mercy whereby we recommend the departed (to God's mercy) are of great advantage to them, but I speak of those departed, who have so spent their life, that after death they are not unworthy of such helps." Again he says: "There is no doubt that the faithful departed are helped by the prayer of the Church, by the wholesome Sacrifice (Mass), and by alms, which are offered for them, so that God deals with them more according to his mercy than their sins have deserved." And he adds: "The whole Church acts according to this Tradition which she has received from the Fathers." If, then, you give alms, or perform other good works, and thereby have the intention that the fruits of these works be applied to the suffering souls, they are helped by them. This is particularly true of indulgences, which we can apply to the souls in purgatory by way of suffrage.


PERORATION.

Let us then show sympathy and mercy to the souls in purgatory. Their cry to us is: "Friend," lend me three loaves." "Friend" because they are spiritually and corporally related to us, therefore, love and gratitude oblige us to succor them. "Lend" they cry out to us, because they, and the whole heavenly court, will return with interest the good we do them. "Me" they cry out to us, making known to us their great need, which is beyond expression, in order to move us to mercy and compassion. "Three loaves" they cry out, beseeching us to help them through the Sacrifice of the Mass, prayer, works of mercy and charity. Let us listen to their cry, and do what they so urgently and entreatingly ask of us. Not only to-day and during this week, but as long as we live, we should show ourselves merciful towards them, and do what we can to release them from their prison that they may enjoy the vision of God. The love and mercy shown to those poor souls will prove to be of benefit to ourselves, for the words of Christ will be accomplished in us: " Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."--Matt 5: 7. Amen.

May the angels lead thee into Paradise; may the martyrs receive thee at thy coming, and bring thee into the holy city, Jerusalem. May the choir of angels receive thee, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, mayest thou have eternal rest.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

(Indulgence of 300 days.)

[Stone]

THREE GLANCES AT THE CEMETERY
by Rev. John Evangelist Zollner, 1884



"Only the grave remaineth for me"--Job, 17: 1.

On this day, and during the Octave of All Souls, the faithful everywhere are accustomed to visit the graves. Many make even long journeys in order to adorn the graves of their parents, brothers and sisters, or other near friends and acquaintances, and to recite some pious prayers there. This custom of visiting the graves is very laudable and in every way appropriate, being very wholesome both for us and for the departed; for us, because the cemetery produces in us an earnest, holy disposition of mind, and causes us to make good resolutions to amend our life; for the departed, because the graves vividly remind us of our departed friends and fellow-Christians, and call upon us to pray for the repose of their souls. Since to visit the graves is of benefit both for you and the departed, I exhort you to cast,


I . One glance upon the graves,
II. One glance into the graves, and
III . One glance beyond the graves.


Part I.

When we look around about us in a cemetery, we see graves of every description.

1. Such as have a Christian , and such as have not a Christian character. A Christian grave is known by the cross, which is placed upon it; for the cross is the Christian's mark and sign. If you enter a house and notice in it the pictute of the Crucified, you judge the inmates to be Christians. If you see a man sign himself with the sign of the cross, you say within yourselves: This man is a Christian. You think and say the same when you see a grave with a cross upon it. Being Catholics, should we not place crosses upon the graves of our departed fellow-Christians and provide that our own grave, when we are dead, be adorned with a cross? By the crosses upon the graves we profess that we, and the departed, are Christians, that we highly esteem our holy faith, and that Jesus Christ, who died on the cross, is our only hope in life and death. Crosses upon the graves are also an admonition to us to follow Christ on the way of the cross, as He Himself says: "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." — Matt. 16: 24.

2. Magnificent and plain. Some monuments and tombstones are richly carved and magnificently ornamented. I do not find fault, if the rich erect handsome and even costly monuments to the memory of their dear departed, but it should not be done from a motive of pride and vain ostentation, but only to honor them and to show them due love and gratitude. Extravagance, however, is not to be commended; the money would certainly be better expended, if given as an alms for the repose of the soul of the departed, or as a charitable endowment fund, than when expended in erecting a costly monument. After all, it matters little whether one has a more or less magnificent monument, provided he is happy in eternity. The Saints, even those who were of noble extraction, prohibited pompous funerals and magnificent mausoleums, and ordained that they themselves should be plainly buried and their grave adorned with nothing else than a cross. Be careful lest in the erection of monuments and tombstones to the memory of your dear departed friends you are governed by vain ostentation instead of Christian modesty. There are, however, graves which have no monuments at all, nothing is to be seen on them, and yet they have left children, friends and acquaintances behind, and have, perhaps, bequeathed them a rich inheritance. Such heirs act very ungratefully in not erecting to their benefactors even a plain tombstone, and when one day they appear before the judgment-seat of God He will certainly not commend them for their penuriousness. If we lead a pious life, do much good for the honor of God and the salvation of man, and bequeath a blessed memory to our posterity, we erect to ourselves a monument more enduring and more magnificant than any this world can give.

3. Adorned with flowers. To adorn the grave with flowers is a beautiful and laudable custom, which has also an appropriate signification. The flowers on the graves remind us of the words of pious Job: "Man born of a woman, living a short time, is filled with many miseries. Who cometh forth like a flower, and is destroyed, and fleeth like a shadow."--Job, 14: 1, 3. Nothing is more frail than flowers. The majority bloom only a short time, some only a few days, or even only a few hours; they are also very sensitive, the least frost, cold air, even a few drops of rain, deprive them of their tender life. Is it otherwise with the life of man? May we not justly call ourselves men of to-day? Is not the most trifling thing often sufficient to destroy prematurely that life which is in itself fleeting. And yet many of us are so foolish as to be more solicitous for our frail, corruptible body than for our immortal soul.

Flowers are beautiful to the eye and spread a pleasant odor. Let us, then, when we see them on the graves, make the resolution to rejoice God and man by the sweet odor of a virtuous life, that we may be able to say with the Apostle: "We are unto God the good odor of Christ in them that are saved, and in them who perish."--II. Cor . 2: 15. Placed on the graves of the dead, flowers also serve to mitigate the sad aspect of the grave and to cover death and decay as much as possible. So far it is well and good; but it is not right, Christian friend, if without necessity you bring to light the faults and sins of the dead, if you slander and detract them even in the grave, and deprive them of their good name. Such conduct is certainly very uncharitable and so much the more to be reprehended as the dead can not defend themselves and seek justice. Learn, then, from the flowers on the graves to keep silence regarding the faults of the dead, unless an exception be necessary, and remember the proverb, De mortuis nil nisi bonum. Speak only what is good of the dead.


Part II.

If we cast a glance into the grave what do we see? We see:

1. What the dead man has in the grave. Alas! he has nothing but his winding-sheet and the coffin which contains his mouldering body. Though he may have been rich during life, though he may have had money by the millions, superb houses, immense possessions, and a lucrative business, he now possesses nothing of all these things; he must say with Job: "Only the grave remaineth for me." The Caliph Hesham, who died at Baspha, in the year 742, possessed seven hundred boxes of gold pieces, and so large a quantity of clothes and silk garments, that to remove these goods from one place to another six hundred camels were required. He had scarcely closed his eyes in death, when his palace was plundered, and there was not left even a basin in which to wash his inanimate body, not a piece of linen in which to wrap it for the grave. How poor death made this rich ruler! Did it leave him anything but the grave? How foolishly, then, do Christians act, who fix all their thoughts and cares upon temporal goods and thereby forget God and the salvation of their souls; yea, who suffer themselves to be governed by avarice and covetousness to such an extent, that they hard-heartedly turn the poor and needy from their door, and in their business transactions commit many injustices. Or, is it not the greatest folly and blindness, to forfeit heaven for the sake of such vain, perishable goods of earth, and to incur eternal damnation. Consider this well, and entertain no inordinate love for money and the goods of this world, be solicitous for temporal goods only in so far as they are necessary for your subsistence in this life and never forget the words of the Lord: "What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul."--Matt 16: 26.

2. What the dead man becomes in the grave. What does he become? You all know. After a few days the body decomposes, becomes mouldly, black and grey spots appear, the skin bursts and a greyish liquid oozes forth, an intolerable stench fills the grave, and would, if it found an exit, infect the air, worms grow in the flesh, which is devoured by them, and which falls in pieces from the bones, the head is devoid of hair, flesh and skin; where the mouth, ears and eyes formerly were, now only ghastly hollows are seen; by degrees the flesh is destroyed, and nothing remains but a skeleton, which also crumbles into dust in the course of time, so that what remains of man is nothing but a handful of dust. Such will be our condition one day; our body will moulder in the grave and return to dust and ashes. And this frail, perishable body, which has such a miserable end, should you so vainly decorate, so proudly dress, so extravagantly nurse it, and pride yourself upon its beauty, gratify its lusts and abuse it by sin and vices? When St. Francis Borgia, duke of Gandia, saw the body of Isabella, who in life was considered the most beautiful of women, so hideous and so disfigured, that the mere sight of it terrified him, he exclaimed: “O Isabella, what is now become of those eyes, that were once so sparkling? Where is now the beauty and charm of that countenance, which we so lately beheld? Are you her gracious majesty, Donna Isabel? Are you my empress, my lady, my mistress?" Returning from the funeral, he locked himself in his chamber, and passed the whole night without sleep. Prostrate on the floor, shedding a torrent of tears, he said to himself: "What is it, my soul, that I seek in the world ? How long shall I pursue and grasp at shadows? My God, my God, grant that I may never serve a master whom death can snatch from me." Shortly after he renounced all worldly honors and dignities, entered the Society of Jesus and became a great Saint. May a glance into the grave and upon the corpses decaying and mouldering therein induce you to resolve to lead a pious, penitential life, and especially to employ your body always as an instrument in the service of God, to mortify its sinful lusts and to permit nothing which is contrary to holy purity.


Part III.

In the light of faith we behold beyond the grave three places: heaven, hell and purgatory. In one or the other of these three places are the souls of all that have departed this life.

1. Which souls are in heaven?

(a) First of all, the souls of those children who died in their baptismal innocence. Happy children! They little felt the throes of death, since in their tender age they did not know what it is to die, and when their souls were separated from their bodies, they hastened directly to heaven. Such graves of innocent children are numerous in every cemetery; the good God snatches them away in their baptismal innocence, in order to complete the number of the elect in heaven. Christian parents, you must, it is true, be solicitous for the health and life of your children, and conscientiously employ the means necessary for that end; this is your bounden duty; but if God, nevertheless, permits one or the other of your children to die, and if it should be your only one, you must not grieve immoderatly on that account, for your departed children are well taken care of, and you, with all your love, care and solicitude would assuredly not have been able to give them anything better than heaven.

(b) Those souls which, while on earth, or in purgatory, have rendered perfect satisfaction for all their sins. I hope and trust in God that in our cemetery there are many graves of such blessed ones. There always have been Christians in our congregation who led a pious life and served God with zeal. When they died, they had not much to atone for in purgatory, and now they are in heaven. To this class belong many fathers and mothers, who walked in the fear of God, maintained good discipline among their children and servants, and led them to good; many sons and daughters, who in the midst of a depraved and degenerate world preserved their innocence, and by their piety and good morals edified the whole congregation; then, such as fell again and again and grievously sinned, but truly repented, since they afterwards lived a penitent life and were zealous in doing good, and especially since they endured the sufferings and tribulations of life with patience, they died a happy death and after being detained in purgatory for a longer or shorter period, were admitted into heaven. We may venture to say that in our parish there is scarcely a family which has not Saints, either children or adults, in heaven. What an encourage- ment for us to employ diligently the present time which God in his mercy gives us. How is it possible for sinners, even the greatest, not to feel animated and encouraged in all earnestness on this day to em- brace a life of penance, in order to be reconciled with God and to be numbered among the holy penitents in heaven for all eternity.

2. Which souls are in hell? Alas! there are many that enter eternity in the state of sin, and faith teaches us, that all who die in mortal sin are lost forever. Shall I enumerate those unfortunates? They are those fathers and mothers who had but little religion themselves, who did not bring up their children in virtue and the fear of God, and who connived at their dissipations and bad conduct. They now suffer a double pain in hell, because they are chastised not only for their own sins, but also for the sins of their children, which they did not endeavor to prevent. They are those sons and daughters who spent the best years of their life in levity and forgetfulness of God, and hardened their heart against all salutary admonitions. They are those married and single drunkards, those cursers and blasphemers, jesters and buffoons, who by their unchaste discourses, songs and jests poisoned innocence; those avaricious souls who grudged everything to themselves and others; the unjust, who commited many injustices and made no restitution; the vindictive, who would not hear of reconciliation, and therefore lived and died in enmity; the lukewarm, who neglected prayer, heard no sermons, read no spiritual books, confessed only once a year, and even then not well, and lived only for the world; finally, all who did no penance for their sins, but only a mock penance. Reflect seriously to-day upon the condition of your own soul, whether you are on the road to heaven or hell. Should your conscience reproach you, that all is not well with you, let the graves of the damned be an earnest invitation to you for a speedy repentance and amendment of life.

3. Finally, what souls are in purgatory? The souls of the just who departed this life either in venial sin, or who have yet to make some satisfaction to the justice of God for those sins which have been forgiven. Nothing defiled can enter heaven. He who dies in venial sins, which have not been forgiven, goes to purgatory and must suffer there till he has atoned for them. St. Gregory of Nyssa says: "If any one has departed this life knowing the difference between good and evil, he cannot approach the Deity, until a purifying fire has extinguished the stains with which the soul is contaminated." Those souls also go to purgatory, which have obtained the remission of their sins, but have not yet completely cancelled the temporal punishments. Such being the case, the number of Christians dying in advanced age, who will be translated into heaven without purgatory will be very small, because most of them at their death are either contaminated with venial sins, or have not fully satisfied for their temporal punishments. St. Catherine of Genoa says that only those who have to undergo, and do patiently endure, hard and lingering sufferings, can be admitted into heaven, to the vision of God, immediately after their death. Think then to-day of the souls of the faithful departed, detained in the prison of purgatory, descend in thought into those lower regions and consider what they are suffering, and do what you can in order to obtain for them eternal repose. Pray for them, have Masses offered for them, and apply to them the fruits of alms and other pious and good works. Christian love and gratitude should animate us to espouse zealously the cause of the poor souls in purgatory, since they are our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ, many of whom have done us much good in body and soul.


PERORATION.

In conclusion, I exhort you to visit the graves, not only to-day and during the Octave, but also on other occasions, especially on Sundays and holydays. All the graves you see remind you of the perishableness of all things earthly, the shortness of life, the certainty of death, and recall to you the words of holy Scripture: "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return"--Gen. 3: 19. Again, the graves call upon you to disengage your heart from all inordinate love of the world, to set the affairs of your conscience in order, and to be solicitous for the one thing necessary, the salvation of your soul. At the same time the graves admonish you to remember in charity the souls in purgatory and to beseech God, that He may console and refresh them in their sufferings, shorten the time of their punishment and conduct them into the dwelling of eternal repose. Thus the visits to the graves will prove both to you and to the suffering souls a blessing, and be to you and to them an excellent means for the obtaining of your eternal destiny. Amen.

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Fr. Hewko's Mass for All Souls - 2022 - "Purgatory Exists" (Ontario, Canada)

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Fr. Hewko's Mass for All Souls - 2023 - “Pray For the Dead That They Be Loosed From Their Sins” (NH)