Purgatory Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 9. Assistance given the Holy Souls - Suffrages - Meritorious, Impetratory, and Satisfactory Works - God's Mercy - Saint  Gertrude - Judas Machabeus

If God consoles the souls with so much goodness, His mercy shines forth still more clearly in the power which He gives to His Church to shorten the duration of their sufferings. Desiring to execute with clemency the severe sentence of His Justice, He accords abatement and mitigation of the pain; but He does so in an indirect manner through the intervention of the living. To us He gives all power to succor our afflicted brethren by way of suffrage, that is to say, by means of impetration and satisfaction.

The word suffrage in ecclesiastical language is a synonym of prayer, yet, when the Council of Trent declares that the souls in Purgatory are assisted by the suffrages of the faithful, the sense of the word is more comprehensive; it includes in general all that we can offer to God in behalf of the departed. Now, we can thus offer to God, not only our prayers, but all our good works, in so far as they are impetratory or satisfactory.

To understand these terms, let us recall to mind that each of our good works, performed in the state of grace, ordinarily possesses a triple value in the sight of God.

1. The work is meritorious, that is to say, it increases our merit; it gives us right to a new degree of glory in Heaven.

2. It is impetratory (impetrate, obtain), that is to say that, like a prayer, it has the virtue of obtaining some grace from God.

3. It is satisfactory, that is to say that as having, as it were, a pecuniary value, it can satisfy Divine Justice and pay our debts of temporal punishment before God.

The merit is inalienable, and remains the property of the person who performs the action. On the contrary, the impetratory and satisfactory value can benefit others, in virtue of the communion of saints. This understood, let us put this practical question - What are suffrages by which, according to the doctrine of the Church, we may aid the souls in Purgatory?

To this question we answer: They consist of prayers, alms, fasts, and penances of any kind, indulgences, and above all the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. All the works performed in the state of grace Jesus Christ allows us to offer to the Divine Majesty for the relief of our brethren in Purgatory, and God applies them to those souls according to His justice and Mercy. By this admirable arrangement, whilst protecting the rights of His justice, our Heavenly Father multiplies the effects of His Mercy, which is thus exercised at the same time in favor of the Church Suffering and of the Church Militant. The merciful assistance which He allows us to give to our suffering brethren is of excellent profit to ourselves. It is a work not only advantageous to the departed, but also holy and salutary for the living. Sancta et salubris est cogitatio pro defunctis exorare.

We read in the Revelations of Saint Gertrude that a humble Religious of her community, having crowned an exemplary life with a very pious death, God deigned to show the saint the state of the deceased in the other life. Gertrude saw her soul adorned with ineffable beauty, and dear to Jesus, who regarded her with love. Nevertheless, on account of some slight negligence not yet atoned for, she could not enter Heaven, but was obliged to descend into the dismal abode of suffering. Scarcely had she disappeared into its depths,
when the saint saw her come forth and rise towards Heaven, transported thither by the suffrages of the Church. Ecclesiae precibus sursum ferri. (Le gains Div. Pietatis, lib. 5., c. 5).

Even in the Old Law prayers and sacrifices were offered for the dead. Holy Scripture relates as praiseworthy the pious action of Judas Machabeus after his victory over Gorgias, general of King Antiochus. The soldiers had committed a fault by taking from among the spoils some objects offered to the idols, which by law they were forbidden to do. Then Judas, chief of the army of Israel, ordered prayers and sacrifices for the remission of their sin, and for the repose of their souls. Let us see how this fact is related in Scripture. (2 Machabees 12:39).

"After the Sabbath, Judas went with his company to take away the bodies of them that were slain, and to bury them with their kinsmen in the sepulchres of their fathers.

"And they found under the coats of the slain some of the donaries of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbiddeth to the Jews; so that all plainly saw that for this cause they were slain.

"Then they all blessed the just judgment of the Lord, who had discovered the things that were hidden.

"And so betaking themselves to prayers, they besought Him that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the most valiant Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves from sin, for so much as they saw before their eyes what had happened, because of the sin of those that were slain.

"And making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection.

"(For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness had great grace laid up for them).

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins."

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 10. Assistance given to the Holy Souls - Holy Mass - Saint Augustine and Saint Monica

In the New Law we have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, of which the divers sacrifices of the Mosaic Law were but feeble figures. The Son of God instituted it, not only as a worthy homage given by the creature to the Divine Majesty, but also as a propitiation for the living and the dead; that is to say, as an efficacious means of appeasing the Justice of God, provoked by our sins.

The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated for the departed, even from the time of the foundation of the Church. "We celebrate the anniversary of the triumph of the martyrs," writes Tertullian in the third century, "and, according to the tradition of our fathers, we offer the Holy Sacrifice for the departed on the anniversary of their death." (De Corona, c. 5)

"It cannot be doubted," writes Saint Augustine, "that the prayers of the Church, the Holy Sacrifice, and alms distributed for the departed, relieve those holy souls, and move God to treat them with more clemency than their sins deserve. It is the universal practice of the Church, a practice which she observes as having received it from her forefathers - that is to say, the holy Apostles." (Serm. 34, De Verbis Apost.)

Saint Monica, the worthy mother of Saint Augustine, when about to expire, asked but one thing of her son, that he would remember her at the altar of God; and the holy Doctor, when relating that touching circumstance in the Book of his Confessions, entreats all his readers to unite with him in recommending her to God during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. (Liv. 9., c. 5)

Wishing to return to Africa, Saint Monica went with Saint Augustine to Ostia, in order to embark; but she fell sick, and soon felt that her end was approaching. "It is here," said she to her son, "that you will give burial to your mother. The one thing I ask of you is that you will be mindful of me at the altar of the Lord." Ut ad altare Domini memineritis mei.

Saint Augustine continues: "May I be pardoned for the tears I then shed, for that death should not be mourned which was but the entrance to true life. Yet, considering with the eyes of faith the miseries of our fallen nature, I might shed before You, O Lord, other tears than those of the flesh, tears which flow at the thought of the peril to which every soul is exposed that has sinned in Adam.

"It is certain that my mother lived in such manner as to give glory to Your Name, by the activity of her faith and the purity of her morals; yet dare I affirm that no word contrary to Thy law has ever escaped her lips? Alas! what will become of the holiest life if Thou dost examine it in all the rigors of Thy justice? For this reason, O God of my heart, I leave aside the good works which my mother has performed to ask of Thee only the pardon of her sins. Hear me, by the wounds of Him who died for us upon the Cross, and who, now seated at Thy right hand, is our Mediator.

"I know that my mother always showed mercy, that she pardoned from her heart all offenses, and forgave all the debts owing to her. Cancel then her debts, if during the course of her long life there are any owing to Thee. Pardon her, O Lord, pardon her, and enter not into judgment against her; for Thy words are true; Thou hast promised mercy to the merciful.

"This mercy, I believe, Thou hast already shown to her, O my God; but accept the homage of my prayer. Remember that on her passage to the other life Thy servant desired for her body neither pompous funeral nor precious perfumes, she asked not a magnificent tomb, nor that she should be carried to that which she had caused to be constructed at Tagaste, her native place; but only that we should remember her at Thy altar, whose mysteries she prized.

"Thou knowest. Lord, all the days of her life she took part in those Divine Mysteries which contain the Holy Victim whose blood has effaced the sentence of our condemnation. Let her repose then in peace with my father, her husband, with the spouse to whom she was faithful during all the days of her union, and in the sorrows of her widowhood with him whose humble servant she made herself, to win him for Thee by her meekness and patience. And Thou, O my God, inspire Thy servants, who are my brethren, inspire all those who read these lines to remember at Thy altar Monica, Thy servant, and Patricius, who was her spouse; that all who still live in the false light of this world may piously remember my parents, that the last prayer of my dying mother may be heard beyond her expectations."

This beautiful passage of Saint Augustine shows us the opinion of this great Doctor on the subject of suffrages for the departed, and it makes us see clearly that the greatest of all suffrages is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 11. Assistance rendered to the Souls - Holy Mass - Jubilee of Leo XIH - Solemn Commemoration of the Dead on the Last Sunday in September

We have witnessed the holy enthusiasm with which the Church celebrated the Sacerdotal Jubilee of her venerated head, Pope Leo XIII. The faithful from all parts of the world went to Rome, either in person or in heart, to offer their homage and gifts at the feet of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. The entire Church Militant rejoiced in the midst of her long trials.

The Church Triumphant in Heaven shared in this rejoicing by the canonization and beatification of a large number of her glorious members. Was it not fitting that the Church Suffering should also participate therein?

Could our dear brethren in Purgatory be forgotten? Should not those souls so dear to the heart of Jesus also experience the happy effects of that glorious feast?

Leo XIII understood this. Always guided by the Holy Spirit, when acting as Supreme Pastor, the Pope, by an Encyclical Letter dated April 1, 1888, decreed that, throughout the entire Christian world, there should be a solemn Commemoration of the Dead on the last Sunday of the month of September. Calling to mind with what admirable love the Church Militant has manifested her joy, and how the Church Triumphant rejoiced with her, "To crown, in a certain sense," says our Holy Father, "this general exultation, we desire to fulfill, as perfectly as possible, the duty of our apostolic charity by extending the fullness of infinite spiritual treasures to those beloved sons of the Church who, having died the death of the just, have quitted this life of combat with the sign of faith, and have become offshoots of the mystic vine, although they are not permitted to enter into eternal peace until they shall have paid the last farthing of the debt which they owe to the avenging justice of God.

"We are moved thereto both by the pious desires of Catholics, to whom we know our resolution will be particularly dear, and by the agonizing intensity of the pains suffered by the departed souls; but we are especially inspired by the custom of the Church, who, in the midst of the most joyful solemnities of the year, forgets not the holy and salutary commemoration of the dead that they may be loosed from their sins.

"For this reason, since it is certain from Catholic doctrine that the souls detained in Purgatory are relieved by the suffrages of the faithful, and especially by the august Sacrifice of the Altar, we think we can give no more useful nor more desirable pledge of our love than by everywhere multiplying, for the mitigation of their pains, the pure oblation of the Holy Sacrifice of our Divine Mediator.

"We therefore appoint, with all necessary dispensations and derogations, the last Sunday of the month of September next as a day of ample expiation; on which day there shall be celebrated by us, and likewise by our brethren the Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, and by all other Prelates exercising jurisdiction in a diocese, each in his own patriarchal church, metropolitan or cathedral, a special Mass for the dead, with all possible solemnity, and according to the rite indicated by the missal for the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed. We approve that the same be done in the parochial and collegiate churches, secular as well as regular, provided the Office proper for the Mass of the day everywhere where such obligation exists be not omitted.

"As regards the faithful, we earnestly exhort them, after having received the Sacrament of Penance, to devoutly nourish themselves with the bread of angels by way of suffrage for the souls in Purgatory.

"By our apostolic authority, to those of the faithful who do so we grant a plenary indulgence, to be applied to the souls departed, and the favor of the privileged altar to all those who, as we have said above, shall celebrate Mass.

"Thus the holy souls who expiate the remains of their faults by those sharp pains will receive special and efficacious relief, thanks to the Saving Host which the Universal Church, united to her visible Head, and animated with the same spirit of charity, will offer to God, that He may admit them into the abode of consolation, of light, and of eternal peace.

"Meanwhile, venerable brethren, we grant you affectionately in the Ford, as a pledge of these heavenly gifts, the apostolic benediction to you, to all the clergy, and to all the people confided to your care.

"Given at Rome, under the seal of the Fisherman, on the solemnity of Easter, in the year 1888, the eleventh of our Pontificate."

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 12. Means of Assisting the Souls in Purgatory - Holy Mass - The Religious of Citeaux delivered by the Sacred Host - Blessed Henry Suso

No, of all that we can do in favor of the souls in Purgatory, there is nothing more precious than the immolation of our Divine Saviour upon the altar. Besides being the express doctrine of the Church, manifested in her Councils, many miraculous facts, properly authenticated, leave no room for doubt in regard to this point. We have already spoken of the Religious who was delivered from Purgatory by the prayers of Saint Bernard and his community. This Religious, whose regularity was not all that could be desired, had appeared after his death to ask the assistance of Saint Bernard. The holy Abbot, with all his fervent disciples, hastened to offer prayers, fasts, and Masses for the poor departed brother. The latter was speedily delivered, and appeared, full of gratitude, to an aged Religious of the community who had specially interested himself in his behalf. Questioned as to the suffrage which had been most profitable to him, instead of replying, he took the old man by the hand, and, conducting him to the church where Mass was being celebrated, "Behold," said he, pointing to the altar, "the great redeeming power which has broken my chains; behold the price of my ransom: it is the Saving Host, which takes away the sins of the world." (L'Abbe Postel, Le Purgatoire, chap. 5; cf. Rossign., Merv., 47)

Here is another incident, related by the historian Ferdinand of Castile, and quoted by Father Rossignoli. There was at Cologne, among the students in the higher classes of the university, two Dominican Religious of distinguished talent, one of whom was Blessed Henry Suso. The same studies, the same kind of life, and above all the same relish for sanctity, had caused them to contract an intimate friendship, and they mutually imparted the favors which they received from Heaven.

When they had finished their studies, seeing that they were about to be separated, to return each one to his own convent, they agreed and promised one another that the first of the two who should die should be assisted by the other for a whole year by the celebration of two Masses each week - on Monday a Mass of Requiem, as was customary, and on Friday that of the Passion, in so far as the Rubrics would permit. They engaged to do this, gave each other the kiss of peace, and left Cologne.

For several years they both continued to serve God with the most edifying fervor. The brother whose name is not mentioned was the first to be called away, and Suso received the tidings with the most perfect sentiments of resignation to the Divine will. As to the contract they had made, time had caused him to forget it. He prayed much for his friend, imposing new penances upon himself, and many other good works, but he did not think of offering the Masses which he had promised.

One morning, whilst meditating in retirement in the chapel, he suddenly saw appear before him the soul of his departed friend, who, regarding him with tenderness, reproached him with having been unfaithful to his word, given and accepted, and which he had a perfect right to rely upon with confidence. Blessed Suso, surprised, excused his forgetfulness by enumerating the prayers and mortifications which he had offered, and still continued to offer, for his friend, whose salvation was as dear to him as his own. "Is it possible, my dear brother," he added, "that so many prayers and good works which I have offered to God do not suffice for you?" "Oh! no, dear brother," replied the suffering soul, "that is not sufficient. It is the Blood of Jesus Christ that is needed to extinguish the flames by which I am consumed; it is the August Sacrifice which will deliver me from these frightful torments, I implore you to keep your word, and refuse me not that which injustice you owe me."

Blessed Suso hastened to respond to the appeal of the suffering soul; and, to repair his fault, he celebrated, and caused to be celebrated, more Masses than he had promised. On the following day several priests, at the request of Suso, united with him in offering the Holy Sacrifice for the deceased, and continued this act of charity for several days. After some time the friend of Suso again appeared to him, but now in a very different condition; his countenance was joyful, and surrounded with beautiful light. "Oh! thanks, my faithful friend," said he; "behold, by the Blood of my Saviour I am delivered from my sufferings. I am now going to Heaven to contemplate Him whom we so often adored together under the Eucharistic veil." Suso prostrated himself to thank the God of all mercy, and understood more than ever the inestimable value of the August Sacrifice of the Altar. (Rossignoli, Merv., 34, and Ferdinand de Castile).

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 13. Relief of the Souls - Holy Mass - Saint Elizabeth and Queen Constance - Saint Nicholas of Tolentino and Pellegrino d'Osimo

We read in the Life of Saint Elizabeth of Portugal that after the death of her daughter Constance she learned the pitiful state of the deceased in Purgatory and the price which God exacted for her ransom. The young princess had been married but a short time previous to the King of Castile, when she was snatched away by sudden death from the affection of her family and her subjects. Elizabeth had just received these tidings, and set out with the King, her husband, for the city of Santarem, when a hermit, coming forth from his solitude, ran after the royal cortege, crying that he wished to speak to the Queen. The guards repulsed him, but the saint, seeing that he persisted, gave orders that the servant of God should be brought to her.

As soon as he came into her presence, he related that more than once whilst he was praying in his hermitage Queen Constance had appeared to him, urgently entreating him to make known to her mother that she was languishing in the depths of Purgatory, that she was condemned to long and terrible suffering, but that she would be delivered if for the space of a year the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass was celebrated for her every day. The courtiers who heard this communication ridiculed him aloud, and treated the hermit as a visionary, an impostor, or a fool.

As to Elizabeth, she turned towards the King and asked him what he thought of it. "I believe," replied the Prince, "that it is wise to do that which has been pointed out to you in so extraordinary a manner. After all, to have Masses celebrated for our dear deceased relatives is nothing more than a paternal and Christian duty." A holy priest, Ferdinand Mendez, was appointed to say the Masses.

At the end of the year Constance appeared to Saint Elizabeth, clad in a brilliant white robe. "Today, dear mother," said she, "I am delivered from the pains of Purgatory, and am about to enter Heaven." Filled with consolation and joy, the saint went to the church to return thanks to God. There she found the priest Mendez, who assured her that on the previous day he had finished the celebration of the three hundred and sixty-five Masses with which he had been charged. The Queen then understood that God had kept the promise which He had made to the pious hermit, and she testified her gratitude by distributing abundant alms to the poor.

But thou hast saved us from them that afflict us, and thou hast put them to shame that hate us. (Psalm 43). Such were the words addressed to the illustrious Saint Nicholas of Tolentino by the souls that he had delivered in offering for them the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. One of the greatest virtues of that admirable servant of God, says Father Rossignoli, was his charity, his devotion to the Church Suffering. (Merv., 21; Vie de Saint Nic. de Tolentino, Sept. 10). For her he frequently fasted on bread and water, inflicted cruel disciplines upon himself, and wore about his loins a chain of sharp-pointed iron. When the sanctuary was thrown open to him, and his superiors wished to confer the priesthood upon him, he hesitated a long time before that sublime dignity, and nothing could make him decide to receive holy orders but the thought that by daily celebrating the Holy Sacrifice he could most efficaciously assist the suffering souls in Purgatory. On their part, the souls whom he relieved by so many suffrages appeared to him several times to thank him or to recommend themselves to his charity.

He lived near Pisa, entirely occupied with his spiritual exercises, when one Saturday during the night he saw in a dream a soul in pain, who besought him to celebrate Holy Mass on the following morning for h[im] and several other souls that suffered most terribly in Purgatory. Nicholas recognized the voice, but could not distinctly call to mind the person who spoke to him. "I am," said the apparition, "your deceased friend Pellegrino d'Osimo. By the Divine Mercy I have escaped eternal chastisement by repentance; not so the temporal punishment due to my sins. I come in the name of many souls as unfortunate as myself to entreat you to offer Holy Mass for us tomorrow; from it we expect our deliverance, or at least great alleviation." The saint replied, with his usual kindness, "May Our Lord deign to relieve you by the merits of His precious Blood! But this Mass for the dead I cannot say tomorrow; I must sing the Conventual Mass in choir." "Ah! at least come with me," cried the departed soul, amid sighs and tears; "I conjure you, for the love of God, come and behold our sufferings, and you will no longer refuse; you are too good to leave us in such frightful agonies."

Then it seemed to him that he was transported into Purgatory. He saw an immense plain, where a vast multitude of souls, of all ages and conditions, were a prey to divers tortures most horrible to behold. By gestures and by words they implored most piteously his assistance. "Behold," said Pellegrino, "the state of those who sent me to you. Since you are agreeable in the sight of God, we have confidence that He will refuse nothing to the oblation of the Sacrifice offered by you, and that His Divine Mercy will deliver us."

At this pitiful sight the saint could not repress his tears. He immediately betook himself to prayer, to console them in their sorrow, and the following morning went to the Prior, relating to him the vision he had had, and the request made by Pellegrino concerning the Mass for that day. The Father Prior, sharing his emotion, dispensed him for that day, and for the rest of the week, from saying the conventual Mass, that he might offer the Holy Sacrifice for the departed, and devote himself entirely to the relief of the suffering souls. Delighted with this permission, Nicholas went to the church and celebrated Holy Mass with extraordinary fervor. During the entire week he continued to celebrate the Holy Sacrifice for the same intention, besides offering day and night prayers, disciplines, and all sorts of good works.

At the end of the week Pellegrino again appeared, but no longer in a state of suffering; he was clad in a white garment and surrounded with a celestial light, in which he pointed out a large number of happy souls. They all thanked him, calling him their liberator; then rising towards Heaven, they chanted these words of the Psalmist, Salvasti nos de affligentibus nos, et odientes nos confudisti - "Thou hast saved us from them that afflict us, and thou hast put them to shame that hate us." (Psalm 43). The enemies here spoken of are sins, and the demons who are their instigators.

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 14. Relief of the Holy Souls - Holy Mass - Father Gerard - The Thirty Masses of Saint Gregory

Let us now consider the supernatural effects of a different kind, but which prove no less clearly the efficacy of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for the departed. We find them in the Memoirs of Father Gerard, an English Jesuit and Confessor of the Faith during the persecutions in England in the sixteenth century. After relating how he had received the abjuration of a Protestant gentleman, married to one of his cousins. Father Gerard adds, "This conversion led to another under the most extraordinary circumstances. My new convert went to see one of his friends who was dangerously ill. This was an upright man, detained in heresy more by illusion than by any other motive. The visitor urgently exhorted him to be converted, and to think of his soul; and obtained from him the promise that he would make his Confession. He instructed him in everything, taught him how to excite himself to contrition for his sins, and went to seek for a priest. He had great difficulty in finding one, and in the meantime the sick person died. When about to expire, the poor dying man asked frequently whether his friend had not yet returned with the physician whom he had promised to bring; it was thus he called the Catholic priest.

"What followed showed that God had accepted the good will of the deceased. The nights following his death, his wife, a Protestant, saw a light moving in her room, and which came even within the curtains of her bed. Being afraid, she desired one of her servant maids to sleep in her room; but the latter saw nothing, although the light continued to be visible to the eyes of her mistress. The poor lady sent for the friend whose return her husband had awaited with so much anxiety, related to him what had happened, and asked what was to be done.

"This friend before giving an answer consulted a Catholic priest. The priest told him that the light was, for the wife of the deceased, a supernatural sign by which God invited her to return to the True Faith. The lady was deeply impressed by these words; she opened her heart to grace, and in her turn was converted.

"Once a Catholic, she had Mass celebrated in her chamber for some time; but the light always returned. The priest considering these circumstances before God, thought that the deceased, though saved by his repentance accompanied by the desire of Confession, was in Purgatory, and stood in need of prayers. He advised the lady to have Mass said for him during thirty days, according to an ancient custom of English Catholics. The good widow followed this advice, and on the thirtieth day, instead of one light, saw three, two of which seemed to support another. The three lights hovered over her bed, then rose heavenward, never more to return. These three lights appear to have signified the three conversions, and the efficacy of the Holy Sacrifice of the
Mass to open Heaven to the departed souls."

The thirty Masses which were said for thirty consecutive days is not an English custom only, as it is called by Father Gerard, it is also widely spread in Italy and other Christian countries. These Masses are called the Thirty Masses of Saint Gregory, because the pious custom seems to trace its origin back to this great Pope. It is thus related in his Dialogues (Book 4, chap. 40): A Religious, named Justus, had received and kept for himself three gold pieces. This was a grievous fault against his vow of poverty. He was discovered and
excommunicated. This salutary penalty made him enter into himself, and some time afterwards he died in true
sentiments of repentance. Nevertheless, Saint Gregory, in order to inspire the brethren with a lively horror of the sin of avarice in a Religious, did not withdraw the sentence of excommunication: Justus was buried apart from the other monks, and the three pieces of money were thrown into the grave, whilst the Religious repeated all together the words of Saint Peter to Simon the Magician, Pecunia tua tecum sit in perditionem - "Keep thy money to perish with thee."

Some time afterwards, the holy Abbot, judging that the scandal was sufficiently repaired, and moved with
compassion for the soul of Justus, called the Procurator and said to him sorrowfully, "Ever since the moment of his death, our brother has been tortured in the flames of Purgatory; we must through charity make an effort to deliver him. Go, then, and take care that from this time forward the Holy Sacrifice be offered for thirty days; let not one morning pass without the Victim of Salvation being offered up for his release."

The Procurator obeyed punctually. The thirty Masses were celebrated in the course of thirty days. When the thirtieth day arrived and the thirtieth Mass was ended, the deceased appeared to a brother named Copiosus, saying, "Bless God, my dear brother, today I am delivered and admitted into the society of the saints."

Since that time the pious custom of celebrating thirty Masses for the dead has been established.

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 15. Relief of the Holy Souls - Eugenie Wybo - Lacordaire and the Polish Prince

Nothing is more conformable to the Christian spirit than to have the Holy Sacrifice offered up for the relief of the souls departed, and it would be a great misfortune should the zeal of the faithful cool in this respect. God seems to multiply prodigies in order to prevent us from falling into so fatal a relaxation. The following incident is attested by a worthy priest of the diocese of Bruges, who received it from its primitive source, and whose testimony bears all the certainty of an eyewitness with regard to the fact: On 13 October 1849, there died at the age of fifty- two, in the parish of Ardoye, in Flanders, a woman named Eugenie Van de Kerckove, whose husband, John Wybo, was a farmer. She was a pious and charitable woman, giving alms with a generosity proportionate to her means. She had, to the end of her life, a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin, and abstained in her honor on the Friday and Saturday of each week. Although her conduct was not free from certain domestic faults, she otherwise led a most exemplary and edifying life.

A servant named Barbara Vennecke, aged twenty-eight years, a virtuous and devoted girl, and who had assisted her mistress in her last sickness, continued to serve her master, John Wybo, the widower of Eugenie.

About three weeks after her death, the deceased appeared to her servant under circumstances which we are about to relate. It was in the middle of the night; Barbara slept soundly, when she heard herself called distinctly three times by her name. She awoke with a start, and saw before her her mistress, sitting on the side of her bed, clad in a working dress, consisting of a skirt and short jacket. At this sight, strange to say, although seized with astonishment, Barbara was not at all frightened, and preserved her presence of mind. The apparition spoke to her: "Barbara," she said, simply pronouncing her name. "What do you desire, Eugenie?" replied the servant. "Take," said the mistress, "the little rake which I often told you to put in its place; stir the heap of sand in the little room; you know to which one I refer. You will there find a sum of money; use it to have Masses said, two francs for each, for my intention, for I am still suffering." "I will do so, Eugenie," replied Barbara, and at the same moment the apparition vanished. The servant, still quite calm, fell asleep again, and reposed quietly until morning.

On awaking, Barbara believed herself the sport of a dream, but she had been so deeply impressed, so wide awake, she had seen her old mistress in a form so distinct, so full of life, she had received from her lips such precise directions, that she could not help saying, "It is not thus that we dream I saw my mistress in person; she presented herself to my eyes and spoke to me. It is no dream, but a reality."

She therefore went and took the rake as directed, stirred the sand, and drew out a purse containing the sum of five hundred francs.

In such strange and extraordinary circumstances the good girl thought it her duty to seek the advice of her pastor, and went to relate to him all that had happened. The venerable Abbe R., then parish priest of Ardoye, replied that the Masses asked by the departed soul must be celebrated, but, in order to dispose of the sum of money, the consent of the farmer, John Wybo, was necessary. The latter willingly consented that the money should be employed for so holy a purpose, and the Masses were celebrated, being given two francs for each Mass.

We call attention to the circumstance of the fee, because it corresponded with the pious custom of the deceased. The fee for a Mass fixed by the diocesan tariff was about a franc and a half, but the wife of Wybo, through consideration for the clergy, obliged at that time of scarcity to relieve a great number of the poor, gave two francs for each Mass she had been accustomed to have celebrated.

Two months after the first apparition, Barbara was again awakened during the night. This time her chamber was
illuminated with a bright light, and her mistress, beautiful and fresh as in the days of her youth, dressed in a robe of dazzling whiteness, appeared before her, regarding her with an amiable smile. "Barbara, " she said in a clear and audible voice, "I thank you; I am delivered. " Saying these words, she disappeared, and the chamber became dark as before. The servant, amazed at what she had seen, was transported with joy. This apparition made the most lively impression upon her mind, and she preserves to this day the most consoling remembrance of it. It is from her that we have these details, through the favor of the venerable Abbe L., who was curate at Ardoye when these facts occurred.

The celebrated Father Lacordaire, in the be ginning of the conferences on the immortality of the soul, which he addressed a few years before his death to the pupils of Soreze, related to them the following incident:

The Polish prince of X., an avowed infidel and materialist, had just composed a work against the immortality of the soul. He was on the point of sending it to press, when one day walking in his park, a woman bathed in tears threw herself at his feet and in accents of profound grief said to him, "My good Prince, my husband has just died. ... At this moment his soul is perhaps suffering in Purgatory. I am in such poverty that I have not even the small sum required to have a Mass celebrated for the dead. In your kindness come to my assistance in behalf of my poor husband."

Although the gentleman was convinced that the woman was deceived by her credulity, he had not courage to refuse her. He slipped a gold piece into her hand, and the happy woman hastened to the church, and begged the priest to offer some Masses for the repose of her husband's soul. Five days later, towards evening, the prince, in the seclusion of his study, was reading over his manuscript and retouching some details, when, raising his eyes, he saw, close to him, a man dressed in the costume of the peasants of the country. "Prince," said the unknown visitor, "I come to thank you, I am the husband of that poor woman who besought you the other day to give her an alms, that she might have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for the repose of my soul. Your charity was pleasing to God: it was He who permitted me to come and thank you."

These words said, the Polish peasant disappeared like a shadow. The emotion of the prince was indescribable, and in consequence he consigned his work to the flames, and yielded himself so entirely to the conviction of truth that his conversion was complete. He persevered until death.

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 16. Relief of the Holy Souls - Liturgy of the Church - Commemoration of the Dead - Saint Odilo

Holy Church possesses a special liturgy for the dead: it is composed of vespers, matins, lauds and of the Mass commonly called the Mass of Requiem. This liturgy, as touching as it is sublime, through mourning and tears unfolds to the eyes of the faithful the consoling light of eternity. This liturgy she reads at the funerals of her children, and particularly on the solemn day of the Commemoration of the Dead. Holy Mass here holds the first place; it is like the divine center round which all other prayers and ceremonies cluster. The day following All Saints' Day, the great solemnity of All Souls, all priests must offer the Holy Sacrifice for the dead; at which the faithful make it their duty to assist, and even to offer Holy Communion, prayers and alms, for the relief of their brethren in Purgatory. This feast of the departed is not of very ancient origin. From the beginning the Church has always prayed for her departed children: she sang psalms, recited prayers, offered Holy Mass for the repose of their souls.

Yet we do not see that there was any particular feast on which to recommend to God all the dead in general. It was not until the tenth century that the Church, always guided by the Holy Ghost, instituted the Commemoration of all the faithful departed, to encourage the faithful to fulfill the great duty of prayer for the dead, prescribed by Christian charity.

The cradle of this touching solemnity was the Abbey of Cluny. Saint Odilo, who was Abbot there at the close of the tenth century, edified all France by his charity towards his neighbor. Extending his compassion even to the dead, he ceased not to pray for the souls in Purgatory. It was this tender charity which inspired him to establish in his monastery, as also in its dependencies, the feast of the commemoration of all the souls departed. We believe, says the historian Berault, that he had received a revelation to that effect, for God manifested in a miraculous manner how pleasing to Him was the devotion of His servant. It is thus related by his biographers. Whilst the holy Abbot governed his monastery in France, a pious hermit lived in a little island off the coast of Sicily. A French pilgrim was cast upon the shore of this little island by a tempest. The hermit, whom he went to visit, asked him if he knew the Abbot Odilo.

"Certainly," replied the pilgrim, "I know him, and am proud of his acquaintance; but how do you know him, and why do you ask me this question?" "I often hear," replied the hermit, "the evil spirits complain of pious persons who, by their prayers and alms deeds, deliver the souls from the pains which they endure in the other life, but they complain principally of Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, and his Religious. When, therefore, you shall have returned to your native country, I beg of you, in the name of God, to exhort the holy Abbot and his monks to redouble their good works in behalf of the poor souls."

The pilgrim betook himself to the monastery and did as he was directed. In consequence. Saint Odilo gave orders that in all the monasteries of his Institute, on the day following All Saints, a commemoration of all the faithful departed should be made, by reciting the vespers for the dead on the eve, and on following morning matins; by ringing all the bells and celebrating Mass for repose of the holy souls. This decree, which was drawn up at Cluny, as well for that monastery as for all those dependent upon it, is still preserved. A practice so pious soon passed over to other churches, and in course of time became the universal observance of the whole Catholic world.

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 17. Relief of the Souls - The Sacrifice of the Mass - Brother John of Alvernia at the Altar - Saint Magdalen de Razz! - Saint Malachy and his Sister

The annals of the Seraphic Order tell us of a holy Religious named John of Alvernia. He ardently loved Our Lord Jesus Christ, and embraced in the same love the souls ransomed by His Blood and so dear to His Heart. Those who suffered in the prisons of Purgatory had a large share in his prayers, his penances, and his sacrifices. One day God was pleased to manifest to him the admirable and consoling effects of the Divine Sacrifice offered on All Souls' Day upon every altar. The Servant of God was celebrating Mass for the departed on that solemnity when he was rapt in ecstasy. He saw Purgatory opened, and souls coming forth delivered by virtue of the Sacrifice of Propitiation; they resembled innumerable sparks which escaped from a burning furnace.

We shall be less astonished at the powerful effects of holy Mass if we call to mind that it is identically the same as that offered by the Son of God Himself upon the Cross. It is the same Priest, says the Council of Trent, it is the same Victim, the only difference is in the manner of immolation; on the Cross the immolation was bloody, on our altar it is unbloody.

Now, that sacrifice of the cross was of infinite value; that of the altar is, in the eyes of God, of equal value. Let us remark, however, that the efficacy of this Divine Sacrifice is only partially applied to the dead, and in a measure known only to the justice of God. The Passion of Jesus Christ and His Precious Blood shed for our salvation are an inexhaustible ocean of merit and satisfaction. It is by virtue of that Passion that we obtain all gifts and mercies from God.

The mere commemoration which we make of it by way of prayer, when we offer to God the Blood of His only-begotten Son, to implore His mercy, this prayer I say, thus strengthened by the Passion of Jesus Christ, has great power with God. Saint Magdalen de Pazzi learned from Our Lord to offer to the Eternal Lather the Blood of His Divine Son. It was a simple commemoration of the Passion. She did it fifty times a day, and in one of her ecstasies she saw a large number of sinners converted, and of souls delivered from Purgatory by this practice. "Each time," He added, "that a creature offers to my Lather the Blood by which she has been redeemed, she offers Him a gift of infinite value." If such be the value of an offering commemorative of the Passion, what must be said of the Sacrifice of the Mass, which is the actual renewal of that same Passion?

Many Christians do not sufficiently know the greatness of the Divine Mysteries accomplished upon our altars; the feebleness of their faith, together with their lack of knowledge, prevents them from appreciating the treasure which they possess in the Divine Sacrifice, and causes them to look upon it with a sort of indifference. Alas! they will see later on, with bitter regret, how they have deceived themselves. The sister of Saint Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, in Ireland, affords us a striking example of this.

In his beautiful Life of Saint Malachy Saint Bernard highly praises that prelate for his devotion towards the souls in Purgatory. When he was as yet deacon, he loved to assist at the funerals of the poor, and at the Mass which was celebrated for them; he even accompanied their remains to the cemetery with as much zeal as he ordinarily saw those unfortunate creatures neglected after their death. But he had a sister, who, filled with the spirit of the world, thought that her brother degraded himself and his whole family by thus associating with the poor. She reproached him, showing by her language that she understood neither Christian Charity nor the excellence of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Malachy, notwithstanding, continued the exercise of his humble Charity, contenting himself with replying to his sister that she had forgotten the teaching of Jesus Christ, and that she would one day repent of her thoughtless words. In the meantime the imprudent rashness of this woman was not to remain unpunished; she died whilst still young, and went to render an account to the Sovereign Judge of the worldly life she had led.

Malachy had reason to complain of her conduct, but when she was dead he forgot all the wrongs she had done him, and thinking only of the needs of her soul, he offered the Holy Sacrifice and prayed much for her. In the course of time, however, having many others to pray for, he neglected his poor sister. "We may believe," says Lather Rossignoli, "that God permitted that she should be forgotten, in punishment for the want of compassion which she showed towards the dead."

However this may be, she appeared to her holy brother during his sleep. Malachy saw her standing in the middle of the area before the church, sad, clad in mourning, and entreating his compassion, complaining that for the last thirty days he had neglected her. He thereupon awoke suddenly, and remembered that in reality it was thirty days since he had celebrated Mass for his sister. On the following day he began anew to offer the Holy Sacrifice for her. Then the deceased appeared to him at the door of the church, kneeling upon the threshold, and lamenting that she was not allowed to enter. He continued his suffrages. Some days later he saw her enter the church and advance as far as the middle of the aisle, without being able, notwithstanding all her efforts, to approach the altar. He saw, therefore, it was necessary to persevere, so he continued to offer the Holy Sacrifice for the repose of her soul. Finally, after a few days he saw her near the altar, clad in magnificent attire, radiant with joy, and free from suffering.

"By this we see," adds Saint Bernard, "how great is the efficacy of the Holy Sacrifice to remit sins, to combat the powers of darkness, and to open the gates of Heaven to those souls which have quitted this earth."

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Part Two - Purgatory, The Mystery of God's Mercy

"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins." -2 Machabees 12:46


Chapter 18. Relief of the Souls - Holy Mass - Saint Malachy at Clairvaux - Sister Zenaide - Venerable Joseph Anchieta and the
Requiem Mass

We must not omit to recount the special grace which the great charity of Saint Malachy towards the holy souls procured for him One day, being in the company of several pious persons, and conversing familiarly on spiritual matters, they came to speak of their last end. "If," said he, "the choice were given to each one of you, at what hour and in what place would you like to die?" At this question one mentioned a certain feast, another such an hour, others, again, at such a place. When it came to the saint's turn to express his thoughts, he said that there was no place where he would more willingly end his life than in the Monastery of Clairvaux, governed by Saint Bernard, in order that he might immediately enjoy the benefit of the sacrifices of those fervent Religious; and as to the time, he preferred, he said, the day of All Souls, that he might have part in all the Masses and all the prayers offered throughout the entire Catholic world for the faithful departed.

This, his pious desire, was gratified in every point. He was on his way to Rome to visit Pope Eugenius III, when, arriving at Clairvaux a little before All Saints, he was overtaken by a serious malady, which obliged him to remain in that holy retreat. He soon understood that God had heard his prayers, and cried out with the prophet. This is my rest for ever and ever; here will I dwell, for I have chosen it. (Psalm 131). In fact, the day following. All Saints', whilst the whole Church was praying for the departed, he rendered his soul into the hands of his Creator.

"We have known," says the Abbe Postel, "a holy Religious, Sister Zenaide, who, afflicted with a frightful malady for several years, asked Our Lord the grace to die on the Feast of All Souls, towards whom she had always had great devotion. Her desire was granted. On the morning of November 2, after two years of suffering endured with truly Christian courage, she began to sing a hymn of thanksgiving, and calmly expired a few moments before the celebration of the Masses.

We know that in the Catholic liturgy there is a special Mass for the dead; it is celebrated in black vestments, and is called Mass of Requiem. It may be asked whether this Mass is more profitable to the souls than any other? The Sacrifice of the Mass, notwithstanding the variety of its ceremonies, is always the same infinitely holy Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ; but as the Mass for the Dead contains special prayers for the holy souls, it also obtains special assistance for them, at least at those times when the liturgical laws permit the priest to celebrate in black. This opinion, based on the institution and practice of the Church, is confirmed by a fact which we read in the Life of Venerable Father Joseph Anchieta.

This holy Religious, justly surnamed the Wonder-worker of Brazil, had, like all the saints, great charity towards the holy souls in Purgatory. One day during the Octave of Christmas, when the Church forbids the celebration of Requiem Masses, on the 27th of December, Feast of Saint John the Evangelist, this man of God, to the great astonishment of all, ascended the altar in black vestments, and offered the Holy Sacrifice for the Dead.

His superior. Father Nobrega, knowing the sanctity of Anchieta, doubted not that he had received a Divine inspiration; nevertheless, to remove from such conduct the character of irregularity which it appeared to have, he reprimanded the holy man in presence of all the brethren. "What, Father," said he to him, "do you not know that the Church forbids the celebration of Mass in black today? Have you forgotten the Rubrics?" 

The good Father, quite humble and obedient, replied with respectful simplicity that God had revealed to him the death of a Father of the Society. This Father, his fellow student at the University of Coimbra, and who at that time resided in Italy, in the College of the holy House of Loreto, had died that same night. "God," he continued, "made this known to me, and gave me to understand that I should offer the Holy Sacrifice for him immediately, and do all in my power for the repose of his soul." "But," said the Superior, "do you know that the Mass celebrated as you have done will be of any benefit to him?" "Yes," modestly replied Anchieta, "immediately after the memento for the dead, when I said these words: To Thee, God the Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, all honor and glory! God showed me the soul of that dear friend, freed from all its sufferings and ascending to Heaven, where his crown awaited him."