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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/7977-8.txt b/7977-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1162625 --- /dev/null +++ b/7977-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,16870 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Purgatory, by Mary Anne Madden Sadlier + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Purgatory + +Author: Mary Anne Madden Sadlier + +Release Date: April, 2005 [EBook #7977] +[This file was first posted on June 8, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, PURGATORY *** + + + + +This E-text was prepared by Juliet Sutherland, Joshua Hutchinson, Charles +Franks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + +PURGATORY: + +Doctrinal, Historical and Poetical, + +BY + +MRS. J. SADLIER + + + + + + + + LO! PURGATORY! DOCTRINE BLEST, + ENGARLANDED WITH LEGENDS WILD, + HISTORIC LORE AND POETRY'S FAIR FLOWERS! + +_"Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name: the just +wait for me, until thou reward me."_ + +Ps. CXLI 8. + + + + +DEDICATION + +TO THE GRACIOUS MEMORY OF MY DEARLY-BELOVED SON, REV. FRANCIS X. +SADLIER, S.J. WHOSE TENDER DEVOTION TO THE Souls in Purgatory LED HIM +TO TAKE A DEEP AND ACTIVE INTEREST IN THE PROGRESS OF THIS WORK, BUT +WHO WAS NOT PERMITTED TO SEE ITS COMPLETION, BEING CALLED HENCE, +SCARCELY THREE MONTHS AFTER HIS ORDINATION, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH +CONSECRATED TO THOSE Holy Souls, _November 14th, 1885._ + +R. I. P. + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +I have written many books and translated many more on a great variety +of subjects, nearly all of which, I thank God now with all my heart, +were more or less religious, at least in their tendency; but the circle +of these my life-long labors seems to me incomplete. One link is +wanting to the chain, and that is a work specially devoted to the souls +in Purgatory. This omission I am anxious to supply while the working +days of my life are still with me, for, a few more years, at most, and +for me "the night cometh when no man can work." + +As we advance into the vale of years and journey on the downward slope, +we are happily drawn more and more towards the eternal truths of the +great untried world beyond the grave. Foremost amongst these stands out +more and still more clearly, in all its awful reality, the dread but +consoling doctrine of Purgatory. When we have seen many of our best +beloved relatives, many of our dearest and most devoted friends--those +who started with us in "the freshness of morning" on the road of life, +which then lay so deceitfully fair and bright before them and us--they +who shared our early hopes and aspirations, and whose words and smiles +were the best encouragement of our feeble efforts--when we have seen +them sink, one by one, into the darkness of the grave, leaving the +earth more bleak and dreary year by year for those who remain--then do +we naturally follow them in spirit to those gloomy regions where one or +all may be undergoing that blessed purification which prepares them for +the eternal repose of Heaven. + +Of all the divine truths which the Catholic Church proposes to her +children, assuredly none is more acceptable to the pilgrim race of Adam +than that of Purgatory. It is, beyond conception, dear and precious as +one of the links that connect the living with the vanished dead, and +which keeps them fresh in the memory of those who loved them on earth, +and whose dearest joy it is to be able to help them in that shadowy +border-land through which, in pain and sorrow, they must journey before +entering the Land of Promise, which is the City of God, seated on the +everlasting hills. + +When I decided on adding yet another to the many books on Purgatory +already existing even in our own language, I, at the same time, +resolved to make it as different as possible from all the others, and +thus fill up a void of which I have long been sensible in our English +Purgatorial literature. Doctrinal works, books of devotion, e have in +abundance, but it is, unhappily, only the pious, the religiously- +inclined who will read them. Knowing this, and still desirous to +promote devotion to the Holy Souls by making Purgatory more real, more +familiar to the general reader, I thought the very best means I could +take for that end would be to make a book chiefly of legends and of +poetry, with enough of doctrinal and devotional matter to give a +substantial character to the work by placing it on the solid +foundations of Catholic dogma, patristic authority, and that, at the +same time, of the latest divines and theologians of the Church, by +selections from their published writings. + +I have divided the work into five parts, viz.: Doctrinal and +Devotional, comprising extracts from Suarez, St. Catherine of Genoa, +St. Augustine, St. Gertrude, St. Francis de Sales, of the earlier and +middle ages; and from Archbishop Gibbons, Very Rev. Faá di Bruno, +Father Faber, Father Muller, C.S.S.R., Father Binet, S.J., Rev. J. J. +Moriarty, and others. + +The Second Part consists of Anecdotes and Incidents relating to +Purgatory, and more or less authentic. The Third Part contains +historical matter bearing on the same subject, including Father +Lambing's valuable article on "The Belief in a Middle State of Souls +after Death amongst Pagan Nations." The Fourth Part is made up of +"Thoughts on Purgatory, from Various Authors, Catholic and non- +Catholic," including Cardinals Newman, Wiseman, and Manning; the +Anglican Bishops Jeremy Taylor and Reginald Heber, Dr. Samuel Johnson, +William Hurrell Mallock, Count de Maistre, Chateaubriand. + +The Fifth and last part consists of a numerous collection of legends +and poems connected with Purgatory. Many of these are translated from +the French, especially the _Légendes de l'Autre Monde,_ by the +well-known legendist, J. Colin de Plancy. In selecting the legends and +anecdotes, I have endeavored to give only those that were new to most +English readers, thus leaving out many legends that would well bear +reproducing, but were already too well known to excite any fresh +interest. + +In the poetical section I have represented as many as possible of the +best-known poets, from Dante down, and some poems of rare beauty and +merit were translated from French and Canadian poets by my daughter, +who has also contributed some interesting articles for the historical +portion of the work. As may be supposed, this book is the fruit of much +research. The collection of the material has necessarily been a work of +time, the field from which the gleanings were made being so vast, and +the selections requiring so much care. + +As regards the legendary portion of the work, whether prose or poetry, +the reader will, of course, understand that I give the legends +precisely for what they are worth; by no means as representing the +doctrinal belief of Purgatory, but merely as some of the wild flowers +of poetry and romance that have grown, in the long lapse of time, from +the rich soil of faith and piety, amongst the Catholic peoples of every +land--intensified, in this instance, by the natural affection of the +living for their dear departed ones, and the solemn and shadowy mystery +in which the dead are shrouded when once they have passed the portals +of eternity and are lost to mortal sight. Some of these legends, though +exceedingly beautiful, will hardly bear close examination in the light +of Catholic dogma. Of this class is "The Faithful Soul," of Adelaide +Procter, which is merely given here as an old French legend, nearly +connected with Purgatory, and having really nothing in it contrary to +faith, though in a high degree improbable, but yet from its intrinsic +beauty and dramatic character, no less than the subtle charm of Miss +Procter's verse, eminently worthy of a place in this collection. The +same remark applies more or less to some of Colin de Plancy's legends, +notably that of "Robert the Devil's Penance," and others of a similar +kind, as also T. D. McGee's "Penance of Don Diego Rias" and Calderon's +"St. Patrick's Purgatory"--the two last named bearing on the same +subject. Nevertheless, they all come within the scope of my present +work and are, therefore, presented to the reader as weird fragments of +the legendary lore of Purgatory. + +Taken altogether, I think this work will help to increase devotion to +the Suffering Souls, and excite a more tender and more sensible feeling +of sympathy for them, at least amongst Catholics, showing, as it does, +the awful reality of those purgative pains awaiting all, with few or no +exceptions, in the after life; the help they may and do receive from +the good offices of the living, and the sacred and solemn' duty it is +for Christians in the present life to remember them and endeavor to +relieve their sufferings by every means in their power. To answer this +purpose I have made the dead ages unite their solemn and authoritative +voice with that of the living, actual present in testimony of the truth +of this great Catholic dogma. The Saints, the Fathers, the Doctors of +the Church in the ages of antiquity, and the prelates and priests of +our own day all speak the same language of undoubting faith, of solemn +conviction regarding Purgatory,--make the same earnest and eloquent +appeal to the faithful on behalf of the dear suffering souls. Even the +heathen nations and tribes of both hemispheres are brought forward as +witnesses to the existence of a middle state in the after life. Nor is +Protestantism itself wanting in this great and overwhelming mass of +evidence, as the reader will perceive that some of its most eminent +divines and secular writers have joined, with no hesitating or +faltering voice, in the grand _Credo_ of the nations and the ages +in regard to Purgatory. + +What remains for me to add except the earnest hope that this book may +have the effect it is intended to produce by bringing the faithful +children of the Church to think more and oftener of their departed +brethren who, having passed from the Militant to the Suffering Church, +are forever crying out to the living from their darksome prison--"Have +pity on us, have pity on us, at least you who were our friends, have +pity on us, for the hand of the Lord is heavy upon us!" + + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + +INTRODUCTION + +PART I. + +DOCTRINAL AND DEVOTIONAL. + + Doctrine of Suarez on Purgatory + St. Catherine of Genoa on Purgatory + Extracts from the Fathers on Purgatory + Verses from the Imitation _Thomas à Kempis._ + St. Augustine and his Mother, St. Monica + St. Gertrude and the Holy Souls + St. Joseph's Intercession for the Faithful Departed + St. Francis de Sales on Purgatory + Cardinal Gibbons on Purgatory + Archbishop Hughes on Purgatory + Archbishop Lynch on Purgatory + Purgatory Surveyed _Father Binet, S. J._ + Father Faber on Devotion to the Holy Souls + Why the Souls in Purgatory are called "Poor" _Mullcr._ + Appeal to all Classes for the Souls in Purgatory _By a Paulist +Father._ + The Souls in Purgatory _Rev. F. X. Weninger, S. J._ + Popular View of Purgatory _Rev. J. J. Moriarty._ + Extracts from "Catholic Belief" _Very Rev. Faá Di Bruno, D.D._ + Purgatory and the Feast of All Souls _Alban Butkr._ + +PART II. + +ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. + + The Fruit of a Mass _Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_. + Faith of a Pious Lady _Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_. + Pay what Thou Owest _Ave Maria_. + VIA CRUCIS _Footsteps of Spirits_. + Strange Incidents _Footsteps of Spirits_. + True Story of the "_De Profundis_" _Ave Maria_. + Confidence Rewarded _Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_ + Anecdote of the "_De Profundis_" + Strange Occurrence in a Persian Prison _Life of St. John the +Almoner_. + A Swiss Protestant Converted by the Doctrine of Purgatory +_Catechism in Examples_. + The Dead Hand _Ave Maria_. + A Beautiful Example _Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_. + How to Pay One's Debts _Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_. + Faith Rewarded _Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_. + Apparition of a Citizen of Arles _Histoire des Spectres_. + Countess of Strafford _Vie de Monsgr. de la Mothe_. + + Marquis de Civrac _Une Commune Vendéenne. 183 + Gratitude of the Holy Souls _Ave Maria_. + Strange Incident _Ave Maria_. + +PART III. + +HISTORICAL. + + Doctrine of Purgatory amongst the Pagan Nations of Antiquity _Rev. +A. A. Lambing_. + Devotion to the Dead amongst American Indians + Superstitious Belief amongst American Indians + Remembrance, of the Dead amongst the Egyptians + Remembrance of the Dead throughout Europe _A. T. Sadlier_. Part +I. + Remembrance of the Dead throughout Europe _A. T. Sadlier_. Part +II. + Prayer for the Dead in the Anglo-Saxon Church _Dr. Lingard_ + Singular French Custom _Voix de la Verité_ + Devotion to the Holy Souls amongst the Early English _A. T. +Sadlier_ + Doctrine of Purgatory in the Early Irish Church _Walsh_ + Prince Napoleon's Prayer + Helpers of the Holy Souls _Lady G. Fullerton_ + The Mass in Relation to the Dead _O'Brien_ + Daniel O'Connell, Funeral Oration on _Rev. T. N. Burke, O.P._ + Indulgence of the Portiuncula _Almanac of the Souls in +Purgatory_. + Catherine of Cardona _Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_. + The Emperor Nicholas Praying for his Mother _Anecdotes +Chrétiennes_. + Pius VI., Funeral Oration on _Rev. Arthur O'Leary, O.S.F._ + Rev. Arthur O'Leary, O.S.F., Funeral Oration on _Rev. M. D'Arcy_ + _De Mortuis_. Our Deceased Prelates. _Archbishop Corrigan_ + +PART IV. + +THOUGHTS OF VARIOUS AUTHORS ON PURGATORY. + + Purgatory _Cardinal Newman_ + Our Debt to the Dead _Cardinal Manning_ + Purgatory _Cardinal Wiseman_ + Reply to some Misstatements about Purgatory _Archbishop +Spalding_ + Count de Maistre on Purgatory + What the Saints thought of Purgatory + Châteaubriand on Purgatory + Mary and the Faithful Departed _Brother Azarias._ + Dr. Johnson on Prayer for the Dead + The Doctrine of Purgatory _Burnett._ + Mallock on Purgatory + Boileau-Despréaux and Prayer for the Dead + All Saints and All Souls _Mrs. Sadlier._ + Leibnitz on the Mass as a Propitiatory Sacrifice + Extracts from "A Troubled Heart" + Eugénie de Guerin and her Brother Maurice + Passages from the "Via Media" _Newman._ + All Souls _From the French._ + An Anglican Bishop Praying for the Dead + "Purgatory" of Dante _Mariotti._ + Month of November _Mary E. Blake._ + Litany of the Departed _Acolytus._ + All Souls' Day _Mrs. Sadlier._ + Cemeteries + Opinions of Various Protestants + Some Thoughts for November + +PART V. + +LEGENDARY AND POETICAL. + + _Dies Iræ_ + Authorship of the _Dies Iræ_ + Dante's _"Purgatorio"_ + Hamlet and the Ghost _Shakespeare._ + Calderon's "Purgatory of St. Patrick" + The Brig o' Dread _Scott._ + Shelley and the Purgatory of St. Patrick + On a Great Funeral _Aubrey de Vere._ + _Morte d'Arthur_ _Tennyson._ + Guido and his Brother _Collin de Plancy._ + Berthold in Purgatory _Collin de Plancy._ + Legend of St. Nicholas _Collin de Planey._ + Dream of Gerontius _Newman. St. Gregory_ + Releases the Soul of Trajan _Mrs. Jameson._ + St. Gregory and the Monk Legend of Geoffroid d'lden + The Queen of Purgatory _Faber_. + The Dead Priest before the Altar _Rev. A. J. Ryan_. + Memorials of the Dead _R. R. Madden_. + A Child's "_Requiescat in Pace_" _Eliza Allen Starr_. + The Solitary Soul _Ave Maria_. + Story of the Faithful Soul _Adelaide Procter_. + Genérade, the Friend of St. Augustine _De Plancy_ + St. Thomas Aquinas and Friar Romanus _De Plancy_. + The Key that Never Turns _Eleanor C. Donnelly_. + A Burial _Thomas Davis_. + Hymn for the Dead _Newman_. + The Two Students _De Plancy_. + The Penance of Don Diego Riaz _McGee_. + The Day of All Souls _Eliza Allen Starr_. + Message of the November Wind _Eleanor C. Donnelly_. + Legend of the Time of Charlemagne + The Dead Mass + The Eve of St. John _Sir Walter Scott_. + Request of a Soul in Purgatory + All Souls' _Marion Muir_. + The Dead _Octave Cremasie_ + A REQUIEM _Sir Walter Scott_. + Penance of Robert the Devil _De Plancy_. + All Souls' Eve + Commemoration of All Souls _Harriet M. Skidmore_. + The Memory of the Dead _Faber_. + The Holy Souls. + Author of "Christian Schools and Scholars." + The Palmer's Rosary _Eliza Allen Starr_. + A Lyke Wake Dirge. + All Souls' Day _Lyra Liturgica_. + The Suffering Souls. _E. M. V. Bulger._ + "The Voices of the Dead." _M. R. in "The Lamp."_ + The Convent Cemetery. _Rev. A. J. Ryan._ + One Hour after Death. _Eliza Allen Starr._ + A Prayer for the Dead. _T. D. McGee._ + The _De Profundis Bell._ _Harriet M. Skidmore._ + November. _Anna T. Sadlier._ + For the Souls in Purgatory. + All Souls' Eve. + Our Neighbor. _Eliza Allen Starr._ + Old Bells. + O Holy Church. _Harriet M. Skidmore._ + An Incident of the Battle of Bannockburn. _Sir Walter Scott._ + Pray for the Martyred Dead. + In Winter. _Eliza Allen Starr._ + _Oremus._ _Mary E. Mannix._ + Funeral Hymn. _A. T. Sadlier._ + _Chant Funèbre._ _Nisard._ + _Requiescat in Pace._ _Harriet M. Skidmore._ + The Feast of All Souls in the Country. _Anna T. Sadlier._ + _Requiem Æternum_ _T. D. McGee._ + +APPENDIX. + + Association of Masses and Stations of the Cross. + Extracts from _The Catholic Review_ of New York. + A Duty of November. _The Texas Monitor._ + Purgatorial Association. _Catholic Columbian._ + The Holy Face and the Suffering Souls. + When will they Learn its Secret? _Baptist Examiner._ + + + + +PART I. + +DOCTRINAL AND DEVOTIONAL. + + +"But now, brethren, if I come to you, speaking with tongues: what shall +I profit you, unless I speak to you either in revelation, or in +knowledge, or in prophecy, or in doctrine?" + +--ST. PAUL, I. COR. PURGATORY: + + +DOCTRINAL AND DEVOTIONAL. + + +DOCTRINE OF SUAREZ ON PURGATORY. + + +THE PLACE. + +It is a certain truth of faith that after this life there is a place of +Purgatory. Though the name of Purgatory may not be found in Holy +Scripture, that does not matter, if we can show that the thing meant by +the name can be found there; for often the Church, either because of +new heresies, or that the doctrine of the faith may be set forth more +clearly and shortly, gives new and simple names, in which the mysteries +of the faith are summed up. This is evident in the cases of the Holy +Trinity, the Incarnation, and the Holy Eucharist. + +The doctrine of Purgatory is proved by:--the Old Testament, the New +Testament, the Councils of the Church, especially those of Florence and +of Trent, the Fathers and Tradition, and by theological reasons. + + +WHERE PURGATORY IS. + +Nothing is said in Holy Scripture about this place, nor is there any +definition of the Church concerning it. The subject, therefore, comes +within the range of theological discussion. Theologians, however, +suppose Purgatory to be a certain corporeal place, in which souls are +kept till they pay fully the debt which they owe. It is true that they +do not in themselves need a corporeal place, since they are spirits; +but yet, as they are in this world, they must, of necessity, be in some +corporeal place--at any rate, with regard to substantial presence. Thus +we see that God, in His providence, has made definite places for the +Angels, according to the difference of their states. Gehenna is +prepared for the devil and his angels, whereas the empyreal Heaven is +made for the good angels. In this way, it is certain that the souls, +paying their debt, are kept in a corporeal place. This place is not +heaven, for nothing that is defiled enters there; nor is it hell, for +in hell there is no redemption, and from that place no souls can be +saved. + + +PAIN OF LOSS AND SENSE. + +The pain of loss is the want of the vision of God and of the whole of +our everlasting beatitude. The pain of sense is the suffering of +punishment specially inflicted over and above the loss of the beatitude +of Heaven. + +We must assert that the souls in Purgatory suffer the pain of loss, +tempered by hope, and not like the souls in hell, which have no hope. + +In the pain of sense we can distinguish two things. There is the sorrow +which follows closely the want or delay of the vision of God, and has +that for its object. There is also another pain, as it were outward, +and this is proportioned to the sensible pain which is caused in us by +fire, or any like action, contrary to nature and hurtful to it. That in +Purgatory this sorrow does follow the loss of God is most certain; for +that loss, or delay, is truly a great evil, and is most keenly felt to +be such by those souls that with all their strength love God and long +to see Him. Therefore, it is impossible for them not to feel the +greatest sorrow about that delay. + + * * * * * + +We must assert that, besides the pain of loss and the sorrow annexed to +it, there is in Purgatory a proper and peculiar pain of sense. This is +the more common judgment of the scholastics; and seems to be received +by the common judgment and approbation of the Church. Indeed, the +equity of the avenging justice of God requires this. The sinner, +through inordinate delight in creatures and affection for them, +deserves a punishment contrary to that delight; and if in this life he +has not made full satisfaction, he must be punished and freed by some +such pain as this, which we call the pain of sense. Theologians in +common teach this, and distinguish a proper pain of sense from the +sorrow caused by the want of the vision of God. Thus they distinguish +spiritual pains, such as sorrow for the delay of the vision, and +remorse of conscience, from corporeal pains, which come from the fire, +or any other instrument of God. These corporeal pains we comprehend +under the pain of sense. + + * * * * * + +Whether, besides the fire, other corporeal things, such as water and +snow, are used as instruments for punishing the souls is uncertain. +Bede says that souls in Purgatory were seen to pass from very great +heat to very great cold, and then from cold to heat. St. Anselm +mentions these punishments disjunctively. He says, "or any other kind +of punishments." We cannot, therefore, speak of this with certainty. + + +THE PAIN OF LOSS. + +In this matter we may look at the pain of loss as well as the pain of +sense. It is certain that the pain of loss is very sharp, because of +the greatness of the good for which they wait. True, it is only for a +time; yet it is rightly reckoned, as St. Thomas taught, a greater evil +than any loss in this life. He and other theologians with him mean that +the sorrow also which springs from the apprehension of this evil is +greater than any pain or sorrow here. Hence, they conclude that the +pain of loss in every way exceeds all pains of this life; for they +think, as I have already noted, that this sorrow pertains to the pain +of loss, and therefore they join this pain with privation, that the +punishment may be greater in every way.... The vision of God and the +beatitude of heaven are such that the possession of them, even for a +day, could exceed all goods of this life taken together and possessed +for a long time.... Therefore, even a short delay of such a good is a +very heavy sorrow, far exceeding all the pains of this life. The Holy +Souls well understand and weigh the greatness of this evil; and very +piercing is the pain they feel, because they know that they are +suffering through their own negligence and by their own fault.... There +are, however, certain things which would seem to have power to lessen +their pain: + +1. They are certain of future glory. This hope must bring them much +joy; as St. Paul says, "rejoicing in hope." (Roms. xii. 12.) + +2. There is the rightness of their will, by which they are conformed to +the justice of God. Hence, it follows that, in a certain sense, their +pain is voluntary, and thus not so severe. + +3. By the love of God they not only bear their punishment, but rejoice +in it, because they see that it is the means of satisfying God and +being brought to Heaven. + +4. If they choose, they can turn their thoughts from the pain of delay, +and give them very attentively to the good of hope. This would bring +them consolation. + + +THE PAIN OF SENSE. + +It is the common judgment of theologians, with St. Augustine, St. +Thomas, and St. Bonaventure, that this pain is bitterer than all pain +of this life.... Theologians, in common with St. Thomas and St. +Bonaventure, teach that the pain of Purgatory is not in any way +inflicted by devils. These souls are just and holy. They cannot sin any +more; and, to the last, they have overcome the assaults of the devils. +It would not, therefore, be fitting that such souls should be given +into their power to be tormented by them. Again, when the devils tempt +wayfarers, they do it because they hope to lead them into sin, however +perfect they may be; but they could have no such hope about the souls +in Purgatory, and so would not be likely to tempt them. Besides, they +know that their temptations or harassings would have an effect not +intended by them, and would bring the souls from Purgatory to Heaven +more quickly. + + * * * * * + +It is the common law that souls in Purgatory, during the whole time +that they are there, cannot come out from the prison, even if they +wish; The constant closing of the prison-doors is a part of the +severity of their punishment. So teach St. John Chrysostom, St. +Athanasius, and St. Augustine.... The reason for this is the law of the +justice of God. The souls of the lost are kept in prison by force and +against their will. The souls in Purgatory stay there willingly, for +they understand the just will of God and submit to it. This law, +however, can be sometimes dispensed with; and so St. Augustine holds it +to be probable that there are often true apparitions of the Holy Souls +by the permission of God.... It is true that, as a rule, these are +apparitions of souls, who, by a special decree of God, are suffering +their Purgatory somewhere in this world.... One thing, however, we must +note in these cases. When such a permission is given, the pain of the +soul is not interrupted. This is not only seen from the visions +themselves, but is what reason requires. + + * * * * * + +Here occurs the question whether the Holy Souls pray for us and can +gain anything for us by merit of congruity, or, at least, impetrate it +for us, as others prefer to say. Some have said that they do not thus +pray for us, because it is not fitting to their state, in that they are +debtors and, as it were, kept in prison for their debts; and also +because they do not see God, and so do not know what is done here. They +might know such things by special revelations, but revelations of this +kind are not due to their state. But surely their penal state does not +necessarily hinder the Holy Souls from praying for, and impetrating for +us. They are holy and dear to God; and they love us with charity, +remembering us, and knowing, at least in a general way, the dangers in +which we live; they understand also how greatly we need the help of +God: why, then, should they not be able to pray for us, even though in +another way they are paying to God their debt of punishment? For we +also in this life are debtors to God, and yet we pray for others.... +Besides, we may well believe that the Holy Angels make revelations to +the souls in Purgatory about their relatives or friends still living on +this earth. They will do this for the consolation of the Holy Souls, or +that they may know what to ask for us in particular cases, or that they +may know of our prayers for them. + + +ST. CATHARINE OF GENOA ON PURGATORY. + +This Holy Soul, while still in the flesh, was placed in the purgatory +of the burning love of God, in whose flames she was purified from every +stain, so that when she passed from this life she might be ready to +enter the presence of God, her most sweet love. By means of that flame +of love she comprehended in her own soul the condition of the souls of +the faithful in Purgatory, where they are purified from the rust and +stain of sins, from which they have not been cleansed in this world. +And as in the purgatory of that divine flame she was united with the +divine love and satisfied with all that was accomplished in her, she +was enabled to comprehend the state of the souls in Purgatory, and thus +discoursed concerning it: + +"As far as I can see, the souls in Purgatory can have no choice but be +there; this God has most justly ordained by His divine decree. They +cannot turn towards themselves and say, 'I have committed such and such +sins for which I deserve to remain here;' nor can they say, 'Would that +I had refrained from them, for then I should at this moment be in +Paradise;' nor again, 'This soul will be released before me;' or, 'I +shall be released before her.' They retain no memory of either good or +evil respecting themselves or others which would increase their pain. +They are so contented with the divine inspirations in their regard, and +with doing all that is pleasing to God in that way which he chooses, +that they cannot think of themselves, though they may strive to do so. +They see nothing but the operation of the divine goodness which is so +manifestly bringing them to God that they can reflect neither on their +own profit nor on their hurt. Could they do so, they would not be in +pure charity. They see not that they suffer their pains in consequence +of their sins, nor can they for a moment entertain that thought, for +should they do so it would be an active imperfection, and that cannot +exist in a state where there is no longer the possibility of sin. At +the moment of leaving this life, they see why they are sent to +Purgatory, but never again; otherwise they would still retain something +private, which has no place there. Being established in charity, they +can never deviate therefrom by any defect, and have no will or desire +save the pure will of pure love, and can swerve from it in nothing. +They can neither commit sin nor merit by refraining from it. + + * * * * * + +"There is no peace to be compared with that of the souls in Purgatory, +save that of the saints in Paradise, and this peace is ever augmented +by the inflowing of God into these souls, which increases in proportion +as the impediments to it are removed. The rust of sin is the +impediment, and this the fire continually consumes, so that the soul in +this state is continually opening itself to admit the divine +communication. As a covered surface can never reflect the sun, not +through any defect in that orb, but simply from the resistance offered +by the covering, so, if the covering be gradually removed, the surface +will by little and little be opened to the sun and will more and more +reflect his light. So it is with the rust of sin, which is the +covering of the soul. In Purgatory the flames incessantly consume it, +and as it disappears the soul reflects more and more perfectly the true +sun, who is God. Its contentment increases as this rust wears away, and +the soul is laid bare to the divine ray; and thus one increases and the +other decreases until the time is accomplished. The pain never +diminishes, although the time does; but, as to the will, so united is +it to God by pure charity, and so satisfied to be under His divine +appointment, that these souls can never say their pains are pains. + +"On the other hand, it is true that they suffer torments which no +tongue can describe nor any intelligence comprehend, unless it be +revealed by such a special grace as that which God has vouchsafed to +me, but which I am unable to explain. And this vision which God +revealed to me has never departed from my memory. I will describe it as +far as I am able, and they whose intellects our Lord will deign to open +will understand me. + + * * * * * + +"The source of all suffering is either original or actual sin. God +created the soul pure, simple, free from every stain, and with a +certain beatific instinct towards Himself. It is drawn aside from Him +by original sin, and when actual sin is afterwards added this withdraws +it still farther, and ever, as it removes from Him, its sinfulness +increases because its communication with God grows less and less. + + * * * * * + +"Since the souls in Purgatory are freed from the guilt of sin, there is +no barrier between them and God save only the pains they suffer, which +delay the satisfaction of their desire. And when they see how serious +is even the slightest hindrance, which the necessity of justice causes +to check them, a vehement flame kindles within them, which is like that +of hell. They feel no guilt, however, and it is guilt which is the +cause of the malignant will of the condemned in hell, to whom God does +not communicate His goodness; and thus they remain in despair and with +a will forever opposed to the good-will of God. + + * * * * * + +"The souls in Purgatory are entirely conformed to the will of God; +therefore, they correspond with His goodness, are contented with all +that He ordains, and are entirely purified from the guilt of their +sins. They are pure from sins because they have in this life abhorred +them and confessed them with true contrition; and for this reason God +remits their guilt, so that only the stains of sin remain, and these +must be devoured by the fire. Thus freed from guilt and united to the +will of God, they see Him clearly according to that degree of light +which He allows them, and comprehend how great a good is the fruition +of God, for which all souls were created. Moreover, these souls are in +such close conformity to God and are drawn so powerfully toward Him by +reason of the natural attraction between Him and the soul, that no +illustration or comparison could make this impetuosity understood in +the way in which my spirit conceives it by its interior sense. +Nevertheless, I will use one which occurs to me. + +"Let us suppose that in the whole world there were but one loaf to +appease the hunger of every creature, and that the bare sight of it +would satisfy them. Now man, when in health, has by nature the instinct +for food, but if we can suppose him to abstain from it and neither die, +nor yet lose health and strength, his hunger would clearly become +increasingly urgent. In this case, if he knew that nothing but this +loaf would satisfy him, and that until he reached it his hunger could +not be appeased, he would suffer intolerable pain, which would increase +as his distance from the loaf diminished; but if he were sure that he +would never see it, his hell would be as complete as that of the damned +souls, who, hungering after God, have no hope of ever seeing the bread +of life. But the souls in Purgatory have an assured hope of seeing Him +and of being entirely satisfied; and therefore they endure all hunger +and suffer all pain until that moment when they enter into eternal +possession of this bread, which is Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Saviour, +and our Love. + + * * * * * + +"I will say, furthermore: I see that as far as God is concerned, +Paradise has no gates, but he who will may enter. For God is all mercy, +and His open arms are ever extended to receive us into His glory. But I +see that the divine essence is so pure--purer than the imagination can +conceive--that the soul, finding in itself the slightest imperfection, +would rather cast itself into a thousand hells than appear, so stained, +in the presence of the divine majesty. Knowing, then, that Purgatory +was intended for her cleansing, she throws herself therein, and finds +there that great mercy, the removal of her stains. + +"The great importance of Purgatory, neither mind can conceive nor +tongue describe. I see only that its pains are as great as those of +hell; and yet I see that a soul, stained with the slightest fault, +receiving this mercy, counts the pains as nought in comparison with +this hindrance to her love. And I know that the greatest misery of the +souls in Purgatory is to behold in themselves aught that displeases +God, and to discover that, in spite of His goodness, they had consented +to it. And this is because, being in the state of grace, they see the +reality and the importance of the impediments which hinder their +approach to God. + + * * * * * + +"From that furnace of divine love I see rays of fire dart like burning +lamps towards the soul; and so violent and powerful are they that both +soul and body would be utterly destroyed, if that were possible. These +rays perform a double office; they purify and they annihilate. + +"Consider gold: the oftener it is melted the more pure does it become; +continue to melt it and every imperfection is destroyed. This is the +effect of fire on all materials. The soul, however, cannot be +annihilated in God, but in herself she can, and the longer her +purification lasts the more perfectly does she die to herself, until at +length she remains purified in God. + +"When gold has been completely freed from dross, no fire, however +great, has any further action on it, for nothing but its imperfections +can be consumed. So it is with the divine fire in the soul. God retains +her in these flames until every stain is burned away, and she is +brought to the highest perfection of which she is capable, each soul in +her own degree. And when this is accomplished, she rests wholly in God. +Nothing of herself remains, and God is her entire being. When He has +thus led her to Himself and purified her, she is no longer passible, +for nothing remains to be consumed. If, when thus refined, she should +again approach the fire she would feel no pain, for to her it has +become the fire of divine love, which is life eternal and which nothing +mars." + + * * * * * + +And thus this blessed Soul, illuminated by the divine ray, said: "Would +that I could utter so strong a cry that it would strike all men with +terror, and say to them: O wretched beings! why are you so blinded by +this world that you make, as you will find at the hour of death, no +provision for the great necessity that will then come upon you? + +"You shelter yourselves beneath the hope of the mercy of God, which you +unceasingly exalt, not seeing that it is your resistance to His great +goodness which will be your condemnation. His goodness should constrain +you to His will, not encourage you to persevere in your own. Since His +justice is unfailing, it must needs be in some way fully satisfied. + +"Have not the boldness to say: 'I will go to confession and gain a +plenary indulgence, and thus I shall be saved?' Remember that the full +confession and entire contrition which are requisite to gain a plenary +indulgence are not easily attained. Did you know how hardly they are +come by, you would tremble with fear and be more sure of losing than of +gaining them." + + +EXTRACTS FROM THE FATHERS. [1] + +[Footnote 1: These extracts are purposely different from those quoted +by the learned author of "Purgatory Surveyed," in that portion of his +treatise herein comprised.] + + +ST. CYPRIAN [1] writes: "Our predecessors prudently advised that no +brother, departing this life should nominate any churchman his +executor; and should he do it, that no oblation should be made for him, +nor sacrifice offered for his repose; of which we have had a late +example, when no oblation was made, nor prayer, in his name, offered in +the Church." [2] + +[Footnote 1: Ep., xlvi., p. 114.] + +[Footnote 2: Cardinal Wiseman commenting upon this passage, says: "It +was considered, therefore, a severe punishment, that prayers and +sacrifices should not be offered up for those who had violated any of +the ecclesiastical laws."--_Lectures on the Catholic Church._ +Lecture xi., p. 59.] + + +ORIGEN, who wrote in the same century as Cyprian, and some two hundred +years after Christ, speaks as follows, in language the most distinct, +upon our doctrine of Purgatory: "When we depart this life, if we take +with us virtues or vices, shall we receive reward for our virtues, and +shall those trespasses be forgiven to us which we knowingly committed; +or shall we be punished for our faults, and not receive the reward of +our virtues? Neither is true: because we shall suffer for our sins and +receive the reward of our virtues. For if on the foundation of Christ +you shall have built not only gold and silver and precious stones, but +also wood and hay and stubble, what do you expect when the soul shall +be separated from the body? Would you enter into Heaven with your wood, +and hay, and stubble, to defile the Kingdom of God; or on account of +those encumbrances remain without, and receive no reward for your gold +and silver and precious stones? Neither is this just. It remains, then, +that you be committed to the fire, which shall consume the light +materials; for our God, to those who can comprehend heavenly things, is +called a _consuming fire_. But this fire consumes not the +creature, but what the creature has himself built--wood, and hay, and +stubble. It is manifest that, in the first place, the fire destroys the +wood of our transgressions, and then returns to us the reward of our +good works." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Homil. xvi al. xii. in Jerem. T. iii. p. 231,232.] + + +ST. BASIL, or a contemporary author, thus writes, commenting on the +words of Isaiah: "Through the wrath of the Lord is the land burned; the +things which are earthly are made the food of a punishing fire; to the +end, that the soul may receive favor and be benefited." He continues: +"And the people shall be as the fuel of the fire." (_Ibid_.) This +is not a threat of extermination; but it denotes expurgation, [1] +according to the expression of the Apostles: "If any man's works burn, +he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by +fire." (1 Cor. iii. 15.) [2] + +[Footnote 1: Cardinal Wiseman in commenting upon this passage, says: +"Now, mark well the word purgation here used. For it proves that our +very term of Purgatory is not modern in the Church."--_Lectures on +the Catholic Church_. Lecture xi., p. 60.] + +[Footnote 2: Com. in C., ix. Isai. T. I., p. 554.] + + +The following is from ST. EPHREM, of Edessa: "My brethren, come to me, +and prepare me for my departure, for my strength is wholly gone. Go +along with me in psalms and in your prayers; and please constantly to +make oblations for me. When the thirtieth day [1] shall be completed, +then remember me: for the dead are helped by the offerings of the +living. If also the sons of Mathathias, who celebrated their feasts in +figures only, could cleanse those from guilt by their offerings who +fell in battle, how much more shall the priests of Christ aid the dead +by their oblations and prayers?" [2] + +[Footnote 1: "The very day," says Cardinal Wiseman, "observed by the +Catholic Church with peculiar solemnity, in praying and observing Mass +for the dead". Archbishop Corrigan, of New York, in announcing to the +clergy of his diocese the death of His Eminence the late Cardinal +McCloskey, speaks as follows: "The reverend rectors are also requested +to have solemn services for the soul of our late beloved chief pastor, +on the _seventh_ and _thirtieth_ day."] + +[Footnote 2: In Testament. T. ii., p. 334. p. 371, Edit. Oxen.] + + +Thus speaks ST. GREGORY of Nyssa: "In the present life, God allows man +to remain subject to what himself has chosen; that, having tasted of +the evil which he desired, and learned by experience how bad an +exchange has been made, he might feel an ardent wish to lay down the +load of those vices and inclinations, which are contrary to reason; and +thus, in this life, being renovated by prayers and the pursuit of +wisdom, or, in the next, being expiated by the purging fire, he might +recover the state of happiness which he had lost.... When he has +quitted his body, and the difference between virtue and vice is known, +he cannot be admitted to approach the Divinity till the purging fire +shall have expiated the stains with which his soul was infected. The +same fire, in others, will cancel the corruption of matter and the +propensity to evil." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Orat. de Defunctis. T. ii., p. 1066, 1067, 1068.] + + +ST. CYRIL of Jerusalem: "Then" (in the Liturgy of the Church) "we pray +for the holy Fathers and Bishops that are dead; and, in short, for all +those who are departed this life in our communion; believing that the +souls of those, for whom the prayers, are offered, receive very great +relief while this holy and tremendous victim lies upon the altar." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Catech. Mystag., V. N., ix., x., p. 328.] + + +ST. EPIPHANIUS writes: "There is nothing more opportune, nothing more +to be admired, than the rite which directs the names of the dead to be +mentioned. They are aided by the prayer that is offered for them, +though it may not cancel all their faults. We mention both the just and +sinners, in order that for the latter we may obtain mercy." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Haer. IV. Lib. LXXV., T. i., p. 911.] + + +ST. AUGUSTINE speaks as follows: "The prayers of the Church, or of good +persons, are heard in favor of those Christians who departed this life +not so bad as to be deemed unworthy of mercy, nor so good as to be +entitled to immediate happiness. So also, at the resurrection of the +dead, there will some be found, to whom mercy will be imparted, having +gone through these pains, to which the spirits of the dead are liable. +Otherwise it would not have been said of some with truth, that their +sin shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to +come (Matt. xii., 32) unless some sins were remitted in the next +world." [1] + +[Footnote 1: De Civit. Dei., Lib. XX, c. xxiv., p. 492.] + +In another passage he comments on the words of St. Paul: "If they had +built _gold_ and _silver_ and _precious stones,_ they would be secure +from both fires; not only from that in which the wicked shall be +punished for ever, but likewise from that fire which will purify +those who shall be saved by fire. But because it is said _he shall be +saved,_ that fire is thought lightly of; though the suffering will be +more grievous than anything man can undergo in this life." + + +Let us hear ST. JEROME: [1] "As we believe the torments of the devil, +and of those wicked men who said in their hearts _there is no +God,_ to be eternal, so, in regard to those sinners who have not +denied their faith, and whose works will be proved and purged by fire, +we conclude that the sentence of the Judge will be tempered by mercy." + +[Footnote 1: Comment. in c. xv., Isai., T. ii., p. 492.] + +St. Jerome thus speaks in his letter to Paula, concerning the death and +burial of her mother, Eustochium: "From henceforward there were no +wailings nor lamentations as are usual amongst men of this world, but +the swarms of those present resounded with psalms in various tongues. +And being removed by the hands of the bishops, and by those placing +their shoulders under the bier, while other pontiffs were carrying +lamps and wax tapers, and others led the choirs of psalmodists, she was +laid in the middle of the church of the cave of the Saviour.... Psalms +resounded in the Hebrew, Greek, Latin, and Syriac tongues, not only +during the three days intervening until she was laid under the church +and near the cave of the Lord, but through the entire week." + + +ST. AMBROSE has many passages throughout his works, as Dr. Wiseman +remarks. Thus he quotes St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians +(iii., 5): "'If any man's works burn he shall suffer loss; but he shall +be saved, yet so as by fire.' He will be saved, the Apostle said, +because his substance shall remain, while his bad doctrine shall +perish. Therefore, he said, yet so as by fife, in order that his +salvation be not understood to be without pain. He shows that he shall +be saved indeed, but he shall undergo the pain of fire, and be thus +purified, not like the unbelieving and wicked man who shall be punished +in everlasting fire." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Comment. in I Ep. ad Cor., T. ii.; in App, p. 122.] + + +The following is from his funeral oration on the Emperor Theodosius: +"Lately we deplored together his death, and now, while Prince Honorius +is present before our altars, we celebrate the fortieth day. Some +observe the third and the thirtieth, others the seventh and the +fortieth. Give, O Lord, rest to Thy servant Theodosius, that rest which +Thou hast prepared for Thy Saints. May his soul thither tend, whence it +came, where it cannot feel the sting of death, where it will learn that +death is the termination, not of nature, but of sin. I loved him, +therefore will I follow him to the land of the living; I will not leave +him, till, by my prayers and lamentation, he shall be admitted to the +holy mount of the Lord to which his deserts call him." [1] + +[Footnote 1: De obitu. Theodosii. Ibid., pp. 1197-8; 1207-8.] + +He thus concludes his letter to ST. FAUSTINUS on the death of his +sister: "Therefore I consider her not so much to be deplored as to be +followed by our prayers, nor do I think that her soul should be +saddened with tears, but rather commended to the Lord in oblations. For +our flesh cannot be perpetual or lasting; it must necessarily fall in +order that it may rise again--it must be dissolved in order that it may +rest, and that there may be some end of sin." [1] + +[Footnote 1: St. Ambr., p. 39, ad Faustini, t. 2, p 944, ed. Ben.] + + +In his funeral oration upon his brother Satyrus, he cries out: "To Thee +now, O omnipotent God, I commend this innocent soul,--to Thee I offer +my victim. Accept graciously and serenely the gift of the brother--the +sacrifice of the priest." + +[Footnote 1: De excessu frateris satyri, No. 80, p. 1135.] + +In his discourse on the deceased Emperor Valentinian the Younger, +murdered in 392: "Give the holy mysteries to the dead. Let us, with +pious earnestness, beg repose for his soul. Lift up your hands with me, +O people, that at least by this duty we may make some return for his +benefits." [1] Joining him with the Emperor Gratian, his brother, dead +some years before, he says: "Both blessed, if my prayers can be of any +force! No duty shall pass over you in silence. No prayer of mine shall +ever be closed without remembering you. No night shall pass you over +without some vows of my supplications. You shall have a share in all my +sacrifices. If I forget you let my own right hand be forgotten." [2] + +[Footnote 1: St. Ambr. de obitu Valent, No. 56, t. 2, p 1189, ed. +Bened.] + +[Footnote 2: Ibid., No. 78, p. 1194.] + + +"It was not in vain," says ST. CHRYSOSTOM, "that the apostles ordained +a commemoration of the deceased in the holy and tremendous mysteries. +They were sensible of the benefit and advantage which accrues to them +from this practice. For, when the congregation stands with open arms as +well as the priests, and the tremendous sacrifice is before them, how +should our prayers for them not appease God? But this is said of such +as have departed in faith." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Hom. 3 in Phil., t. n., p. 217 ed. Montfauc.] + + +ST. AUGUSTINE again says: "Nor is it to be denied that the souls of the +departed are relieved by the piety of their living friends, when the +sacrifice of the Mediator is offered for them, or alms are given in the +Church. But these things are profitable to those who, while they lived, +deserved that they might avail them. There is a life so good as not to +require them, and there is another so wicked that after death it can +receive no benefit from them. When, therefore, the sacrifices of the +altar or alms are offered for all Christians, for the very good they +are thanksgivings, they are propitiations for those who are not very +bad. For the very wicked, they are some kind of comfort to the living." + +In another of his works he says that prayer for the dead in the holy +mysteries was observed by the whole church. He expounds the thirty- +seventh Psalm as having reference to Purgatory. The words: "Rebuke me +not in thy fury, neither chastise me in thy wrath," he explains as +follows: "That you purify me in this life, and render me such that I +may not stand in need of that purging fire." + + +ARNOBIUS speaks of the public liturgies: "In which peace and pardon are +begged of God for kings, magistrates, friends and enemies, both the +living and those who are delivered from the body." + + +To these few extracts, which space permits, might be added innumerable +others from St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Athanasius, St. Paulinus, +St. Eusebius, Lactantius, Tertullian, St. Caesarius of Arles, St. +Bernard, Venerable Bede, St. Thomas Aquinas, and so on down to our own +immediate time. Their testimony is most clear not only as regards the +custom of praying for the dead, but the actual doctrine of Purgatory, +as it is now understood in the Church. They are, in fact, in many cases +most explicit upon this point, obviously referring to a middle state of +suffering and expiation, and thus refuting by anticipation the +objections of those who claim that the primitive Christians prayed +indeed for the dead, but knew nothing of Purgatory: a contradiction, it +would seem, as prayer for the dead, to be available, supposes a place +or state of probation. But, even where the mention made by the Fathers +of prayer for the dead does not refer expressly to a place of +purgation, it is no more a proof that they did not hold this doctrine +than that those modern Catholic authors disbelieve in it, who suppose +this middle state of suffering to be admitted by their readers. Or +even, which rarely happens, if they be silent altogether upon the +subject, it no more infers their ignorance of such a belief than the +same silence to be noted in theological and religious works of our own +day. It proves no more than that they are at the time engaged in +treating of some other subject. The following, which may serve as a +conclusion to these extracts, is the solemn decision of the Council of +Trent in regard to this doctrine: "The Church, inspired by the Holy +Ghost, has always taught, according to the Holy Scriptures and +apostolic tradition, that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls +there detained receive comfort from the prayers and good works of the +faithful, particularly through the sacrifice of the Mass, which is so +acceptable to God." + +In the thirteenth Canon of the sixth session, it decrees that, "if any +one should say that a repentant sinner, after having received the grace +of justification, the punishment of eternal pains being remitted, has +no temporary punishment to be suffered either in this life or in the +next in Purgatory, before he can enter into the Kingdom of God, let him +be anathema." + +In the third Canon of the twenty-fourth session, it defines "that the +sacrifice of the Mass is propitiatory both for the living and the dead +for sins, punishments and satisfactions." + + +VERSES FROM THE IMITATION. + +THOMAS A KEMPIS. + +Trust not in thy friends and neighbors, and put not oft thy soul's +welfare till the future; for men will forget thee sooner than thou +thinkest. + + +It is better to provide now in time and send some good before thee than +to trust to the assistance of others after death. + +If thou art not solicitous for thyself now, who will be solicitous for +thee hereafter. + +Did'st thou also well ponder in thy heart the future pains of hell or +Purgatory, methinks thou would'st bear willingly labor and sorrow and +fear no kind of austerity. + +Who will remember thee when thou art dead? and who will pray for thee? + +Now thy labor is profitable, thy tears are acceptable, thy groans are +heard, thy sorrow is satisfying and purifieth the soul. + +The patient man hath a great and wholesome purgatory. + +Better is it to purge away our sins, and cut off our vices now, than to +keep them for purgation hereafter. + +If thou shalt say thou are not able to suffer much, how then wilt thou +endure the fire of Purgatory. Of two evils, one ought always to choose +the less. + +When a Priest celebrateth, he honoreth God, he rejoiceth the Angels, he +edifieth the Church, he helpeth the living, he obtaineth rest for the +departed, and maketh himself partaker of all good things. + +I offer to Thee also all the pious desires of devout persons; the +necessities of my parents, friends, brothers, sisters, and all those +that are dear to me; ... and all who have desired and besought me to +offer up prayers and Masses for themselves and all theirs, whether they +are still living in the flesh or are already dead to this world. + + +ST. AUGUSTINE AND HIS MOTHER, ST. MONICA. + +[In the beautiful account given by the great St. Augustine of the last +illness and death of his holy mother, St. Monica, we find some touching +proofs of the pious belief of mother and son in the existence of a +middle state for souls in the after life. The holy doctor had been +relating that memorable conversation on heavenly things which took +place between his mother and himself on that moonlight night at the +window in the inn at Ostia, immortalized by Ary Schaeffer in his +beautiful picture.] + +To this what answer I made her I do not well remember. But scarce five +days, or not many more, had passed after this before she fell into a +fever: and one day, being very sick, she swooned away, and was for a +little while insensible. We ran in, but she soon came to herself again, +and looking upon me and my brother (Navigius), that were standing by +her, said to us like one inquiring: "Where have I been?" then, +beholding us struck with grief, she said: "Here you shall bury your +mother." I held my peace and refrained weeping; but my brother said +something by which he signified his wish, as of a thing more happy, +that she might not die abroad but in her own country; which she +hearing, with a concern in her countenance, and checking him with her +eyes that he should have such notions, then looking upon me, said: "Do +you hear what he says?" then to us both: "Lay this body anywhere; be +not concerned about that; only this I beg of you, that wheresoever you +be, you make remembrance of me at the Lord's altar." And when she had +expressed to us this, her mind, with such words as she could, she said +no more, but lay struggling with her disease that grew stronger upon +her. + + * * * * * + +And now behold the body is carried out to be buried, and I both go and +return without tears. Neither in those prayers, which we poured forth +to Thee when the sacrifice of our ransom was offered to Thee for her, +the body being set down by the grave before the interment of it, as +custom is there, neither in those prayers, I say, did I shed any tears. + + * * * * * + +And now, my heart being healed of that wound in which a carnal +affection might have some share, I pour out to Thee, our God, in behalf +of that servant of Thine, a far different sort of tears, flowing from a +spirit frighted with the consideration of the perils of every soul that +dies in Adam. For, although she, being revived in Christ, even before +her being set loose from the flesh and lived in such manner, as that +Thy name is much praised in her faith and manners; yet I dare not say +that from the time Thou didst regenerate her by baptism, no word came +out of her mouth against Thy command.... I, therefore, O my Praise and +my Life, the God of my heart, setting for a while aside her good deeds, +for which with joy I give Thee thanks, entreat Thee at present for the +sins of my mother. Hear me, I beseech Thee, through that Cure of our +wounds that hung upon the tree, and that, sitting now at Thy right +hand, maketh intercession to Thee for us. I know that she did +mercifully, and from her heart forgive to her debtors their trespasses: +do Thou likewise forgive her her debts, if she hath also contracted +some in those many years she lived after the saving water.... And I +believe Thou hast already done what I ask, but these free offerings of +my mouth approve, O Lord. + +For she, when the day of her dissolution was at hand, had no thought +for the sumptuous covering of her body, or the embalming of it, nor had +she any desire of a fine monument, nor was solicitous about her +sepulchre in her own country: none of these things did she recommend to +us; but only desired that we should make a remembrance of her at Thy +altar, at which she had constantly attended without one day's +intermission, from whence she knew was dispensed that Holy Victim by +which was cancelled that handwriting that was against us (Coloss. II.), +by which that enemy was triumphed over who reckoneth up our sins and +seeketh what he may lay to our charge, but findeth nothing in Him +through whom we conquer. Who shall refund to Him that innocent blood He +shed for us? Who shall repay Him the price with which He bought us, +that so he may take us away from Him? To the sacrament of which price +of our redemption Thy handmaid bound fast her soul by the bond of +faith.... + +Let her, therefore, rest in peace, together with her husband, before +whom and after whom she was known to no man; whom she dutifully served, +bringing forth fruit to Thee, in much patience, that she might also +gain him to Thee. And do Thou inspire, O Lord, my God, do Thou inspire +Thy servants, my brethren, Thy children, my masters, whom I serve with +my voice, and my heart, and my writings, that as many as shall read +this shall remember, at Thy altar, Thy handmaid Monica with Patricius, +formerly her husband. Let them remember, with a pious affection, these +who were my parents in this transitory life, my brethren under Thee, +our Father, in our Catholic Mother, and my fellow-citizens in the +eternal Jerusalem, for which the pilgrimage of Thy people here below +continually sigheth from their setting out till their return. That so +what my mother made her last request to me may be more plentifully +performed for her by the prayers of many, procured by these, my +confessions, and my prayers. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Conf. B. IX. Chs. XI.-XIII.] + + +ST. GERTRUDE AND THE HOLY SOULS. + +[In the "Life and Revelations of St. Gertrude" we find many instances +of the efficacy of prayers for the dead and how pleasing to God is +devotion to the souls in Purgatory. From these we select the +following.] + + +Our Blessed Lord once said to the Saint: "If a soul is delivered by +prayer from Purgatory I accept it as if I had myself been delivered +from captivity, and I will assuredly reward it according to the +abundance of my mercy." The religious also beheld many souls meeting +before her to testify their gratitude for their deliverance from +Purgatory, through the prayers which had been offered for her, and +which she had not needed. + + * * * * * + +As St. Gertrude prayed fervently before matins on the blessed night of +the Resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to her full of majesty and +glory. Then she cast herself at His feet, to adore Him devoutly and +humbly, saying: "O glorious Spouse, joy of the angels, Thou who hast +shown me the favor of choosing me to be Thy spouse, who am the least of +Thy creatures! I ardently desire Thy glory, and my only friends are +those who love Thee; therefore I beseech Thee to pardon the souls of +Thy special friends [1] by the virtue of Thy most glorious +Resurrection. And to obtain this grace from Thy goodness, I offer Thee, +in union with Thy Passion, all the sufferings which my continual +infirmities have caused me." Then Our Lord, having favored her with +many caresses, showed her a great multitude of souls who were freed +from their pains, saying: "Behold, I have given them to you as a +recompense for your rare affection; and through all eternity they will +acknowledge that they have been delivered by your prayers, and you will +be honored and glorified for it." She replied: "How many are they?" He +answered: "This knowledge belongs to God alone." + +As she feared that these souls, though freed from their pains, were not +yet admitted to glory, she offered to endure whatever God might please, +either in body or soul, to obtain their entrance into that beatitude; +and Our Lord, won by her fervor, granted her request immediately. + +[Footnote 1: "This seems to refer," says the author of the Saint's +life, "to the souls in Purgatory."] + +Some time after, as the Saint suffered most acute pain in her side, she +made an inclination before a crucifix; and Our Lord freed her from the +pain, and granted the merit of it to these souls, recommending them to +make her a return by their prayers. + + * * * * * + +On Wednesday, at the elevation of the Host, she besought Our Lord for +the souls of the faithful in Purgatory, that He would free them from +their pains by virtue of His, admirable Ascension; and she beheld Our +Lord descending into Purgatory with a golden rod in His hand, which had +as many hooks as there had been prayers for their souls; by these He +appeared to draw them into a place of repose. She understood by this, +that whenever any one prays generally, from a motive of charity, for +the souls in Purgatory, the greater part of those who, during their +lives, have exercised themselves in works of charity, are released. + + * * * * * + +On another occasion, as she remarked that she had offered all her +merits for the dead, she said to Our Lord: "I hope, O Lord, that Thou +wilt frequently cast the eyes of Thy mercy on my indigence." He +replied: "What can I do more for one who has thus deprived herself of +all things through charity, than to cover her immediately with +charity?" She answered: "Whatever Thou mayest do, I shall always appear +before Thee destitute of all merit, for I have renounced all I have +gained or may gain." He replied: "Do you not know that a mother would +allow a child who was well clothed to sit at her feet, but she would +take one who was barely clad into her arms, and cover her with her own +garment?" He added: "And now, what advantages have you, who are seated +on the shore of an ocean, over those who sit by a little rivulet?" That +is to say, those who keep their good works for themselves, have the +rivulet; but those who renounce them in love and humility, possess God, +who is an inexhaustible ocean of beatitude. + + * * * * * + +On one occasion, while Mass was being celebrated for a poor woman who +had died lately, St. Gertrude recited five _Pater Nosters_, in +honor of Our Lord's five wounds, for the repose of her soul; and, moved +by divine inspiration, she offered all her good works for the increase +of the beatitude of this person. When she had made this offering, she +immediately beheld the soul in heaven, in the place destined for her; +and the throne prepared for her was elevated as far above the place +where she had been, as the highest throne of the seraphim is above that +of the lowest angel. The Saint then asked Our Lord how this soul had +been worthy to obtain such advantage from her prayers, and He replied: + +"She has merited this grace in three ways: first, because she always +had a sincere will and perfect desire of serving Me in religion, if it +had been possible; secondly, because she especially loved all religious +and all good people; thirdly, because she was always ready to honor Me +by performing any service she could for them." He added: "You may +judge, by the sublime rank to which she is elevated, how agreeable +these practices are to Me." + +A certain religious died who had always been accustomed to pray very +fervently for the souls of the faithful departed; but she had failed in +the perfection of obedience, preferring her own will to that of her +superior in her fasts and vigils. After her decease she appeared +adorned with rich ornaments, but so weighed down by a heavy burden, +which she was obliged to carry, that she could not approach to God, +though many persons were endeavoring to lead her to Him. + +As Gertrude marvelled at this vision, she was taught that the persons +who endeavored to conduct the soul to God were those whom she had +released by her prayers; but this heavy burden indicated the faults she +had committed against obedience. Then Our Lord said: "Behold how those +grateful souls endeavor to free her from the requirements of My +justice, and show these ornaments; nevertheless, she must suffer for +her faults of disobedience and self-will." ... + +Then the Saint beheld her ornament, which appeared like a vessel of +boiling water containing a hard stone, which must be completely +dissolved therein before she could obtain relief from this torment; but +in these sufferings she was much consoled and assisted by those souls, +and by the prayers of the faithful. After this Our Lord showed St. +Gertrude the path by which the souls ascend to heaven. It resembled a +straight plank, a little inclined; so that those who ascended did so +with difficulty. They were assisted and supported by hands on either +side, which indicated the prayers offered for them. + + * * * * * + +One day St. Gertrude asked Our Lord how many souls were delivered from +Purgatory by her prayers and those of her sisters. "The number," +replied Our Lord, "is proportioned to the zeal and fervor of those who +pray for them." He added: "My love urges me to release a great number +of souls for the prayers of each religious, and at each verse of the +psalms which they recite, I release many." + + * * * * * + +When Mass was offered for the deceased Brother Hermann, his soul +appeared to St. Gertrude all radiant with light, and transported with +joy. Then Gertrude said to Our Lord: "Is this soul now entirely freed +from its sufferings?" Our Lord answered: "He is already free from much +suffering, and no human being can form an idea of his glory; but he is +not yet so perfectly purified as to be worthy to enjoy My presence, +though he is approaching nearer and nearer to this purity by the +prayers which are offered for him, and is more and more consoled and +relieved." + + +ST. JOSEPH'S INTERCESSION FOR THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED. + +_(From "Le Propagateur de la Devotion a Saint Joseph.")_ + +ST. FRANCIS DE SALES says: "We do not often enough remember our dead, +our faithful departed." Thus the Church, like a good mother, recalls to +us the thought of the dead when we have forgotten them, and therefore +she consecrates the month of November to the memory of the dead. This +pious and salutary practice of praying for an entire month for the dead +takes its rise from the earliest ages of the Church. The custom of +mourning _thirty days_ for the dead existed amongst the Jews. The +practice of saying thirty Masses on thirty consecutive days was +established by St. Gregory, and Innocent XI. enriched it with +indulgences. "God has made known to me," says the venerable sister +Marie Denise de Martignat, "that a devotion to the death of St. Joseph +obtains many graces for those who are agonizing, and that, as St. +Joseph did not at once pass into heaven--because Jesus Christ had not +opened its gates--but descended into Limbo, it is a most useful +devotion for the agonizing, and for the souls in Purgatory, to offer to +God the resignation of St. Joseph when he was dying and about to leave +Jesus and Mary in this world, and to honor the holy patience of this +great Saint waiting calmly in Limbo until Easter-day, when Jesus +Christ, risen and glorious, released him." And if St. Joseph consoles +the souls in Purgatory, none will be so dear to him as those who were +devout to him in life, and zealous in spreading a devotion to him. + + +ST. FRANCIS DE SALES ON PURGATORY [1] + +[Footnote 1: Consoling Thoughts of St Francis de Sales. Arranged by +Rev. Father Huguet. Pp. 336-7.] + + +The opinion of St. Francis de Sales was that from the thought of +Purgatory we should draw more consolation than pain. The greater number +of those, he said, who fear Purgatory so much, do so in consideration +of their own interests and of the love they bear themselves rather than +the interests of God; and this happens because those who treat of this +place from the pulpit usually speak of its pains and are silent in +regard to the happiness and peace which are found in it.... + +When any of his friends or acquaintances died, he never grew weary of +speaking fondly of them and recommending them to the prayers of others. + +His usual expression was: "We do not sufficiently remember our dead, +our faithful departed;" and the proof of it is that we do not speak +enough of them. We turn away from that discourse as from a sad subject. +We leave the dead to bury their dead. Their memory perishes from us +with the sound of their funeral-bell. We forget that the friendship +which ends even with death, is never true, Holy Scripture assuring us +that true love is stronger than death. + +He was accustomed to say that in this single work of mercy the thirteen +others are assembled. + +Is it not, he said, in some manner, to visit the sick, to obtain by our +prayers the relief of the poor suffering souls in Purgatory? + +Is it not to give drink to those who thirst after the vision of God, +and who are enveloped in burning flames, to share with them the dew of +our prayers? + +Is it not to feed the hungry, to aid in their deliverance by the means +which faith suggests? + +Is it not truly to ransom prisoners? + +Is it not truly to clothe the naked, to procure for them a garment of +light, a raiment of glory? + +Is it not an admirable degree of hospitality, to procure their +admission into the heavenly Jerusalem, and to make them fellow-citizens +with the Saints and domestics of God? + +Is it not a greater service to place souls in heaven than to bury +bodies in the earth? + +As to spirituals, is it not a work whose merit may be compared to that +of counselling the weak, correcting the wayward, instructing the +ignorant, forgiving offenses, enduring injuries? And what consolation, +however great, that can be given to the afflicted of this world, is +comparable with that which is brought by our prayers to those poor +souls which have such bitter need of them? + + +CARDINAL GIBBONS ON PURGATORY. + +The Catholic Church teaches that, besides a place of eternal torments +for the wicked and of everlasting rest for the righteous, there exists +in the next life a middle state of temporary punishment, allotted for +those who have died in venial sin, or who have not satisfied the +justice of God for sins already forgiven. She also teaches us that, +although the souls consigned to this intermediate state, commonly +called Purgatory, cannot help themselves, they may be aided by the +suffrages of the faithful on earth. The existence of Purgatory +naturally implies the correlative dogma--the utility of praying for the +dead; for the souls consigned to this middle state have not reached the +term of their journey. They are still exiles from heaven, and are fit +subjects for divine clemency. + +Is it not strange that this cherished doctrine should be called in +question by the levelling innovators of the sixteenth century, when we +consider that it is clearly taught in the Old Testament; that it is, at +least, insinuated in the New Testament; that it is unanimously +proclaimed by the Fathers of the Church; that it is embodied in all the +ancient liturgies of the Oriental and Western Church; and that it is +alike consonant with our reason and eminently consoling to the human +heart? + + * * * * * + +You now perceive that this devotion is not an invention of modern +times, but a doctrine universally enforced in the best and purest ages +of the Church. + +You see that praying for the dead was not a devotion cautiously +recommended by some obscure or visionary writer, but an act of religion +preached and inculcated by all the great Doctors and Fathers of the +Church, who are the recognized expounders of the Christian religion. + +You see them, too, inculcating this doctrine not as a cold and abstract +principle, but as an imperative act of daily piety, and embodying it in +their ordinary exercises of devotion. + + +They prayed for the dead in their morning and evening devotions. They +prayed for them in their daily office, and in the sacrifice of the +Mass. They asked the prayers of the congregation for the souls of the +deceased, in the public services of Sunday. And on the monuments which +were erected to the dead, some of which are preserved even to this day, +epitaphs were inscribed, earnestly invoking for their souls the prayers +of the living. How gratifying it is to our Catholic hearts, that a +devotion so soothing to afflicted spirits is, at the same time, so +firmly grounded on the tradition of ages. + +That the practice of praying for the dead has descended from apostolic +times is also evident from the _Liturgus_ of the Church. A Liturgy +is the established form of public worship, containing the authorized +prayers of the Church. The Missal, or Mass-book, for instance, which +you see on our altars, contains a portion of the Liturgy of the +Catholic Church. The principal Liturgies are: The Liturgy of St. James +the Apostle, who founded the Church of Jerusalem; the Liturgy of St. +Mark the Evangelist, founder of the Church of Alexandria, and the +Liturgy of St. Peter, who established the Church in Rome. These +Liturgies are called after the Apostles who compiled them. There are, +besides, the Liturgies of St. Chrysostom and St. Basil, which are +chiefly based on that of St. James. + +Now, all these Liturgies, without an exception, have prayers for the +dead, and their providential preservation serves as another triumphant +vindication of the venerable antiquity of this Catholic doctrine. + +The Eastern and the Western churches were happily united until the +fourth and fifth centuries, when the heresiarchs Arius, Nestorius and +Eutyches withdrew millions of souls from the centre of unity. The +followers of these sects were called, after their founders, Arians, +Nestorians, and Eutychians, and from that day to the present the two +latter bodies have formed distinct communions, being separated from the +Catholic Church in the East, just as the Protestant churches are +separated from her in the West. + +The Greek Schismatic Church, of which the present Russo-Greek Church is +the offspring, severed her connection with the See of Rome in the ninth +century. + +But in leaving the Catholic Church, these Eastern sects retained the +old Liturgies, which they use to this day.... + +During my sojourn in Rome, at the Ecumenical Council, I devoted a great +deal of my leisure time to the examination of the various Liturgies of +the Schismatic churches of the East. I found in all of them formulas of +prayers for the dead almost identical with that of the Roman Missal: +"Remember, O Lord, Thy servants who are gone before us with the sign of +faith, and sleep in peace. To these, O Lord, and to all who rest in +Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and +peace, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord!" + +Not content with studying their books, I called upon the Oriental +Patriarchs and Bishops in communion with the See of Rome, who belong to +the Armenian, the Chaldean, the Coptic, the Maronite, and Syriac rites. +They all assured me that the Schismatic Christians of the East among +whom they live have, without exception, prayers and sacrifices for the +dead. + +Now, I ask, when could those Eastern sects have commenced to adopt the +Catholic practice of praying for the dead? They could not have received +it from us since the ninth century, because the Greek Church separated +from us then, and has had no communion with us since that time, except +at intervals, up to the twelfth century. Nor could they have adopted +the practice since the fourth or fifth century, inasmuch as the Arians, +Nestorians, and Eutychians have had no religious communication with us +since that period. Therefore, in common with us, they received this +doctrine from the Apostles.... I have already spoken of the devotion of +the ancient Jewish Church to the souls of the departed. But perhaps you +are not aware that the Jews retain to this day, in their Liturgy, the +pious practice of praying for the dead. Yet such in reality is the +case. + +Amid all their wanderings and vicissitudes of life, though dismembered +and dispersed, like sheep without a shepherd, over the surface of the +globe, the children of Israel have never forgotten or neglected the +sacred duty of praying for their deceased brethren. + +Unwilling to make this assertion without the strongest evidence, I +procured from a Jewish convert an authorized Prayer-book of the Hebrew +Church, from which I extract the following formula of prayers which are +prescribed for funerals: "Departed brother! mayest thou find open the +gates of heaven, and see the city of peace and the dwellings of safety, +and meet the ministering angels hastening joyfully towards thee! And +may the High Priest stand to receive thee, and go thou to the end, rest +in peace, and rise again _into_ life! May the repose established +in the celestial abode... be the lot, dwelling, and the resting place +of the soul of our deceased brother (whom the spirit of the Lord may +guide into Paradise), who departed from this world, according to the +will of God, the Lord of heaven and earth. May the Supreme King of +Kings, through His infinite mercy, hide him under the shadow of His +wings. May He raise him at the end of his days, and cause him to drink +of the stream of His delights!" + +I am happy to say that the more advanced and enlightened members of the +Episcopalian Church are steadily returning to the faith of their +forefathers, regarding prayers for the dead. An acquaintance of mine, +once a distinguished clergyman of the Episcopal communion, but now a +convert, informed me that hundreds of Protestant clergymen in this +country, and particularly in England, have a firm belief in the +efficacy of prayers for the dead, but for well-known reasons they are +reserved in the expression of their faith. He easily convinced me of +the truth of his assertion, particularly as far as the Church of +England is concerned, by sending me six different works published in +London, all bearing on the subject of Purgatory. These books are +printed under the auspices of the Protestant Episcopal Church; they all +contain prayers for the dead, and prove, from Catholic grounds, the +existence of a middle state after death, and the duty of praying for +our deceased brethren. [1] + +[Footnote 1: See "Path of Holiness," Rivington's, London: "Treasury of +Devotion," Ibid; "Catechism of Theology," Masten, London.] + +To sum up: we see the practice of praying for the dead enforced in the +ancient Hebrew Church, and in the Jewish synagogue of to-day. We see it +proclaimed age after age by all the Fathers of Christendom. We see it +incorporated in every one of the ancient Liturgies of the East and of +the West. We see it zealously taught by the Russian Church of to-day, +and by that immense family of schismatic Christians scattered over the +East. We behold it, in fine, a cherished devotion of two hundred +millions of Catholics, as well as of a respectable portion of the +Episcopal Church. + +Would it not, my friend, be the height of rashness and presumption in +you to prefer your private opinion to this immense weight of learning, +sanctity, and authority? Would it not be impiety in you to stand aside +with sealed lips, while the Christian world is sending up an unceasing +_De profundis_ for departed brethren? Would it not be cold and +heartless in you not to pray for your deceased friends, on account of +prejudices which have no grounds in Scripture, tradition, or reason +itself? + + * * * * * + +Oh! far from us a religion which would decree an eternal divorce +between the living and the dead. How consoling is it to the Catholic, +to think that, in praying thus for his departed friend, his prayers are +not in violation of, but in accordance with, the voice of the Church; +and that as, like Augustine, he watches at the pillow of a dying +mother, so, like Augustine, he can continue the same office of piety +for her soul after she is dead, by praying for her. How cheering the +reflection that the golden link of prayer unites you still to those who +"fall asleep in the Lord," and that you can still speak to them and +pray for them!.... + +Oh! it is this thought that robs death of its sting and makes the +separation of friends endurable. And if your departed friend needs not +your prayers, they are not lost, but, like the rain absorbed by the +sun, and descending again in fruitful showers on our fields, they will +be gathered by the Sun of Justice, and they will come down in +refreshing showers of grace upon your head. "Cast thy bread upon the +running waters; for, after a long time, thou shalt find it again." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Faith of our Fathers, chap. xvi.] + + +THE DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY. + +ARCHBISHOP HUGHES. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Answer to nine objections made.] + +The Catholic Church does not believe that God created any to be damned +absolutely, notwithstanding their co-operation with the means of +salvation which were secured to them by the death of Jesus Christ; nor +any to be saved absolutely, unless they co-operate with those means. +Hence she has ever taught the doctrine which is inculcated in +Scripture, that heaven may be obtained by all who shall apply the means +which the Saviour of the World has left in His Church for that end: in +a word, that every man shall be judged according to his works. This +doctrine is consonant with the justice which must belong to the Deity. +She knows God is too pure to admit anything defiled into His heavenly +abode (Apoc. xxi. 27); and yet too just and merciful to punish a slight +transgression with the same severity as is due to an enormous crime. +Now, suppose two men to sin against God at the same time, the one by +the deliberate murder of his father--for the case is possible--and the +other, by a slight, almost inadvertent, falsehood; and suppose, +further, that they are both to appear before God the next moment to +answer for the deeds done in the flesh, I ask whether it is consistent +with the idea we have of divine justice to think that both will be +condemned to the same everlasting punishment? If it be, then there is +no more moral turpitude in parricide than in telling a trivial +falsehood, which injures no one, but still is offensive and displeasing +to God. But if it be not consistent with divine justice, then you must +admit the distinction of guilt, and consequently of punishment. Now, +that God exacts a temporary punishment for sin, after the guilt and +eternal punishment are remitted, appears from the testimony of His +Sacred Word. St. Paul teaches that the death of the body is a +punishment which the sin of our first parent entailed on his progeny; +and yet many who have been regenerated by baptism from that original +guilt, nevertheless die before they have committed any actual sin +whatever. The children of Israel had to leave their bones in the +wilderness, after the forty years' sojournment, as a punishment, +inflicted by the Almighty Himself, for sins which He had expressly +forgiven them. Num. xiv. 20, 22. David was forgiven his sin--and yet he +was punished for it, by the death of his child, whom he loved most +tenderly. He sinned by numbering his people; and although it was +forgiven him, he had still to choose his punishment--either war, +famine, or pestilence. If such be the dispensation of God to His +creatures in this world, why may it not be also after death? Will you +say it is because the body is the medium of suffering in this life? +This is not exactly true--the body, indeed, is the medium, in many +instances, through which the soul is made to suffer. But God inflicted +no corporal chastisement on David by taking his child--it was the +king's soul that was touched, and felt, and suffered. Does not the soul +remain susceptible of suffering after death; and may not God, +conformably with the examples here laid down, extend to it in a future +state the same salutary dispensation, for His own just and merciful +purposes? But you will ask what Scripture I can quote to show that He +really does so. Now, suppose I were to refer you to the same rule, and +demand from you the text by which you feel warranted to profane the +Sabbath, and sanctify the Sunday in its stead--what will you have to +answer in reply? Surely if the authority of the Catholic Church is +sufficient to authorize your _practice_ in the one case, it is +equally so with regard to my belief in the other. But our situations +are very different; because I admit the authority of the Church in both +instances, and I shall prove that her doctrine of Purgatory, so far +from opposing, is grounded on Scripture. Whereas you reject the Church, +you make, as you say, the Scripture the _only rule_ of your faith; +and yet when the Scripture says, "Thou shalt keep holy the Sabbath +day," you say I will not sanctify the Sabbath, but I will sanctify the +day after.... This tenet of belief is proved by every text of Scripture +in which it is implied that God will render to every man according to +his works.... If the word Purgatory has anything in it peculiarly +offensive, you will not be the less a Catholic for rejecting it, and +using the Scriptural word _prison_, provided you admit that such a +place exists; in which God after having forgiven the guilt and temporal +punishment of their sins, causes the souls of the imperfect just to +undergo, nevertheless, a temporary chastisement, as David did in this +life, before admitting them into the realms of felicity. Now, if this +be so, is it not rational to believe that the mercy of God will be +moved by the prayers of His faithful servants on earth, who intercede +in behalf of their departed brethren?... In a word, the economy of God +to His creatures even in this life is consistent with the doctrine of +Purgatory. + + +PURGATORY AND WHAT WE OWE TO THE DEAD. + +ARCHBISHOP LYNCH. + +The infallible Church, the spouse of the Holy Ghost, the Pillar and +Ground of Truth and the true teacher of the doctrine of Christ, has, in +the distribution of her feasts and festivals, set apart one day in the +year, the second of November, in favor of the suffering souls in +Purgatory. She calls on all her children to assemble around her sacred +altars, to assist and pray at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the +deliverance from Purgatory of the souls of those who, whilst dying in +peace with Our Lord, still had debts to pay to His infinite justice. + +These debts were contracted by the commission of mortal sin, whose +grievous fault, though removed by the Sacrament of Penance, yet left on +the soul a debt which was not sufficiently atoned for, or by the +commission of venial sin not sufficiently repented of. Purgatory is one +of the great consoling doctrines of the Church of Christ. Only the pure +and perfect can enter Heaven; and how few persons leave this earth of +temptation, sin, and trouble in that state of purity and perfection! If +there were not a place of purification, how few could go straight to +Heaven! Nearly the whole human race would be deprived forever of the +beatific vision of God. God has chosen this way of exhibiting His +justice and mercy: His justice, by exacting the last particle of debt; +and His mercy, by saving the poor repentant sinner. God rewards every +one according to his works. Some are imperfect through want of pure +intention, through carelessness, vanity, or other causes, like the hay +and stubble adhering to gold and precious stones which dull their +lustre. + + * * * * * + +Oh, how few are perfect, and how few do penance in proportion to their +sins! How few, in their dealing with their fellow-men, giving measure +for measure, goods equal to the money paid for them, or services equal +to the pay received! How many fail in charity, in words and actions! +How many prayers said carelessly and without thought, even at the most +solemn times! These will have to be repeated, as it were, in Purgatory. +How many will suffer from their want of charity and mercy to the poor, +and failing to pay their just dues to God's Church for the spiritual +favors they receive from it! "If we give you," says St. Paul, +"spiritual things, you should administer to us temporal things."... + +All spiritual writers agree that the pains of Purgatory are intense, +yet the souls are satisfied to suffer till the last debt is paid. They +would not wish to enter Heaven with stains on their souls. God, in His +great mercy, has permitted some souls suffering in Purgatory to appear +to friends on earth to solicit their prayers and Masses, and to pay +their debts. This the Lives of the Saints and Ecclesiastical History at +all times attest. In these days when faith is fading from some minds, +even in the Church, it behooves especially the Bishops to remind the +faithful of their duties and obligations to their departed friends. It +is thought by some that an expensive funeral, with its many carriages, +and a grand monument over the grave, will satisfy all the requirements +of decency and of family love. Alas! if the dead could only speak from +their graves, they would cry out and say, "All these monuments and this +worldly pageantry only crush us. They only satisfy the vanity of the +living, but in no way alleviate our sufferings in Purgatory."... + +But the Bishops must, from time to time, remind the people of their +duty towards God's servants suffering in Purgatory. In olden times, +when faith, love, and affection were stronger than now, devotion +towards the souls in Purgatory showed itself in numerous foundations in +favor of the souls in Purgatory. Churches and canonries where Masses +were celebrated every day by canons and monks, benefices for the +education of poor students, hospitals for the care of the sick, +periodical distribution of alms to the poor, to have rosaries and other +prayers said and pilgrimages made for the souls in Purgatory. All these +have been swept away by the ruthless hand of the civil power, wishing +to reform the Church; and even at the present day, when the Christian +soul is about to appear before the judgment-seat, there are legal +impediments in the way of his making by will donations for prayers or +Masses. Therefore, my dear people, whilst you are well make provision +for your own soul. Do not entrust it to the care of others who cannot +love you more than you love yourselves. + + * * * * * + +This doctrine of Purgatory has always been taught in the Church and +handed down from bishops and priests to their successors in the sacred +ministry, and by the voice of the people. "Stand fast, and hold the +tradition you have learned, whether by word or by our epistle." (II. +Thess. ii. 14.) Now prayers and Masses for the dead are to be found in +every ancient liturgy of the Church. There is no Oriental liturgy +without prayers for those who have departed in peace. The Apostolic +Constitutions--the most ancient and genuine work--speak largely of +prayers for the dead, for the conversion of sinners. + +There are religious congregations and pious associations specially +devoted to the relief of the souls in Purgatory. St. Vincent de Paul +ordered the priests of his congregation never to go to meals without +first saying the _De Profundis_ for the souls in Purgatory. The +Church ends all the prayers of the divine office with: "May the souls +of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace." One +may turn away with a sad thought from a tomb on which is not engraved: +"May he rest in peace," or on which a cross--the emblem of our hope in +God and in a happy resurrection--does not figure. + +We exhort you, beloved children in Christ, to entertain an earnest +charity towards the souls in Purgatory. You loved them during life; do +not let it be said: "Out of sight, out of mind." Love them in death or, +living, wishing earnestly to go to God. This charity will greatly help +yourselves. If a cup of cold water given to a servant of God shall not +go without its reward, how much more a cup of celestial grace, that +will shorten the time in the flames of Purgatory of a soul that most +ardently longs to see God, who desires it Himself with great love, and +will reward those who shorten the exile of His dear servants. "Those," +says St. Alphonsus Liguori, "who succor the souls in Purgatory will be +succored in turn by the gratitude of those whom they have relieved, and +who enjoy sooner, by their prayers, the beatific vision of God." + + * * * * * + +The Council of Trent, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, has made +decrees on the subject which bind the consciences of the faithful. In +the Thirteenth Canon of the Sixth Session it decrees "that if any one +should say that a repentant sinner, after having received the grace of +justification, the punishment of eternal pains being remitted, has no +temporary punishment to be suffered, either in this life or in the +next, in Purgatory, before he can enter into the Kingdom of God, let +him be anathema." + +Though King David was assured, after his sincere repentance, that his +sin was forgiven, yet the Prophet told him that he had still to suffer +by the death of his child. + +In the Twenty-fourth Session and Third Canon the Holy Council defines +that the Sacrifice of the Mass is propitiatory, both for the living and +the dead, for sins, punishments, satisfactions, and for other +necessities, according to Apostolic traditions; and the Bishop, when he +ordains, places the patena and chalice, with the bread and wine, in the +hands of the young priest and says to him: "Receive the power to offer +to God the Sacrifice of the Mass, as well for the living as for the +dead, in the name of the Lord. Amen." + +The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is, therefore, the most powerful means +of relieving the souls in Purgatory; next is the fervent performance of +the Stations of the Cross, to which so many indulgences are attached; +then other indulgenced prayers; for example, the Rosary. Alms to the +poor is another powerful means. "Blessed are the merciful, for they +shall obtain mercy." + +There is another means which our ancestors loved--to educate a student +for the priesthood. St. Monica rejoiced, on her death-bed, that she had +a son to remember her every day at the altar. If you have not a son you +can adopt one, or subscribe, according to your means, to the Students' +Fund. + +It is the custom in many places--and we wish that it should be +introduced where it is not--to receive the offerings of the people on +All Souls' Day, or the Sunday previous, or subsequent, and the proceeds +to be computed and Masses offered up accordingly. + +We attach the indulgences of the Way of the Cross to certain +crucifixes, and thus enable persons who cannot conveniently visit the +Church to make the Stations there, to gain the indulgences of the +Stations by reciting fourteen times the "Our Father" and "Hail Mary," +with a "Glory be to the Father," etc., for each Station, and five "Our +Fathers" and "Hail Marys" in honor of the five Adorable Wounds, with +one for the intentions of the Pope. + + +PURGATORY SURVEYED. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Published by Burns & Oates, London.] + +FATHER BINET, S. J. + +[The following passages are taken from a most excellent and valuable +work, "Purgatory Surveyed," edited by the late lamented Dr. Anderdon, +S. J., being by him "disposed, abridged, or enlarged," from a treatise +by Father Binet, a French Jesuit, published at Paris in 1625, at Douay +in 1627, and translated soon after by Father Richard Thimbleby, an +English member of the Society of Jesus. Says Dr. Anderdon in his +preface: "The alterations ventured upon in this reprint, consist +chiefly in the mode of punctuation, which, being probably left to a +French compositor, are anomalous, and often perplexing. Some +expressions, so obsolete as to prevent the sense being clear, and in +the same degree lessening the value of the book to the general reader, +have been exchanged for others in more common use.... Let us earnestly +hope that, at this moment, on the threshold of the month specially +dedicated by the Church to devotion on behalf of the Holy Souls, the +joint work of Fathers Binet and Thimbleby may produce an abundant +harvest of intercession. If, during their own brief time of trial, they +were inspired to put together and to enforce such powerful motives to +stir up the faithful to this devotion, will they not now rejoice in the +re-production of their act of zeal and charity? During the two hundred +and fifty years which have elapsed since the first publication of the +French work, many changes and revolutions have taken place in the +histories of those spots of earth, known as France and England. But the +History of Purgatory is ever the same; "happiness and unhappiness" +combined; both unspeakably great; long detention, perhaps, or perhaps +swift release, according to the degree of faith and charity animating +the Church militant. May we now, and henceforth, realize in act, in +habitual practice, and, all the more, from the considerations given in +the following pages, the immense privilege of holding, to so great a +degree, the keys of Purgatory in our hands."] + +Believe it, it is one of the first rudiments, but main principles, of a +Christian, to captivate his understanding, and so regulate all his +dictamens, that they be sure to run parallel with the sentiments of the +Church. And this I take to be the case when the question is started +about Purgatory fire, which I shall ever reckon in the class of those +truths, which cannot be contradicted without manifest temerity; as +being the doctrine generally preached and taught all over Christendom. + +You must, then, conceive Purgatory to be a vast, darksome and hideous +chaos, full of fire and flames, in which the souls are kept close +prisoners, until they have fully satisfied for all their misdemeanors, +according to the estimate of Divine justice. For God has made choice of +this element of fire wherewith to punish souls, because it is the most +active, piercing, sensible, [1] and insupportable of all others. But +that which quickens it, indeed, and gives it more life, is this: that +it acts as the instrument of God's justice, who, by His omnipotent +power, heightens and reinforces its activity as He pleases, and so +makes it capable to act upon bodiless spirits. Do not, then, look only +upon this fire, though in good earnest it be dreadful enough of itself; +but consider the Arm that is stretched out, and the Hand that strikes, +and the rigor of God's infinite justice, who, through this element of +fire, vents His wrath, and pours out whole tempests of His most severe +and yet most just vengeance. So that the fire works as much mischief, +[2] as I may say, to the souls, as God commands; and He commands as +much as is due; and as much is due as the sentence bears: a sentence +irrevocably pronounced at the high tribunal of the severe and rigorous +justice of an angry God, and whose anger is so prevalent that the Holy +Scripture styles it "a day of fury." Now, you will easily believe that +this fire is a most horrible punishment in its own nature; but you may +do well to reflect also on that which I have now suggested; that the +fury of Almighty God is, as it were, the fire of this fire, and the +heat of its heat; and that He serves Himself of it as He pleases, by +doubling and redoubling its sharp pointed forces; for this is that +which makes it the more grievous and insupportable to the souls that +are thus miserably confined and imprisoned. + +[Footnote 1: _i.e._, apprehended by the senses] + +[Footnote 2: _i.e._, Not implying injury, far less injustice; but +simply punishment and suffering] + +They were not much out of the way, that styled Purgatory a transitory +kind of hell, because the principal pains of the damned are to be found +there; with this only difference, that in hell they are eternal, and in +Purgatory they are only transitory and fleeting: for, otherwise, it is +probably the very same fire that burns both the Holy Souls and the +damned spirits; and the pain of loss is, in both places, the chief +torment.... Now, does not your hair stand on end? does not your heart +tremble, when you hear that the poor souls in Purgatory are tormented +with the same, or the like flames to those of the damned? Can you +refrain from crying out, with the Prophet Isaias: "Who can dwell with +such devouring fire, and unquenchable burnings?" Heavens! what a +lamentable case is this! Those miserable souls, who of late, when they +were wedded to their bodies, were so nice and dainty, forsooth, that +they durst scarce venture to enjoy the comfortable heat of a fire, but +under the protection of their screens and their fans, for fear of +spoiling their complexions, and if, by chance, a spark had been so rude +as to light upon them, or a little smoke, it was not to be endured:... +--Alas! how will it fare with them, when they shall see themselves tied +to unmerciful firebrands, or imbodied, as it were, with flames of fire, +surrounded with frightful darkness, broiled and consumed without +intermission, and perhaps condemned to the same fire with which the +devils are unspeakably tormented? (Pages 4-7.) + + * * * * * + +Good God! how the great Saints and Doctors astonish me when they treat +of this fire, and of the pain of sense, as they call it! For they +peremptorily pronounce that the fire that purges those souls, those +both happy and unhappy souls, surpasses all the torments that are to be +found in this miserable life of man, or are possible to be invented, +for so far they go... Thus they discourse: The fire and the pains of +the other world are of another nature from those of this life, because +God elevates them above their nature to be instruments of His severity. +Now, say they, things of an inferior degree can never reach the power +of such things as are of a higher rank. For example, the air, let it be +ever so inflated, unless it be converted into fire, can never be so hot +as fire. Besides, God bridles His rigor in this world; but, in the +next, He lets the reins loose and punishes almost equally to the +desert. And, since those souls have preferred creatures before their +Creator, He seems to be put upon a necessity of punishing them beyond +the ordinary strength of creatures; and hence it is that the fire of +Purgatory burns more, torments and inflicts more, than all the +creatures of this life are able to do. But is it really true that the +least pain in Purgatory exceeds the greatest here upon earth? O God! +the very statement makes me tremble for fear, and my very heart freezes +into ice with astonishment. And yet, who dare oppose St. Augustine, St. +Thomas, St. Anselm, St. Gregory the Great? Is there any hope of +carrying the negative assertion against such a stream of Doctors, who +all maintain the affirmative, and bring so strong reasons for it?... + + * * * * * + +But for Thy comfort, there are Doctors in the Catholic Church that +cannot agree with so much severity; and, namely, St. Bonaventure, who +is very peremptory in denying it. "For, what way is there," says this +holy Doctor, "to verify so great a paradox, without sounding reason, +and destroying the infinite mercy of God? I am easily persuaded there +are torments in Purgatory far exceeding any in this mortal life; this +is most certain, and it is but reasonable it should be so; but that the +least there should be more terrible than the most terrible in the world +cannot enter into my belief. May it not often fall out that a man comes +to die in a most eminent state of perfection, save only, that in his +last agony, out of mere frailty, he commits a venial sin, or carries +along with him some relic of his former failings, which might have been +easily blotted out with a _Pater Noster_, or washed away with a +little holy water; for I am supposing it to be some very small matter. +Now, what likelihood is there, I will not say, that the infinite mercy +of God, but that the very rigor of His justice, though you conceive it +to be ever so severe, should inflict so horrible a punishment upon this +holy soul, as not to be equalled by the greatest torments in this life; +and all this for some petty fault scarce worth the speaking of? How! +would you have God, for a kind of trifle, to punish a soul full of +grace and virtue, and so severely to punish her as to exceed all the +racks, cauldrons, furnaces, and other hellish inventions, which are +scarce inflicted upon the most execrable criminals in the world?" (Pp. +9-11.) + + * * * * * + +It is not the fire, nor all the brimstone and tortures they endure, +which murders them alive. No, no; it is the domestical cause of all +these mischiefs that racks their consciences and is their crudest +executioner. This, this is the greatest of their evils; for a soul that +has shaken off the fetters of flesh and blood, and is full of the love +of God, no more disordered with unruly passions, nor blinded with the +night of ignorance, sees clearly the vast injury she has done to +herself to have offended so good a God, and to have deserved to be thus +banished out of His sight and deprived of that Divine fruition. She +sees how easily she might have flown up straight to heaven at her first +parting with her body, and what trifle it was that impeded her. A +moment lost of those inebriating joys, seems to her now worthy to be +redeemed with an eternity of pains. Then, reflecting with herself that +she was created only for God, and cannot be truly satisfied but by +enjoying God, and that, out of Him, all this goodly machine of the +world is no better than a direct hell and an abyss of evils. Alas! what +worms, what martyrdoms, and what nipping pincers are such pinching +thoughts as these. The fire is to her but as smoke in comparison to +this vexing remembrance of her own follies, which betrayed her to this +disgraceful and unavoidable misfortune. There was a king who, in a +humor gave away his crown and his whole estate, for the present +refreshment of a cup of cold water; but, returning a little to himself +and soberly reflecting what he had done, had like to have run stark mad +to see the strange, irreparable folly he had committed. To lose a year, +or two years (to say no more), of the beatifical vision for a glass of +water, for a handful of earth, for the love of a fading beauty, for a +little air of worldly praise, a mere puff of honor--ah! it is the hell +of Purgatory to a soul that truly loves God and frames a right conceit +of things. (Pp. 14, 15.) + + * * * * * + +Confusion is one of the most intolerable evils that can befall a soul; +and, therefore, St. Paul, speaking of Our blessed Saviour, insists much +upon this, that He had the courage and the love for us all to overcome +the pain of a horrible confusion, which doubtless is an insupportable +evil to a man of intelligence and courage. Tell me, then, if you can, +what a burning shame and what a terrible confusion it must be to those +noble and generous souls, to behold themselves overwhelmed with a +confused chaos of fire, and such a base fire which affords no other +light but a sullen glimmering, choked up with a sulphureous and +stinking smoke; and in the interim to know that the souls of many +country clowns, mere idiots, poor women and simple religious persons, +go straight up to heaven, whilst they lie there burning--they that were +so knowing, so rich and so wise; they that were counsellors to kings, +eminent preachers of God's word, and renowned oracles in the world; +they that were so great divines, so great statesmen, so capable of high +employments. This confusion is much heightened by their further knowing +how easily they might have avoided all this and would not. Sometimes +they would have given whole mountains of gold to be rid of a stone in +the kidneys or a fit of the gout, colic or burning fever, and for a +handful of silver they might have redeemed many years' torments in that +fiery furnace; and, alas! they chose rather to give it to their dogs +and their horses, and sometimes to men more beasts than they and much +more unworthy. Methinks this thought must be more vexing than the fire +itself, though never so grievous. + +And yet there remains one thought more, which certainly has a great +share in completing their martyrdom; and that is the remembrance of +their children or heirs which they left behind them; who swim in nectar +and live jollily on the goods which they purchased with the sweat of +their brows, and yet are so ungrateful, so brutish, and so barbarous +that they will scarce vouchsafe to say a Pater Noster in a whole month +for their souls who brought them into the world, and who, to place them +in a terrestrial paradise of all worldly delights, made a hard venture +of their own souls and had like to have exchanged a temporal punishment +for an eternal. The leavings and superfluities of their lackeys, a +throw of dice, and yet less than that, might have set them free from +these hellish torments; and these wicked, ungrateful wretches would not +so much as think on it. (Pp. 31-33.) + + * * * * * + +Before I leave off finishing this picture, or put a period to the +representation of the pains of Purgatory, I cannot but relate a very +remarkable history which will be as a living picture before your eyes. +But be sure you take it not to be of the number of those idle stories +which pass for old wives' tales, or mere imaginations of cracked brains +and simple souls. No; I will tell you nothing but what Venerable Bede, +so grave an author, witnesses to have happened in his time, and to have +been generally believed all over England without contradiction, and to +have been the cause of wonderful effects; and which is so authenticated +that Cardinal Bellarmine, a man of such judgment as the world knows, +having related it himself, concludes thus: "For my part I firmly +believe this history, as very conformable to the Holy Scripture, and +whereof I can have no doubt without wronging truth and wounding my own +conscience, which ought readily to yield assent unto that which is +attested by so many and so credible witnesses and confirmed by such +holy and admirable events." + +About the year of our Lord 690, a certain Englishman, in the county of +Northumberland, by name Brithelmus, being dead for a time, was +conducted to the place of Purgatory by a guide, whose countenance and +apparel was full of light; you may imagine it was his good Angel. Here +he was shown two broad valleys of a vast and infinite length, one full +of glowing firebrands and terrible flames, the other as full of hail, +ice, and snow; and in both these were innumerable souls, who, as with a +whirlwind, were tossed up and down out of the intolerable scorching +flames, into the insufferable rigors of cold, and out of these into +those again, without a moment of repose or respite. This he took to be +hell, so frightful were those torments; but his good Angel told him no, +it was Purgatory, where the souls did penance for their sins, and +especially such as had deferred their conversion until the hour of +death; and that many of them were set free before the Day of Judgment +for the good prayers, alms, and fasts of the living, and chiefly by the +holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Now this holy man, being raised again from +death to life by the power of God, first made a faithful relation of +all that he had seen, to the great amazement of the hearers, then +retired him self into the church and spent the whole night in prayer; +and soon after, gave away his whole estate, partly to his wife and +children, partly to the poor, and taking upon him the habit and +profession of a monk, led so austere a life that even if his tongue had +been silent, yet his life and conversation spake aloud what wonders he +had seen in the other world. Sometimes they would see him, old as he +was, in freezing water up to his ears, praying and singing with much +sweetness and incredible fervor; and if they asked him, "Brother, alas! +how can you suffer such sharp and biting cold?" "O my friends," would +he say, "I have seen other manner of cold than this." Thus, when he +even groaned under the voluntary burden of a world of most cruel +mortifications, and was questioned how it was possible for a weak and +broken body like his to undergo such austerities, "Alas! my dear +brethren," would he still say, "I have seen far greater austerities +than these: they are but roses and perfumes in comparison of what I +have seen in the subterraneous lakes of Purgatory." And in these kinds +of austerities he spent the remainder of his life and made a holy end, +and purchased an eternal paradise, for having had but a sight of the +pains of Purgatory. And we, dear Christians, if we believed in good +earnest, or could but once procure to have a true sight or apprehension +of them, should certainly have other thoughts and live in another +fashion than we do. (Pp. 44-46.) + + * * * * * + +Now, would you clearly see how the souls can at the same instant swim +in a paradise of delights and yet be overwhelmed with the hellish +torments of Purgatory? Cast your eyes upon the holy martyrs of God's +Church, and observe their behavior. They were torn, mangled, +dismembered, flayed alive, racked, broiled, burnt--and tell me, was not +this to live in a kind of hell? And yet, in the very height of their +torments their hearts and souls were ready to leap for joy; you would +have taken them to be already transported into heaven. Hear them but +speak for themselves. "O lovely cross," cried out St. Andrew, "made +beautiful by the precious Body of Christ, how long have I desired thee, +and with what care have I sought thee! and now, that I have found thee, +receive me into thine arms, and lift me up to my dear Redeemer! O +death, [1] how amiable art thou in my eyes, and how sweet is thy +cruelty!" "Your coals," said St. Cecily, "your flaming firebrands, and +all the terrors of death, are to me but as so many fragrant roses and +lilies, sent from heaven." "Shower down upon me," cried St. Stephen, +"whole deluges of stones, whilst I see the heavens open and Jesus +Christ standing at the right side of His Eternal Father, to behold the +fidelity of His champion." "Turn," exclaimed St. Lawrence, "oh! turn, +the other side, thou cruel tyrant, this is already broiled, and cooked +fit for thy palate. Oh, how well am I pleased to suffer this little +Purgatory for the love of my Saviour!" "Make haste, O my soul," cried +St. Agnes, "to cast thyself upon the bed of flames which thy dear +Spouse has prepared for thee!" "Oh," cried St. Felicitas, and the +mother of the Machabees, "Oh, that I had a thousand children, or a +thousand lives, to sacrifice them all to my God. What a pleasure it is +to suffer for so good a cause!" "Welcome tyrants, tigers, lions," +writes St. Ignatius the Martyr; "let all the torments that the devils +can invent come upon me, so I may enjoy my Saviour. I am the wheat of +Christ; oh, let me be ground with the lions' teeth. Now I begin indeed +to be the disciple of Christ." "Oh, the happy stroke of a sword," might +St. Paul well exclaim, "that no sooner cuts off my head, but it makes a +breach for my soul to enter into heaven. Let it be far from me to glory +in anything, but in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let all evils +band against me, and let my body be never so overloaded with +afflictions, the joy of my heart will be sure to have the mastery, and +my soul will be still replenished with such heavenly consolations that +no words, nor even thoughts, are able to express it." + +[Footnote 1: From the author's text, it seems doubtful whether this +sentence is to be attributed to St. Andrew or St. Cecilia.] + +You may imagine, then, that the souls, once unfettered from the body, +may, together with their torments, be capable of great comforts and +divine favors, and break forth into resolute, heroical, and even +supercelestial acts. + + * * * * * + +But there is yet something of a higher nature to be said.... We have +all the reason in the world to believe that God, of His infinite +goodness, inspires these holy souls with a thousand heavenly lights, +and such ravishing thoughts, that they cannot but take themselves to be +extremely happy: so happy that St. Catherine of Genoa professed she had +learnt of Almighty God that, excepting only the blessed Saints in +heaven, there were no joys comparable to those of the souls in +Purgatory. "For," said she, "when they consider that they are in the +hands of God, in a place deputed for them by His holy providence, and +just where God would have them, it is not to be expressed what a +sweetness they find in so loving a thought: and certainly they had +infinitely rather be in Purgatory, to comply with His divine pleasure, +than be in Paradise, with violence to His justice, and a manifest +breach of the ordinary laws of the house of God. I will say more," +continued she: "it cannot so much as steal into their thoughts to +desire to be anywhere else than where they are. Seeing that God has so +placed them, they are not at all troubled that others get out before +them; and they are so absorbed in this profound meditation, of being at +God's disposal, in the bosom of His sweet providence, that they cannot +so much as dream of being anywhere else. So that, methinks, those kind +expressions of Almighty God, by His prophets, to His chosen people, may +be fitly applied to the unhappy and yet happy condition of these holy +souls. 'Rejoice, my people,' says the loving God; 'for I swear unto you +by Myself, that when you shall pass through flames of fire, they shall +not hurt you: I shall be there with you; I shall take off the edge, and +blunt the points, of those piercing flames. I will raise the bright +Aurora in your darkness; and the darkness of your nights shall outshine +the midday. I will pour out My peace into the midst of your hearts, and +replenish your souls with the bright shining lights of heaven. You +shall be as a paradise of delights, bedewed with a living fountain of +heavenly waters. You shall rejoice in your Creator, and I will raise +you above the height of mountains, and nourish you with manna and the +sweet inheritance of Jacob; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it: +and it cannot fail, but shall be sure to fall out so, because He hath +spoken it'" (Pp. 61, 62). + + * * * * * + +But let not this discourse cool your charity; lest, seeing the souls +enjoy so much comfort in Purgatory, your compassion for them grow +slack, and so continue not equal to their desert. Remember, then, that +notwithstanding all these comforts here rehearsed, the poor creatures +cease not to be grievously tormented; and consequently have extreme +need of all your favorable assistance and pious endeavors. When Christ +Jesus was in His bitter agony, sweating blood and water, the superior +part of His soul enjoyed God and His glory, and yet His body was so +oppressed with sorrow, that He was ready to die, and was content to be +comforted by an Angel. In like manner, these holy souls have indeed +great joys; but feel withal such bitter torments, that they stand in +great need of our help. So that you will much wrong them, and me, too, +to stand musing so long upon their joys, as not to afford them succor. +(P. 80.) + + * * * * * + +In the history of the incomparable order of the great St. Dominic, it +is authentically related that one of the first of those holy, religious +men was wont to say, that he found himself not so much concerned to +pray for the souls in Purgatory, because they are certain of their +salvation; and that, upon this account, we ought not, in his judgment, +to be very solicitous for them, but ought rather to bend our whole care +to help sinner, to convert the wicked, and to secure such souls as are +uncertain of their salvation, and probably certain of their damnation, +as leading very evil lives. Here it is, said he, that I willingly +employ my whole endeavors. It is upon these that I bestow my Masses and +prayers, and all that little that is at my disposal; and thus I take it +to be well bestowed. But upon souls that have an assurance of eternal +happiness, and can never more lose God or offend Him, I believe not, +said he, that one ought to be so solicitous. This certainly was but a +poor and weak discourse, to give it no severer a censure; and the +consequence of it was this, that the good man did not only himself +forbear to help these poor souls, but, which was worse, dissuaded +others from doing it; and, under color of a greater charity, withdrew +that succor which, otherwise, good people would liberally have afforded +them. But God took their cause in hand; for, permitting the souls to +appear and show themselves in frightful shapes, and to haunt the good +man by night and day without respite, still filling his fancy with +dreadful imaginations, and his eyes with terrible spectacles, and +withal letting him know who they were, and why, with God's permission, +they so importuned him with their troublesome visits, you may believe +the good Father became so affectionately kind to the souls in +Purgatory, bestowed so many Masses and prayers upon them, preached so +fervently in their behalf, stirred up so many to the same devotion, +that it is a thing incredible to believe, and not to be expressed with +eloquence. Never did you see so many and so clear and convincing +reasons as he alleged, to demonstrate that it is the most eminent piece +of fraternal charity in this life to pray for the souls departed. Love +and fear are the two most excellent orators in the world; they can +teach all rhetoric in a moment, and infuse a most miraculous eloquence. +This good Father, who thought he should have been frightened to death, +was grown so fearful of a second assault, that he bent his whole +understanding to invent the most pressing and convincing arguments to +stir up the world both to pity and to piety, and so persuade souls to +help souls; and it is incredible what good ensued thereupon. (Pp. 82- +84.) + + * * * * * + +Is there anything within the whole circumference of the universe so +worthy of compassion, and that may so deservedly claim the greatest +share in all your devotions and charities, as to see our fathers, our +mothers, our nearest and dearest relations, to lie broiling in cruel +flames, and to cry to us for help with tears that are able to move +cruelty itself? Whence I conclude there is not upon the earth any +object that deserves more commiseration than this, nor where fraternal +charity can better employ all her forces. (P. 86.) + + * * * * * + +St. Thomas tells us there is an order to be observed in our works of +charity to our neighbor; that is, we are to see where there is a +greater obligation, a greater necessity, a greater merit, and the like +circumstances. Now, where is there more necessity, or more obligation, +than to run to the fire, and to help those that lie there, and are not +able to get out? Where can you have more merit, than to have a hand in +raising up Saints and servants of God? Where have you more assurance +than where you are sure to lose nothing? Where can you find an object +of more compassion, than where there is the greatest misery in the +world? Where is there seen more of God's glory, than to send new Saints +into heaven to praise God eternally? Lastly, where can you show more +charity, and more of the love of God, than to employ your tears, your +sighs, your goods, your hands, your heart, your life, and all your +devotion, to procure a good that surpasses all other goods; I mean, to +make souls happy for all eternity, by translating them into heavenly +joys, out of insupportable torments? That glorious Apostle of the +Indies, St. Francis Xavier, could run from one end of the world to the +other, to convert a soul, and think it no long journey. The dangers by +sea and land seemed sweet, the tempests pleasing, the labor easy, and +his whole time well employed. Good God! what an advantage have we, that +with so little trouble and few prayers, may send a thousand beautiful +souls into heaven, without the least hazard of losing anything? St. +Francis Xavier could not be certain that the Japanese, for example, +whom he baptized, would persevere in their faith; and, though they +should persevere in it, he could have as little certainty of their +salvation. Now, it is an article of our faith, that the holy souls in +Purgatory are in grace, and shall assuredly one day enter into the +Kingdom of Heaven. (Pp. 91, 92.) + + * * * * * + +We read in the life of St. Catherine of Bologna, ... that she had not +only a strange tenderness for the souls, but a singular devotion to +them, and was wont to recommend herself to them in all her necessities. +The reason she alleged for it was this: that she had learned of +Almighty God how she had frequently obtained far greater favors by +their intercession than by any other means. And the story adds this: +that it often happened that what she begged of God, at the intercession +of the Saints in heaven, she could never obtain of Him; and yet, as +soon as she addressed herself to the souls in Purgatory she had her +suit instantly granted. Can there be any question but there are souls +in that purging fire who are of a higher pitch of sanctity, and of far +greater merit in the sight of God, than a thousand and a thousand +Saints who are already glorious in the Court of Heaven. (P. 102.) + + * * * * * + +Cardinal Baronius, a man of credit beyond exception, relates, in his +Ecclesiastical Annals, how a person of rare virtue found himself +dangerously assaulted at the hour of his death; and that, in this +agony, he saw the heavens open and about eight thousand champions, all +covered with white armor, descend, who fell instantly to encourage him +by giving him this assurance: that they were come to fight for him and +to disengage him from that doubtful combat. And when, with infinite +comfort, and tears in his eyes, he besought them to do him the favor to +let him know who they were that had so highly obliged him: "We are," +said they, "the souls whom you have saved and delivered out of +Purgatory; and now, to requite the favor, we are come down to convey +you instantly to heaven." And with that, he died. + +We read another such story of St. Gertrude; how she was troubled at her +death to think what must become of her, since she had given away all +the rich treasure of her satisfactions to redeem other poor souls, +without reserving anything to herself; but that Our Blessed Saviour +gave her the comfort to know that she was not only to have the like +favor of being immediately conducted into heaven out of this world, by +those innumerable souls whom she had sent thither before her by her +fervent prayers, but was there also to receive a hundred-fold of +eternal glory in reward of her charity. By which examples we may learn +that we cannot make better use of our devotion and charity than this +way. (Pp. 104, 105.) + + * * * * * + +The Church Triumphant, to speak properly, cannot satisfy, because there +is no place for penal works in the Court of Heaven, whence all grief +and pain are eternally banished. + +Wherefore, the Saints may well proceed by way of impetration and +prayers; or, at most, represent their former satisfactions, which are +carefully laid up in the treasury of the Church, in lieu of those which +are due from others; but, as for any new satisfaction or payment +derived from any penal act of their own, it is not to be looked for in +those happy mansions of eternal glory. + +The Church Militant may do either; as having this advantage over the +Church Triumphant, that she can help the souls in Purgatory by her +prayers and satisfactory works, and by offering up her charitable +suffrages, wherewith to pay the debts of those poor souls who are run +in arrear in point of satisfaction due for their sins. Had they but +fasted, prayed, labored, or suffered a little more in this life, they +had gone directly into heaven; what they unhappily neglected we may +supply for them, and it will be accepted for good payment, as from +their bails and sureties. You know, he that stands surety for another +takes the whole debt upon himself. This is our case; for, the living, +as it were, entering bond for the dead, become responsible for their +debts, and offer up fasts for fasts, tears for tears, in the same +measure and proportion as they were liable to them, and so defray the +debt of their friends at their own charge, and make all clear. (Pp. +117, 118.) + + * * * * * + +I am in love with that religious practice of Bologna, where, upon +funeral days, they cause hundreds and thousands of Masses to be said +for the soul departed, in lieu of other superfluous and vain +ostentations. They stay not for the anniversary, nor for any other set +day; but instantly do their best to release the poor soul from her +torments, who must needs think the year long, if she must stay for help +till her anniversary day appears. They do not, for all this, despise +the laudable customs of the Church; they bury their friends with honor; +they clothe great numbers of poor people; they give liberal alms; but, +as there is nothing so certain, nothing so efficacious, nothing so +divine, as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, they fix their whole +affection there, and strive all they can to relieve the souls this way; +and are by no means so lavish, as the fashion is, in other idle +expenses and inopportune feastings, which are often more troublesome to +the living than comfortable to the dead. + +But you may not only comfort the afflicted souls by procuring Masses +for them, nor yet only by offering up your prayers, fasts, alms-deeds, +and such other works of piety; but you may bestow upon them all the +good you do, and all the evil you suffer, in this world.... If you +offer up unto God all that causes you any grief or affliction, for the +present relief of the poor languishing souls, you cannot believe what +ease and comfort they will find by it. (Pp. 123-125). + + * * * * * + +The world has generally a great esteem of Monsieur d'Argenton, Philip +Commines; and many worthily admire him for the great wisdom and +sincerity he has labored to express in his whole history. But, for my +part, I commend him for nothing more than for the prudent care he took +here for the welfare of his own soul in the other world. For, having +built a goodly chapel at the Augustinians in Paris, and left them a +good foundation, he tied them to this perpetual obligation, that they +should no sooner rise from table, but they should be sure to pray for +the rest of this precious soul. And he ordered it thus, by his express +will, that one of the religious should first say aloud: "Let us pray +for the soul of Monsieur d'Argenton;" and then all should instantly say +the psalm _De Profundis_. Gerson lost not his labor when he took +such pains to teach little children to repeat often these words: "My +God, my Creator, have pity on Thy poor servant, John Gerson." For these +innocent souls, all the while the good man was dying, and after he was +dead, went up and down the town with a mournful voice, singing the +short lesson he had taught them, and comforting his dear soul with +their innocent prayers. + +Now, as I must commend their prudence who thus wisely cast about how to +provide for their own souls, against they come into Purgatory, so I +cannot but more highly magnify their charity, who, less solicitous for +themselves, employ their whole care to save others out of that dreadful +fire. And sure I am, they can lose nothing by the bargain, who dare +thus trust God with their own souls, while they do their uttermost to +help others; nay, though they should follow that unparalleled example +of Father Hernando de Monsoy, of the Society of Jesus, who, not content +to give away all he could from himself to the poor souls, while he +lived, made them his heirs after death; and, by express will, +bequeathed them all the Masses, rosaries, and whatsoever else should be +offered for him by his friends upon earth. (Pp. 131-132.) + + * * * * * + +It will not be amiss here to resolve you certain pertinent questions. +Whether the suffrages we offer up unto God shall really avail them for +whom we offer them; and whether they alone, or others also, may receive +benefit by them? Whether it be better to pray for a few at once, or for +many, or for all the souls together, and for what souls in particular? + +To the first I answer: if your intention be to help any one in +particular who is really in Purgatory, so your work be good, it is +infallibly applied to the person upon whom you bestow it. For, as +divines teach, it is the intention of the offerer which governs all; +and God, of His infinite goodness, accommodates Himself to the +petitioner's request, applying unto each one what has been offered for +its relief. If you have nobody in your thoughts for whom you offer up +your prayers, they are only beneficial to yourself; and what would be +thus lost for want of application, God lays up in the treasury of the +Church, as being a kind of spiritual waif or stray, to which nobody can +lay any just claim. And, since it is the intention which entitles one +to what is offered before all others, what right can others pretend to +it; or with what justice can it be parted or divided amongst others, +who were never thought of? + +And hence I take my starting-point to resolve your other question--that +if you regard their best advantage whom you have a mind to favor, you +had better pray for a few than for many together; for, since the merit +of your devotions is but limited, and often in a very small proportion, +the more you divide and subdivide it amongst many, the lesser share +comes to every one in particular. As if you should distribute a crown +or an angel [1] amongst a thousand poor people, you easily see your +alms would be so inconsiderable, they would be little better for it; +whereas, if it were all bestowed upon one or two, it were enough to +make them think themselves rich. + +[Footnote 1: A gold coin of that period so called because it was +stamped with the image of an angel.] + +Now, to define precisely, whether it be always better done, to help one +or two souls efficaciously, than to yield a little comfort to a great +many, is a question I leave for you to exercise your wits in. I could +fancy it to be your best course to do both; that is, sometimes to +single out some particular soul, and to use all your powers to lift her +up to heaven; sometimes, again, to parcel out your favors upon many; +and, now and then, also to deal out a general alms upon all Purgatory. +And you need not fear exceeding in this way of charity, whatsoever you +bestow; for you may be sure nothing will be lost by it. And St. Thomas +will tell you, for your comfort, that since all the souls in Purgatory +are perfectly united in charity, they rejoice exceedingly when they see +any of their whole number receive such powerful helps as to dispose her +for heaven. They every one take it as done to themselves, whatsoever is +bestowed upon any of their fellows, whom they love as themselves; and, +out of a heavenly kind of courtesy, and singular love, they joy in her +happiness, as if it were their own. So that it may be truly said, that +you never pray for one or more of them, but they are all partakers, and +receive a particular comfort and satisfaction by it. (Pp. 132-134.) + + * * * * * + +It would go hard with many, were it true that a person who neglected to +make restitution in his life-time, and only charged his heirs to do it +for him in his last will and testament, shall not stir out of Purgatory +till restitution be really made; let there be never so many Masses +said, and never so many satisfactory works offered up for him. And yet +St. Bridget, whose revelations are, for the most part, approved by the +Church, hesitates not to set this down for a truth which God had +revealed unto her. Nor are there wanting grave divines that countenance +this rigorous position, and bring for it many strong reasons and +examples, which they take to be authentical: and the law itself, which +says that if a man do not restore another's goods, there will always +stick upon the soul a kind of blemish, or obligation of justice. And +since the fault lies wholly at his door, he cannot, say they, have the +least reason to complain of the severity of God's justice, but must +accuse his own coldness and extreme neglect of his own welfare. Nay, +even those that are of the contrary persuasion, yet maintain that it is +not only much more secure, but far more meritorious, to satisfy such +obligations while we live, than to trust others with it, let them be +never so near and dear to us.... (Pp. 140, 141.) + + * * * * * + +... I have just cause to fear that all I can say to you will hardly +suffice to mollify that hard heart of yours; and, therefore, my last +refuge shall be to set others on, though I call them out of the other +world. + +And first, let a damned soul read you a lecture, and teach you the +compassion you ought to bear to your afflicted brethren. Remember how +the rich glutton in the Gospel, although he was buried in hell-fire, +took care for his brothers who survived him; and besought Abraham to +send Lazarus back into the world, to preach and convert them, lest they +should be so miserable as to come into that place of torments. A +strange request for a damned soul! and which may shame you, that are so +little concerned for the souls of your brethren, who are in so restless +a condition. + +In the next place, I will bring in the soul of your dear father, or +mother, to make her own just complaints against you. Lend her, then, a +dutiful and attentive ear; and let none of her words be lost; for she +deserves to be heard out, while she sets forth the state of her most +lamentable condition. Peace! it is a holy soul, though clothed in +flames, that directs her speech to you after this manner: + +"Am I not the most unfortunate and wretched parent that ever lived? I +that was so silly as to presume that having ventured my life, and my +very soul also, to leave my children at their ease, they would at least +have had some pity on me, and endeavor to procure for me some ease and +comfort in my torments. Alas! I burn insufferably, I suffer infinitely, +and have done so, I know not how long; and yet this is not the only +thing that grieves me. Alas, no! it is a greater vexation to me to see +myself so soon forgotten by my own children, and so slighted by them, +for whom I have in vain taken so much care and pains. Ah, dost thou +grudge thy poor mother a Mass, a slight alms, a sigh, or a tear? Thy +mother, I say, who would most willingly have kept bread from her own +mouth, to make thee swim in an ocean of delights, and to abound with +plenty of all worldly goods? ... Who will not refuse me comfort, when +my own children, my very bowels, do their best to forget me? What a +vexation is it to me, when my companions in misery ask me whether I +left no children behind me, and why they are so hard-hearted as to +neglect me?.... I was willing to forget my own concerns to be careful +of theirs; and those ungrateful ones have now buried me in an eternal +oblivion, and clearly left me to shift for myself in these dread +tortures, without giving me the least ease or comfort. Oh, what a fool +was I! had I given to the poor the thousandth part of those goods which +I left these miserable children, I had long before this been joyfully +singing the praises of my Creator, in the choir of Angels; whereas now +I lie panting and groaning under excessive torments, and am like still +to lie, for any relief that is to be looked for from these undutiful, +ungracious children whom I made my sole heirs.... But am I not all this +while strangely transported, miserable that I am, thus to amuse myself +with unprofitable complaints against my children; whereas, indeed, I +have but small reason to blame any but myself? since it is I, and only +I, that am the cause of all this mischief. For did not I know that in +the grand business of saving my soul, I was to have trusted none but +myself? did I not know that with the sight of their friends, at their +departure, men used to lose all the memory and friendship they had for +them?.... Did I not know that God Himself had foretold us, that the +only ready way to build ourselves eternal tabernacles in the next +world, is not to give all to our children, but to be liberal to the +poor?.... I cannot deny, then, but the fault lies at my door, and that +I am deservedly thus neglected by my children.... The only comfort I +have left me in all my afflictions, is, that others will learn at my +cost this clear maxim: not to leave to others a matter of such near +concern as the ease and repose of their own souls; but to provide for +them carefully themselves. O God! how dearly have I bought this +experience; to see my fault irreparable, and my misery without +redress!" (Pp. 146-149.) + + * * * * * + +One must have a heart of steel, or no heart at all, to hear these sad +regrets, and not feel some tenderness for the poor souls, and as great +an indignation against those who are so little concerned for the souls +of their parents and other near relations. I wish, with all my soul, +that all those who shall light upon this passage, and hear the soul so +bitterly deplore her misfortune, may but benefit themselves half as +much by it as a good prelate did when the soul of Pope Benedict VIII, +by God's permission, revealed unto him her lamentable state in +Purgatory. [1] For so the story goes, which is not to be questioned: +This Pope Benedict appears to the Bishop of Capua, and conjures him to +go to his brother, Pope John, who succeeded him in the Chair of St. +Peter, and to beseech him, for God's sake, to give great store of alms +to poor people, to allay the fury of the fire of Purgatory, with which +he found himself highly tormented. He further charges him to let the +Pope know withal, that he did acknowledge liberal alms had already been +distributed for that purpose; but had found no ease at all by it +because all the money that had been then bestowed was acquired +unjustly, and so had no power to prevail before the just tribunal of +God for the obtaining of the least mercy. The good Bishop, upon this, +makes haste to the Pope, and faithfully relates the whole conference +that had passed between him and the soul of his predecessor; and with a +grave voice and lively accent enforces the necessity and importance of +the business; that, in truth, when a soul lies a burning, it is in vain +to dispute idle questions; the best course, then, is to run instantly +for water, and to throw it on with both hands, calling for all the help +and assistance we can, to relieve her; and that His Holiness should +soon see the truth of the vision by the wonderful effects which were +like to follow. All this he delivers so gravely, and so to the purpose, +that the Pope resolves out of hand to give in charity vast sums out of +his own certain and unquestionable revenue; whereby the soul of Pope +Benedict was not only wonderfully comforted, but, questionless, soon +released of her torments. In conclusion, the good Bishop, having well +reflected with himself in what a miserable condition he had seen the +soul of a Pope who had the repute of a Saint, and was really so, worked +so powerfully with him, that, quitting his mitre, crosier, bishopric, +and all worldly greatness, he shut himself up in a monastery, and there +made a holy end; choosing rather to have his Purgatory in the austerity +of a cloister than in the flames of the Church suffering. (Pp. 150, +151.) + +[Footnote 1: Baronius, _An._ 1024.] + + * * * * * + +I wish, again, they would in this but follow the example of King Louis +of France, who was son to Louis the Emperor, surnamed the Pious. For +they tell us [1] that this Emperor, after he had been thirty-three +years in Purgatory, not so much for any personal crimes or misdemeanors +of his own as for permitting certain disorders in his empire, which he +ought to have prevented, was at length permitted to show himself to +King Louis, his son, and to beg his favorable assistance; and that the +king did not only most readily grant him his request, procuring Masses +to be said in all the monasteries of his realm for the soul of his +deceased father, but drew thence many good reflections and profitable +instructions, which served him all his life-time after. Do you the +same; and believe it, though Purgatory fire is a kind of baptism, and +is so styled by some of the holy Fathers, because it cleanses a soul +from all the dross of sin, and makes it worthy to see God, yet is it +your sweetest course, here to baptize yourself frequently in the tears +of contrition, which have a mighty power to cleanse away all the +blemishes of sin; and so prevent in your own person, and extinguish in +others, those baptismal flames of Purgatory fire, which are so +dreadful. (Pp. 151, 152.) + +[Footnote 1: Baronius, _An_. 874.] + + * * * * * + +What shall I say of those other nations, whose natural piety led them +to place burning lamps at the sepulchres of the dead, and strew them +over with sweet flowers and odoriferous perfumes. [1] Do they not put +Christians in mind to remember the dead, and to cast after them the +sweet incense of their devout sighs and prayers, and the perfumes of +their alms-deeds, and other good works? + +[Footnote 1: Herod lib. 2.] + +It was very usual with the old Romans to shed whole floods of tears, to +reserve them in phial-glasses, and to bury them with the urns, in which +the ashes of their dead friends were carefully laid up; and by them to +set lamps, so artificially composed as to burn without end. By which +symbols they would give us to understand, that neither their love nor +their grief should ever die; but that they would always be sure to +have tears in their eyes, love in their hearts, and a constant memory +in their souls for their deceased friends.... + +They had another custom, not only in Rome but elsewhere, to walk about +the burning pile where the corpse lay, and, with their mournful +lamentations, to keep time with the doleful sound of their trumpets; +and still, every turn, to cast into the fire some precious pledge of +their friendship. The women themselves would not stick to throw in +their rings, bracelets, and other costly attires, nay, their very hair +also, the chief ornament of their sex; and they would have been +sometimes willing to have thrown in both their eyes, and their hearts +too. Nor were there some wanting, that in earnest threw themselves into +the fire, to be consumed with their dear spouses; so that it was found +necessary to make a severe law against it; such was the tenderness that +they had for their deceased friends, such was the excess of a mere +natural affection. Now, our love is infused from Heaven; it is +supernatural, and consequently ought to be more active and powerful to +stir up our compassion for the souls departed; and yet we see the +coldness of Christians in this particular; how few there are who make +it their business to help poor souls out of their tormenting flames. It +is not necessary to make laws to hinder any excess in this article; it +were rather to be wished that a law were provided to punish all such +ungrateful persons as forgot the duty they owe to their dead parents, +and all the obligations they have to the rest of their friends. (Pp. +156-158.) + + * * * * * + +It is a pleasure to observe the constant devotion of the Church of +Christ in all ages, to pray for the dead. And first, to take my rise +from the Apostles' time, there are many learned interpreters, who hold +that baptism for the dead, of which the Apostle speaks, [1] to be meant +only of the much fasting, prayer, alms-deeds, and other voluntary +afflictions, which the first Christians undertook for the relief of +their deceased friends. But I need not fetch in obscure places to prove +so clear an Apostolical and early custom in God's Church. + +[Footnote 1: Cor. xv 29.] + +You may see a set form of prayer for the dead prescribed in all the +ancient liturgies of the Apostles. [1] Besides, St. Clement [2] tells +us, it was one of the chief heads of St. Peter's sermons, to be daily +inculcating to the people this devotion of praying for the dead; and +St. Denis [3] sets down at large the solemn ceremonies and prayers, +which were then used at funerals; and receives them no otherwise than +as Apostolical traditions, grounded upon the Word of God. And +certainly, it would have done you good to have seen with what gravity +and devotion that venerable prelate performed the divine office and +prayer for the dead, and what an ocean of tears he drew from the eyes +of all that were present. + +[Footnote 1: Liturgia utrinque, S. Jacobi, S. Math., S. Marci, S. Clem.] + +[Footnote 2: Epist. I.] + +[Footnote 3: S Dion. _Eccles. Hier_. C. 7.] + +Let Tertullian [1] speak for the next age. He tells us how carefully +devout people in his time kept the anniversaries of the dead, and made +their constant oblations for the sweet rest of their souls. "Here it +is," says this grave author, "that the widow makes it appear whether or +no she had any true love for her husband; if she continue yearly to do +her best for the comfort of his soul." ... Let your first care be, to +ransom him out of Purgatory, and when you have once placed him in the +empyrean heaven, he will be sure to take care for you and yours. I know +your excuse is, that having procured for him the accustomed services of +the Church, you need do no more for him; for you verily believe he is +already in a blessed state. But this is rather a poor shift to excuse +your own sloth and laziness, than that you believe it to be so in good +earnest. For there is no man, says Origen, but the Son of God, can +guess how long, or how many ages, a soul may stand in need of the +purgation of fire. Mark the word _ages_; he seems to believe that +a soul may, for whole ages--that is, for so many hundred years--be +confined to this fiery lake, if she be wholly left to herself and her +own sufferings. + +[Footnote 1: Tertull. _De cor. mil. c 3; _De monogam, c. 10.] + +It was not without confidence, says Eusebius, of reaping more fruit +from the prayers of the faithful, that the honor of our nation, and the +first Christian Emperor, Constantine the Great, took such care to be +buried in the Church of the Apostles, whither all sorts of devout +people resorting to perform their devotions to God and His Saints, +would be sure to remember so good an emperor. Nor did he fail of his +expectation; for it is incredible, as the same author observes, what a +world of sighs and prayers were offered up for him upon this occasion. + +St. Athanasius [1] brings an elegant comparison to express the +incomparable benefit which accrues to the souls in Purgatory by our +prayers. As the wine, says he, which is locked up in the cellar, yet is +so recreated with the sweet odor of the flourishing vines which are +growing in the fields, as to flower afresh, and leap, as it were, for +joy, so the souls that are shut up in the centre of the earth feel the +sweet incense of our prayers, and are exceedingly comforted and +refreshed by it. + +[Footnote 1: St. Augustine's views on this subject may be seen from the +extract elsewhere given, from his "Confessions," on the occasion of the +death of his mother, St. Monica.] + +We do not busy ourselves, says St. Cyril, with placing crowns or +strewing flowers at the sepulchres of the dead; but we lay hold on +Christ, the very Son of God, who was sacrificed upon the Cross for our +sins: and we offer Him up again to His Eternal Father in the dread +Sacrifice of the Mass, as the most efficacious means to reconcile Him, +not only to ourselves, but to them also. + +St. Epiphanius stuck not to condemn Arius for this damnable heresy +amongst others, that he held it in vain to pray for the dead: as if our +prayers could not avail them. + +St. Ambrose prayed heartily for the good Emperor Theodosius as soon as +he was dead, and made open profession that he would never give over +praying for him till he had, by his prayers and tears, conveyed him +safe to the holy mountain of Our Lord, whither he was called by his +merits, and where there is true life everlasting. He had the same +kindness for the soul of the Emperor Valentinian, the same for Gratian, +the same for his brother Satyrus and others. He promised them Masses, +tears, prayers, and that he would never forget them, never give over +doing charitable offices for them. + +"Will you honor your dead?" says St. John Chrysostom; "do not spend +yourselves in unprofitable lamentations; choose rather to sing psalms, +to give alms, and to lead holy lives. Do for them that which they would +willingly do for themselves, were they to return again into the world, +and God will accept it at your hands, as if it came from them." (Pp. +162-166.) + +St. Paulinus, that charitable prelate who sold himself to redeem +others, could not but have a great proportion of charity for captive +souls in the other world. No; he was not only ready to become a slave +himself to purchase their freedom, but he became an earnest solicitor +to others in their behalf; for, in a letter to Delphinus, alluding to +the story of Lazarus, he beseeches him to have at least so much +compassion as to convey, now and then, a drop of water wherewith to +cool the tongues of poor souls that lie burning in the Church which is +all a-fire. + +I am astonished when I call to mind the sad regrets of the people of +Africa when they saw some of their priests dragged away to martyrdom. +The author says they flocked about them in great numbers and cried out: +"Alas! if you leave us so, what will become of us? Who must give us +absolution for our sins? Who must bury us with the wonted ceremonies of +the Church when we are dead? and who will take care to pray for our +souls?" Such a general belief they had in those days, that nothing is +more to be desired in this world than to leave those behind us who will +do their best to help us out of our torments. (Pp. 167-8.) + + * * * * * + +Almighty God has often miraculously made it appear how well He is +pleased to be importuned by us in the souls' behalf, and what comfort +they receive by our prayers. St. John Climacus writes, [1] that while +the monks were at service, praying for their good father, Mennas, the +third day after his departure, they felt a marvellous sweet smell to +rise out of his grave, which they took for a good omen that his sweet +soul, after three days' purgation, had taken her flight into heaven. +For what else could be meant by that sweet perfume but the odor of his +holy and innocent conversation, or the incense of their sacrifices and +prayers, or the primitial fruits of his happy soul, which was now flown +up to the holy mountain of eternal glory, there enjoying the +odoriferous and never-fading delights of Paradise? + +[Footnote 1: In 4, gradu scalæ.] + +Not unlike unto this is that story which the great St. Gregory relates +of one Justus, a monk. [1] He had given him up at first for a lost +creature; but, upon second thoughts, having ordered Mass to be said for +him for thirty days together, the last day he appeared to his brother +and assured him of the happy exchange he was now going to make of his +torments for the joys of heaven. + +[Footnote 1: Dial. c. 55, lib. 4.] + +Pope Symmachus and his Council [1] had reason to thunder out anathemas +against those sacrilegious persons who were so frontless as to turn +pious legacies into profane uses, to the great prejudice of the souls +for whose repose they were particularly deputed by the founders. And, +certainly, it is a much fouler crime to defraud souls of their due +relief than to disturb dead men's ashes and to plunder their graves. +(Pp. 168-9.) + +[Footnote 1: 6 Synod., Rom.] + +St. Isidore delivers it as an apostolic tradition and general practice +of the Catholic Church in his time, to offer up sacrifices and prayers, +and to distribute alms for the dead; and this, not for any increase of +their merit, but either to mitigate their pains or to shorten the time +of their durance. + +Venerable Bede is a sure witness for the following century; whose +learned works are full of wonderful stories, which he brings in +confirmation of this Catholic doctrine and practice. + +St. John Damascene made an elegant oration on purpose to stir up this +devotion; where, amongst other things, he says it is impossible to +number up all the stories in this kind which bear witness that the +souls departed are relieved by our prayers; and that, otherwise, God +would not have appointed a commemoration of the dead to be daily made +in the unbloody Sacrifice of the Mass, nor would the Church have so +religiously observed anniversaries and other days set apart for the +service of the dead. + +Were it but a dog, says Simon Metaphrastes, that by chance were fallen +into the fire, we should have so much compassion for him as to help him +out; and what shall we do for souls who are fallen into Purgatory fire? +I say, souls of our parents and dearest friends; souls that are +predestinate to eternal glory, and extremely precious in the sight of +God? And what did not the Saints of God's Church for them in those +days? Some armed themselves from head to foot in coarse hair-cloth; +others tore off their flesh with chains and rude disciplines; some, +again, pined themselves with rigorous fasts; others dissolved +themselves into tears; some passed whole nights in contemplation; +others gave liberal alms or procured great store of Masses; in fine, +they did what they were able, and were not well pleased that they were +able to do no more, to relieve the poor souls in Purgatory. Amongst +others, Queen Melchtild [1] is reported to have purchased immortal fame +for her discreet behavior at the death of the king, her husband; for +whose soul she caused a world of Masses to be said, and a world of alms +to be distributed, in lieu of other idle expenses and fruitless +lamentations. + +[Footnote 1: Luitprand, c. 4, c. 7.] + +There is one in the world, to whom I bear an immortal envy, and such an +envy as I never mean to repent of. It is the holy Abbot Odilo, who was +the author of an invention which I would wittingly have found out, +though with the loss of my very heart's blood. + +Reader, take the story as it passed, thus: [1] A devout religious man, +in his return from Jerusalem, meets with a holy hermit in Sicily; he +assures him that he often heard the devils complain that souls were so +soon discharged of their torments by the devout prayers of the monks of +Cluny, who never ceased to pour out their prayers for them. This the +good man carries to Odilo, then Abbot of Cluny; he praises God for His +great mercy in vouchsafing to hear the innocent prayers of his monks; +and presently takes occasion to command all the monasteries of his +Order, to keep yearly the commemoration of All Souls, next after the +feast of All Saints, a custom which, by degrees, grew into such credit, +that the Catholic Church thought fit to establish it all over the +Christian world; to the incredible benefit of poor souls, and singular +increase of God's glory. For who can sum up the infinite number of +souls who have been freed out of Purgatory by this invention? or who +can express the glory which accrued to this good Abbot, who thus +fortunately made himself procurator-general of the suffering Church, +and furnished her people with such a considerable supply of necessary +relief, to alleviate the insupportable burthen of their sufferings? + +[Footnote 1: Sigeb. in _Chron_. An. 998.] + +St. Bernard would triumph when he had to deal with heretics that denied +this privilege of communicating our suffrages and prayers to the souls +in Purgatory. And with what fervor he would apply himself to this +charitable employment of relieving poor souls, may appear by the care +he took for good Humbertus, though he knew him to have lived and died +in his monastery so like a Saint, that he could scarce find out the +fault in him which might deserve the least punishment in the other +world; unless it were to have been too rigorous to himself, and too +careless of his health: which in a less spiritual eye than that of St. +Bernard, might have passed for a great virtue. But it is worth your +hearing, that which he relates of blessed St. Malachy, who died in his +very bosom. This holy Bishop, as he lay asleep, hears a sister of his, +lately dead, making lamentable moan, that for thirty days together she +had not eaten so much as a bit of bread. He starts up out of his sleep; +and, taking it to be more than a dream, he concludes the meaning of the +vision was to tell him, that just thirty days were now past since he +had said Mass for her; as probably believing she was already where she +had no need of his prayers.... Howsoever, this worthy prelate so plied +his prayers after this, that he soon sent his sister out of Purgatory; +and it pleased God to let him see, by the daily change of her habit, +how his prayers had purged her by degrees, and made her fit company for +the Angels and Saints in heaven. For, the first day, she was covered +all over with black cypress; the next, she appeared in a mantle +something whitish, but a dusky color; but the third day, she was seen +all clad in white, which is the proper livery of the Saints.... + +This for St. Bernard. But I cannot let pass in silence one very +remarkable passage, which happened to these two great servants of God. +St. Malachy had passionately desired to die at Clarvallis, [1] in the +hands of the devout St. Bernard; and this, on the day immediately +before All Souls' Day; and it pleased God to grant him his request. It +fell out, then, that while St. Bernard was saying Mass for him, in the +middle of Mass it was revealed to him that St. Malachy was already +glorious in heaven; whether he had gone straight out of this world, or +whether that part of St. Bernard's Mass had freed him out of Purgatory, +is uncertain; but St. Bernard, hereupon, changed his note; for, having +begun with a Requiem, he went on with the Mass of a bishop and +confessor, to the great astonishment of all the standers-by. + +[Footnote 1: Clairvaux.] + +St. Thomas of Aquin, that great champion of Purgatory, gave God +particular thanks at his death, for not only delivering a soul out of +Purgatory, at the instance of his prayers, but also permitting the same +soul to be the messenger of so good news. (Pp. 169-174.) + + * * * * * + +And now, we are come down to the fifteenth age, where the Fathers of +the Council of Florence, both Greeks and. Latins, with one consent, +declare the same faith and constant practice of the Church, thus handed +down to them from age to age, since Christ and His Apostles' time, as +we have seen; viz., that the souls in Purgatory are not only relieved, +but translated into heaven, by the prayers, sacrifices, alms, and other +charitable works, which are offered up for them according to the custom +of the Catholic Church. Nor did their posterity degenerate, or vary the +least, from this received doctrine, until Luther's time; when the holy +Council of Trent thought fit again to lay down the sound doctrine of +the Church, in opposition to all our late sectaries. And I wish all +Catholics were but as forward to lend their helping hands to lift souls +out of Purgatory, as they are to believe they have the power to do it; +and that we had not often more reason than the Roman Emperor to +pronounce the day lost; since we let so many days pass over our heads, +and so many fair occasions slip out of our hands, without easing, or +releasing, any souls out of Purgatory, when we might do it with so much +ease. (P. 175.) + + +ON DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SOULS. + +FATHER FABER. + +Although we are mercifully freed from the necessity of descending into +hell to seek and promote the interests of Jesus, it is far from being +so with Purgatory. If heaven and earth are full of the glory of God, so +also is that most melancholy, yet most interesting land, where the +prisoners of hope are detained by their Saviour's loving justice, from +the Beatific Vision; and if we can advance the interests of Jesus on +earth and in heaven, I may almost venture to say that we can do still +more in Purgatory. And what I am endeavoring to show you in this +treatise is, how you may help God by prayer, and the practices of +devotion, whatever your occupation and calling may be: and all these +practices apply especially to Purgatory. For although some theologians +say that in spite of the Holy Souls placing no obstacle in the way, +still the effect of prayer for them is not infallible; nevertheless, it +is much more certain than the effect of prayer for the conversion of +sinners upon earth, where it is so often frustrated by their perversity +and evil dispositions. Anyhow, what I have wanted to show has been +this: that each of us, without aiming beyond our grace, without +austerities for which we have not courage, without supernatural gifts +to which we lay no claim, may, by simple affectionateness and the +practices of sound Catholic devotion, do great things, things so great +that they seem incredible, for the glory of God, the interests of +Jesus, and the good of souls. I should, therefore, be leaving my +subject very incomplete if I did not consider at some length devotion +to the Holy Souls in Purgatory; and I will treat, not so much of +particular practices of it, which are to be found in the ordinary +manuals, as of the spirit of the devotion itself. + + * * * * * + +By the doctrine of the Communion of Saints and of the unity of Christ's +mystical body, we have most intimate relations both of duty and +affection with the Church Triumphant and Suffering; and Catholic +devotion furnishes us with many appointed and approved ways of +discharging these duties toward them.... For the present it is enough +to say that God has given us such power over the dead that they seem, +as I have said before, to depend almost more on earth than on heaven; +and surely that He has given us this power, and supernatural methods of +exercising it, is not the least touching proof that His Blessed Majesty +has contrived all things for love. Can we not conceive the joy of the +Blessed in Heaven, looking down from the bosom of God and the calmness +of their eternal repose upon this scene of dimness, disquietude, doubt +and fear, and rejoicing in the plenitude of their charity, in their +vast power with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to obtain grace and blessing +day and night for the poor dwellers upon earth? It does not distract +them from God, it does not interfere with the Vision, or make it waver +and grow misty; it does not trouble their glory or their peace. On the +contrary, it is with them as with our Guardian Angels--the affectionate +ministries of their charity increase their own accidental glory. The +same joy in its measure may be ours even upon earth. If we are fully +possessed with this Catholic devotion for the Holy Souls, we shall +never be without the grateful consciousness of the immense powers which +Jesus has given us on their behalf. We are never so like Him, or so +nearly imitate His tender offices, as when we are devoutly exercising +these powers.... Oh! what thoughts, what feelings, what love should be +ours, as we, like choirs of terrestrial angels, gaze down on the wide, +silent, sinless kingdom of suffering, and then with our own venturous +touch wave the sceptred hand of Jesus over its broad regions all richly +dropping with the balsam of His saving Blood! + + * * * * * + +Oh! how solemn and subduing is the thought of that holy kingdom, that +realm of pain! There is no cry, no murmur; all is silent, silent as +Jesus before His enemies. We shall never know how we really love Mary +till we look up to her out of those deeps, those vales of dread +mysterious fire. O beautiful region of the Church of God. O lovely +troop of the flock of Mary! What a scene is presented to our eyes when +we gaze upon that consecrated empire of sinlessness and yet of keenest +suffering! There is the beauty of those immaculate souls, and then the +loveliness, yea, the worshipfulness of their patience, the majesty of +their gifts, the dignity of their solemn and chaste sufferings, the +eloquence of their silence; the moonlight of Mary's throne lighting up +their land of pain and unspeechful expectation; the silver-winged +angels voyaging through the deeps of that mysterious realm; and above +all, that unseen Face of Jesus which is so well remembered that it +seems to be almost seen! Oh! what a sinless purity of worship is here +in this liturgy of hallowed pain! O world! O weary, clamorous, sinful +world! Who would not break away if he could, like an uncaged dove, from +thy perilous toils and unsafe pilgrimage, and fly with joy to the +lowest place in that most pure, most safe, most holy land of suffering +and of sinless love! + + * * * * * + +But some persons turn in anger from the thought of Purgatory, as if it +were not to be endured, that after trying all our lives long to serve +God, we should accomplish the tremendous feat of a good death, only to +pass from the agonies of the death-bed into fire--long, keen, +searching, triumphant, incomparable fire. Alas! my dear friends; your +anger will not help you nor alter facts. But have you thought +sufficiently about God? Have you tried to realize His holiness and +purity in assiduous meditation? Is there a real divorce between you and +the world, which you know is God's enemy? Do you take God's side? Have +you wedded His interests? Do you long for His glory? Have you put sin +alongside of our dear Saviour's Passion, and measured the one by the +other? Oh! if you had, Purgatory would but seem to you the last, +unexpected, and inexpressibly tender invention of an obstinate love +which was mercifully determined to save you in spite of yourself! It +would be a perpetual wonder to you, a joyous wonder, fresh every, +morning--a wonder that would be meat and drink to your soul; that you, +being what you are, what you know yourself to be, what you may conceive +God knows you to be, should be saved eternally! Remember what the +suffering soul said so simply, yet with such force, to Sister +Francesca: "Ah! those on that side the grave little reckon how dearly +they will pay on this side for the lives they live!" To be angry +because you are told you will go to Purgatory! Silly, silly people! +Most likely it is a great false flattery, and that you will never be +good enough to go there at all. Why, positively, you do not recognize +your own good fortune when you are told of it. And none but the humble +go there. I remember Maria Crocifissa was told that although many of +the Saints while on earth loved God more than some do even in heaven, +yet that the greatest saint on earth was not so _humble_ as are +the souls in Purgatory. I do not think I ever read anything in the +lives of the Saints which struck me so much as that.... + +But we not only learn lessons for our own good, but for the good of the +Holy Souls. We see that our charitable attentions toward them must be +far more vigorous and persevering than they have been; for that men go +to Purgatory for very little matters, and remain there an unexpectedly +long time. But their most touching appeal to us lies in their +helplessness; and our dear Lord, with His usual loving arrangement, has +made the extent of our power to help them more than commensurate with +their inability to help themselves.... St. Thomas has taught us that +prayer for the dead is more readily accepted with God than prayer for +the living. We can offer and apply for them all the satisfactions of +our Blessed Lord. We can do vicarious penance for them. We can give to +them all the satisfaction of our ordinary actions, and of our +sufferings. We can make over to them by way of suffrage, the +indulgences we gain, provided the Church has made them applicable to +the dead. We can limit and direct upon them, or any one of them, the +intention of the Adorable Sacrifice. The Church, which has no +jurisdiction over them, can yet make indulgences applicable or +inapplicable to them by way of suffrage; and by means of liturgy, +commemoration, incense, holy water, and the like, can reach +efficaciously to them, and most of all by her device of privileged +altars. .... All that I have said hitherto has been, indirectly, at +least, a plea for this devotion; but I must come now to a more direct +recommendation of it. + + * * * * * + +It is not saying too much to call devotion to the Holy Souls, a kind of +centre in which all Catholic devotions meet, and which satisfies more +than any other single devotion our duties in that way; because it is a +devotion all of love, and of disinterested love. If we cast an eye over +the chief Catholic devotions, we shall see the truth of this. Take the +devotion of St. Ignatius to the glory of God. This, if I may dare to +use such an expression of Him, was the special and favorite devotion of +Jesus. Now, Purgatory is simply a field white for the harvest of God's +glory. Not a prayer can be said for the Holy Souls, but God is at once +glorified, both by the faith and the charity of the mere prayer. Not an +alleviation, however trifling, can befall any one of the souls, but He +is forthwith glorified by the honor of His Son's Precious Blood, and +the approach of the soul to bliss. Not a soul is delivered from its +trial but God is immensely glorified. + + * * * * * + +Again, what devotion is more justly dear to Christians than the +devotion to the Sacred Humanity of Jesus? It is rather a family of +various and beautiful devotions, than a devotion by itself. Yet see how +they are all, as it were, fulfilled, affectionately fulfilled, in +devotion to the Holy Souls. The quicker the souls are liberated from +Purgatory, the more is the beautiful harvest of His Blessed Passion +multiplied and accelerated. An early harvest is a blessing, as well as +a plentiful one; for all delay of a soul's ingress into the praise of +heaven is an eternal and irremediable loss of honor and glory to the +Sacred Humanity of Jesus. How strangely things sound in the language of +the Sanctuary! yet so it is. Can the Sacred Humanity be honored more +than by the Adorable Sacrifice of the Mass? And here is our chief +action upon Purgatory.... + +Devotion to our dearest Mother is equally comprehended in this devotion +to the Holy Souls, whether we look at her as the Mother of Jesus, and +so sharing the honors of His Sacred Humanity, or as Mother of mercy, +and so specially honored by works of mercy, or, lastly, as, in a +particular sense, the Queen of Purgatory, and so having all manner of +dear interests to be promoted in the welfare and deliverance of those +suffering souls. + +Next to this we may rank devotion to the Holy Angels, and this also is +satisfied in devotion to the Holy Souls. For it keeps filling the +vacant thrones in the angelic choirs, those unsightly gaps which the +fall of Lucifer and one-third of the heavenly host occasioned. It +multiplies the companions of the blessed spirits. They may be supposed +also to look with an especial interest on that part of the Church which +lies in Purgatory, because it is already crowned with their own dear +gift and ornament of final perseverance, and yet it has not entered at +once into its inheritance as they did. Many of them also have a tender +personal interest in Purgatory. Thousands, perhaps millions of them, +are guardians to those souls, and their office is not over yet. +Thousands have clients there who were especially devoted to them in +life. Will St. Raphael, who was so faithful to Tobias, be less faithful +to his clients there? Whole choirs are interested about others, either +because they are finally to be aggregated to that choir, or because in +life-time they had a special devotion to it. Marie Denise, of the +Visitation, used to congratulate her angel every day on the grace he +had received to stand when so many around him were falling. It was the +only thing she could know for certain of his past life. Could he +neglect her, if by the will of God she went to Purgatory? Again, St. +Michael, as prince of Purgatory, and Our Lady's regent, in fulfilment +of the dear office attributed to him by the Church in the Mass for the +Dead, takes as homage to himself all charity to the Holy Souls; and if +it be true, that a zealous heart is always a proof of a grateful one, +that bold and magnificent spirit will recompense us one day in his own +princely style, and perhaps within the limits of that his special +jurisdiction. + +Neither is devotion to the Saints without its interests in this +devotion for the dead. It fills them with the delights of charity as it +swells their numbers and beautifies their ranks and orders. Numberless +patron saints are personally interested in multitudes of souls. The +affectionate relation between their clients and themselves not only +subsists, but a deeper tenderness has entered into it, because of the +fearful suffering, and a livelier interest, because of the accomplished +victory. They see in the Holy Souls their own handiwork, the fruit of +their example, the answer to their prayers, the success of their +patronage, the beautiful and finished crown of their affectionate +intercession. + + * * * * * + +Another point of view from which we may look at this devotion for the +dead, is as a specially complete and beautiful exercise of the three +theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity, which are the +supernatural fountains of our whole spiritual life. It exercises faith, +because it leads men not only to dwell in the unseen world, but to work +for it with as much energy and conviction as if it was before their +very eyes. Unthoughtful or ill-read persons almost start sometimes at +the minuteness, familiarity, and assurance with which men talk of the +unseen world, as if it were the banks of the Rhine, or the olive-yards +of Provence, the Campagna of Rome, or the crescent shores of Naples, +some place which they have seen in their travels, and whose +geographical features are ever in their memory, as vividly as if before +their eyes. It all comes of faith, of prayer, of spiritual reading, of +knowledge of the lives of the Saints, and of the study of theology. It +would be strange and sad if it were not so. For, what to us, either in +interest or importance, is the world we see, to the world we do not +see? This devotion exercises our faith also in the effects of the +sacrifice and sacraments, which are things we do not see, but which we +daily talk of in reference to the dead as undoubted and accomplished +facts. It exercises our faith in the communion of Saints to a degree +which would make it seem impossible to a heretic that he ever could +believe so wild and extravagant a creed. It acts with regard to +indulgences as if they were the most inevitable material transactions +of this world. It knows of the unseen treasure out of which they come, +of the unseen keys which open the treasury, of the indefinite +jurisdiction which places them infallibly at its disposal, of God's +unrevealed acceptance of them, and of the invisible work they do, just +as it knows of trees and clouds, of streets and churches--that is, just +as certainly and undoubtingly; though it often can give others no proof +of these things, nor account for them to itself.... It exhibits the +same quiet faith in all those Catholic devotions which I mentioned +before as centering themselves in this devotion for the dead. + + * * * * * + +Neither is this devotion a less heroic exercise of the theological +virtue of hope, the virtue so sadly wanting in the spiritual life of +these times. For, look what a mighty edifice this devotion raises; +lofty, intricate, and of magnificent proportions, into which somehow or +other all creation is drawn, from the little headache we suffer up to +the Sacred Humanity of Jesus, and which has to do even with God +Himself. And upon what does all this rest, except on a simple, child- +like trust in God's fidelity, which is the supernatural motive of hope? +We hope for the souls we help, and unbounded are the benedictions which +we hope for in their regard. We hope to find mercy ourselves, because +of our mercy; and this hope quickens our merits without detracting from +the merit of our charity.... For the state of the dead is no dream, nor +our power to help them a dream, any more than the purity of God is a +dream, or the Precious Blood a dream. + + * * * * * + +As to the charity of this devotion, it dares to imitate even the +charity of God Himself. What is there in heaven or on earth which it +does not embrace, and with so much facility, with so much gracefulness, +as if there were scarcely an effort in it, or as if self was charmed +away, and might not mingle to distract it? It is an exercise of the +love of God, for it is loving those whom He loves, and loving them +because He loves them, and to augment His glory and multiply His +praise.... To ourselves also it is an exercise of charity, for it gains +us friends in heaven; it earns mercy for us when we ourselves shall be +in Purgatory, tranquil victims, yet, oh! in what distress! and it +augments our merits in the sight of God, and so, if only we persevere, +our eternal recompense hereafter. Now if this tenderness for the dead +is such an exercise of these three theological virtues, and if, again, +even heroic sanctity consists principally in their exercise, what store +ought we not to set upon this touching and beautiful devotion? + + * * * * * + +Look at that vast kingdom of Purgatory, with its empress-mother, Mary! +All those countless throngs of souls are the dear and faithful spouses +of Jesus. Yet in what a strange abandonment of supernatural suffering +has His love left them! He longs for their deliverance; He yearns for +them to be transferred from that land, perpetually overclouded with +pain, to the bright sunshine of their heavenly home. Yet He has tied +His own hands, or nearly so. He gives them no more grace; He allows +them no more time for penance; He prevents them from meriting; nay, +some have thought they could not pray. How, then, stands the case with +the souls in the suffering Church? Why, it is a thing to be meditated +on when we have said it--they depend almost more on earth than they do +on heaven, almost more on us than on Him; so He has willed it on whom +all depend, and without whom there is no dependence. It is clear, then, +that Jesus has His interests there. He wants His captives released. +Those whom He has redeemed He now bids us redeem, us whom, if there be +life at all in us, He has already Himself redeemed. Every satisfaction +offered up to God for these suffering souls, every oblation of the +Precious Blood to the Eternal Father, every Mass heard, every communion +received, every voluntary penance undergone; the scourge, the hair- +shirt, the prickly chain, every indulgence gained, every jubilee whose +conditions we have fulfilled, every _De Profundis_ whispered, +every little alms doled out to the poor who are poorer than ourselves, +and, if they be offered for the intention of these dear prisoners, the +interests of Jesus are hourly forwarded in Mary's Kingdom of +Purgatory.... There is no fear of overworking the glorious secretary of +that wide realm, the blessed Michael, Mary's subject. See how men work +at the pumps on ship-board when they are fighting for their lives with +an ugly leak. Oh! that we had the charity so to work, with the sweet +instrumentality of indulgence, for the Holy Souls in Purgatory! The +infinite satisfactions of Jesus are at our command, and Mary's sorrows, +and the Martyr's pangs, and the Confessor's weary perseverance in well- +doing! Jesus will not help Himself here, because He loves to see us +helping Him, and because He thinks our love will rejoice that He still +leaves us something we can do for Him. There have been Saints who have +devoted their whole lives to this one work, mining in Purgatory; and, +to those who reflect in faith, it does not seem, after all, so strange. +It is a foolish comparison, simply because it is so much below the +mark; but on all principles of reckoning, it is a much less work to +have won the battle of Waterloo, or to have invented the steam-engine, +than to have freed one soul from Purgatory. + + +WHY THE SOULS IS PURGATORY ARE CALLED "POOR" SOULS. + +FATHER MULLER, C.S.S.R. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Charity to the Holy Souls in Purgatory] + +We have just seen that the Jews believed in the doctrine of Purgatory; +we have seen that their charity for the dead was so great that the Holy +Ghost could not help praising them for it. Yet for all that, we may +assert in truth that the people of God under the Old Law were not so +well instructed in this doctrine as we are, nor had they such powerful +means to relieve the souls--in Purgatory as we have. Our faith, +therefore, should be more lively, and our charity for the souls in +Purgatory more ardent and generous. + +A short time ago a fervent young priest of this country had the +following conversation with a holy Bishop on his way to Rome. The +Bishop said to him: "You make mementoes now and then, for friends of +yours that are dead--do you not?" The young priest answered: +"Certainly, I do so very often." The Bishop rejoined: "So did I, when I +was a young priest. But one time I was grievously ill. I was given up +as about to die. I received Extreme Unction and the Viaticum. It was +then that my whole past life, with all its failings and all its sins, +came before me with startling vividness. I saw how much I had to atone +for; and I reflected on how few Masses would be said for me, and how +few prayers. Ever since my recovery I have most fervently offered the +Holy Sacrifice for the repose of the pious and patient souls in +Purgatory; and I am always glad when I can, as my own offering, make +the 'intention' of my Masses for the relief of their pains." + +Indeed, dear reader, no one is more deserving of Christian charity and +sympathy than the poor souls in Purgatory. They are _really_ POOR +_souls_. No one is sooner forgotten than they are. + +How soon their friends persuade themselves that they are in perfect +peace! How little they do for their relief when their bodies are +buried! There is a lavish expense for the funeral. A hundred dollars +are spent where the means of the family hardly justify the half of it. +Where there is more wealth, sometimes five hundred or a thousand, and +even more, dollars are expended on the poor dead body. But let me ask +you what is done for the _poor living soul_? Perhaps the poor soul +is suffering the most frightful tortures in Purgatory, whilst the +lifeless body is laid out in state, and borne pompously to the +graveyard. You must not misunderstand me: it is right and just to show +all due respect even to the body of your deceased friend, for that body +was once the dwelling-place of his soul. But tell me candidly, what joy +has the departed, and, perhaps, suffering soul, in the fine music of +the choir, even should the choir be composed of the best singers in the +country? What consolation does the poor suffering soul find in the +superb coffin, in the splendid funeral? What pleasure does the soul +derive from the costly marble monument, from all the honors that are so +freely lavished on the body? All this may satisfy, or at least seem to +satisfy, the living, but it is of no avail whatever to the dead. + +Poor unhappy souls! how the diminution of true Catholic faith is +visited upon you while you suffer, and those that loved you in life +might help you, and do not, for want of knowledge or of faith! + +Poor unhappy souls! your friends go to their business, to their eating +and drinking, with the foolish assurance that the case cannot be hard +on one they knew to be so good! Oh, how much and how long this _false +charity_ of your friends makes you suffer! + +The venerable Sister, Catherine Paluzzi, offered up, for a long time, +and with the utmost fervor, prayers and pious works for the soul of her +deceased father. At last she thought she had good reason to believe +that her father was already enjoying the bliss of Paradise. But how +great was her consternation and grief when Our Lord, in company with +St. Catherine, her patroness, led her one day, in spirit, to Purgatory. +There she beheld her father in an abyss of torments, imploring her +assistance. At the sight of the pitiful state the soul of her father +was in, she melted into tears; she cast herself at the feet of her +Heavenly Spouse, and begged Him, through His precious Blood, to free +her father from his excruciating sufferings. She also begged St. +Catherine to intercede for him, and then turning to Our Lord, she said: +"Charge me, O Lord, with my father's indebtedness to Thy justice. In +expiation of it, I am ready to take upon myself all the afflictions +Thou art pleased to bestow upon me." Our Lord graciously accepted this +act of heroic charity, and released at once her father's soul from +Purgatory. But how heavy were the crosses which she, from that time, +had to suffer, may be more easily imagined than described. This pious +sister seemed to have good reason to believe that her father's soul was +in Paradise. Yet she was mistaken. Alas! how many are there who +resemble her! How many are there whose hope as to the condition of +their deceased friends is far more vain and false than that of this +religious, because they pray much less for the souls of their departed +friends than she did for her father. + + * * * * * + +It is related in the life of St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi, that one day +she saw the soul of one of her deceased sisters kneeling in adoration +before the Blessed Sacrament, in the church, wrapped up in a mantle of +fire, and suffering great pains, in expiation of her neglecting to go +to Holy Communion on one day, when she had her confessor's permission +to communicate. + +The Venerable Bede relates that it was revealed to Drithelm, a great +servant of God, that the souls of those who spend their whole lives in +the state of mortal sin, and are converted only on their death-bed, are +doomed to suffer the pains of Purgatory to the day of the last +judgment. + +In the life and revelations of St. Gertrude we read that those who have +committed many grievous sins, and who die without having done due +penance, are not assisted by the ordinary suffrages of the Church until +they are partly purified by Divine Justice in Purgatory. + +After St. Vincent Ferrer had learned the death of his sister Frances, +he at once began to offer up many fervent prayers and works of penance +for the repose of her soul. He also said thirty Masses for her, at the +last of which it was revealed to him that, had it not been for his +prayers and good works, the soul of his sister would have suffered in +Purgatory to the end of the world. + +From these examples you may draw your own conclusion as to the state of +your deceased friends and relatives. Rest assured that the judgments of +God are very different from the judgments of men. + + * * * * * + +In heaven, love for God is the happiness of the elect; but in Purgatory +it is the source of the most excruciating pains. It is principally for +this reason that the souls in Purgatory are called "poor souls," they +being, as they are, in the most dreadful state of poverty--that of the +privation of the beatific vision of God. + +After Anthony Corso, a Capuchin Brother, a man of great piety and +perfection, had departed this life, he appeared to one of his brethren +in religion, asking him to recommend him to the charitable prayers of +the community, in order that he might receive relief in his pains. "For +I do not know," said he, "how I can bear any longer the pain of being +deprived of the sight of my God. I shall be the most unhappy of +creatures as long as I must live in this state. Would to God that all +men might understand what it is to be without God, in order that they +might firmly resolve to suffer anything during their life on earth +rather than expose themselves to the danger of being damned, and +deprived forever of the sight of God." [1] + +[Footnote 1: 1 Aunal. Pp. Capuc., A.D. 1548.] + + * * * * * + +The souls in Purgatory are _poor_ souls, because they suffer the +greatest pain of the senses, which is that of _fire_. Who can be +in a poorer or more pitiful condition than those who are buried in +fire? Now, this is the condition of these poor souls. They are buried +under waves of fire. It is from the smallest spark of this purgatorial +fire that they suffer more intense pains than all the fires of this +world put together could produce.... + +Could these poor souls leave the fire of Purgatory for the most +frightful earthly fire they would, as it were, take it for a pleasure- +garden; they would find a fifty years' stay in the hottest earthly fire +more endurable than an hour's stay in the fire of Purgatory. Our +terrestrial fire was not created by God to torment men, but rather to +benefit them; but the fire of Purgatory was created by God for no other +purpose than to be an instrument of His justice; and for this reason it +is possessed of a burning quality so intense and penetrating that it is +impossible for us to conceive even the faintest idea of it. + + * * * * * + +In the year 1150 it happened that, on the Vigil of St. Cecilia, a very +old monk, one hundred years of age, at Marchiennes, in Flanders, fell +asleep while sacred lessons were being read, and saw, in a dream, a +monk all clad in armor, shining like red-hot iron in a furnace. The old +man asked him who he was. He was told that he was one of the monks of +the convent; that he was in Purgatory, and had yet to endure this fiery +armor for ten years more, for having injured the reputation of another. + + * * * * * + +Another reason why these holy prisoners and debtors to the divine +justice are really _poor_ is because they are not able, in the +least, to assist themselves. A sick man afflicted in all his limbs, and +a beggar in the most painful and most destitute of conditions, has a +tongue left to ask for relief. At least they can implore Heaven; it is +never deaf to their prayer. But the souls in Purgatory are so poor that +they cannot even do this. Those cases in which some of them were +permitted to appear to their friends and ask assistance are but +exceptions. To whom is it they should have recourse? Is it, perhaps, to +the mercy of God? Alas! they send forth their sighs in plaintive +voices.... But the Lord does not regard their tears, nor heed their +moans and cries, but answers them that His justice must be satisfied to +the last farthing. + + * * * * * + +Oh, what cruelty! A sick man weeps on his bed and his friend consoles +him; a baby cries in his cradle and his mother at once caresses him; a +beggar knocks at the door for an alms and receives it; a malefactor +laments in his prison, and comfort is given him; even a dog that whines +at the door is taken in; but these poor, helpless souls cry day and +night from the depths of the fire in Purgatory: "Have pity on me, have +pity on me, at least you, my friends, because the hand of the Lord hath +smitten me;" and there is none to listen! Oh, what great cruelty, my +brethren! + +But it seems to me that I hear these poor souls exclaim: "Priest of the +Lord, speak no longer of our sufferings and pitiable condition. Let +your description of it be ever so touching, it will not afford us the +least relief. When a man has fallen into the fire, instead of +considering his pains, you try at once to draw him out or quench the +fire with water. This is true charity. Now, tell Christians to do the +same for us. Tell them to give us their feet, by going to hear Mass for +us; to give us their eyes, by seeking an occasion to perform a good +work for us; to give us their hands, by giving an alms for us, or by +often making an offering for the 'intention' of Masses in our behalf; +to give us their lips, by praying for us; to give us their tongue, by +requesting others to be charitable to us; to give us their memory, by +remembering us constantly in their devotions; to give us their body, by +offering up for us to the Almighty all its labors, fatigues, and +penance."... + +We read in the Acts of the Apostles, that the faithful prayed +unceasingly for St. Peter when he was imprisoned, and that an Angel +came and broke his chains and released him. "We, too, should be good +angels to the poor souls in Purgatory, and free them from their painful +captivity by every means in our power." + + * * * * * + +In the time of St. Bernard, a monk of Clairvaux appeared after his +death to his brethren in religion, to thank them for having delivered +him from Purgatory. On being asked what had most contributed to free +him from his torments, he led the inquirer to the church, where a +priest was saying Mass. "Look!" said he; "this is the means by which my +deliverance has been effected; this is the power of God's mercy; this +is the saving Sacrifice which taketh away the sins of the world." +Indeed, so great is the efficacy of this Sacrifice in obtaining relief +for the souls in Purgatory, that the application of all the good works +which have been performed from the beginning of the world, would not +afford so much assistance to one of these souls as is imparted by a +single Mass. To illustrate: The blessed Henry Suso made an agreement +with one of his brethren in religion that, as soon as either of them +died, the survivor should say two Masses every week for one year, for +the repose of his soul. It came to pass that the religious with whom +Henry had made this contract, died first. Henry prayed every day for +his deliverance from Purgatory, but forgot to say the Masses which he +had promised; whereupon the deceased religious appeared to him with a +sad countenance, and sharply rebuked him for his unfaithfulness to his +engagement. Henry excused himself by saying that he had often prayed +for him with great fervor, and had even offered up for him many +penitential works. "Oh, brother!" exclaimed the soul, "blood, blood is +necessary to give me some relief and refreshment in my excruciating +torments. Your penitential works, severe as they are, cannot deliver +me. Nothing can do this but the blood of Jesus Christ, which is offered +up in the Sacrifice of the Mass. Masses, Masses--these are what I +need!" + + * * * * * + +Another means to relieve the souls in Purgatory is to gain indulgences +for them. A very pious nun had just died in the convent in which St. +Mary Magdalen of Pazzi lived. Whilst her corpse was exposed in the +church, the Saint looked lovingly upon it, and prayed fervently that +the soul of her sister might soon enter into eternal rest. Whilst she +was thus wrapt in prayer her sister appeared to her, surrounded by +great splendor and radiance, in the act of ascending into heaven. The +Saint, on seeing this, could not refrain from calling out to her: +"Farewell, dear sister! When you meet your Heavenly Spouse, remember us +who are still sighing for Him in this vale of tears!" At these words +our Lord Himself appeared, and revealed to her that this sister had +entered heaven so soon on account of the indulgences gained for her. +[1] + +[Footnote 1: Vita S. Magd. de Pazzi, L. I., chap, xxxix.] + +Very many plenary indulgences can be gained for the souls in Purgatory, +if you make the Stations of the Cross. The merit of this exercise, if +applied to these souls, obtains great relief for them. We read in the +life of Catherine Emmerich, a very pious Augustinian nun, that the +souls in Purgatory often came to her during the night, and requested +her to rise and make the Stations for their relief. It is also related +in the life of the venerable Mary of Antigua, that a deceased sister of +her convent appeared to her and said: "Why do you not make the Stations +of the Way of the Cross for me?" Whilst the servant of the Lord felt +surprised and astonished at these words, Jesus Christ Himself spoke to +her, thus: "The exercise of the Stations is of the greatest advantage +to the souls in Purgatory; so much so that this soul has been permitted +by Me, to ask of you its performance in behalf of them all. Your +frequent performance of this exercise to procure relief for these souls +has induced them to hold intercourse with you, and you shall have them +for so many intercessors and protectors before My justice. Tell your +sisters to rejoice at these treasures, and the splendid capital which +they have in them, that they may grow rich upon it." + + * * * * * + +After St. Ludgarde had offered up many fervent prayers for the repose +of the soul of her deceased friend Simeon, Abbot of the monastery of +Toniac, Our Lord appeared to her, saying: "Be consoled, My daughter; on +account of thy prayers, I will soon release this soul from Purgatory." +"O Jesus, Lord and Master of my heart!" she rejoined, "I cannot feel +consoled so long as I know that the soul of my friend is suffering so +much in the Purgatorial fire. Oh! I cannot help shedding most bitter +tears until Thou hast released this soul from its sufferings." Touched +and overcome by this fervent prayer, Our Lord released the soul of +Simeon, who appeared to Ludgarde all radiant with heavenly glory, and +thanked her for the many fervent prayers which she had offered up for +his delivery. He also told the Saint that, had it not been for her +fervent prayers, he should have been obliged to stay in Purgatory for +eleven years.... + +Peter, the venerable Abbot of Cluny, relates an event somewhat similar. +There was a monk at Cluny, named Bernard Savinellus. One night as he +was returning to the dormitory, he met Stephen, commonly called +Blancus, Abbot of St. Giles, who had departed this life a few days +before. At first, not knowing him, he was passing on, till he spoke, +and asked him whither he was hastening. Bernard, astonished and angry +that a monk should speak, contrary to the rules, in the nocturnal +hours, and in a place where it was not permitted, made signs to him to +hold his peace; but as the dead abbot replied, and urged him to speak, +the other, raising his head, asked in amazement who he might be. He was +answered, "I am Stephen, the Abbot of St. Giles, who have formerly +committed many faults in the Abbey, for which I now suffer pains; and I +beseech you to implore the lord Abbot, and other brethren, to pray for +me, that by the ineffable mercy of God, I may be delivered." Bernard +replied that he would do so, but added that he thought no one would +believe his report; to which the dead man answered, "In order, then, +that no one may doubt, you may assure them that within eight days you +will die;" he then disappeared. The monk, returning to the church, +spent the remainder of the night in prayer and meditation. When it was +day, he related his vision to St. Hugo, who was then abbot. As is +natural, some believed his account, and others thought it was some +delusion. The next day the monk fell sick, and continued growing worse, +constantly affirming the truth of what he had related, till his death, +which occurred within the time specified. + + * * * * * + +Besides prayer and other acts of devotion we can offer up for the poor +souls, we may especially reckon _alms-deeds_; for since this is a +work of mercy, it is more especially apt to obtain mercy for the poor +souls. But not the rich alone can give alms, but the poor also, since +it does not so much depend on the greatness of the gift. Of the poor +widow who gave but one penny, Our Lord said; that she had given more +than all the rich who had offered gold and silver, because these +offered only of their abundance, whilst the poor widow gave what she +saved from her daily sustenance.... + +The venerable servant of God, Father Clement Hoffbauer, of the +Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, who died in Vienna in the year +1820, and whose cause of beatification has already been introduced, +once assisted a man of distinction in death. A short time afterwards +the same man appeared to his wife in a dream, in a very pitiable +condition, his clothes in rags and quite haggard, and shivering with +cold. He begged her to have pity on him, because he could scarcely +endure the extreme hunger and cold which he suffered. His wife went +without delay to Father Hoffbauer, related her dream, and asked his +advice on this point. The confessor, enlightened by God, immediately +understood what this dream meant, and what kind of assistance was +especially needed and asked for by this poor soul. He accordingly +advised her to clothe a poor beggar. The woman followed the advice, and +soon after her husband again appeared to her, dressed in a white +garment, and his countenance beaming with joy, thanking her for the +help which she had given to him. + + * * * * * + +We can assist the poor souls not only by prayers, devotions, exterior +works of penance, alms-deeds, and other works of charity, but we can +also aid them by _interior mortifications_. Everything which +appears to us difficult, and which costs us a sacrifice, the pains of +sickness, and all the sufferings and troubles of this life, may be +offered up for these poor souls... + +The only son of a rich widow of Bologna had been murdered by a +stranger. The culprit fell into her hands, but the pious widow was far +from taking revenge by delivering him up to the hands of justice. She +thought of the infinite love of our Saviour when He died for us upon +the cross, and how He prayed for His executioners when dying. She, +therefore, thought that she could in no way honor the memory of her +dear son better, and that she could do nothing more efficient for the +repose of his soul, than by granting pardon to the culprit, by +protecting him, and by even adopting him as her son and heir to all her +riches. This heroic self-denial, and the sacrifice which she thereby +offered to Our Lord in memory of His bitter Passion, was so pleasing to +God, that, in reward thereof, He remitted to her son all the pains of +Purgatory. The happy son then appeared to his mother in a glorified +state, at the very moment when he was entering heaven. He thanked her +for having thus delivered him from the sufferings of Purgatory much +sooner than any other good work could have effected it. + + * * * * * + +Those who give themselves up to immoderate grief at the loss of beloved +friends, should bear this in mind also: instead of injuring their +health by a grief which is of no avail to the dead, they should +endeavor to deliver their souls from Purgatory by Masses, prayers, and +good works; nay, the very thought that they thus render to the souls of +their beloved friends the greatest possible act of charity, will +console them and mitigate their sorrow. For this reason St. Paul +exhorts the Thessalonians not to be afflicted on account of the +departed, after the manner of heathens who have no hope. + + * * * * * + +Thomas Cantipratensis relates of a certain mother, that she wept day +and night over the death of her darling son, so much so that she forgot +to assist his soul in Purgatory. To convince her of her folly, God one +day permitted her to be rapt in spirit, and see a long procession of +youths hastening towards a city of indescribable beauty. Having looked +for her son in vain for some time, she at last discovered him walking +slowly along at the end of the procession. At once her son turned +towards her, and said: "Ah, mother, cease your useless tears! and if +you truly love me, offer up for my soul Masses, prayers, alms-deeds, +and such like good works." Then he disappeared, and his mother, instead +of any longer wasting her strength by foolish grief, began henceforth +to give her son proofs of a true Christian and motherly love, by +complying with his request. (L. II. Appar., 5, 17.) + +Among the appointments to the Italian Episcopate made by our Holy +Father Pope Pius IX. was that of an humble and holy monk, hidden away +in a poor monastery of Tuscany. When he received his Bulls he was +thrown into the greatest affliction. He had gone into religion to be +done with the world outside; and here he was to be thrown again into +its whirlpool. He made a novena to Our Blessed Lady, invoking her help +to rid him of the burden and the danger. Meantime, he wrote a letter to +the See of Rome setting forth reasons why he ought not to be asked to +accept, and also sending back the Bulls, with a positive _noluit_, +but Rome would not excuse him. Then he went in person to see the Pope, +and to implore leave to decline, which he did, even with tears. Among +other reasons, the good monk said that of late he had a most miserable +memory. "That is unfortunate," said the Holy Father, "for after your +death, if you continue so, no one will ever refer to you as Monsignor +-----, _of happy memory_! but that will be no great loss to you." +Then, seeing the intense grief of the nominated Bishop, the Holy Father +changed his tone and said: "At one time of my life I, also, was +threatened with the loss of my memory. But I found a remedy, used it, +and it has not failed me. _For the special intention of preserving +this faculty of memory I have said every day a 'De Profundis' for the +souls in Purgatory_. I give you this receipt for your use; and now, +do not resist the will of him who gives you and the people of your +diocese his blessing." + +It is a new revelation that our Holy Father Pius IX. was ever +threatened with loss of memory. Of all his faculties of mind there was +not one that excited such general astonishment as his wonderful memory. + + * * * * * + +The following incident took place at Dole, in France: One day, in the +year 1629, long after her death, Leonarda Colin, niece to Hugueta Roy, +appeared to her, and spoke as follows: "I am saved by the mercy of God. +It is now seventeen years since I was struck down by a sudden death. My +poor soul was in mortal sin, but, thanks to Mary, whose devoted servant +I had ever striven to be, I obtained grace, in the last extremity, to +make an act of perfect contrition, and thus I was rescued from hell- +fire, but by no means from Purgatory. My sufferings in those purifying +flames are beyond description. At last Almighty God has permitted my +guardian angel to conduct me to you in order that you may make three +pilgrimages to three Churches of our Blessed Lady in Burgundy. Upon the +fulfillment of said condition, my deliverance from Purgatory is +promised." Hugueta did as she was requested; whereupon the same soul +appeared in a glorified state, thanking her benefactress, and promising +to pray for her, and admonishing her always to remember the four last +things. + +The Greek Emperor Theophilus was, after his death, condemned to the +pains of Purgatory, because he had been unable to perform the penances +which, towards the end of his life, he had wished to perform. His wife, +the pious Empress Theodora, was not satisfied with pouring forth +fervent prayers and sighs for the repose of his soul, but she also had +prayers and Masses said in all the convents of the city of +Constantinople. Besides this, she besought the Patriarch St. Methodius, +that for this end he would order prayers to be said by both the clergy +and the people of the city. Divine mercy could not resist so many +fervent prayers. On a certain day, when public prayers were again +offered up in the church of St. Sophia, an Angel appeared to St. +Methodius, and said to him: "Thy prayers, O Bishop, have been heard, +and Theophilus has obtained pardon." Theodora, the Empress, had, at the +same time, a vision, in which our Lord Himself announced to her that her +husband had been delivered from Purgatory. "For your sake," He said, +"and on account of the prayers of the priests, I pardon your husband." + + * * * * * + +In the life of Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque it is related that the +soul of one of her departed sisters appeared to her, and said: "There +you are, lying comfortably in your bed; but think of the bed on which I +am lying, and suffering the most excruciating pains." "I saw this bed," +says the Saint, "and I still tremble in all my limbs at the mere +thought of it. The upper and lower part of it was full of red-hot sharp +iron points, penetrating into the flesh. She told me that she had to +endure this pain for her carelessness in the observance of her rules. +'My heart is lacerated,' she added, 'and this is the hardest of my +pains. I suffer it for those fault-finding and murmuring thoughts which +I entertained in my heart against my superiors. My tongue is eaten up +by moths, and tormented, on account of uncharitable words, and for +having unnecessarily spoken in the time of silence. Would to God that +all souls consecrated to the service of the Lord could see me in these +frightful pains! Would to God I could show them what punishments are +inflicted upon those who live negligently in their vocation! They would +indeed change their manner of living, observing most punctually the +smallest point of their rules, and guarding against those faults for +which I am now so much tormented.'" + + +APPEAL TO ALL CLASSES FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY. + +BY A PAULIST FATHER. + +"My daughter is just now dead; but come, lay thy hand upon her, and she +shall live."--St. Matt. ix. 18. + +Such was the entreaty made by the ruler to our Lord in the Gospel, and +such are the words that the Lord says to us during the month of +November, in behalf of the poor souls in Purgatory. These souls have +been saved by the Precious Blood, they have been judged by Jesus Christ +with a favorable judgment, they are His spouses, His sons and +daughters--His children. He cries to us: "My children are even now +dead; but come, lay your hands upon them, and they shall live." What +hand is that which our Lord wants us to lay upon His dead children? +Brethren, it is the hand of prayer. Now, it seems to me that there are +three classes of persons who ought to be in an especial manner the +friends of God's dead children; three classes who ought always to be +extending a helping hand to the souls in Purgatory. First, the poor, +because the holy souls are poor like yourselves. They have no work-- +that is to say, the day for them is past in which they could work and +gain indulgences and merit, the money with which the debt of temporal +punishment is paid; for them the "night has come when no man can work." +They are willing to work, they are willing to pay for themselves, but +they cannot; they are out of work, they are poor, they cannot help +themselves. They are suffering, as the poor suffer in this world from +the heats of summer and the frosts of winter. They have no food; they +are hungry and thirsty; they are longing for the sweets of heaven. They +are in exile; they have no home; they know there is abundance of food +and raiment around them which they cannot themselves buy. It seems to +them that the winter will never pass, that the spring will never come; +in a word they _are poor_. They are poor as many of you are poor. +They are in worse need than the most destitute among you. Oh! then, ye +that are poor, help the holy souls by your prayers. Secondly, the rich +ought to be the special friends of those who are in Purgatory, and +among the rich we wish to include those who are what people call +"comfortably off." God has given you charge of the poor; you can help +them by your alms in this world, so you can in the next. You can have +Masses said for them; you can say lots of prayers for them, because you +have plenty of time on your hands. Again remember, many of those who +were your equals in this world, who, like yourselves, had a good supply +of this world's goods, have gone to Purgatory because those riches were +a snare to them. Riches, my dear friends, have sent many a soul to the +place of purification. Oh! then, those of you who are well off, have +pity upon the poor souls in Purgatory. Offer up a good share of your +wealth to have Masses said for them. Do some act of charity, and offer +the merit of it for some soul who was ensnared by riches, and who is +now paying the penalty in suffering; and spend some considerable +portion of your spare time in praying for the souls of the faithful +departed. + +And lastly, sinners and those who have been converted from a very +sinful life ought to be the friends of God's dead children. Why? +Because, although the souls in Purgatory cannot pray for themselves, +they can pray for others, and these prayers are most acceptable to God. +Because, too, they are full of gratitude, and they will not forget +those who helped them when they shall come before the throne of God. +Because sinners, having saddened the Sacred Heart of Jesus by their +sins, cannot make a better reparation to it than to hasten the time +when He shall embrace these souls whom He loves so dearly, and has +wished for so long. Because sinners have almost always been the means +of the sins of others. They have, by their bad example, sent others to +Purgatory. Ah! then, if they have helped them in, they should help them +out. + +You, then, that are poor, you that are rich, you that have been great +sinners, listen to the voice of Jesus; listen to the plaint of Mary +during this month of November; "My children are now dead; come lay thy +prayers up for them, and they shall live." Hear Mass for the poor +souls; say your beads for them; supplicate Jesus and Mary and Joseph in +their behalf. Fly to St. Catherine of Genoa and beg her to help them, +and many and many a time during the month say with great fervor: "May +the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in +peace."--_Five-Minute Sermons for Low Masses_. + + +THE SOULS IN PURGATORY. [1] + +[Footnote 1: From the "Original, Short and Practical Sermons for every +Feast of the Ecclesiastical Year."] + +REV. F. H. WENINGER, S.J., D.D. + +On the Feast of All Souls, and whenever we are reminded of Purgatory, +we cannot 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 +offences 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.... 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 to-day 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, cannot be compared with those in 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 +Angel Guardian 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 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. + + * * * * * + +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 in 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 +there already. 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, 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 have loved and cherished upon earth, but who have already +preceded them on their way to the heavenly mansion.... 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_; their intense +longing after Him, their last aim and end.... 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. + + * * * * * + +When it will be your turn one day to dwell in those flames, and be +separated from God, how happy will you 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.... 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.... +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, by +our patience under affliction, may merit much, very much indeed, for +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 in +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!" + + * * * * * + +We find 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 Masses, penances, the most severe sicknesses, +and the most painful trials, and all this as a recognition 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.... +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.... + +Remember, dear Christians, that we, too, shall 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. + + * * * * * + +We read, in the life of St. Gertrude, that God once allowed her to +behold Purgatory. And, lo! she saw a soul that was about issuing from +Purgatory, and Christ, who, followed by a band of holy virgins, was +approaching, and stretching forth his hands towards it. Thereupon the +soul, which was almost out of Purgatory, drew back, and of its own +accord sank again into the fire. "What dost 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." + + +A POPULAR VIEW OF PURGATORY. + +REV. J. J. MORIARTY, LL.D. + +Purgatory is a state of suffering for such souls as have left this life +in the friendship of God, but who are not sufficiently purified to +enter the kingdom of heaven--having to undergo some temporal punishment +for their lighter sins and imperfections, or for their grievous sins, +the eternal guilt of which has been remitted. In other words, we +believe that the souls of all who departed this life--not wicked enough +to be condemned to hell, nor yet pure enough to enjoy the Beatific +Vision of God--are sent to a place of purgation, where, in the crucible +of suffering, the lighter stains of their souls are thoroughly removed, +and they themselves are gradually prepared to enter the Holy of Holies +--where nothing defiled is permitted to approach. + + * * * * * + +----There are many venial faults which the majority of persons commit, +and for which they have little or no sorrow--sins which do not deprive +the soul of God's friendship, and yet are displeasing to His infinite +holiness. For all these we must suffer either in this life or the next. +Divine justice weighs everything in a strict balance, and there is no +sin that we commit but for which we shall have to make due reparation. +Faults which we deem of little or no account the Almighty will not pass +unnoticed or unpunished. Our Blessed Saviour warns us that even for +"every idle word that man shall say he shall render an account in the +day of judgment." + +We know full well that no man will be sent to hell merely for an "idle +word," or for any venial fault he may commit; consequently there must +be a place where such sins are punished. If they be not satisfied for +here upon earth by suffering, affliction, or voluntary penance, there +must be a place in the other life where proper satisfaction is to be +made. That place cannot be either heaven or hell. It cannot be heaven, +for no sufferings, no pain, no torment is to be found there, where "God +shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, where death shall be no +more, nor mourning nor weeping." It cannot be hell, where only the +souls of those who have died enemies of God are condemned to eternal +misery, for "out of hell there is no redemption." + + +There must be, then, a Middle Place where lighter faults are cleansed +from the soul, and proper satisfaction is rendered for the temporal +punishment that still remains due. The punishment of every one will +vary according to his desert. + + * * * * * + +Our Divine Lord warns us to make necessary reparation whilst we have +the time and opportunity. + +"Make an agreement with thy adversary quickly whilst thou art in the +way with him; lest, perhaps, the adversary deliver thee to the judge, +and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into +prison. Amen I say to thee, thou shalt not go out from thence till thou +pay the last farthing." (St. Matthew, v., 25, 26.) + +This expresses the doctrine of Purgatory most admirably. The Scriptures +always describe our life as a pilgrimage. We are only on our way. We +have to meet the claims of Divine justice here before being called to +the tribunal of the everlasting Judge; otherwise, even should we die in +His friendship and yet have left these claims not entirely satisfied, +we shall be cast into the prison of Purgatory; and "Amen, I say unto +thee that thou shalt not go out from thence until thou pay the last +farthing." + + * * * * * + +Our Saviour declares (St. Matthew, xii. 32,) that "whoever shall speak +a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but he that +shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, +either in this life or in the world to come;" which shows, as St. +Augustine says in the twenty-first book of his work, "The City of God," +that there are some sins (venial of course) which shall be forgiven in +the next world, and that, consequently, there is a middle state, or +place of purgation in the other life, since no one can enter heaven +having any stain of sin, and surely no one can obtain forgiveness in +hell. + +The testimony of St. Paul is very clear on this point of doctrine: "For +no man can lay another foundation but that which is laid; which is +Jesus Christ. Now if any man build on that foundation, gold, silver, +precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: every man's work shall be made +manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be +revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort +it is. If any man's work abide, which he had built thereupon, 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_." + + * * * * * + +In the First Epistle of St. Peter (Chap. iii. 18, 19), we learn that +Christ "being put to death, indeed, in the flesh, but brought to life +by the spirit, in which also He came and preached to those spirits who +were in prison." + +Our Blessed Saviour, immediately after death, descended into that part +of hell called Limbo, and, as St. Peter informs us, "preached to the +spirits who were in prison." This most certainly shows the existence of +a middle state. The spirits to whom our Lord preached were certainly +not in the hell of the damned, where His preaching could not possibly +bear any fruit; they were not already in heaven, where no preaching is +necessary, since there they see God face to face. Therefore they must +have been in some middle state--call it by whatever name you please-- +where they were anxiously awaiting their deliverance at the hands of +their Lord and Redeemer. + +Belief in Purgatory is more ancient than Christianity itself. It was +the belief among the Jews of old, and of this we have clear proof in +the Second Book of Machabees, xii., 43. After a great victory gained by +that valiant chieftain, Judas Machabeus, about two hundred years before +the coming of Christ, "Judas making a gathering, he sent twelve +thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered +for the sins of the dead, thinking well and justly concerning the +resurrection.... It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray +for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins." + +It is customary, even in our days, in Jewish synagogues, to erect +tablets reminding those present of the lately deceased, in order that +they may remember them in their prayers. Surely, if there did not exist +a place of purgation, no prayers nor sacrifices would be of any avail +to the departed. We find the custom of praying, of offering the Holy +Sacrifice of the Mass for their spiritual benefit, more especially on +their anniversaries, an universal practice among the primitive +Christians of the Eastern and Western Churches, of the Greek, Latin, +and Oriental Rites. + +Even if we did not find strong warrant, as we do, in the Scriptures, +the authority of Apostolic Tradition would be amply sufficient for us; +for, remember, we Catholics hold the traditions, handed down from the +Apostles, to be of as much weight as their own writings. + +... Hence it is that we have recourse to sacred tradition as well as to +Scripture for the proof of our teaching. With reference, then, to the +doctrine of "Purgatory," we are guided by the belief that prevailed +among the primitive Christians. + +That the custom of praying for the dead was sanctioned by the Apostles +themselves, we have the declaration of St. John Chrysostom: "It was not +in vain instituted by the Apostles that in the celebration of the +tremendous mysteries a remembrance should be made of the departed. They +knew that much profit and advantage would be thereby derived." + +Tertullian--the most ancient of the Latin Fathers, who flourished in +the age immediately following that of the Apostles--speaks of the duty +of a widow with regard to her deceased husband: "Wherefore also does +she pray for his soul, and begs for him, in the interim, refreshment, +and in the first resurrection, companionship, and makes offerings for +him on the anniversary day of his falling asleep in the Lord. For +unless she has done these things, she has truly repudiated him so far +as is in her power." All this supposes a Purgatory. + +"The measure of the pain," says St. Gregory Nyssa, "is the quantity of +evil to be found in each one.... Being either purified during the +present life by means of prayer and the pursuit of wisdom, or, after +departure from this life, by means of the furnace of the fire of +purgatory." + + * * * * * + +Not only deeply instructive, but also eminently consoling is the +doctrine of Purgatory. We need not "mourn as those who have no hope," +for those nearest and dearest who have gone hence and departed this +life in the friendship of God. + +How beautifully our Holy Mother the Church bridges over the terrible +chasm of the grave! How faithfully and tenderly she comes to our aid in +the saddest of our griefs and sorrows! She leaves us not to mourn +uncomforted, unsustained. She chides us not for shedding tears over our +dear lost ones--a beloved parent, a darling child, a loving brother, +affectionate sister, or deeply-cherished friend or spouse. She bids us +let our tears flow, for our Saviour wept at the grave of Lazarus. + +She whispers words of comfort--not unmeaning words, but words of divine +hope and strength--to our breaking hearts. She pours the oil of +heavenly consolation into our deepest wounds. She bids us cast off all +unseemly grief, assuring us that not even death itself can sever the +bond that unites us; that we can be of service to those dear departed +ones whom we loved better than life itself; that we can aid them by our +prayers and good works, and especially by, the Holy Sacrifice of the +Mass. Thus may we shorten their time of banishment, assuage their +pains, and continue to storm Heaven itself with our piteous appeals +until the Lord deign to look down in mercy, open their prison doors, +and admit them to the full light of His holy presence, and to the +everlasting embrace of their Redeemer and their God. + + +EXTRACTS FROM "CATHOLIC BELIEF." + +VERY REV. FAÁ DI BRUNO. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Catholic Belief, or, A Short and Simple Exposition of +Catholic Doctrine, by Very Rev. Joseph Faá Di Bruno. D. D., Rector- +General of the Pious Society of Missions of the Church of San Salvatore +in Onde, Ponte Sisto, Rome, and St. Peter's Italian Church in London. +American Edition, edited by Father Lambert, author of Notes on +Ingersoll, &c.] + +As works of penance have no value in themselves except through the +merits of Jesus Christ, so the pains of Purgatory have no power in +themselves to purify the soul from sin, but only in virtue of Christ's +Redemption, or, to speak more exactly, the souls in Purgatory are able +to discharge the debt of temporal punishment demanded by God's justice, +and to have their venial sins remitted only through the merits of Jesus +Christ, "yet so as by fire." + +The Catholic belief in Purgatory rests on the authority of the Church +and her apostolic traditions recorded in ancient Liturgies, and in the +writings of the ancient Fathers: Tertullian, St. Cyprian, Origen, +Eusebius of Cæsarea, Arnobius, St. Basil, St. Ephrem of Edessa, St. +Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Ambrose, St. Epiphanius, +St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, St. Augustine. It rests also on the +Fourth Council of Carthage, and on many other authorities of antiquity. + +That this tradition is derived from the Apostles, St. John Chrysostom +plainly testified in a passage quoted at the end of this chapter, in +which he speaks of suffrages or help for the departed. + +St. Augustine tells us that Arius was the first who dared to teach that +it was of no use to offer up prayers and sacrifices for the dead; and +this doctrine of Arius he reckoned among heresies. (Book of Heresies, +Heresy 53d.) + +There are also passages in Holy Scripture from which the Fathers have +confirmed the Catholic belief on this point. + +St. Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, chap. iii. 11-15, +writes: "For other foundations no one can lay, but that which is laid; +which is Christ Jesus. Now, if any man build upon this foundation, +gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man's work +shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it +shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of +what sort it is. If any man's work abide, which he hath built +thereupon, 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." + +The ancient Fathers, Origen in the third century, St. Ambrose and St. +Jerome in the fourth, and St. Augustine in the fifth, have interpreted +this text of St. Paul as relating to venial sins committed by +Christians which St. Paul compares to "wood, hay, stubble," and thus +with this text they confirm the Catholic belief in Purgatory, well +known and believed in their time, as it is by Catholics in the present +time. In St. Matthew (chap. v. 25, 26) we read, "Be at agreement with +thy adversary betimes, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest, +perhaps, the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver +thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Amen, I say to thee, +thou shalt not go out from thence till thou repay the last farthing." + +On this passage, St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, a Father of the third +century, says: "It is one thing to be cast into prison, and not go out +from thence till the last farthing be paid, and another to receive at +once the reward of faith and virtue: one thing in punishment of sin to +be purified by long-suffering and purged by long fire, and another to +have expiated all sins of suffering (in this life); one in fire, at the +day of Judgment to wait the sentence of the Lord, another to receive an +immediate crown from Him." (Epist. iii.) + +Our Saviour said: "He that shall speak against the Holy Ghost, it shall +not be forgiven him in this world, nor in the world to come." (St. +Matt. xii. 32.) + +From this text St. Augustine argues, that "It would not have been said +with truth that their sin shall not be forgiven, neither in this world, +nor in the world to come, unless some sins were remitted in the next +world." (_De Civitate Dei_, Book xxi. chap. 24.) + +On the other hand, we read in several places in Holy Scripture that God +will render to every one (that is, will reward or punish) according as +each deserves. See, for example, in Matthew xvi. 27. But as we cannot +think that God will punish everlastingly a person who dies burdened +with the guilt of venial sin only, it may be an "_idle word_," it +is reasonable to infer that the punishment rendered to that person in +the next world will be only temporary. + +The Catholic belief in Purgatory does not clash with the following +declarations of Holy Scripture, which every Catholic firmly believes, +namely, that it is Jesus who cleanseth us from all sin, that Jesus bore +"the iniquity of us all," that "by His bruises we are healed," (Isaias +iii., 5); for it is through the blood of Jesus and His copious +Redemption that those pains of Purgatory have power to cleanse the +souls therein detained. + +Again, the Catholic belief in Purgatory is not in opposition to those +texts of Scripture in which it is said that a man when he is justified +is "translated from death to life;" that he is no longer judged: that +there is no condemnation in him. For these passages do not refer to +souls taken to Heaven when natural death occurs, but to persons in this +world, who from the death of sin pass to the life of grace. Nor does it +follow that dying in that state of grace, that is, in a state of +spiritual life, they must go at once to Heaven. A soul may be +justified, entirely exempt from eternal _condemnation_, and yet +have something to suffer for a time; thus, also, in this world, many +are justified, and yet are not exempt from suffering. + +Again, it is not fair to bring forward against the Catholic doctrine on +Purgatory that text of the Apocalypse, Rev. xix. 13: "Blessed are the +dead, who die in the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that +they may rest from their labors: for their works follow them," for this +text applies only to those souls who die perfectly in the Lord, that +is, entirely free from every kind of sin, and from the _stain_, +the _guilt_, and the _debt of temporal punishment_ of every +sin. Catholics believe that these souls have no pain to suffer in +Purgatory, as is the case with the martyrs and saints who die in a +perfect state of grace. + +It is usual to bring forward against the Catholic belief in Purgatory +that text which says: "If the tree fall to the south, or to the north, +in what place soever it shall fall, there shall it be." (Eccles. xi. 3.) + +This text confirms and illustrates the truth that, when death comes, +the _final doom_ of every one is fixed, and that there is no +possibility of changing it; so that one dying in a state of mortal sin +will always remain in a state of mortal sin, and consequently be +rejected forever; and one dying in a state of grace and friendship with +God, will forever remain accepted by God and in a state of grace, and +in friendship with Him. + +But this text proves nothing against the existence of Purgatory; for a +soul, although in a state of grace, and destined to heaven, may still +have to suffer for a time before being perfectly fit to enter upon the +eternal bliss, to enjoy the vision of God. + +Some might be disposed, notwithstanding, to regard this text as opposed +to the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory by saying that the two places +alluded to in the texts are heaven and hell. But this interpretation +Catholics readily admit, for at death either heaven or hell is the +final place to which all men are allotted, Purgatory being only a +passage to heaven. This text surely does not tell against those just +ones under the Old Law who died in a state of grace and salvation, and +who, though sure of heaven, had yet to wait in a middle state until +after the Ascension of Jesus Christ; neither, therefore, does it tell +against Purgatory. + +Christ's Redemption is abundant, "_plentiful_" as Holy Scripture, +says (Ps. cxxix. 7), and Catholics do not believe that those Christians +who die guilty only of _venial the practice of the Catholic Church to +offer prayers and other pious works in suffrage for the dead, as is +amply testified by the Latin Fathers; for instance, Tertullian, St. +Cyprian, St. Augustine, St. Gregory; and amongst the Greek Fathers, by +St. Ephrem of Edessa, St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom. St. Chrysostom +says: "It was not without good reason ordained by the Apostles that +mention should be made of the dead in the tremendous mysteries, because +they knew well that, these would receive great benefit from it" (on the +First Epistle to Philippians, Homily iii.) By the expression +"tremendous mysteries," is meant the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. + +St. Augustine says: "It is not to be doubted that the dead are aided by +the prayers of Holy Church and by the salutary sacrifice, and by the +alms which are offered for their spirits, that the Lord may deal with +them more mercifully than their sins have deserved. For this, which has +been handed down by the Fathers, the universal Church observes." +(_Enchirid_, Vol. v., Ser. 172.) + +The same pious custom is proved also from the ancient Liturgies of the +Greek and other Eastern Churches, both Catholic and Schismatic, in +which the Priest is directed to pray for the repose of the dead during +the celebration of the Holy Mysteries. + + +PURGATORY AND THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS. + +ALBAN BUTLER. + +By Purgatory no more is meant by Catholics than a middle state of +souls; namely of purgation from sin by temporary chastisements, or a +punishment of some sin inflicted after death, which is not eternal. As +to the place, manner or kind of these sufferings nothing has been +defined by the Church; and all who with Dr. Deacon except against this +doctrine, on account of the circumstance of a material fire, quarrel +about a mere scholastic question, in which a person is at liberty to +choose either side.... Certainly some sins are venial, which deserve +not eternal death. Yet if not effaced by condign punishment in this +world must be punished in the next. The Scriptures frequently mention +those venial sins, from which ordinarily the just are not exempt, who +certainly would not be just if these lesser sins into which men easily +fall by surprise, destroyed grace in them, or if they fell from +charity. Yet the smallest sin excludes a soul from heaven so long as it +is not blotted out.... Who is there who keeps, so constant a guard upon +his heart and whole conduct as to avoid all sensible self-deceptions? +Who is there upon whose heart no inordinate attachments steal; into +whose actions no sloth, remissness, or other irregularity ever +insinuates itself?... The Blessed Virgin was preserved by an +extraordinary grace from the least sin in the whole tenor of her life +and actions; but, without such a singular privilege, even the saints +are obliged to say that they sin daily.... The Church of Christ is +composed of three different parts: the Triumphant in Heaven, the +Militant on earth, and the Patient or Suffering in Purgatory. Our +charity embraces all the members of Christ.... The Communion of Saints +which we profess in our Creed, implies a communication of certain good +works and offices, and a mutual intercourse among all the members of +Christ. This we maintain with the Saints in heaven by thanking and +praising God for their triumphs and crowns, imploring their +intercession, and receiving the succors of their charitable solicitude +for us: likewise with the souls in Purgatory by soliciting the divine +mercy in their favor. Nor does it seem to be doubted but they, as they +are in a state of grace and charity, pray for us; though the Church +never address public suffrages to them, not being warranted by +primitive practice and tradition so to do. + +... St. Odilo, abbot of Cluni, in 998, instituted the commemoration of +all the faithful departed in all the monasteries of his congregation on +the 1st of November, which was soon adopted by the whole Western +Church. The Council of Oxford, in 1222, declared it a holiday of the +second class, on which certain necessary and important kinds of work +were allowed. Some dioceses kept it a holiday of precept till noon; +only those of Vienne and Tours, and the order of Cluni, the whole day: +in most places it is only a day of devotion. The Greeks have long kept +on Saturday sevennight before Lent, and on Saturday before Whitsunday, +the solemn commemoration of all the faithful departed; but offer up +Mass every Saturday for them.... The dignity of these souls most +strongly recommends them to our compassion, and at the same time to our +veneration. Though they lie at present at a distance from God, buried +in frightful dungeons under waves of fire, they belong to the happy +number of the elect. They are united to God by His grace; they love Him +above all things, and amidst their torments never cease to bless and +praise Him, adoring the severity of His justice with perfect +resignation and love.... They are illustrious conquerors of the devil, +the world and hell; holy spirits loaded with merits and graces, and +bearing the precious badge of their dignity and honor by the nuptial +robe of the Lamb with which by an indefeasible right they are clothed. +Yet they are now in a state of suffering, and endure greater torments +than it is possible for any one to suffer, or for our imagination to +represent to itself in this mortal life.... St. Cæsarius of Aries +writes: "A person," says he, "may say, I am not much concerned how long +I remain in Purgatory, provided I may come to eternal life. Let no one +reason thus. Purgatory fire will be more dreadful than whatever +torments can be seen, imagined, or endured in this world. And how does +any one know whether he will stay days, months, or years? He who is +afraid now to put his finger into the fire, does he not fear lest he be +then all buried in torments for a long time.... The Church approves +perpetual anniversaries for the dead; for some souls may be detained in +pains to the end of the world, though after the day of judgment no +third state can exist.... If we have lost any dear friends in Christ, +while we confide in His mercy, and rejoice in their passage from the +region of death to that of life, light, and eternal joy, we have reason +to fear some lesser stains may retard their bliss. In this uncertainty +let us earnestly recommend them to the divine clemency.... Perhaps, the +souls of some dear friends may be suffering on our account; perhaps, +for their fondness for us, or for sins of which we were the occasion, +by scandal, provocation, or otherwise, in which case motives not only +of charity, but of justice, call upon us to endeavor to procure them +all the relief in our power.... Souls delivered and brought to glory by +our endeavors will amply repay our kindness by obtaining divine graces +for us. God Himself will be inclined by our charity to show us also +mercy, and to shower down upon us His most precious favors. 'Blessed +are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' By having shown this +mercy to the suffering souls in Purgatory, we shall be particularly +entitled to be treated with mercy at our departure hence, and to share +more abundantly in the general suffrages of the Church, continually +offered for all that have slept in Christ." + + + + +PART II + + +ANECDOTES AND INCIDENTS. + + We know them not, nor hear the sound + They make in treading all around: + Their office sweet and mighty prayer + Float without echo through the air; + Yet sometimes, in unworldly places, + Soft sorrow's twilight vales, + We meet them with uncovered faces, + Outside their golden pales, + Though dim, as they must ever be, + Like ships far-off and out at sea, + With the sun upon their sails.--FABER. + + +THE FRUIT OF A MASS. + +The incident we are about to relate and which, in some way, only the +price of the first Mass paid for, reminds us of another which seems to +be also the fruit of a single Mass given under the inspiration of +faith. This fact is found in the life of St. Peter Damian, and we are +happy to reproduce it here, in order to tell over again the marvels of +God in those He loves, and to make manifest that charity for the poor +souls brings ever and always its own reward. + +Peter, surnamed Damian, was born in 988, at Ravenna, in Italy. His +family was poor, and he was the youngest of several children. He lost +his father and mother while still very young, and was taken by one of +his brothers to his home. But Damian was treated there in a very +inhuman manner. He was regarded rather as a slave, or, at least, as a +base menial, than as the brother of the master of the house. He was +deprived of the very necessaries of life, and, after being made to work +like a hired servant, he was loaded with blows. When he was older, they +gave him charge of the swine. + +Nevertheless, Peter Damian, being endowed with rare virtue, received +all with patience as coming from God. This sweet resignation on the +part of a child was most pleasing to the Lord, and He rewarded him by +inspiring him to a good action. + +One day the little Damian, leading his flocks to the pasture, found on +the way a small piece of money. Oh! how rejoiced he was! How his heart +swelled within him! + +He clapped his hands joyfully, thinking himself quite rich, and already +he began to calculate all he could do with his money. Suggestions were +not wanting, for he was in need of everything. + +Nevertheless, the noble child took time to reflect; a sudden shadow +fell on the fair heaven of his happy thoughts. He all at once +remembered that his father, his poor mother who had so loved him, might +be still suffering cruel torments in the place of expiation. And +despising his own great necessities, and generously making the +sacrifice of what was for him a treasure, Damian, raised above himself +and his wants by the thought of his beloved parents, brought his money +to a priest, to have the Holy Sacrifice offered for them. + +That generous child had obeyed a holy inspiration, and this good deed +of his was quickly rewarded. Fortune suddenly changed with him. He was +taken by another of his brothers, who took all possible care of him. +Seeing that the child had such excellent dispositions, he made him +begin to study. He sent him first to Florence, then to a famous school +in Parma, where he had for his master the celebrated Ivo. The brilliant +qualities of Damian were rapidly developed, and soon he became +professor where he had been a pupil. He afterwards gave up the world +and became a religious, and was, in course of time, not only a +remarkable man, but a great saint. He was charged by the Holy See with +affairs the most important, and died clothed in the Roman purple. He is +still a great light in the Church, and his writings are always full of +piety and erudition. + +The little Damian, then, might well think that he possessed a treasure +in his little coin, since with it he purchased earthly honors and +heavenly bliss. We all of us have often had in our hand Damian's little +piece of money, but have we known how to make a treasure of it? +_Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_, 1877. + + +THE FAITH OF A PIOUS LADY. + +"In the course of the month of July of last year," said a zealous +member of our Association for the Souls in Purgatory, "I was accosted +by one of our associates who told me, with an exuberance of joy, 'Ah! +we have great reason to thank the souls in Purgatory; I beg you to +unite with us in thanking them for the favor they have just done us.' +'Indeed? Well! I am very happy to hear it. Has anything extraordinary +happened to you? Tell me, if you please, what seems to cause you so +much joy?' + +"Then our fervent associate--a young man of a mild and pleasing aspect, +usually somewhat reserved, but of gentlemanly bearing--said, in a tone +of deep emotion: + +"'I am rejoiced to tell you, in the first place, that I have the +happiness of still having my good mother. God seems to leave her on the +earth to complete the work of her purification, for she is always sick +and suffering, and, as she says herself, there is neither rest nor +peace for her here below; nevertheless, she resigns herself so +patiently to the sufferings and tribulations which weigh so heavily +upon her that it does me a twofold good every time I see her, for I +love her as my mother, I venerate her as a saint. + +"'One day, then, last week, finding herself a little stronger, she +thought she would take a short drive, being in the country for her +health. The drive seemed really to do her good; the beauty of the +country, and still more, the fresh, pure air, appeared to revive her, +and altogether she enjoyed her drive immensely. Her heart, as well as +her mind, was changed, for you know there is often a sickness of the +head, as of the body. She already began to flatter herself with the +hope of a speedy recovery, when, in the midst of the drive which was +having so beneficial an effect, the horse, from some unknown cause, +suddenly took fright, and, taking the bit between his teeth, started +off at a fearful pace. + +"'Imagine the terror of my poor mother! On either side the road was a +broad, deep ditch, and the rough, uneven soil caused the carriage to +jolt fearfully, which was another great danger; and, as it so often +happens in the country, the road was deserted, and no one to be seen +who might give any assistance. + +"'To crown all, it happened that the servant who drove my mother, in +his efforts to restrain the horse in his headlong flight, had the +misfortune to break the reins, which were their only chance of guiding +the animal in his mad career. + +"'Ah! how can I describe the feelings of my poor dear mother, already +so sick and so feeble; in fact, she was almost dead with fright. She +thought every moment that she was going to be thrown into the ditch, or +dashed against the stake paling which bordered the road on either side. +She was nearly in despair, when all at once the thought occurred to her +to promise a Mass for the Souls in Purgatory, if the horse stopped. + +"'And what do you think?--Ah! I am still so agitated myself, that I can +hardly tell it!--But, wonderful to relate, that horse, in the wild +excitement of his flight, without so much as a thread to restrain him, +who could not have been stopped by any natural cause whatsoever,--that +horse stopped immediately, and one might say, suddenly, as though a +barrier were placed before him! + +"'It were utterly impossible to express my mother's joy and gratitude. +Her life will henceforth be but one long act of thanksgiving; for, +without that unlooked-for help it had certainly been all over with her. +Oh, I beseech you help me to thank Heaven for so great a favor.'" + +This example will serve to show still more clearly that God is pleased +to manifest His power, even for the slightest service rendered to those +whom He deigns to call His "Beloved" of Purgatory.--_Almanac of the +Souls in Purgatory_. 1877. + + +PAY WHAT THOU OWEST. + +When the fathers of the Society of Jesus first established their order +in Kentucky, a wealthy and respected Catholic citizen of Bardstown, Mr. +S----, sought admission among them,--although his age and lack of a +thorough preparatory education offered obstacles to his success. He +entered the Novitiate, only to be convinced that it was too late for +him to become a priest, as had been prudently represented to him at the +outset. However, his love for the Society had been strengthened by his +short stay in the sanctuary of the community, and he resolved to devote +himself to the service of the Fathers in another way. He determined to +secure a suitable residence, and found a college, which, as soon as it +was in a flourishing condition, he would turn over to the Society. + +With this object in view, Mr. S---- made diligent inquiries, and +advertised in various county newspapers for a suitable residence in +which to begin his good work. One of his advertisements received a +prompt reply from the executors of an estate in C---- County. The +property offered for sale was unencumbered, its broad lands under high +cultivation, the mansion in good repair, etc. Accompanied by a friend, +Mr. S---- hastened to visit the plantation. He found one wing of the +house occupied by the overseer and his family, and observed with +pleasure that the advertisement seemed not to have exaggerated the +value of the estate. + +Mr. S---- and his friend tarried over night, and were assigned separate +apartments, which the administrators had ordered to be kept in +readiness for the reception of prospective purchasers. Although greatly +fatigued by a long ride on horseback over ill-kept roads, neither of +the gentlemen could sleep, on account of a wearisome, incessant +knocking in an adjoining room. Each believing the other to be sound +asleep, forbore to awake his tired companion, but when they met at an +early breakfast, they both, as in one breath, inquired of the farmer's +wife the cause of the continuous tapping in the adjoining apartment. +Mrs. F---- exchanged a significant glance with her husband, and a sort +of grim smile overspread the face of the latter. After a moment's +hesitation, he declared that he and his wife, and the servants on the +estate, had in vain tried to find out the cause. All who slept in those +two rooms heard the noise, and could not sleep. Both husband and wife +assured their guests that the knocking took place in the apartment +always occupied, during her lifetime, by Mrs. G----, the late owner of +the estate; furthermore, that the disturbance was unknown before her +death. Mr. S---- and his companion naturally became more and more +interested, and after suggesting all the ordinary causes of unusual and +mysterious knocks, such as rats, cats, chipmunks, creaking doors, +broken shutters, and the like, rode off with Mr. F---- to make a +thorough examination of the estate. + +The two gentlemen rode all over the plantation, conferred with the +executors and some lawyers, and after inspecting the house thoroughly, +sat down to a dinner that was highly creditable to the hostess, who +seemed anxious concerning the disclosures of the morning. When night +came on, the visitors were shown to the same rooms they had previously +occupied. In the morning each spoke again of his inability to get any +refreshing sleep, and as they rode back to B----, talking over dreams, +visions, and other supernatural occurrences, they asked themselves, +might not this knocking have a supernatural cause? Concluding it might +have, they considered it would be well to lay the case before the Rev. +Father Q----; at least, they could go, and tell him of their journey +into C---- County, and also of the mysterious knocking, if it seemed to +come in naturally; for each felt a little dread of being laughed at as +too credulous. In the course of their conversation with the Father, the +full details of what they had learned and had personally experienced +were related. Father Q---- seemed to consider the occurrence quite +easily accounted for by some physical cause; but when the gentlemen +recalled to his attention the circumstance of Mrs. G----'s death, he +appeared to take another view of the matter. + +Finally, it was decided that Father Q---- and a brother priest should +accompany Mr. S---- and his friend to the plantation, for a personal +investigation. Soon after their arrival at the mansion the priests, +preceded by the servants of the family, Mr. and Mrs. F----, and the two +visitors, repaired to the mysterious chamber. When a little Holy Water +had been sprinkled about the room, there was a cessation of the +knocking, and after reciting some prayers, Father Q---- inquired, in +Latin, of whatever spirit might be there the cause of the disturbance. +He was distinctly answered in the same tongue that the soul of Mrs. +G---- could not rest in peace, because of an uncancelled debt to the +shoemaker, Mr. ----. The interlocutor was assured that the matter should +be attended to at once. Thereupon the knocking re-commenced and +continued. + +All were painfully surprised, but thanked God that it would be so easy +a matter to settle the debt. The Rosary was then recited by the +assembly, most of whom had supposed that the priests were present to +bless the house. Without delay, Mr. S. and Father Q---- repaired to the +shop of the village shoemaker, and begged him to present any bill that +he might have against the estate of the late Mrs. G----. The shoemaker +said that he did not believe there was anything due to him, for +payments had always been made very punctually. However, he ran over his +account-book, and declared that he found nothing. In sorrowful +surprise, the two friends then took their departure, telling the shoe +dealer that if, at any time, he should find aught against the property, +to inform them without delay. + +On his return home, the shoemaker related to his mother what had +happened in the shop. After reflection, she asked if he had looked over +his father's accounts. "Certainly not," he said. She then remarked that +the request was only half complied with, for Mrs. G---- had long been +his father's customer. After dinner, they repaired to the attic, and, +searching out the old ledgers, went over them carefully. To their +surprise they found a bill of twelve dollars and a half, for a pair of +white satin slippers (probably Mrs. G----'s wedding shoes), which, in +the midst of various affairs, had remained unsettled. A messenger was +sent with all speed to the mansion. On the way he chanced to meet +Father Q---- and Mr. S----. The bill, with interest, was paid on the +spot, and, returning to the house, they learned from the astonished and +delighted tenants that the rappings had suddenly and entirely ceased. + +Shortly after, Mr. S---- became the owner of the estate, the heirs of +which, preferring to live in Europe, had permitted its sale, in order +to divide and enjoy the proceeds. As Mr. S---- had planned, a college +was there founded, and before long it was under the control of the +Society of his aspirations and his enthusiastic love.--_Ave +Maria_, Nov. 15, 1884. + + +THE VIA CRUCIS + +In November, 1849, Prince Charles Löwenstein Wertheim Rosenberg died. A +lady who filled a subordinate office in his family as governess, +communicated to the author the incidents which follow. At the prince's +deathbed, which she was permitted to visit, she made a vow to say +certain prayers daily for the repose of his soul, in accordance with a +wish which he had expressed. When the family was residing at the castle +of Henbach on the Maine, it was this lady's habit to spend a short time +every evening in the private chapel. After one of those visits, about +three months after the prince's death, she retired to rest, and in the +course of the night had a singular dream. She was in the chapel, +kneeling in a tribune; opposite to her was the high altar. She had +spent some time in prayer, when suddenly, on the steps of the altar, +she saw the tall figure of the deceased prince, kneeling with great +apparent devotion. Presently he turned towards her, and in his usual +manner of addressing her, said: "Dear child, come down to me here in +the chapel; I want to speak to you." She replied that she would gladly, +but that the doors were all locked. He assured her that they were all +open. She went down to him, taking her candle with her. When she came +near him, the prince rose to meet her, took her hand, and, without +speaking, led her to the altar, and they both knelt down together. They +prayed for some time in silence, then he rose once more, and standing +at the foot of the altar, said: "Tell my children, my dear child, that +their prayers and yours are heard. Tell them that God has accepted the +_Via Crucis_ [1] which they have daily made for me, and your +prayers also. I am with God in His glory, and I will pray for all those +who have so faithfully prayed for me." As he spoke, his face seemed +lighted up as with the glory usually painted round the head of a saint. +With a farewell look he vanished, and she awoke. + +[Footnote 1: Way of the Cross, more commonly called the Stations of the +Cross.] + +At breakfast she appeared agitated. She sat beside the prince's +granddaughter, Princess Adelaide Löwenstein, afterwards married to Don +Miguel of Portugal. This lady asked her what was the matter. She +related her dream, and then begged to know what prayers the princesses +had offered for the repose of his Highnesses' soul. They were the +_Via Crucis_.--_Footsteps of Spirits_. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Published by Burns & Lambert of London.] + + +STRANGE INCIDENTS. + +When the Benedictine College at Ampleforth, in Yorkshire, was building, +a few years ago, one of the masons attracted the attention of the +community by the interest which he took in the incidents of their daily +life. He had to walk from a village three miles off, so as to be at the +college every morning by six o'clock. He was first much pleased with +the regularity of the community, whom he always found in the church, +singing the Hours before Mass, on his arrival in the morning. By +degrees he was taught the whole of the Catholic doctrine, and was +received into the Church. None of his family, however, would follow his +example. Exposure to cold and wet brought on an illness, of which he +died, in a very pious manner. A short time after his death, his wife +was one morning sweeping about the open door of her house, when her +husband walked in, and sat down on a seat by the fire, and began to ask +her how she did. She answered that she was well, and hoped he was happy +where he was. He replied that he was, at that time; that, at first, he +had passed through Purgatory, and had undergone a brief purification; +but that, when this was ended, he had been taken to the enjoyment of +the bliss of God in heaven. He remained talking to her some little time +longer, then he bade her farewell, and disappeared. + +The woman applied to a Catholic priest for instruction; and it was +found that, although she had never in her life read a Catholic book, +nor conversed about the Catholic religion with any one, she had +acquired a complete knowledge of the doctrine of Purgatory from that +short interview with her husband. She, too, became a Catholic. The +author was told this story by one who was a member of the community of +Ampleforth at the time. + +A missionary priest at B---- (in England), a very few years ago, +promised to say Mass for a woman in his congregation who had died. +Among other engagements of the same kind, he unconsciously overlooked +her claim upon him. By and by her husband came to him, and begged him +to remember his promise. The missionary thought that he had already +done so. "Oh! no, sir," the man replied; "I can assure you that you +have not; my poor wife has been to me to tell me so, and to get you to +do this act of charity for her." The priest was satisfied of his +omission, and immediately supplied it. Soon after, the poor man +returned to thank him, at the woman's desire. She had told her husband +that now she was perfectly happy in heaven; her face, which had +appeared much disfigured at her first visit, was surrounded with a halo +of light when she came again. This anecdote reached the author through +a common friend of his own and of the missionary. + +A similar anecdote is told of a nun in the English convent of Bruges, +between thirty and forty years ago. A relation of Canon Schmidt had +died in the house, and Miss L----, another nun, much attached to her, +saw her friend one night in a dream. She seemed to come with a serious +countenance, and pointed to the Office for the Dead in an office-book, +which she appeared to hold in her hand. Her friend was much perplexed, +and consulted Miss N----, a third nun, who suggested that perhaps Miss +L---- had not said the Office three times, as usual, for her deceased +sister. Miss L---- was nearly sure that she had; but as she had a habit +of marking off this obligation as it was discharged, it could be easily +ascertained. On examining her private note-book, it turned out that she +had not said the three Offices. Miss N----'s sister, who was educated +in the same convent, told the author this little story, and afterwards +was good enough to revise his narrative of it. So that this account is +virtually her own. Though seeming to have passed through two channels +on its way to this book, that is, through the author's memory and his +friend's, yet having, submitted to the latter a written memorandum of +the narrative, and received and adopted his friend's corrections, the +story is as authentic as if it had passed through only one intermediate +channel. For there is no doubt that the value of a story diminishes +rapidly with every additional hand through which it passes.-- +_Footsteps of Spirits_, 113-14. + + +A TRUE STORY OF THE "DE PROFUNDIS." + +One evening in the month of July, 184--, a happy group were gathered in +the wide porch of a well-known mansion in Prince George's County, +Maryland. A little Catholic church had been recently built in the +village of L---- by the zealous and wealthy proprietor of "Monticello," +and as the means of the newly-formed congregation were too limited to +support a resident pastor, one of the Reverend Fathers from Georgetown +kindly came out once a fortnight to celebrate Mass and administer the +Sacraments. On the eve of the favored Sunday, Doctor J---- took his +carriage to the railway station and brought back the Reverend Father +named for that week's services; and his visit was always looked for +with delight by all the household at Monticello, domestics and +children, but by none so much as by three recent converts to our holy +faith, who often took occasion to propound to their amiable and learned +guest any doubts on religious questions that had arisen during the +course of the intervening weeks. + +On the evening above mentioned, the priest who came was an Italian +Jesuit, the Reverend Father G----. He held his little audience +entranced with a fund of edifying stories and interesting replies to +the questions asked. The calm serenity of the night, the gentle, +refreshing breeze that came from a neighboring wood of pine-trees, the +beautiful glitter of the flitting glow-worm, and the rich perfume +wafted from the purple magnolia _grandiflora_--all added to the +enchantment. The doctor broke the charm by saying: "Reverend Father, we +shall be obliged to leave early to-morrow morning. The carriage will be +ready for you at 6 o'clock." + +"Is it a long drive to the church?" asked Father G----. + +"No; only four miles," answered the doctor; "but there will be many +confessions to hear and, perhaps, some baptisms to administer; hence, +unless the work is begun early, Mass will not be over before 12 +o'clock." + +"I hope, then," replied the Father, smiling, "that you will not fail to +awake betimes." + +"As to that," rejoined the doctor, "when I have to arise at any +particular time, I recite a _De Profundis_ for the relief of the +suffering souls, and I am sure of awaking promptly at he right hour." + +"I can easily credit that," said Father G----. + +"It is a pious practice which was recommended to me by the late Dr. +Ryder, of Georgetown, when I was at the College," said the host; "and I +have never found that any one to whom I taught the practice failed to +find it truly efficacious." + +"If it would not detain you too long beyond your customary hours," said +Father G----, "I would add to my long list of anecdotes one more on the +_De Profundis_." + +All present besought the priest to favor them; in truth, the worthy +household never wearied of pious conversation. + +"It happened," began the good priest, with religious modesty, "that +about twenty years ago I accompanied a number of prominent members of +our Society who had been summoned to the Mother House, in Rome, on +business of importance. The Fathers carried with them precious +documents from their several provinces; and, besides the purse +necessary to meet their current travelling expenses, certain +contributions from churches as Peter's Pence, and donations for the +General of the Society. Our way lay across the Apennines, and we were +numerous enough to fill a large coach. We knew that the fastnesses of +the mountains were infested by outlawed bands, and we had been careful +to select an honest driver. Before setting out, it was agreed that we +should place ourselves under the protection of the Holy Souls by +reciting a _De Profundis_ every hour. At a given signal, mental or +vocal prayer, reading or recreation, would be suspended, and the psalm +recited in unison. + +"Luigi, the driver, had been instructed, in case of any apparent +danger, to make three distinct taps on the roof of our vehicle with the +heavy end of his whip. We travelled the whole day undisturbed, without +other interruptions than those called for by the observance of our +itinerary. Just as the evening twilight began, we reached the summit of +a lofty mountain. The air was cool, the scenery wild and majestic, and +each of us seemed absorbed in the pleasant glimpses of the receding +landscapes, when we were startled by three ominous knocks on the roof +of our coach. Before we could ask any questions, Luigi had given his +horses such blows as nearly made them throw us out of the vehicle, and +sent the animals running at a break-neck speed. We looked, we listened, +and, to our amazement and horror, beheld about a dozen bandits on +either side of the road, with arms uplifted, and holding deadly +weapons, as if ready and determined to strike with well-aimed +precision. But, strange to say, they all remained as motionless as +statues, until we had gone on so far as to leave them a mere speck on +the descending horizon. + +"Each one of our party had kept exterior silence, but inwardly put his +trust in the Most High. At last, Luigi halted. His horses were white +with foam, and panting as if they would never breathe naturally again. + +"A miracle!" cried Luigi, signing himself with the mystic Sign; "may +God and Our Lady be praised! I tell you, Fathers, it is a miracle that +we are not dead men!" "'Indeed, a very special protection of Divine +Providence said the superior _pro tem_.; 'and we must all thank +God with our whole hearts.' + +"'I tell you,' broke in Luigi, 'those were horrible men; I never saw +any look fiercer.' + +"'Then, as soon as your horses are able, we had better move on. Shall +you be obliged to change them before we get to our proposed stopping- +place?' asked the superior. + +"'Oh, we must not stop to change! we should be tracked by some of their +spies. We had better go on; and, as the road descends gently, I think +this team will make the remainder of the route.' + +"'Well,' said our superior, as we re-entered the coach, 'we must all +offer a Mass in thanksgiving to-morrow;' to which we all heartily +assented, and found subject for conversation the rest of the way in +recalling the particulars of our wondrous escape. + +"Holy obedience afterwards stationed me," continued the Reverend +Father, "at the Gesú. About two years later, I was called upon to +instruct a prisoner condemned to capital punishment. 'He appears to +have been a desperate man,' said the jailer, as he drew aside the +enormous bolts of iron that held fast the door of a corridor leading to +a dismal dungeon; 'now, however, he is a little subdued; he even seems +contrite at times, and I hope he will die penitent.' + +"I visited the prisoner several times; he was always glad to see me, +but it cost him a great effort to open his heart, and make a full +confession. His birth and parentage, and advantages for a liberal +education, should have brought him to a widely-different destiny. He +had loved adventure naturally, but had taken a wrong direction. He +might have become a famous military man, whereas he was only a rough, +desperate highwayman. To win him to God, I began to listen to +narratives of his wild brigand exploits. I affected to be interested in +these daring adventures, and then succeeded in pointing out to him the +sin that abounded in each and every act. One day, as he was speaking of +the latest years of his life, I was greatly surprised to hear him +recount the identical incident with which I began my story. He +described to me in the most graphic terms the wonderful manner in which +his hands and those of his comrades had been held by an invisible, +irresistible power, saying that they had returned to their mountain +haunts perfectly dismayed; that some of them appeared to have a vague +and conscientious alarm, though revelry and song soon banished such +misgivings. He told me that they knew the carriage was full of Jesuit +priests, and that they had been promised a great pecuniary reward by a +prominent member of the Freemason Society if they should succeed in +seizing our luggage. + +"I then made known to my penitent my share in that providential escape; +he at once fell on his knees, wept long and bitterly, and finally asked +my forgiveness. I prepared him for his dreadful end, and believe he +died at peace with God, so great is the mercy of Jesus to the contrite +soul, 'even though his sins be as scarlet.' I asked his permission to +narrate the particulars of his portion of the story, and he gladly gave +it, hoping to merit something for his sin-burdened soul by that act of +humility." + +We were all much impressed by the Reverend Father's narrative, and as +we bade one another good-night, the doctor remarked that a kind deed +performed for others was sure to merit a blessing in return, even +though it were so small a favor as that gained by his favorite practice +of saying the _De Profundis_. + +"Yes," said Father G----, "charity never fails."--_Ave Maria_, +Nov. 24th, 1883. + + +CONFIDENCE REWARDED. + +The following fact took place in Montreal, Canada, some three or four +years since. We shall leave the zealous member of our association who +related it to us to tell his own story: + + +"One morning," said he, "coming back from Mass, I saw Mr. C----, who +was also coming out of the church. He was a worthy man, fearing God and +fulfilling his duties faithfully and conscientiously. I said to myself: +'There is a man who deserves to belong to our association.' For is it +not always a favor when God deems us worthy to do something for Him? + +"I approached and asked him if he would not like to become a member of +our association. 'What association?' 'The Association of the Way of the +Cross and Masses. It is to relieve the dead by prayer and alms, two +powerful means.' 'Ah! I knew nothing of it. What has to be done?' 'It +suffices to make the Way of the Cross once a week and pay for a Mass +once a month.' 'I love the souls in Purgatory,' he said, 'and I do all +I can to relieve them. But, you see, things are not going well with me +just now. I have been a long time sick, and am hardly able yet to +discharge my ordinary duties.' + +"At these words I cast my eyes on the speaker, and saw what I had not +before noticed, that he looked pale and worn. He went on: 'As for +paying anything, it would be impossible for me to do it; I have +contracted debts, and if my ill health should continue,' he added, in a +faltering voice, 'I shall be obliged to sell my little house.' Then he +stopped, his heart evidently full, and tears in his eyes. 'But +Providence watches over you, and nothing happens without God's good +leave. If a single hair of our head cannot fall unless He will it, what +have you to fear? Do something for God whilst you can. If you are +liberal to Him, He will be more so towards you. Do you remember the +promise Our Lord made to St. Gertrude? 'I will give an hundred-fold,' +said He, 'for all thou shalt do for my beloved ones in Purgatory.' This +promise was not for St. Gertrude alone; it was likewise for you. For +one dollar that you give, you will gain ten; and if you are resolved to +help the poor souls all you can, they will get you health to do it.' +'Ah! what you say touches me much, and truly I know not what to do.' +After a moment's hesitation, he quickly resumed: 'Well, sir, although I +am actually in distress, I am going to try; it may be the best means of +getting out of it.' 'Yes, try; we run no risk when we make the Holy +Souls our debtors.' + +"At these words, he drew from his pocket a small purse which contained +only half a dollar. 'There is all my wealth, and I am happy to share it +with you,' and he gave me the stipend for a Mass. 'I will perhaps put +myself to some inconvenience in giving you that sum, trifling though it +be; but, blessed be God! I will bear with the inconvenience, thinking +that those who suffer much more than I will obtain some relief in their +cruel torments. I will also pray for them, and that they may obtain for +me the resignation which is so pleasing to God.' + +"When I saw the noble sentiments of this man, I shook him by the hand, +warmly thanked him, and reminded him that God was always touched by +such acts, and that He knew how to reward them. + +"From that moment, strange to say, that frail, delicate man began to +recover his strength, work came back to his shop, and everything grew +brighter around him. And, as an additional reward from Heaven, he was +animated by a new zeal for the Holy Souls, for he not only paid his own +little contribution regularly, but he also collected the money for as +many Masses as he could on one side and another. + +"Six or seven months thus passed away amid ever increasing prosperity, +when one day he said to me in presence of several persons: 'Last +autumn, before I gave my name to the Association for the Souls in +Purgatory, I was so sick and so discouraged that I thought I should +die; but when I had paid for my first Mass, from that moment, as all +may see, my health began to return, and with it my courage. To-day, as +you see, I am perfectly well. Moreover, I have found means to pay off +one hundred and fifty dollars of debt, and to have fifty dollars' worth +of repairs made to my little house. How has all that been done? I know +not: for you will admit that, by a poor shoemaker such as I, who works +at his bench and without even an apprentice, after such a hard winter, +and without any advance before me, to find means, despite all that, to +provide for the support of his family and pay two hundred dollars over +and above, is something extraordinary. + +"'But I know well to whom I owe it all; hence,' he added, with a smile, +'that has given me new zeal. Now, I work not only for myself; every +evening I go out collecting for our good Souls in Purgatory, and, +blessed be God! I have got one hundred and fifty dollars for the +Association of Masses. Have I not, sir?' he added, addressing the +treasurer, who was present. + +"'Yes, you have, indeed, collected one hundred and fifty dollars, +perhaps something more, by twenty-five cents here and twenty-five cents +there, with a perseverance and a zeal beyond all praise, and well +deserving of the favors you have received.' + +"'Ah!' said this worthy man, so admirable in his simplicity and the +fervor of his conviction, 'it is that I still desire something; I now +expect that they will make me better,' and he sighed. + +"Thus was this good man rewarded for his confidence in the Souls in +Purgatory, and such was his gratitude to them."--_Almanac of the Souls +in Purgatory, 1877_. + + +ANECDOTE OF THE "DE PROFUNDIS." + +I once heard an anecdote of a good priest who was in the habit of +saying the De Profundis every day for the Souls in Purgatory, but, +happening one day to omit it, either through inadvertence or press of +occupation, he was passing through a cemetery about the close of day, +when he suddenly heard, through the hushed silence of the lonely place +and the solemn evening's hour, a mournful voice repeating the first +words of the beautiful psalm--_De Profundis clamavit Domini_--then +it stopped, but the priest, as soon as he had recovered from the first +shock, and remembering with bitter self-reproach his omission, took up +the words where the supernatural voice had left off, and finished the +recitation of the _De Profundis_, resolving, as he did so, that, +for the time to come, nothing should prevent him from reciting it every +day, and more than once in the day, for the benefit of the dear +suffering Souls. + + +A STRANGE OCCURRENCE IN A PERSIAN PRISON. + +There is a very strange story concerning Purgatory related by St. John +the Almoner, Patriarch of Alexandria, in the end of the sixth and the +beginning of the seventh century. A little before a great mortality +which took place in that city, several inhabitants of the Island of +Cyprus were carried off to Persia and cast into a prison so severe that +it was called the _Oblivion_. Some of them, however, succeeded in +making their escape and returned to their own country. A father and +mother, whose son had been carried off with the others, asked them for +tidings of their son. "Alas!" said they, "your son died on such a day; +we ourselves had the sad consolation of giving him burial." The poor +parents hastened then to have a solemn service performed for the repose +of his soul; this they had done three times every year, continuing in +prayer for the same intention. But, marvellous to relate! one day this +son, so much regretted, so fondly remembered, came knocking at their +door and threw himself into their arms. He had been supposed dead for +four years, yet was really alive, he whom the other prisoners had +buried having had a great resemblance to him, that is all. "How! is it +really thou, dear son? Oh! how we mourned for thee! Three times every +year we had a solemn service for thee." "On what days?" eagerly +demanded the son. "On the holy days of Christmas, Easter, and +Pentecost." "Precisely!" he exclaimed; "on those very days I saw, each +time, an officer radiant with light, who came to me and taking off my +chains, opened the doors of my prison. I went forth into the city, +walked wherever I wished, without any one appearing to notice me; only, +in the evening, I always found myself miraculously chained in my +dungeon. It was the fruit of your good prayers, and if I had been in +Purgatory, they would have served at the same time to relieve me; I +beseech you not to forget me when the good God shall see fit to call me +to Himself."--_Leontius, Life of St. John the Almoner._ + + +A SWISS PROTESTANT CONVERTED BY THE DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY. + +I have somewhere read, says a Catholic writer, that a Swiss Protestant +was converted to the true religion solely on account of our having the +consoling doctrine of Purgatory, whereas Protestants will not admit of +it. He was a Lutheran somewhat advanced in age, and he had a brother +who passed for a worthy man, as the world goes, but had also the +misfortune of being a Protestant. He fell sick, and notwithstanding the +care of several physicians, died, and was buried by a Protestant +minister of Berne. His death was a terrible blow to the brother of whom +I speak. Hoping to dissipate his grief he tried travelling, but the +thought of his brother's eternal destiny pursued him everywhere. He one +day, on board a steamer, made the acquaintance of a Catholic priest, +with whom he entered into conversation. Confidence was soon established +between them; they spoke of death, and the afflicted traveller asked +the priest what he thought of it. "What I think is this," replied the +priest: "When a man has perfectly discharged all his duties to God, his +neighbor and himself, he goes straight to heaven; if he have not +discharged them, or have neglected any of those which are essential, he +goes straight to hell; but if he have only to reproach himself with +those trifling faults which are inseparable from our frail nature, he +spends some time in Purgatory." At these words the listener smiled with +evident relief and satisfaction; he felt consoled. "Sir," cried he, "I +will become a Catholic, and for this reason: Protestants only admit of +heaven and hell; but, in order to get to Paradise, one must have +nothing wherewith to reproach himself. Now, although my brother was a +good man, he was by no means free from those slight faults of which you +spoke just now. He will not be damned for these faults, but they will +prevent him from going to heaven; there must, therefore, be an +intermediate place wherein to expiate them; hence, there must be a +Purgatory. I will be a Catholic, so as to have the consolation of +praying for my brother."--_The Catechism in Examples_, pp. 141-2. + + +THE DEAD HAND. + +SISTER TERESA MARGARET GESTA was struck by apoplexy on the 4th of +November, 1859, without any premonitory symptoms to forewarn her of her +danger; and, without recovering consciousness, she breathed her last at +four o'clock in the afternoon of the same day. Her companions were +plunged into the deepest sorrow, for the Sister was a general favorite; +but they resigned themselves to the will of God. Whilst lamenting the +death of one who had been to them a model, comforter, and mother, they +consoled themselves by the remembrance of the virtues of which she was +a splendid example, and of which they never tired speaking. + +Twelve days had passed since her death. Some of the Sisters felt a +certain kind of dread of going alone to the places frequented by the +departed one; but Sister Anna Felix Menghini, a person of a lively and +pleasant disposition, often rallied them, good-humoredly, on their +fears. + +About ten o'clock in the forenoon, this same Sister Anna, having charge +of the clothing, was proceeding to the work-room. Having gone up- +stairs, she heard a mournful voice, which at first she thought might be +that of a cat shut up in the clothes-press. She opened and examined it +carefully, but found nothing. A sudden and unaccountable feeling of +terror came over her, and she cried out: "Jesus, Mary, what can it be?" +She had hardly uttered these words when she heard the same mournful +voice as at first, which exclaimed in a gasping sob: "O my God, how I +suffer!" The religious, though surprised and trembling, recognized +distinctly the voice of Sister Teresa; she plucked up courage and asked +her "Why?" + +"On account of poverty," answered the voice. + +"What!" replied Sister Anna, "and you were so poor!" + +"Not for me," was answered, "but for the nuns.... If one is enough, why +two? and if two are sufficient, why three?... And you--beware for +yourself." + +At the same time the whole room was darkened by a thick smoke, and the +shadow of Sister Teresa, moving towards the exit, went up the steps, +talking as it moved. Sister Anna was so frightened that she could not +make out what the spirit said. Having reached the door, the apparition +spoke again: "This is a mercy of God!" And in proof of the reality, +with its open hand it struck the upper panel of the door near the +frame, leaving the impression of the hand more perfect than it could +have been made by the most skillful artist with a hot iron. + +Sister Anna was like Balthasar: "Then was the King's countenance +changed, and his thoughts troubled him; and the joints of his loins +were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other." (Dan., v. 6). +She could not stir for a considerable time; she did not even dare to +turn her head. But at last she tottered out and called one of her +companions, who, hearing her feeble, broken words, ran to her with +another Sister; and presently the whole community was gathered round in +alarm. They learned in a confused manner what had taken place, +perceived the smell of burnt wood, and noticed a whitish cloud or mist +that filled the room and made it almost dark. They examined the door +carefully though tremblingly, and recognized the fac-simile of Sister +Teresa's hand; and, filled with terror, they fled to the choir. + +There the Sisters, forgetting the need of food and rest, remained in +prayer till after sunset, abandoning everything in their anxiety to +procure relief for their beloved Sister Teresa. The zealous Minorite +Fathers, who have the spiritual direction of the convent, learning what +had happened, were equally earnest in offering prayers and sacrifice, +and in singing the psalms for the dead. Many of the faithful likewise +assembling, not through idle curiosity, but out of genuine piety, +joined in the recitation of the Rosary and other prayers, though the +deceased Sister was almost entirely unknown to the people. Her +observance of the rule was very strict, and she scrupulously avoided +all intercourse with people outside her convent. But still large +numbers crowded to join in those devotions for her. + +Sister Anna, who was more worn out by excitement than the other +religious, was directed to retire early the following night. She +herself confesses that she was fully resolved next day to remove, at +any cost, the obnoxious marks of the hand. But Sister Teresa appeared +to her in a dream, saying: "You intend to remove the sign which I have +left. Know that it is not in your power to do so, even with the aid of +others; for it is there by the command of God, for the instruction of +the people. By His just and inexorable judgment I was condemned to the +dreadful fires of Purgatory for forty years on account of my +condescension to the will of some of the nuns. I thank you and those +who joined in so many prayers to the Lord for me; all of which He was +pleased in His mercy to accept as suffrages for me, and especially the +Seven Penitential Psalms, which were such a relief!" And then, with a +smiling countenance, she added: "Oh! blessed rags, that are rewarded +with such rich garments! Oh! happy poverty, that brings such glory to +those who truly observe it! Alas! how many suffer irreparable loss, and +are in torments, because, under the cloak of necessity, poverty is +known and valued by few!" + +Finally, Sister Anna, lying down as usual on the night of the 19th, +heard her name distinctly pronounced by Sister Teresa. She awoke, all +in a tremor, and sat up, unable to answer. Her astonishment was great +when, near the foot of the bed, she saw a globe of light that made the +cell as bright as noonday, and she heard the spirit say in a joyful +voice: "On the day of the Passion I died (on Friday), and on the day of +the Passion I go to glory.... Strength in the Cross!... Courage to +suffer!..." Then, saying three times "Adieu!" the globe was transformed +into a thin, white, shining cloud, rose towards heaven, and +disappeared. + +The zealous Bishop of the diocese having heard of these events, +instituted the process of examination on the 23d of the same month. The +grave was opened in presence of a large number of persons assembled for +the occasion; the impression of the hand on the door was compared with +the hand of the dead, and both were found to correspond exactly. The +door itself was set apart in a safe place and guarded. Many persons +being anxious to see the impression, it was allowed to be visited, +after a certain lapse of time, and with due precautions, by such as had +secured the necessary permission.--_Ave Maria_, Nov. 17, 1883. + + +A BEAUTIFUL EXAMPLE. + +The following fact is related by the Treasurer of the Association for +the Souls in Purgatory. He himself was personally cognizant of the +circumstances of the case. We leave him to speak: + +"Mr.----," said he, "was one of our first and most fervent associates. +His devotedness for good works is well known, so that he is everywhere +regarded as an acquisition in all pious enterprises. His exemplary +conduct rendered him, moreover, one of the most precious auxiliaries of +the work. Hence his zeal, instead of slackening, did but go on +increasing; and whereas, in the beginning, his collection amounted only +to some dollars, after a while he often brought me forty or fifty +dollars for the suffering souls. May Heaven bless that fervent +associate, and may his example serve as a lesson to the indifferent! + +"During eighteen months, or two years, this pious and zealous member +brought me every six months,--with other moneys,--the sum of fifteen +dollars which was thus periodically sent him; and each time that I +asked him whence this money came, he answered that he knew nothing of +it himself; that it was sent him by a worthy man without further +information, and so he brought it to me without asking, or knowing +anything more. + +"Desirous of getting to the bottom of this mystery, I resolved to try +and find out what it meant. I, one day, asked Mr.----. to tell me the +name of this generous protector of the poor souls, for I was going to +hunt him up.--'Oh!' said he, 'it is Such-a-one; he lives a long way +off, towards Hochelaga, [1] but, indeed, I cannot tell you the exact +place.' + +[Footnote 1: A suburban town or village of Montreal, situated, like the +city, on the banks of the St. Lawrence.] + +"Such vague information embarrassed me no little. I, nevertheless, took +the City Directory, but, alas! there were fully twenty-five persons of +the same name. Resolved, however, to put an end to this uncertainty, I +proceeded, with the little information I had, to the place indicated to +me; I arrive at a house bearing the name of the new benefactor of our +work. I go in at a venture; it was a little shoe-store, scarcely +fifteen feet square, somewhat gloomy and not over-clean, owing, +probably, to the nature of the business carried on there; the whole +appearance of the place was, indeed, very unlike one where much money +could be made. Going in, I perceived sitting in the farther end of the +store, a man whose face was so expressive of goodness, so open and so +calm, that only a good conscience could leave so gracious an imprint on +the features, and I said to myself: 'That is he.'--Then I asked aloud: +'You are Mr. Such-a-one?'--That is my name,' he answered, with a +pleasant smile.--'But is it you who has sent us every six months for +two years, the sum of fifteen dollars,--thirty dollars a year,--for +the Souls in Purgatory, apart from your regular contribution?'--'Yes,' +said he, quietly, and still with the same smile on his lips.--'Ah!' +said I, 'we are very grateful to you, and the Holy Souls will surely be +mindful of you. I suppose you have a great compassion for those poor +souls who suffer so much, and that that inspires you with zeal, and so +you make up this sum amongst your friends and neighbors;--or they, +perhaps, bring it to your house, quarter by quarter, as is done +elsewhere?'--'No!' said he, still very quietly, 'no, it is my own +little share.'--'How! your own little share?' and instinctively I cast +a glance around the little store, which seemed hardly to justify the +giving of such a sum. 'How! your little share? but we find it a very +large and generous one, and we are happy that your zeal and charity +make it seem to you so small. Heaven will bless you for it. Still there +must be something hidden under these gifts, so often repeated; the Holy +Souls must have done you some favor. Please tell me, then, what induces +you to give so handsome a sum every year, without being asked?' + +"'Well, I will not conceal from you that the Souls in Purgatory have +visibly protected me; and to make known to you, in a few words, all my +little history, I must tell you that, two or three years ago, I heard +people speak so favorably of the Association for the Souls in +Purgatory--I heard so much about it, indeed, that from that day +forward, I placed all my little business under the care of the +Suffering Souls, and ever since, I am happy to tell you, to the credit +of those holy Souls, that my affairs go, as if they were on wheels!" +(These are his own words.) "I give my thirty-three dollars a year +without any injury to myself; on the contrary, all goes the better for +it. My store is not much to look at, but it is well filled, and all +that is in it is my own. Apart from that, and what is still better, I +have not a penny of debt.' + +"He then added, in a lower tone: 'I have, moreover, the happiness of +honoring in that way the thirty-three years of labors and sufferings +which Our Divine Lord spent on earth. That thought does my poor heart +good. + +"'Ah, sir,' said he, with an impulse of true faith which made my heart +thrill--'Ah, sir, if men believed more, they would do wonders, and the +word of Our Lord never fails, and He has said that the more one gives +the more they receive, for charity never makes any one poor; only we +must give without distrust, and without speculation.' + +"I warmly shook hands with this admirable man, and returned home as +charmed with my visit as delighted with so much faith. Then I said to +myself: 'There is a fine example to follow. How many others might have +no debts, if they knew how to make sacrifices for the dear Suffering +Souls!'"_--Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory, 1877_ + + +HOW TO PAY ONE'S DEBTS. + +Speaking just now of that generous man who had no debts, we called to +mind an example that teaches a pretty way of paying debts. We are about +to furnish the receipt, so that no one may complain, giving to each the +chance of making use of it. In divulging this secret we shall certainly +pass for the least selfish man in the world; for, to furnish every one +with the means of paying their debts, is it not to procure for each the +opportunity of enriching himself? But, dear reader, laying aside all +thanks, hasten only to profit by the receipt, and we shall, each of us, +have obtained our object. + +We take this secret from the Chronicles of the good Friars Minors, an +authority to which no one can take exception. + +The Blessed Berthold belonged to the great Franciscan family. His fine +talents and rare virtues had caused him to be appointed a preacher of +the Order. The Sovereign Pontiff, seeing all the good that Berthold was +destined to do by his eloquent sermons, had given him power to grant to +each of his hearers, an indulgence of ten days; which was a great +privilege for the faithful, as well as a mark of esteem and distinction +for himself. + +Friar Berthold, then, had preached a most moving sermon on alms-giving, +and had granted the ten days' indulgence to all who were present. +Amongst the audience was a lady of quality who, owing to a reverse of +fortune, was in great distress and loaded with debt. She had hitherto +been content to suffer in silence, being prevented by a false shame +from making her condition known; but overcome by the enthusiastic +charity of the good father, she went privately to him to explain how +she was situated, giving him thus an opportunity of putting in practice +what he had so eloquently preached. But Friar Berthold, who, like his +father St. Francis, had chosen poverty for his lady and mistress, could +not come to her relief. Nevertheless, as poverty, in the man who +suffers and endures it voluntarily for the love of God, becomes +strength and even riches, Berthold, strong in his sacrifice and rich in +his poverty--Berthold, inspired by the Holy Ghost, repeated to her what +Peter of old, inspired by God, said to the lame man at the gate of the +Temple who had asked him for alms: "Silver and gold have I none, but +that which I have I will give unto thee." He then assured the lady that +she had gained ten days' indulgence by being present at his preaching, +and he added: "Go to such a banker in the city. Hitherto he has busied +himself much more about temporal riches than spiritual treasures, but +offer him in return for the donation he will give you, to make over to +him the merit of this indulgence, so that the pains awaiting him in +Purgatory may be diminished. I have every reason to think," continued +the good Father, "that he will give you some assistance." + +The poor woman, full of that faith which is so powerful, went as she +was told, in all simplicity. God touched the heart of the rich man, who +received her kindly. He asked her how much she expected to receive in +exchange for her ten days' indulgence. Feeling herself animated by an +interior strength, she replied: "As much as it weighs in the balance." +--"Well!" said the banker, "here is the balance. Write down your ten +days' indulgence, and put the paper in one scale; I will place a piece +of money in the other." O prodigy! the scale with the paper in it does +not rise, but the other does. The banker, much amazed, puts in another +piece of money, but the weight is not changed; he puts in another, then +another; but the result is still the same, the paper on which the +indulgence is written is still the heaviest. The Banker puts down then +five, ten, thirty pieces, till there was as much as the whole amount +which the lady required for her present needs. Then only did the two +scales become equal. + +The banker, struck with astonishment, saw in this marvel a precious +lesson for him; he was at length made sensible of the value of the +things of heaven. + +The poor Souls understand it still better, as, for the slightest +earthly indulgence they would give all the gold in the world. + +You, then, who have no money to give for the Souls in Purgatory--you, +too, who have financial difficulties on your shoulders, offer up +indulgences for the poor Souls, and they will make themselves your +bankers; they will pay you double, nay, a hundred-fold for whatever you +have put in the scale of the balance of mercy. They will pay you not +only in spiritual treasures, but even in temporal wealth, which will +procure for you the double advantage of paying your debts here below, +and those of the other world.--_Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_, +1877. + + +FAITH REWARDED. + +"One day, in the month of July," relates a zelator of the Association, +[1] "I met one of our members. He was a man of an amiable disposition, +and remarkable for his piety and his devotion to good works. He was a +merchant of good standing, engaged in a respectable business. Like many +others, however, he had seen bad days; and to the commonplace question, +'How goes business?' he replied: 'Ah! badly enough; I can hardly pay +expenses, and I am doubly unfortunate. I had a house which brought me +in two or three hundred dollars a year, and I have had the misfortune +of being unable to rent it this year, so that, losing on all sides, I +find myself a good deal embarrassed.'--'Will you allow me,' said I, 'to +give you a little advice? Promise some Masses for the Souls in +Purgatory in case you have the good fortune to rent your house. It will +be, as it were, the tithe of your rent. We too often forget that we owe +to Our Lord a part of what He gives us so freely. It is, nevertheless, +only an offering that we make Him of His own goods; and, at the same +time, an act of gratitude for that He has deigned to give it to us. +Furthermore, it is an act of homage, an acknowledgment of His +supremacy. And we shall derive the more profit from it according as we +do it with a good heart. Besides all that, you have the additional +happiness of assisting your relatives and friends who are suffering in +the flames of Purgatory.' + +[Footnote 1: For the Relief of the Souls in Purgatory.] + + +"This little exhortation seemed to strike him to whom it was addressed, +and, as if awaking from a long lethargy, he suddenly said: 'Why did I +not think of that before? I promise,' added he, 'five dollars for the +Souls in Purgatory, if I find a tenant.' + + +"This eagerness to do good, this species of regret for not having done +it sooner, this pious disposition which makes us desire to relieve +those who are in affliction, must have been very pleasing to God, for, +within the week, the gentleman came to me with his five dollars, and +said, smiling: 'I lose no time, you see, in keeping my promise.'--'Why, +have you already rented your house?'--'Yes, a manufacturer from the +country who had just had the misfortune of being burned out, saw my +house by chance, came to ask my terms, and we agreed at once. He is to +take possession next week.' + +"A week passed, even a month, then two, and no tenant, when I happened +again to meet my friend, whom I almost suspected of having forgotten +his promise. 'Ah!' said he, 'I am worse off than ever, and I was so +sure of having rented my house.'--' How! did that person not come back, +then?'--' No, and I thought him such an honest man! The disappointment +has been a great loss to me.'--'Write to him, then, threatening to make +him responsible for the whole rent. But, better than that, wait still, +and have confidence; the Holy Souls cannot fail to bring the matter to +a favorable issue. It is, perhaps, a want of faith on your part which +has delayed the fulfillment of the contract.' + +"Three days had scarcely passed when I again saw our Associate. 'This +time,' said he, 'I come to pay; my tenant has arrived.'--'But he has +made you lose five or six weeks' rent.'--'Not so; he is, just as I +thought, an honorable, upright man. He arrived two days ago. It was I +that hired your house,' said he, 'and I come to take possession of +it.'--'Mr.----,' said I, 'I am very glad, but I expected you sooner.'-- +'It is true I was to have come before now, but was prevented from doing +so by important business. How long is it since I rented your house?'-- +'Just nine weeks.'--'It is only right, then, that I should pay you for +the time I have made you lose;' then handing me a sum of money, +'there,' said he, 'is the amount coming to you; and now, my family +arrive to-morrow, so we take possession at once of your house, and your +rent shall be paid regularly.' + +"So there is an end to my anxiety, and you cannot believe how happy I +am in bringing you the trifling sum I promised; but while keeping my +promise, I thank you very sincerely for the confidence wherewith you +inspired me in the Holy Souls. May God bless you for it!"--_Almanac +of the Souls in Purgatory_, 1881. + + +APPARITION OF A CITIZEN OF ARIES. + +LECOYER, in his "Tales of Ghosts and Apparitions," [1] relates a +historical occurrence which had great publicity. In the reign of King +Charles IV. of France, surnamed the Fair, the last king of the first +branch of the Capets, who died in 1323, the soul of a citizen, some +years dead and abandoned by his relations, who neglected to pray for +him, appeared suddenly in the public square at Aries, relating +marvellous things of the other world, and asking for help. Those who +had seen him in his lifetime at once recognized him. The Prior of the +Jacobins, a man of saintly life, being told of this apparition, +hastened to go and see the soul. Supposing at first that it might be a +spirit that had taken the form of this citizen, he took, with lighted +tapers, a consecrated host, which he held out to it. But the soul +immediately showed that it was really there itself, for it prostrated +itself and adored Our Lord, asking naught else but prayers which might +deliver it from Purgatory, to the end that it might enter purified into +heaven. + +[Footnote 1: "Histoires des Spectres et des Apparitions."] + + +THE COUNTESS OF STRAFFORD. + +The Countess of Strafford, before her conversion to the Catholic faith, +went often to see Monseigneur de la Mothe, Bishop of Amiens, and her +conversations with him always made the deepest impression on her mind. +But what touched her more than all was a sermon which he preached on +the feast of St. John the Baptist, in the chapel of the Ursulines in +Amiens. After hearing this discourse, she felt within her a lively +desire to believe as did the preacher who had so much edified her. She +still had some doubts, however, on the Sacrifice of the Mass and +Purgatory. She went to propose them to the holy Bishop, who, without +disputing with her or openly attacking her prejudices, deemed it his +duty to speak thus to her, in order to undeceive her: "Madam, you know +the Bishop of London and have confidence in him? Well, I beg you to ask +him what I am going to tell you: The Bishop of Amiens has told me a +thing that surprised me; he says that if you can deny that St. +Augustine said Mass and prayed for the dead, and particularly for his +mother, he himself will become a Protestant." This advice was followed. +The Bishop of London made no reply, but contented himself with saying +to the bearer of the letter that Lady Strafford had been breathing a +contagious atmosphere which had carried her away, and that anything he +could write to her would probably not remedy the evil. This silence on +the part of a man whom she had trusted implicitly, finished opening the +eyes of Lady Strafford, and she soon after made her abjuration at the +hands of the Bishop of Amiens.--_Vie de Monsgr. de la Mothe._ + + +THE MARQUIS BE CIVRAC. _(From une Commune Vendéenne.)_ + +The belief that the living friends may be of use to their friends in +the grave, has in it I know not what instructive and natural which one +meets in hearts the most simple and unsophisticated. A pious peasant +woman of La Vendée kneeling on the coffin of her good master, the +Marquis de Civrac, cried out: "O my God, repay to him all the good he +has done to us!" Does not this fervent cry of grateful affection +signify: "My God, some rays are perchance wanting in the crown of our +benefactor; supply them, we beseech Thee, in consideration of our +prayer and all he has done for us?" and this is precisely the consoling +doctrine of Purgatory. + + +GRATITUDE OF THE HOLY SOULS. + +[Rev. James Mumford, S.J., born in England in 1605, and who labored for +forty years for the cause of the Catholic Church in his native country, +wrote a remarkable work on Purgatory; and he mentions that the +following incident was written to him by William Freysson, a publisher, +of Cologne. May it move many in their difficulties to have recourse to +the Holy Souls.] + +One festival day, when my place of business was closed, I was occupying +myself in reading a book which you had lent me, and which was on "The +Souls in Purgatory." I was absorbed in my subject when a messenger came +and told me that my youngest child, aged four years, showed the first +symptoms of a very grave disease. The child rapidly grew worse, and the +physicians at length declared that there was no hope. The thought then +occurred to me that perhaps I could save my child by making a vow to +assist the Suffering Souls in Purgatory. I accordingly repaired at once +to a chapel, and, with all fervor, supplicated God to have pity on me; +and I vowed I would distribute gratuitously a hundred copies of the +book that had moved me in behalf of the suffering souls, and give them +to ecclesiastics and to religious to increase devotion to the Holy +Souls. I had, I acknowledge, hardly any hope. As soon as I returned to +the house I found the child much better. He asked for food, although +for several days he had not been able to swallow anything but liquids. +The next day he was perfectly well, got up, went out for a walk, and +ate as if he had never had anything the matter with him. Filled with +gratitude, I was only anxious to fulfill my promise. I went to the +College of the Jesuit Fathers and begged them to accept as many copies +of the work as they pleased, and to distribute them amongst themselves +and other communities and ecclesiastics as they thought fit, so that +the suffering souls, my benefactors, should be assisted by further +prayers. + +Three weeks had not slipped away, however, when another accident not +less serious befell me. My wife, on entering the house one day, was +suddenly seized with a trembling in all her limbs, which threw her to +the ground, and she remained insensible. Little by little the illness +increased, until she was deprived of the power of speech. Remedies +seemed to be in vain. The malady at length assumed such aggravated +proportions that every one was of opinion she had no chance of +recovery. The priest who assisted her had already addressed words of +consolation to me, exhorting me to Christian resignation. I turned +again with confidence to the souls in Purgatory, who had assisted me +once before, and I went to the same church. There, prostrate before the +Blessed Sacrament, I renewed my supplication with all the ardor with +which affection for my family inspired me. "O my God!" I exclaimed, +"Thy mercy is not exhausted: in the name of Thy infinite bounty, do not +permit that the recovery of my son should be paid by the death of his +mother." I made a vow this time, to distribute two hundred copies of +the holy book, in order that a greater number of persons might be moved +to intercede for the suffering souls. I besought those who had already +been delivered from Purgatory to unite with me on this occasion. After +this prayer, as I was returning to the house, I saw my servants running +towards me. They told me with delight that my wife had undergone a +great change for the better; that the delirium had ceased, and she had +recovered her power of speech. I at once ran on to assure myself of the +fact: all was true. Very soon my wife was so perfectly recovered that +she came with me into the holy place to make an act of thanksgiving to +God for all His mercies.--_Ave Maria_. + + +A STRANGE INCIDENT. + +A young German lady of rank, still alive to tell the story, arriving +with her friends at one of the most noted hotels in Paris, an apartment +of unusual magnificence on the first floor was apportioned to her use. +After retiring to rest she lay awake a long while, contemplating, by +the dim light of a night-lamp, the costly ornaments in the room, when +suddenly the folding-doors opposite the bed, which she had locked, were +thrown open, and, amid a flood of unearthly light, there entered a +young man in the garb of the French navy, having his hair dressed in +the peculiar mode _à la Titus_. Taking a chair and placing it in +the middle of the room, he sat down, and drew from his pocket a pistol +of an uncommon make, which he deliberately put to his forehead, fired, +and fell back as if dead. At the moment of the explosion the room +became dark and still, and a low voice said softly: "Say an _Ave +Maria_ for his soul." + +The young lady, though not insensible, became paralyzed with horror, +and remained in a kind of cataleptic trance, fully conscious, but +unable to move or speak, until, at nine o'clock next day, no answer +having been given to repeated calls of her maid, the doors were forced +open. At the same moment the power of speech returned, and the poor +young lady shrieked out to her attendants that a man had shot himself +in the night, and was lying dead on the floor. Nothing, however, was to +be seen, and they concluded that she was suffering from the effects of +a dream. Not being a Catholic, she could not, of course, understand the +meaning of the mysterious command. + +A short time afterwards, however, the proprietor of the hotel informed +a gentleman of the party that the terrible scene witnessed by the young +lady had in reality been enacted only three nights previously in that +very room, when a young French officer put an end to his life with a +pistol of a peculiar description, which, together with the body, was +then lying at the Morgue awaiting identification. The gentleman +examined them both, and found them to correspond exactly with the +description of the man and the pistol seen in the apparition. + +Whether the young officer was insane, or lived long enough to repent of +his crime, is not known; however, the then Archbishop of Paris, +Monseigneur Sibour, was exceedingly impressed by the incident. He +called upon the young lady, and directing her attention to the words +spoken by the mysterious voice, urged her to embrace the Catholic +faith, to whose teaching it pointed so clearly.--_Ave Maria_, +August 15, 1885. + + + + +PART III. + +HISTORICAL + + All the ages, every clime + Strike the silver harp of time, + Chant the endless, holy story, + Souls retained in Purgatory. + Freed by Mass and holy rite, + Requiem, dirge and wondrous might, + A prayer which hut and palace send, + Where king and serf, where lord and hireling blend. + The vast cathedral and the village shrine + Unite in mercy's choral strain divine. + + +HISTORICAL. + + +THE DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY, OR A MIDDLE STATE, AMONG THE PAGAN NATIONS +OF ANTIQUITY. + +BY THE REV. A. A LAMBING, A.M. + +[This very interesting article was originally published in the "Ave +Maria."] + +The attentive student of the mythology of the nations of antiquity +cannot fail to discover many vestiges of a primitive revelation of some +of the principal truths of religion, although in the lapse of time they +have been so distorted and mingled with fiction that it requires +careful study to sift the few remaining grains of truth from the great +mass of superstition and error in which they are all but lost. Among +these truths may be reckoned monotheism, or the belief in, and the +worship of, one only God, which the learned Jesuit, the Rev. Aug. +Thebaud, in his "Gentilism," has proved to have been the primitive +belief of all nations. It may not, however, be so generally known that +the doctrine of Purgatory, or a future state of purification, was also +held and taught in all the religious systems in the beginning. While a +knowledge of this fact cannot add anything to the grounds of our faith +as Catholics, it will not be wholly without interest, and it will, +besides, better enable us to give a reason for the faith that is in us. +It was left to Martin Luther to found an ephemeral religious system +that should deny this dogma, founded no less on revelation than on +right reason; but, then, logic has never been one of the strong points +of Protestants. + +Before turning my attention to the nations of the pagan world, I shall +briefly give the Jewish belief on this point. It may not generally be +known that the doctrine of a middle state is not explicitly proposed to +the belief of the Jews in any of the writings of the Old Testament, +although it was firmly held by the people. We depend for our knowledge +of this fact mainly on the celebrated passage of the Second Book of +Machabees (xii. 43-46). The occasion on which the doctrine was stated +was this: Some of the soldiers of Judas Machabeus, the leader of the +Jewish armies, fell in a certain battle; and when their fellow-soldiers +came to bury them, they discovered secreted in the folds of their +garments some parts of the spoils of one of the pagan shrines, which it +was not permitted them to keep. After praying devoutly, the sacred +writer goes on to say that Judas, "Making a gathering, sent twelve +thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifices to be offered +for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the +resurrection [for if he had not hoped that they who 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." + +The Catholic doctrine is thus briefly laid down in the Catechism: +"Purgatory is a place of punishment in the other life where some souls +suffer for a time before they can go to heaven;" or, in the words of +the Catechism of the Council of Trent, there is "the fire of Purgatory, +in which the souls of just men are cleansed by a temporary punishment +in order to be admitted into their eternal country, 'into which nothing +defiled entereth.'" + +How far the pagan notions of a middle state harmonize with the +Christian doctrine the reader will be able to determine as we proceed. + +I must premise by stating that almost all, if not all, the forms of +paganism were two-fold, containing a popular form of religion, believed +and practiced by the mass of the people, and a more recondite form that +was known only to the initiated, whether this was the priestly caste, +as was generally the case, or whether they were designated by some +other name. It should also be observed that the forms of religion were +constantly undergoing changes of greater or less importance. Nor must +we lose sight of the fact that different nations embodied the same idea +under different terms. The conception of the phlegmatic Norseman would +be different from that of the imaginative Oriental, and the language of +the refined Greek would be far other than that of the rude American +savage. But yet the same truth may be found to underlie all, the +outward garb alone differing. + +Turning first to Egypt, which is, rightly or wrongly, commonly +considered the cradle of civilization, we may sum up its teaching with +regard to the lot of the dead, and the middle state, in these +interesting remarks of a learned author: "The continuance of the soul +after its death, its judgment in another world, and its sentence +according to its deserts, either to happiness or suffering, were +undoubted parts both of the popular and of the more recondite religion. +It was the universal belief that immediately after death the soul +descended into a lower world, and was conducted to the Hall of Truth +(or, 'of the Two Truths'), where it was judged in the presence of +Osiris and the forty-two demons, the 'Lords of Truth' and judges of the +dead. Anubis, 'the director of the weight,' brought forth a pair of +scales, and, placing on one scale a figure or emblem of Truth, set on +the other a vase containing the good actions of the deceased; Thoth +standing by the while, with a tablet in his hand, whereon to record the +result. According to the side on which the balance inclined, Osiris +delivered the sentence. If the good deeds preponderated, the blessed +soul was allowed to enter the 'boat of the sun,' and was conducted by +good spirits to Aahlu (Elysium), to the 'pools of peace,' and the +dwelling place of Osiris.... The good soul, having first been freed +from its infirmities by passing through the basin of purgatorial fire, +guarded by the four ape-faced genii, and then made the companion of +Osiris three thousand years, returned from Amenti, re-entered its +former body, rose from the dead, and lived once more a human life upon +earth. This process was reiterated until a certain mystic cycle of +years became complete, when finally the good and blessed attained the +crowning joy of union with God, being absorbed into the Divine Essence, +and thus attaining the true end and full perfection of their being." +[1] + +[Footnote 1: "History of Ancient Egypt," George Rawlinson, Vol. I., pp. +327-329.] + +It may be remarked that all systems of religion which held the doctrine +of metempsychosis, or the transmigration of souls, should be considered +as believing in a middle state of purgation, since they maintained the +necessity of the soul's further purification, after death, before it +was permitted to enter into its final rest. + +In the ever-varying phases through which Buddhism, the religion of all +South-eastern Asia, has passed in its protracted existence, it is +difficult to determine with any degree of certainty, precisely what its +disciples hold; but the belief in metempsychosis, which is one of its +fundamental doctrines, must permit us to range it on the side of those +who hold to the idea of a middle state. Certain it is, they believe +that the soul, by a series of new births, becomes, in process of time, +better fitted for the final state in which it is destined for ever to +remain. The same may be said of the religion of the great body of the +Chinese; for, although they have their law-giver Confucius, their +religion at present, as far as it merits the name, appears to be no +more than a certain form of Buddhism. + +Coming to the more western nations of Asia, we may remark that, as +their religions were evidently a corruption of primitive revelation, +less removed in point of time, they must, although they had already +become idolatrous, have embodied the idea of a future state of +purgation, notwithstanding that it is impossible to determine at this +distant day, the exact nature of their doctrines. If, however, we turn +from these to the doctrine of Zoroaster, our means of forming an +opinion are more ample. + +Zoroaster, or, more correctly, Zarathustra, the founder of the Persian +religion, was born, according to some accounts, in the sixth century +before our era, while others claim for him an antiquity dating at least +from the thirteenth century before Christ. Be that as it may--and it +does not concern us to inquire into it--this much is certain: he was a +firm believer in a middle state, and he transmitted the same to his +followers. But, going a step further than some, he taught that the +souls undergoing purification are helped by the prayers of their +friends upon earth. "The Zoroastrians," says Mr. Rawlinson, "were +devout believers in the immortality of the soul and a conscious future +existence. They taught that immediately after death the souls of men, +both good and bad, proceeded together along an appointed path, to 'the +bridge of the gatherer.' This was a narrow road conducting to heaven or +paradise, over which the souls of the pious alone could pass, while the +wicked fell from it into the gulf below, where they found themselves in +the place of punishment. The good soul was assisted across the bridge +by the Angel Serosh--'the happy, well-formed, swift, tall Serosh'--who +met the weary wayfarer, and sustained his steps as he effected the +difficult passage. The prayers of his friends in this world were of +much avail to the deceased, and greatly helped him on his journey." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Ancient Monarchies." Vol. II, p 339.] + +With regard to the opinions held by the Greeks,--and the same may, in +general terms, be applied to the Romans, whose religious views +coincided more or less closely with those of their more polished +neighbors,--it is difficult to form a correct idea. Not that the +classic writers and philosophers have permitted the subject to sink +into oblivion,--on the contrary, they have treated it at considerable +length, as all classic scholars well know,--but while, on the one hand, +as I remarked above, there is a difference between the popular ideas +and those of the learned, there is also here a great difference of +opinion between the various schools of philosophy. Not only so, but it +is difficult to determine how far the philosophers themselves were in +earnest in the opinions they expressed; and how far, too, we understand +them. The opinions of the people, and much more, those of the learned, +vary with the principal periods of Grecian and Roman history. This +much, however, may be safely held, that, while they drew their origin +from Central or Western Asia, their religion must, in the beginning, +have been that of the countries from which they came. But truth only is +immutable; error is ever changing. + +I shall not tax the patience of the reader by asking him to pass in +review the more striking periods of the history of these famous +nations, but shall content myself with giving the views of a celebrated +writer on a part, at least, of the question. Speaking of the opinions +held by the Greek philosophers regarding the future state of the soul, +Dr. Dollinger says, "The old and universal tradition admitted, in +general, that man continued to exist after death; but the Greeks of the +Homeric age did not dream of a retribution appointed to all after +death, or of purifying and penitential punishments. It is only some +conspicuous offenders against the gods who, in Homer, are tormented in +distant Erebus. In Hesiod, the earlier races of man continue to live +on, sometimes as good demons, sometimes as souls of men in bliss, or as +heroes; yet, though inculcating moral obligations, he does not point to +a reward to be looked for beyond the grave, but only to the justice +that dominates in this economy.... Plato expressly ascribes to the +Orphic writers the dogma of the soul's finding herself in the body as +in a sepulchre or prison, on the score of previously contracted guilt; +a dogma indubitably ascending to a very high antiquity. + +"... It is from this source that Pindar drew, who, of the old Greeks, +generally has expressed notions the most precise and minutely distinct +of trial and tribulation after death, and the circuits and lustrations +of the soul. He assigns the island of the blest as for the everlasting +enjoyment of those who, in a triple existence in the upper and lower +world, have been able to keep their souls perfectly pure from all sin. +On the other hand, the souls of sinners appear after death before the +judgment seat of a judge of the nether world, by whom they are +sentenced to a heavy doom, and are ceaselessly dragged the world over, +suffering bloody torments. But as for those whom Persephone has +released from the old guilt of sin, their souls she sends in the ninth +year back again to the upper sun; of them are born mighty kings, and +men of power and wisdom, who come to be styled saintly heroes by their +posterity." And, again: "Plato was the first of the Greeks to throw +himself, in all sincerity, and with the whole depth of his intellect, +upon the solution of the great question of immortality.... He was, in +truth, the prophet of the doctrine of immortality for his time, and for +the Greek nation.... The metempsychosis which he taught under Orphic +and Pythagorean inspiration is an essential ingredient of his theory of +the world, and is, therefore, perpetually recurring in his more +important works. He connects it with an idea sifted and taken from +popular belief of a state of penance in Hades, though it can hardly be +ascertained how large a portion of mystical ornament or poetical +conjecture he throws into the particular delineation of 'the last +things,' and of transmigration. He adopts ten grades of migration, each +of a thousand years; so that the soul, in each migration, makes a +selection of its life-destiny, and renews its penance ten times, until +it is enabled to return to an incorporeal existence with God, and to +the pure contemplation of Him and the ideal world. Philosophic souls +only escape after a three-fold migration, in each of which they choose +again their first mode of life. All other souls are judged in the +nether world after their first life, and there do penance for their +guilt in different quarters; the incurable only are thrust down forever +into Tartarus. He attaches eternal punishment to certain particularly +abominable sins, while such as have lived justly repose blissfully in +the dwelling of a kindred star until their entrance into a second life. +Plato was clearly acquainted with the fact of the necessity of an +intermediate state between eternal happiness and misery, a state of +penance and purification after death." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "The Gentile and the Jew," Vol. I. pp. 301-320.] + +The popular notion of Charon, the ferryman of the lower world, refusing +to carry over the river Acheron the souls of such as had not been +buried, but leaving them to wander on the shores for a century before +he would consent, or rather before he was permitted by the rulers of +the Hades to do so, contains a vestige of the belief in a middle state, +where some souls had to suffer for a time before they could enter into +the abode of the blest. But when it is said that the friends of the +deceased could, by interring his remains, secure his entry into the +desired repose, we see a more striking resemblance to the doctrine that +friends on earth are able to assist the souls undergoing purgation. A +remarkable instance of the popular belief in this doctrine is furnished +in Grecian history, where the soldiers were encouraged on a certain +occasion to risk their lives in the service of their country by their +being told to write their names on their arms, so that if any fell his +friends could have him properly interred, and thus secure him against +all fear of having to wander for a century on the bleak shores of the +dividing river. Nothing could better show the hold which this idea had +on the minds of the people. + +Roman mythological ideas were, as has been said, nearly related to +those of Greece; they underwent as great modifications, while the +opinions of her philosophers were equally abstruse, varied, and +difficult to understand. The author above quoted, treating of the +notion of the soul and a future state entertained by the Roman +philosophers, proves their ideas to have been extremely vague and ill- +defined. Still, there were not wanting those who held to the belief of +an existence after this life. Plutarch, a Greek, "has left us a view of +the state of the departed. The souls of the dead, ascending through the +air, and in part reaching the highest heaven, are either luminous and +transparent or dark and spotted, on account of sins adhering to them, +and some have even scars upon them. The soul of man, he says elsewhere, +comes from the moon; his mind, intellect,--from the sun; the separation +of the two is only completely effected after death. The soul wanders +awhile between the moon and earth for purposes of punishment--or, if it +be good, of purification, until it rises to the moon, where the +_vouç_ [1] leaves it and returns to its home, the sun; while the +soul is buried in the moon. Lucian, on the other hand, whose writings +for the most part are a pretty faithful mirror of the notions in vogue +among his contemporaries, bears testimony to a continuance of the old +tradition of the good reaching the Elysian fields, and the great +transgressors finding themselves given up to the Erinnys in a place of +torment, where they are torn by vultures, crushed on the wheel, or +otherwise tormented; while such as are neither great sinners nor +distinguished by their virtues stray about in meadows as bodiless +shadows, and are fed on the libations and mortuary sacrifices offered +at their sepulchres. An obolus for Charon was still placed in the mouth +of every dead body." [2] Here, again, we have both the belief in the +existence of a middle state and of the assistance afforded to those +detained there. + +[Footnote 1: Mind] + +[Footnote 2: "The Gentile and the Jew," Vol. II., p. 146.] + +The religion of the Druids is so wrapped in mystery that it is +difficult to determine what they believed on any point, and much more +on that of the future lot of the soul; but as they held the doctrine of +metempsychosis, it is fair to class them among the adherents to the +notion of a period of purgation between death and the soul's entrance +into its final rest. Of the views of the sturdy Norsemen, on the +contrary, there can be no two opinions; in their mythology the idea of +a middle state is expressed in the clearest language. The following +passage from Mr. Anderson, places the matter beyond question. I may +first remark, for the information of the general reader, that by Gimle +is meant the abode of the righteous after the day of judgment; by +Naastrand, the place of punishment after the same dread sentence; by +Ragnarok, the last day; Valhal, the temporary place of happiness to +which the god Odin invites those who have been slain in battle; and +Hel, the goddess of death, whose abode is termed Helheim. With these +explanations the reader will be able to understand the subjoined +passage, which expresses the Norse idea of the future purgation of the +soul. + +After speaking of the lot of the departed, the writer says: "But it +must be remembered that Gimle and Naastrand have reference to the state +of things after Ragnarok, the Twilight of the gods; while Valhal and +Hel have reference to the state of things between death and Ragnarok;-- +a time of existence corresponding somewhat to what is called +_Purgatory_ by the Catholic Church." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Norse Mythology," p. 393.] + +It would appear to be no exaggeration to claim the same belief in a +middle state for the American Indians, in as far as it is possible for +us to draw anything definite from their crude notions of religion. A +good authority on subjects connected with Indian customs and beliefs +says: "The belief respecting the land of souls varied greatly in +different tribes and different individuals." And, again: "An endless +variety of incoherent fancies is connected with the Indian idea of a +future life.... At intervals of ten or twelve years, the Hurons, the +Neutrals, and other kindred tribes, were accustomed to collect the +bones of their dead, and deposit them, with great ceremony, in a common +place of burial. The whole nation was sometimes assembled at this +solemnity; and hundreds of corpses, brought from their temporary +resting-places, were inhumed in one common pit. From this hour the +immortality of their souls began." This evidently implies a period +during which the souls were wandering at a distance from the place of +their eternal repose. Does the following passage throw any light upon +it? The reader must decide the point for himself. "Most of the +traditions," continues the same writer, "agree, however, that the +spirits, on their journey heavenward, were beset with difficulties and +perils. There was a swift river which must be crossed on a log that +shook beneath their feet, while a ferocious dog opposed their passage, +and drove many into the abyss. This river was full of sturgeons and +other fish, which the ghosts speared for their subsistence. Beyond was +a narrow path between moving rocks which each instant crushed together, +grinding to atoms the less nimble of the pilgrims who essayed to pass." +[1] A vestige of the same belief seems to crop out in a custom of some +of the tribes of Central Africa, as appears from the remarks of a +recent traveller. "When a death occurs," says Major Serpa Pinto, "the +body is shrouded in a white cloth, and, being covered with an ox-hide, +is carried to the grave, dug in a place selected for the purpose. The +days following on an interment are days of high festival in the hut of +the deceased. The native kings are buried with some ceremony, and their +bodies, being arrayed in their best clothes, are conveyed to the tomb +in a dressed hide. There is a great feasting on these occasions, and an +enormous sacrifice of cattle; for the heir of the deceased is bound to +sacrifice his whole herd in order to regale his people, and give peace +to the soul of the departed." [2] + +[Footnote 1: "The Jesuits in North America," Francis Parkman. +Introduction, pp. 81, 92.] + +[Footnote 2: "How I Crossed Africa," Vol. I., p. 63.] + +Such a unity of sentiment on the part of so many nations differing in +every other respect can only be attributed either to a natural feeling +inherent in man, or to a primitive revelation, which, amid the +vicissitudes of time, has left its impress on the minds of all nations. +That the doctrine of a middle state of purification was a part of the +primitive revelation cannot, I think, admit of reasonable doubt. To the +true servant of God, this unanimity is another proof of the faith once +revealed to the Saints, and, at the same time, an additional motive for +thanking God for the light vouchsafed him, while so many others are +left to grope in the darkness of error.--_Ave Maria,_ Nov. 17, +1883. + + +DEVOTION TO THE DEAD AMONGST THE AMERICAN INDIANS OF THE EARLY JESUIT +MISSIONS. + +In the "_Rélations des Jésuites_," on their early missions in New +France, now Canada, we find many examples, told in the quaint old +French of the seventeenth century, and with true apostolic simplicity, +of the tender devotion for the souls in Purgatory cherished by all the +Indians of every tribe who had embraced Christianity from the teaching +of those zealous missionaries. The few extracts we give below from the +"_Rélations_" will serve to show how deeply this touching devotion +to the departed is implanted in our nature, seeing that the doctrine of +a place of purgation in the after life finds so ready a response in the +heart and soul of the untutored children of the forest: + +"The devotion which they have for the souls of the departed is another +mark of their faith. Not far from this assembly there is a cemetery, in +the midst of which is seen a fine cross; sepulchres four or five feet +wide and six or seven feet long, rise about four feet from the ground, +carefully covered with bark. At the head and feet of the dead are two +crosses, and on one side a sword, if the dead were a man, or some +domestic article, if a woman. Having arrived there, I was asked to pray +to God for the souls of those who were buried in that place. A good +Christian gave me a beaver skin by the hands of her daughter, about +seven years of age, and said to me, when her daughter presented it: +'Father, this present is to ask you to pray to God for the souls of her +sister and her grandmother.' Many others made the same request; I +promised to comply with their wishes, but, as for their presents, I +could not accept them. + +"Some time ago, when the Christians of this place died, their beads +were buried with them; this custom was last year changed for a holier +one, by means of a good Christian who, when dying, gave her chaplet to +another, begging her to keep it and say it for her, at least on feast +days. This charity was done to her, and the custom was introduced from +that time: so it was that when any one died, his or her rosary was +given, with a little present, to some one chosen from the company +present, who is bound to take it, and say it for the departed soul, at +least on Sundays and Festivals."--_Journal of Father Jacques Buteux +in "Rélations," Vol. II_. + + * * * * * + +In one of the Huron missions, an Indian named Joachim Annicouton, +converted after many years of evil courses and, later, of hypocritical +pretense of conversion, was murdered by three drunken savages of his +own tribe, but lived long enough to edify all around him by his pious +resignation, his admirable patience in the most cruel sufferings, and +his generous forgiveness of his enemies. Having given a touching +account of his death, the good Father Claude Dablon goes on to say: + +"A very singular circumstance took place at his burial, which was +attended by all the families of the village, with many of the French +residents of the neighborhood. Before the body was laid in the earth, +the widow inquired if the authors of his death were present; being told +that they were not, she begged that they might be sent for. These poor +creatures having come, they drew near to the corpse, with downcast +eyes, sorrow and confusion in their faces. The widow, looking upon +them, said: 'Well! behold poor Joachim Annicouton, you know what +brought him to the state in which you now see him; I ask of you no +other satisfaction but that you pray to God for the repose of his +soul.' ..." + + * * * * * + +"It is customary amongst the Indians to give all the goods of the dead +to their relatives and friends, to mourn their death; but the husband +of Catherine, in his quality of first captain, assembled the Council of +the Ancients, and told them that they must no longer keep to their +former customs, which profited nothing to the dead; that, as for him, +his thought was to dress up the body of the deceased in her best +garments, as she might rise some day,--and to employ the rest of what +belonged to her in giving alms to the poor. This thought was approved +of by all, and it became a law which was ever after strictly observed. + +"The body of his wife was then arrayed in her best clothes, and he +distributed amongst the poor all that remained of her little furniture, +charging them to pray for the dead. The whole might have amounted to +three hundred francs, which is a great deal for an Indian."-- +_Rélations_, 1673-4. + + * * * * * + +"They [1] have established amongst them a somewhat singular practice to +help the souls in Purgatory. Besides the offerings they make for that +to the Church, and the alms they give to the poor,--besides the +devotion of the four Sundays of the month, to which is attached an +indulgence for the souls in Purgatory, so great that these days are +like Easter; as soon as any one is dead, his or her nearest relations +make a spiritual collection of communions in every family, begging them +to offer all they can for the repose, of the dead."--_Rélations_, +1677-8. + +[Footnote 1: The Hurons of Loretto, near Quebec.] + + +SUPERSTITIOUS BELIEF AMONGST SOME OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. + +CABRAL. + +When they are asked what they think of the soul, they answer that it is +the shadow "or living image" of the body; and it is as a consequence of +this principle that they believe all animated in the universe. It is by +tradition that they suppose the soul immortal. They pretend that, +separated from the body, it retains the inclinations it had during +life; and hence comes the custom of burying with the dead all that had +served to satisfy their wants or their tastes. They are even persuaded +that the soul remains a long time near the body after their separation, +and that it afterwards passes on into a country which they know not, +or, as some will have it, transformed into a turtle. Others give all +men two souls, one such as we have mentioned, the other which never +leaves the body, and goes from one but to pass into another. + +For this reason it is that they bury children on the roadside, so that +women passing by may pick up these second souls, which, not having long +enjoyed life, are more eager to begin it anew. They must also be fed; +and for that purpose it is that divers sorts of food are placed on the +graves, but that is only done for a little while, as it is supposed +that in time the souls get accustomed to fasting. The difficulty they +find in supporting the living makes them forget the care for the +nourishment of the dead. It is also customary to bury with them all +that had belonged to them, presents being even added thereto; hence it +is a grievous scandal amongst all those nations when they see Europeans +open graves to take out the beaver robes they have placed therein. The +burial-grounds are places so respected that their profanation is +accounted the most atrocious outrage that can be offered to an Indian +village. + +Is there not in all this a semblance of belief in our doctrine of +Purgatory? + + +REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD AMONGST THE EGYPTIANS. + +In Egypt, as all over the East, the lives of women amongst the +wealthier classes are for the most part spent within the privacy of +their homes, as it were in close confinement: they are born, live, and +die in the bosom of that impenetrable sanctuary. It is only on Thursday +that they go forth, with their slaves carrying refreshments and +followed by hired weepers. It is a sacred duty that calls them to the +public cemetery. There they have funeral hymns chanted, their own +plaintive cries mingling with the sorrowful lamentations of the +mourners. They shed tears and flowers on the graves of their kindred, +which they afterwards cover with the meats brought by their servants, +and all the crowd, after inviting the souls of the dead, partake of a +religious repast, in the persuasion that those beloved shades taste of +the same food and are present at the sympathetic banquet. Is there not +in this superstition a distorted tradition of the dogma by which we are +commanded not to forget the souls of our brethren beyond the grave?-- +_Annals of the Propagation of the Faith_, Vol. XVII. + +REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD THROUGHOUT EUROPE. + + +PART I. + +ANNA T. SADLIER. + +"Hark! the whirlwind is in the wood, a low murmur in the vale; it is +the mighty army of the dead returning from the air." These beautiful +words occur in one of the ancient Celtic poems quoted by Macpherson and +dating some thousand years later than Ossian. For the Celts held to the +doctrine of the immortality of souls, and believed that their ethereal +substance was wafted from place to place by the wind on the clouds of +heaven. Amongst the Highlanders a belief prevailed that there were +certain hills to which the spirits of their departed friends had a +peculiar attachment. Thus the hill of Ore was regarded by the house of +Crubin as their place of meeting in the future life, and its summit was +supposed to be supernaturally illumined when any member of the family +died. It was likewise a popular belief that the spirits of the departed +haunted places beloved in life, hovered about their friends, and +appeared at times on the occasion of any important family event. In the +calm of a new existence, + + "Side by side they sit who once mixed in battle their steel." + +There is a poetic beauty in many of these ancient beliefs concerning +the dead, but they are far surpassed in grandeur and sublimity, as well +as in deep tenderness, by the Christian conception of a state of +purgation after death, when the souls of the departed are still bound +to, their dear ones upon earth by a strong spiritual bond of mutual +help. They dwell, then, in an abode of peace, although of intense +suffering, and calmly await the eternal decree which summons them to +heaven; while the time of their probation is shortened day by day, +month by month, year by year by the Masses, prayers, alms-deeds and +other suffrages of their friends who are still dwellers on earth, +living the old life; and in its rush of cares and duties, of pleasures +and of pains, forgetting them too often in all save prayer. That is the +reminder. The dead who have died in the bosom of the Holy Church can +never be quite forgotten. "The mighty army of the dead returning from +the air" might in our Catholic conception be that host of delivered +souls who, after the Feast of All Souls, or some such season of special +prayer for them, are arising upwards into everlasting bliss. But it is +our purpose in the present chapters to gather up from the byways of +history occasions when the belief in prayer for the dead is made +manifest, whether it be in some noted individual, in a people, or in a +country. It is "the low murmur of the vale" going up constantly from +all peoples, from all times, under all conditions. + +In Russia not only is prayer for the dead most sedulously observed by +the Catholic Church, but also in a most particular manner by the +Schismatic Greeks. The following details under this head will be, no +doubt, of interest to our readers: + +"As soon as the spirit has departed, the body is dressed and placed in +an open coffin in a room decorated for the purpose. Numerous lights are +kept burning day and night; and while the relations take turns to watch +and pray by the coffin, the friends come to pay the last visit to the +deceased.... On the decease of extraordinary persons, the Emperor and +his successor are accustomed to visit the corpse, while the poor, on +the other hand, never fail to lament at the door the loss of their +benefactor, and to be dismissed with handsome donations. Total +strangers, too, come of their own accord to offer a prayer for the +deceased; for the image of a saint hung up before the door indicates to +every passenger the house of mourning.... The time of showing the +corpse lasts in general only three or four days, and then follow the +blessing of the deceased, and the granting of the pass. The latter is +to be taken literally. The corpse is carried to the Church, and the +priest lays upon the breast a long paper, which the common people call +'a pass for heaven.' On this paper is written the Christian name of the +deceased, the date of his birth and that of his death. It then states +that he was baptized as a Christian, that he lived as such, and before +his death, received the Sacrament--in short, the whole course of life +which he led as a Greek Russian Christian.... All who meet a funeral +take off their hats, and offer a prayer to Heaven for the deceased, and +such is the outward respect paid on such occasions, that it is not +until they have entirely lost sight of the procession that they put on +their hats again. This honor is paid to every corpse, whether of the +Russian, Protestant, or Catholic Communions.... After the corpse is +duly prepared, the priests sing a funeral Mass, called in Russian +clerical language, _panichide_.... On the anniversary of the death +of a beloved relative, they assemble in the Church, and have a +_panichide_ read for his soul.... Persons of distinction found a +lamp to burn forever at the tombs of their dead, and have these +_panichides_ repeated every week, for, perhaps, a long series of +years. Lastly, every year, on a particular day, Easter Monday, a +service and a repast are held for all the dead." + +The history of France, like that of all Catholic nations, abounds in +instances of public intercession for the dead, the pomp and splendor of +royal obsequies, the solemn utterances of public individuals; the +celebrations at Père la Chaise, the magnificent requiems. In a nation +so purely Catholic as it was and is, though the scum of evil men have +arisen like a foul miasma to its surface, it does not surprise us. We +shall therefore select from its history an incident or two, somewhat at +random. That beautiful one, far back at the era of the Crusades, where +St. Louis, King of France, absent in the East, received intelligence of +the death of Queen Blanche, his mother. The grief of the Papal Legate, +who had come to announce the news, was apparent in his face, and Louis, +fearing some new blow, led the prelate into his chapel, which, +according to an ancient chronicler, was "his arsenal against all the +crosses of the world." Louis, overcome with sorrow, quickly changed his +tears and lamentations into the language of resignation, and desiring +to be left alone with his confessor, Geoffrey de Beaulieu, recited the +office of the dead. "He was present every day at a funeral service +celebrated in memory of his mother; and sent into the West a great +number of jewels and precious stones to be distributed among the +principal churches of France; at the same time exhorting the clergy to +put up prayers for the repose of his mother. In proportion with his +endeavors," continues the historian, "to procure prayers for his +mother, his grief yielded to the hope of seeing her again in heaven; +and his mind, when calmed by resignation, found its most effectual +consolation in that mysterious tie which still unites us with those we +have lost, in that religious sentiment which mingles with our +affections to purify them, and with our regrets to mitigate them." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Michaud's Hist. of the Crusades," Vol. II., pp. 477-8.] + +In the Instructions which St. Louis addressed on his death-bed to his +son, Philip the Bold, is to be found the following paragraph: + +"Dear Son, I pray thee, if it shall please our Lord that I should quit +this life before thee, that thou wilt help me with Masses and prayers, +and that thou wilt send to the congregations of the kingdom of France, +to make them put up prayers for my soul, and that thou wilt desire that +our Lord may give me part in all the good deeds thou shalt perform." +[1] + +[Footnote 1: These instructions were preserved in a register of the +Chamber of Accounts. See Appendix to "Michaud's History of Crusades," +Vol. II., p. 471.] + +Philip, on the death of his father, in a letter which was read aloud in +all the churches, begs of the clergy and faithful, "to put up to the +King of kings their prayers and their offerings for that prince; with +whose zeal for religion and tender solicitude for the kingdom of +France, which he loved as the apple of his eye, they were so well +acquainted." In the Chronicles of Froissart, as well as in the Grande +Chronique of St. Denis, we read that the body of King John, who died a +prisoner in England, was brought home with great pomp and circumstance, +on the first day of May, 1364. It was at first placed in the Abbey of +St. Anthony, thence removed to Notre Dame, and finally to St. Denis, +the resting-place of royalty, where solemn Mass was said. On the day of +his interment, the Archbishop of Sens sang the requiem. Thus did Holy +Mother Church welcome the exile home. + +A pretty anecdote is that of Marie Lecsinska, Queen of Louis XV., who, +on hearing of the death of Marshal Saxe, a Lutheran by profession, and +but an indifferent observer of the maxims of any creed, cried out: +"Alas! what a pity that we cannot sing a _De Profundis_ for a man +who has made us sing so many _Te Deums_." + +We cannot take our leave of France, without noticing here the beautiful +prayer offered up by the saintly Princess Louise de Bourbon Condé, in +religion _Sœur Marie Joseph de la Miséricorde_, on hearing of the +death of her nephew, the Duc d'Enghien, so cruelly put to death by the +first Napoleon. Falling, face downwards, on the earth, she prayed: +"Mercy, my God, have mercy upon him! Have mercy, Lord, on the soul of +Louis Antoine! Pardon the faults of his youth, remembering the precious +Blood, which Jesus Christ shed for all men, and have regard to the +cruel manner in which his blood was shed. Glory and misfortune have +attended his life. But what we call glory, has it any claims in Thy +eyes? However, Lord, it is not a demerit before Thee, when it is based +on true honor, which is always inseparable from devotion to our duties. +Thou knowest, Lord, those that he has fulfilled, and for those in which +he has failed, let the misfortunes of which he has been at last the +victim, be a repararation and an expiation. Again, Lord, I ask for +mercy for his soul." On the death of Napoleon, the murderer of this +beloved nephew, the same holy religious wrote to the Bishop of St. +Flour: "Bonaparte is dead; he was your enemy, for he persecuted you. I +think you will say a Mass for him; I beg also that you say a Mass on my +behalf for this unfortunate man." + +Turning to the History of Rome, it will be of interest to take a glance +at the pious Confraternity _della Morte_ which was instituted in +1551, and regularly established in 1560, by His Holiness, Pius IV. It +was chiefly composed of citizens of high rank. Its object was to +provide burial for the dead. Solemnly broke upon the balmy stillness of +the Roman nights, all these years and centuries since its foundation, +its chanting of holy psalmody, and its audible praying for the dead, +borne along in its religious keeping. The glare of the waxen torches +fell upon the bier, the voices of the associates joined in the +_Miserere,_ and the Church reached, the corpse was laid there, +till the fitting hour, when the Requiem Mass should be sung, and the +final absolution given, preparatory to interment. + +Florence supplies us with a brilliant picture of that sixth day of +July, 1439, the feast of Saint Romolo the Martyr, in the ninth year of +the Pontificate of Pope Eugenius IV., when long-standing differences +between the Greek and Latin Churches were brought to an end in a most +amicable manner. Alas! for the Greeks, that they did not accept the +decisions of that day as final. On the 22d of January, 1439, Cosmo de +Medici, then Gonfaloniere of Florence, received the Pope and his +cardinals, with a pomp and splendor unknown to the history of modern +Europe. On the 12th of the following month came the Patriarch, Joseph +of Constantinople, and his bishops and theologians. On the 15th arrived +the Greek Emperor, John Paleologus, who was received at the Porto San +Gallo by the Pope and all his cardinals, the Florentine Signory, and a +long procession of the members of the monastic orders. "A rare and very +remarkable assemblage," says a chronicler [1] "of the most learned men +of Europe, and, indeed, of those extra European seats of a past +culture, which were even now giving forth the last flashes from a once +brilliant light on the point of being quenched in utter darkness, were +thus assembled at Florence." + +[Footnote 1: T. A. Trollope, in "History of the Commonwealth of +Florence," Vol. III., pp. 137-8.] + +This was the inauguration of the far-famed Council of Florence, which +had the result of settling the points at issue between the Eastern and +Western Churches. "The Greeks confessed that the Roman faith proceeded +rightly (_prociedere bene_), and united themselves with it by the +grace of God." Proclamation was accordingly made in the Cathedral, then +called Santa Reparata, that the Greeks had agreed to hold and to +believe the five disputed articles of which the fifth was, "That he who +dies in sin for which penance has been done, but from which he has not +been purged, goes to Purgatory, and that the divine offices, Masses, +prayers, and alms are useful for the purging of him." + +In the history of Ireland, as might be expected, we come upon many +instances wherein the dead are solemnly remembered from that period, +when still pagan, and one of the ancient manuscripts gives us an +account of certain races, it calls them, which were held for "the souls +of the foreigners slain in battle." This was back in the night of +antiquity, and was no doubt some relic of the Christian tradition which +had remained amid the darkness of paganism. But to come to the +Christian period. The famous Hugues de Lasci, or Hugo de Lacy, Lord of +Meath, and one of the most distinguished men in early Irish annals, +founded many abbeys and priories, one at Colpe, near the mouth of the +Boyne, one at Duleek, one at Dublin, and one at Kells. The Canons of +St. Augustine, as we read, "in return for this gift, covenanted that +one of them should be constantly retained as a chaplain to celebrate +Mass for his soul and for those of his ancestors and successors." We +also read how Marguerite, wife of Gualtier de Lasci, brother of the +above, gave a large tract in the royal forest of Acornebury, in +Herefordshire, for the erection of a nunnery for the benefit of the +souls of her parents, Guillaume and Mathilda de Braose, who with their +son, her brother, had been famished in the dungeon at Windsor. In the +account of the death in Spain of Red Hugh O'Donnell, who holds a high +place among the chivalry of Ireland, it is mentioned that on his death- +bed, "after lamenting his crimes and transgressions; after a rigid +penance for his sins and iniquities; after making his confession +without reserve to his confessors, and receiving the body and blood of +Christ; after being duly anointed by the hands of his own confessors +and ecclesiastical attendants," he expired after seventeen days' +illness at the king's palace in Simancas. "His body," says the ancient +chronicler, "was conveyed to the king's palace at Valladolid in a four- +wheeled hearse, surrounded by countless numbers of the king's State +officers, council and guards, with luminous torches and bright +flambeaux of wax lights burning on either side. He was afterwards +interred in the monastery of St. Francis, in the Chapter, precisely, +with veneration and honor, and in the most solemn manner that any of +the Gaels had been ever interred in before. Masses and many hymns, +chants and melodious canticles were celebrated for the welfare of his +soul; and his requiem was sung with becoming solemnity." + +On the death of the celebrated Brian Boroihme, historians relate how +his body was conveyed by the clergy to the Abbey of Swords, whence it +was brought by other portions of the clergy and taken successively to +two monasteries. It was then met by the Archbishop of Armagh, at the +head of his priesthood, and conveyed to Armagh, where the obsequies +were celebrated with a pomp and a fervor worthy the greatness and the +piety of the deceased monarch. + +In view of the arguments which are sometimes adduced to prove that the +early Irish Church did not teach this doctrine of prayer for the dead, +it is curious to observe how in St. Patrick's second Council he +expressly forbids the holy sacrifice being offered up after death for +those who in life had made themselves unworthy of such suffrages. At +the Synod of Cashel, held just after the Norman conquest, the claim of +each dead man's soul to a certain part of his chattels after death was +asserted. To steal a page from the time-worn chronicles of Scotland, it +is told by Theodoric that when Queen Margaret of Scotland, that gentle +and noble character upon whom the Church has placed the crown of +canonization, was dying, she said to him: "Two things I have to desire +of thee;" and one of these was thus worded, "that as long as thou +livest thou wilt remember my poor soul in thy Masses and prayers." It +had been her custom in life to recite the office of the dead every day +during Lent and Advent. Sir Walter Scott mentions in his Minstrelsy of +the Scottish Border "a curious league or treaty of peace between two +hostile clans, by which the heads of each became bound to make the four +pilgrimages of Scotland for the benefit of those souls who had fallen +in the feud." In the Bond of Alliance or Field Staunching Betwixt the +Clans of Scott and Ker this agreement is thus worded: "That it is +appointed, agreed and finally accorded betwixt honorable men," the +names are here mentioned, "Walter Ker of Cessford, Andrew Ker of +Fairnieherst," etc., etc., "for themselves, kin, friends, maintenants, +assisters, allies, adherents, and partakers, on the one part; and +Walter Scott of Branxholm," etc., etc., etc. For the staunching of all +discord and variance between them and so on, amongst other provisions, +that "the said Walter Scott of Branxholm shall gang, or cause gang, at +the will of the party, to the four head pilgrimages of Scotland, and +shall say a Mass for the unquhile Andrew Ker of Cessford and them that +were slain in his company in the field of Melrose; and, upon his +expence, shall cause a chaplain to say a Mass daily, when he is +disposed, in what place the said Walter Ker and his friend pleases, for +the weil of the said souls, for the space of five years next to come. +Mark Ker of Dolphinston, Andrew Ker of Graden, shall gang at the will +of the party to the four head pilgrimages of Scotland, and shall gar +say a Mass for the souls of the unquhile James Scott of Eskirk and +other Scots, their friends, slain in the field of Melrose; and, upon +their expence, shall gar a chaplain say a Mass daily, when he is +disposed, for the heal of their souls, where the said Walter Scott and +his friend pleases, for the space of the next three years to come." We +may mention that the four pilgrimages are Scoon, Dundee, Paisley, and +Melrose. This devotion of praying for the dead seems, indeed, to have +taken strong hold upon these rude borderers, who, Sir Walter Scott +informs us, "remained attached to the Roman Catholic faith rather +longer than the rest of Scotland." In many of their ancient ballads, at +some of which we have already glanced, this belief is prominent. The +dying man, or as in the case of Clerk Saunders, the ghost begs of his +survivors to "wish my soul good rest." This belief is intermingled with +their superstitions as in that one attached to Macduff's Cross. This +cross is situated near Lindores, on the marsh dividing Fife from +Strathern. Around the pedestal of this cross are tumuli, said to be the +graves of those who, having claimed the privilege of the law, failed in +proving their consanguinity to the Thane of Fife. Such persons were +instantly executed. The people of Newburgh believe that the spectres of +these criminals still haunt the ruined cross, and claim that mercy for +their souls which they had failed to obtain for their mortal existence. + +Thus does the historian [1] mention the burial of St. Ninian, one of +the favorite Saints of the Scots: "He was buried in the Church of St. +Martin, which he had himself built from the foundation, and placed in a +stone coffin near the altar, the clergy and people standing by and +lifting up their heavenly hymns with heart and voice, with sighs and +tears." + +[Footnote 1: Walsh's Hist, of the Cath. Church in Scotland.] + +In the treasurer's books which relate to the reign of James IV. of +Scotland, there is the following entry for April, 1503: "The king went +again to Whethorn." (A place of pilgrimage.) "While there he heard of +the death of his brother, John, Earl of Mar, and charged the priests to +perform a 'dirge and soul Mass' for his brother, and paid them for +their pains." + +In Montalembert's beautiful description of Iona, he mentions the +tradition which declares that eight Norwegian kings or princes, four +kings of Ireland, and forty-eight Scottish kings were buried there, as +also one king of France, whose name is not mentioned, and Egfrid, the +Saxon King of Northumbria. There is the tomb of Robert Bruce, the tombs +of many bishops, abbots, and of the great chiefs and nobles, the +Macdougalls, Lords of Lorn; the Macdonalds, Lords of the Isles; the +Macleods, and the Macleans. Nowhere, perhaps, has death placed his seal +on a more imposing assemblage, of truly royal stateliness, of +astonishingly cosmopolitan variety. In the midst of it all, in the very +centre of the burying-ground, stands a ruined chapel, under the +invocation of St. Oran, the first Irish monk who died in this region. +The church was built by the sainted Margaret, the wife of Malcolm +Canmore, and the mother of St. David. Its mission there was obvious. +From its altar arose to the Most High, the solemn celebration of the +dread mysteries, the psalm and the prayer, for prince and for prelate, +for the great alike in the spiritual and temporal hierarchy. + +The Duke of Argyle, in his work on Iona, seems astonished to find that +St. Columba believed in all the principal truths of Catholic faith, +amongst others, prayers for the dead, and yet he considers that he +could not be called a Catholic. The process of reasoning is a curious +one. + +Mention is made in the history of Scotland of a famous bell, preserved +at Glasgow until the Reformation. It was supposed to have been brought +from Rome by St. Kentigern, and was popularly called "St. Mungo's +Bell." It was tolled through the city to invite the citizens to pray +for the repose of departed souls. + +In the great cathedrals of Scotland, before the Reformation, private +chapels and altars were endowed for the relief of the dead, while in +the cities and large towns, each trade or corporation had an altar in +the principal churches and supported a chaplain to offer up Masses and +prayers as well for the dead as for the living. The following incident +is related in the life of the lovely and so sadly maligned Mary Queen +of Scots. In the early days of her reign, when still struggling with +the intolerant fury of Knox and his followers,--it was in the December +of 1561--Mary desired to have solemn Mass offered up for the repose of +the soul of her deceased husband, the youthful Francis. This so aroused +the fury of the fanatics about her, that they threatened to take the +life of the priests who had officiated. "Immediately after the Requiem +was over, she caused a proclamation to be made by a Herald at the +Market Cross, that no man on pain of his life should do any injury, or +give offense or trouble to her chaplains." + +The poet Campbell in his dirge for Wallace, makes the Lady of +Elderslie, the hero's wife, cry out in the first intensity of her +sorrow; + + "Now sing you the death-song and loudly pray + For the soul of my knight 'so dear.'" + +We shall now leave the wild poetic region of Scotland, and with it +conclude Part First, taking up again in Part Second the thread of our +narrative, which will wind in and out through various countries of +Europe, ending at last with a glance at our own America. + + +REMEMBRANCE OF THE DEAD THROUGHOUT EUROPE. + + +PART II. + +In Austria we find an example of devotion to the dead, in the saintly +Empress Eleanor, who, after the death of her husband, the Emperor +Leopold, in 1705, was wont to pray two hours every day for the eternal +repose of his soul. Not less touching is an account given by a +Protestant traveller of an humble pair, whom he encountered at Prague +during his wanderings there. They were father and daughter, and +attached, the one as bell-ringer, the other as laundress, to the Church +on the Visschrad. He found them in their little dwelling. It was on the +festival of St. Anne, when all Prague was making merry. The girl said +to him: "Father and I were just sitting together, and this being St. +Anne's Day, we were thinking of my mother, whose name was also Anne." +The father then said, addressing his daughter: "Thou shalt go down to +St. Jacob's to-morrow, and have a Mass read for thy mother, Anne." For +the mother who had been long years slumbering in the little cemetery +hard by. There is, something touching to me in this little incident, +for it tells how the pious memory of the beloved dead dwelt in these +simple hearts, dwells in the hearts of the people everywhere, as in +that of the pious empress, whose inconsolable sorrow found vent in long +hours of prayer for the departed. + +In the will of Christopher Columbus there is special mention made of +the church which he desired should be erected at Concepcion, one of his +favorite places in the New World, so named by himself. In this church +he arranged that three Masses should be celebrated daily--the first in +honor of the Blessed Trinity; the second, in honor of the Immaculate +Conception; and the third for the faithful departed. This will was made +in May, 1506. The body of the great discoverer was laid in the earth, +to the lasting shame of the Spaniards, with but little other +remembrance than that which the Church gives to the meanest of her +children. The Franciscans, his first friends, as now his last, +accompanied his remains to the Cathedral Church of Valladolid, where a +Requiem Mass was sung, and his body laid in the vault of the +Observantines with but little pomp. Later on, however, the king, in +remorse for past neglect, or from whatever cause, had the body taken up +and transported with great pomp to Seville. There a Mass was sung, and +a solemn funeral service took place at the cathedral, whence the corpse +of the Admiral was conveyed beyond the Guadalquivir to St. Mary of the +Grottoes (Santa Maria de las Grutas). But the remains of this most +wonderful of men were snatched from the silence of the Carthusian +cloister some ten years later, and taken thence to Castile, thence +again to San Domingo, where they were laid in the sanctuary of the +cathedral to the right of the main altar. Again they were disturbed and +taken on board the brigantine Discovery to the Island of Cuba, where +solemnly, once more, the Requiem for the Dead swelled out, filling with +awe the immense assembly, comprising, as we are told, all the civil and +military notables of the island. + +In the annals of the Knight Hospitallers of St. John, it is recorded +that after a great and providential victory won by them over the Moslem +foe, and by the fruits of which Rhodes was saved from falling into the +hands of the enemy, the Grand Master D'Aubusson proceeded to the Church +of St. John to return thanks. And that he also caused the erection of +three churches in honor of Our Blessed Lady, and the Patron Saints of +the city. These three churches were endowed for prayers and Masses to +be offered in perpetuity for the souls of those who had fallen in +battle. This D'Aubusson was in all respects one of the most splendid +knights that Christendom has produced. A model of Christian knighthood, +he is unquestionably one of the greatest of the renowned Grand Masters +of St. John. There is a touching incident told in these same annals of +two knights, the Chevalier de Servieux, counted the most accomplished +gentleman of his day, and La Roche Pichelle. Both of them were not only +the flower of Christian knighthood, but model religious as well. They +died of wounds received in a sea fight off Saragossa in 1630, and on +their death-beds lay side by side in the same room, consoling and +exhorting each other, it being arranged between them, that whoever +survived the longest should offer all his pains for the relief of his +companion's soul. + +We have now reached a part of our work, upon which we shall have +occasion to dwell at some length, and notwithstanding the fact that it +has already formed the subject of two preceding articles. It is that +which relates to England, and which is doubly interesting to Catholics, +as being the early record of what is now the chief Protestant nation of +Europe. To go back to those Anglo-Saxon days, which might be called in +some measure the golden age of Catholic faith in England, we shall see +what was the custom which prevailed at the moment of dissolution. In +the regulations which follow there is not question of a monarch nor a +public individual, nor of priest nor prelate, but simply of an ordinary +Christian just dead. "The moment he expired the bell was tolled. Its +solemn voice announced to the neighborhood that a Christian brother was +departed, and called on those who heard it to recommend his soul to the +mercy of his Creator. All were expected to join, privately, at least, +in this charitable office; and in monasteries, even if it were in the +dead of night, the inmates hastened from their beds to the church, and +sang a solemn dirge. The only persons excluded from the benefit of +these prayers were those who died avowedly in despair, or under the +sentence of excommunication. + +"... Till the hour of burial, which was often delayed for some days to +allow time for the arrival of strangers from a distance, small parties +of monks or clergymen attended in rotation, either watching in silent +prayer by the corpse or chanting with subdued voice the funeral +service.... When the necessary preparations were completed, the body of +the deceased was placed on a bier or in a hearse. On it lay the book of +the Gospels, the code of his belief, and the cross, the emblem of his +hope. A pall of linen or silk was thrown over it till it reached the +place of interment. The friends were invited, strangers often deemed it +a duty to attend. The clergy walked in procession before, or divided +into two bodies, one on each side, singing a portion of the psalter and +generally bearing lights in their hands. As soon as they entered the +church the service for the dead was performed; a Mass of requiem +followed; the body was deposited in the grave, the sawlshot paid, and a +liberal donation distributed to the poor." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Lingard's Antiquities of the Anglo Saxon Church," Vol. +II, pp. 46-47.] + +In the northern portico of the Cathedral of Canterbury was erected an +altar in honor of St. Gregory, where a Mass was offered every Saturday +for the souls of departed archbishops. We read that Oidilwald, King of +the Deiri, and son of King Oswald, founded a monastery that it might be +the place of his sepulture, because "he was confident of deriving great +benefit from the prayers of those who should serve the Lord in that +house." Dunwald the Thane, on his departure for Rome to carry thither +the alms of his dead master, King Ethelwald, A.D. 762, bequeathed a +dwelling in the market in Queengate to the Church of SS. Peter and Paul +for the benefit of the king's soul and his own soul. + +As far back as the days of the good King Arthur, whose existence has +been so enshrouded in fable that many have come to believe him a myth, +we read that Queen Guenever II., of unhappy memory, having spent her +last years in repentance, was buried in Ambreabury, Wiltshire. The +place of her interment was a monastery erected by Aurelius Ambrose, the +uncle of King Arthur, "for the maintenance of three hundred monks to +pray for the souls of the British noblemen slain by Hengist." Upon her +tomb was inscribed, "in rude letters of massy gold," to quote the +ancient chronicler, the initials R. G. and the date 600 A.D. + +In the Saxon annals Enfleda, the wife of Oswy, King of Northumbria, +plays a conspicuous part. Soon after her marriage, Oswin, her husband's +brother, consequently her cousin and brother-in-law, was slain. The +queen caused a monastery to be erected on the spot where he fell as a +reparation for her husband's fratricide, and as a propitiation for the +soul of the departed. This circumstance is alluded to by more than one +English poet, as also the monastery which Enfleda, for the same +purpose, caused to be erected at Tynemouth. Thus Harding: + + "Queen Enfled, that was King Oswy's wife, + King Edwin, his daughter, full of goodnesse, + For Oswyn's soule a minster, in her life, + Made at Tynemouth, and for Oswy causeless + That hym so bee slaine and killed helpeless; + For she was kin to Oswy and Oswin, + As Bede in chronicle dooeth determyn." + +The most eminent Catholic poet of our own day, Sir Aubrey de Vere, in +his Saxon legends, likewise refers to it. He describes first what + + "Gentlest form kneels on the rain-washed ground, + From Giling's Keep a stone's throw. Whose those hands + Now pressed in anguish on a bursting heart. + ... What purest mouth + + "Presses a new-made grave, and through the blades + Of grass wind shaken, breathes her piteous prayer? + ... Oswin's grave it is, + And she that o'er it kneels is Eanfleda, + Kinswoman of the noble dead, and wife + To Oswin's murderer--Oswy." + +Again, describing the repentance of Oswy: + + "One Winter night + From distant chase belated he returned, + And passed by Oswin's grave. The snow, new fallen, + Whitened the precinct. In the blast she knelt, + She heard him not draw nigh. She only beat + Her breast, and, praying, wept. Our sin! our sin! + + "So came to him those words. They dragged him down: + He knelt beside his wife, and beat his breast, + And said, 'My sin! my sin!' Till earliest morn + Glimmered through sleet that twain wept on, prayed on:-- + Was it the rising sun that lit at last + The fair face upward lifted? + ....... Aloud she cried, + 'Our prayer is heard: our penitence finds grace.' + Then added: 'Let it deepen till we die. + A monastery build we on this grave: + So from this grave, while fleet the years, that prayer + Shall rise both day and night, till Christ returns + To judge the world,--a prayer for him who died; + A prayer for one who sinned, but sins no more!'" + +In the grant preserved in the Bodleian Collection, wherein Editha the +Good, the widow of Edward the Confessor, confers certain lands upon the +Church of St. Mary at Sarum, occurs the following: + +"I, Editha, relict of King Edward, give to the support of the Canons of +St. Mary's Church, in Sarum, the lands of Secorstan, in Wiltshire, and +those of Forinanburn, to the Monastery of Wherwell, for the support of +the nuns serving God there, with the rights thereto belonging, for the +soul of King Edward." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Phillips' Account of Old Sarum."] + +This queen was buried in Westminster Abbey, her remains being removed +from the north to the south side of St. Edward's shrine, on the +rebuilding of that edifice, and it is recorded that Henry III. ordered +a lamp to be kept burning perpetually at the tomb of Editha the Good. + +It is related of the celebrated Lady Godiva of Coventry, the wife of +the wealthy and powerful Leofric, that on her death-bed she "bequeathed +a precious circlet of gems, which she wore round her neck, valued at +one hundred marks of silver (about two thousand pounds sterling) to the +Image of the Virgin in Coventry Abbey, praying that all who came +thither would say as many prayers as there were gems in it." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Saxon Chronicle, Strickland's "Queens of England Before +the Conquest, etc."] + +The following is an ancient verse, occurring in an old French treatise, +on the manner of behaving at table, wherein one is warned never to +arise from a meal without praying for the dead. This treatise was +translated by William Caxton. + + "Priez Dieu pour les trepassés, + Et te souveigne en pitié + Qui de ce monde sont passez, + Ainsi que tu es obligez, + Priez Dieu pour les trepassés!" + +[We subjoin a rough translation of the verse. + + To God, for the departed, pray + And of those in pity think + Who have passed from this world away, + As, indeed, thou art bound to do, + To God, for the departed pray.] + +Speaking of his early education, Caxton says: + +"Whereof I humbly and heartily thank God, and am bounden to pray for my +father and mother's souls, who in my youth set me to school." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Christian Schools and Scholars."] + +In 1067, William the Conqueror founded what was known as Battle Abbey, +which he gave to the Benedictine Monks, that they might pray for the +souls of those who fell in the Battle of Hastings. Speaking of William +the. Conqueror, it is not out of place to quote here these lines from +the pen of Mrs. Hemans: + + "Lowly upon his bier + The royal Conqueror lay, + Baron and chief stood near, + Silent in war's array. + Down the long minster's aisle + Crowds mutely gazing stream'd, + Altar and tomb the while + Through mists of incense gleamed. + + "They lowered him with the sound + Of requiems to repose." + +These stanzas on the Burial of William the Conqueror lead us naturally +to others from the pen of the same gifted authoress on "Coeur de Lion +at the Bier of his Father." + + "Torches were blazing clear, + Hymns pealing deep and slow, + Where a king lay stately on his bier, + In the Church of Fontevraud. + + * * * * * + + "The marble floor was swept + By many a long dark stole + As the kneeling priests, round him that slept, + Sang mass for the parted soul. + And solemn were the strains they pour'd + Through the stillness of the night, + With the cross above, and the crown and sword, + And the silent king in sight." + +We forgive the ignorance of the gentle poetess with regard to the Mass, +for the beauty and solemnity of the verse, which is quite in keeping +with the nature of the subject. + +We read, again, of tapers being lit at the tomb of Henry V., the noble +and chivalrous Henry of Monmouth, for one hundred years after his +death. The Reformation extinguished that gentle flame with many another +holy fire, both in England and throughout Christendom. + +We shall now pass on to another period--a far different and most +troublous one of English history, that of the Reformation. + +In the Church of St. Lawrence at Iswich is an entry of an offering made +to "pray for the souls of Robert Wolsey and his wife Joan, the father +and mother of the Dean of Lincoln," thereafter to be Cardinal and +Chancellor of the Kingdom. An argument urged to show the Protestantism +of Collet, one of the ante-Reformation worthies, is that he "did not +make a Popish will, having left no monies for Masses for his soul; +which shows that he did not believe in Purgatory." The dying prayer of +Sir Thomas More concludes with these words: "Give me a longing to be +with Thee; not for avoiding the calamities of this wicked world, nor so +much the pains of Purgatory or of hell; nor so much for the attaining +of the choice of heaven, in respect of mine own commodity, as even for +a very love of Thee." The unfortunate Anne Boleyn, who during her +imprisonment had repented and received the last sacraments from the +hands of Father Thirlwall, begs on the scaffold that the people may +pray for her. In her address to her ladies before leaving the Tower, +she concludes it by begging them to forget her not after death. "In +your prayers to the Lord Jesus forget not to pray for my soul." In the +account of the death of another of King Henry's wives, the Lady Jane +Seymour, who died, as Miss Strickland says, after having all the rites +of the Catholic Church administered to her, we read that Sir Richard +Gresham thus writes to Lord Cromwell: + +"I have caused twelve hundred Masses to be offered up for the soul of +our most gracious Queen.... I think it right that there should also be +a solemn dirge and high Mass, and that the mayor and aldermen should +pray and offer up divers prayers for Her Grace's soul." + +Anne of Cleves some two years before her death likewise embraced the +Catholic faith. At her funeral Mass was sung by Bonner, Bishop of +London, and many monks and seculars attended her obsequies. The +infamous Thomas Cromwell, converted, as it seems evident from +contemporary witnesses, on his death-bed, left what might be called +truly a "Popish will." After bequeathing money or effects to various +relatives and friends, he speaks of charity "works for the health of my +soul." "I will," he says, "that my executors shall sell said farm +(Carberry), and the money thereof to be employed in deeds of charity, +to prayer for my soul and all Christian souls." Item. "I will mine +executors shall conduct and hire a priest, being an honest person of +continent and good living, to sing (pray) for my soul for the space of +seven years next after my death." Item. "I give and bequeath to every +one of the five orders of Friars within the Citie of London, to pray +for my soul, twenty shillings. ..." He further bequeaths £20 to be +distributed amongst "poor householders, to pray for his soul." + +In this he closely resembled his royal master, Henry VIII., who +ordained that Masses should be said "for his soul's health while the +world shall endure." And after his death it was agreed that the +obsequies should be conducted according to the observance of the +Catholic Church. Church-bells tolled and Masses were celebrated daily +throughout London. In the Privy Chamber, where the corpse was laid, +"lights and Divine service were said about him, with Masses, obsequies, +etc." After the body was removed to the chapel it was kept there twelve +days, with "Masses and dirges sung and said everyday." Norroy, king at +arms, stood each day at the choir door, saying: "Of your charity pray +for the soul of the high and mighty prince, our late sovereign lord and +king, Henry VIII." When the body was lowered into the grave we read of +a _De Profundis_ being read over it. God grant it was not all a +solemn mockery, this praying for the soul of him who was styled "the +first Protestant King of England," and who by his crimes separated +England from the unity of Christendom! May these "Popish practices," +which were amongst those he in his ordinances condemned, have availed +him in that life beyond the grave, whither he went to give an account +of his stewardship! + +The Catholic Queen, Mary, after her accession to the throne, caused a +requiem Mass to be sung in Tower Chapel for her brother, Edward the +Sixth. Elizabeth, in her turn, had Mary buried with funeral hymn and +Mass, and caused a solemn dirge and Mass of Requiem to be chanted for +the soul of the Emperor Charles V. + +With this period of spiritual anarchy and desolation we shall take our +leave of England, passing on to pause for an instant to observe the +peculiar _cultus_ of the dead in Corsica. It is represented by +some writers as being similar to that which prevailed amongst the +Romans. But as a traveller remarks, "it is a curious relic of paganism, +combined with Christian usages." Thus the dirge sung by women, their +wild lamenting, their impassioned apostrophizing of the dead, their +rhetorical declamation of his virtues, finds its analogy among many of +the customs of pagan nations, while the prayer for the dead, "the +relatives standing about the bed of death reciting the Rosary," the +Confraternity of the Brothers of the Dead coming to convey the corpse +to the church, where Mass is sung and the final absolution given, is +eminently Christian and Catholic. In the Norwegian annals we read how +Olaf the Saint, on the occasion of one of his battles, gave many marks +of silver for the souls of his enemies who should fall in battle. + +A traveller in Mexico relates the following: "I remember to have seen," +he says, "on the high altar of the dismantled church of Yanhuitlan a +skull as polished as ivory, which bore on the forehead the following +inscription in Spanish: + +'Io soy Jesus Pedro Sandoval; un Ave Maria y un Padre Nuestro, por Dios, +hermanos!' [1] + +[Footnote 1: Ferdinand Gregorovius, "Wanderings in Corsica," translated +by Alexander Muir.] + +'I am Jesus Pedro Sandoval; a Hail Mary and an Our Father for the love +of God, my brother.' + +"I cannot conceive," he continues, "anything more heart-rending than +the great silent orbs of this dead man staring me fixedly in the face, +whilst his head, bared by contact with the grave, sadly implored my +prayers." [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Deux Ans au Mexique," Faucher de St. Maurice.] + +It would be impossible to conclude our _olla podrida_, if I may +venture on the expression, of historical lore, relating to the dead, +without referring, however briefly, to the two great deaths, and +consequently the magnificent obsequies which have marked this very year +of 1885, in which we write. Those of Archbishop Bourget, of Montreal, +and of His Eminence, Cardinal McCloskey, of New York. They were both +expressions of national sorrow, and the homage paid by sorrowing +multitudes to true greatness. On the 10th of June, 1885, the venerable +Archbishop Bourget died at Sault-au-Recollet, and was brought on the +following morning to the Church of Notre Dame, Montreal. The days that +ensued were all days of Requiem. Psalms were sung, and the office of +the dead chanted by priests of all the religious orders in succession, +by the various choirs of the city, by the secular clergy, and by lay +societies. Archbishops and bishops sang high Mass with all the pomp of +our holy ritual, and the prayers of the poor for him who had been their +benefactor, mingled with those of the highest in the land, and followed +the beloved remains from the bed of death whence they were taken down +into the funeral vault. On the 10th of October, 1885, His Eminence the +Cardinal Archbishop of New York passed peacefully away, amidst the +grief of the whole community, both Protestant and Catholic. Again, +there was a very ovation of prayer. The obsequies were marked by a +splendor such as, according to a contemporary journal, had never before +attended any ecclesiastical demonstration on this side of the water. +The clergy, secular and religious, formed one vast assemblage, while +layman vied with layman in showing honor to the dead, and in praying +for the soul's repose. "All that man could do," says a prominent +Catholic journal, "to bring honor to his bier was done, and in honor +and remembrance his memory remains. All that Mother Church could offer +as suffrage for his soul has been offered." + +That is wherein the real beauty of it all consists. Honor to the great +dead may, it is true, be the splendid expression of national sentiment. +But in the eyes of faith it is meaningless. Other great men, deservedly +honored by the nations, have passed away during this same year, but +where was the prayer, accompanying them to the judgment-seat, assisting +them in that other life, repairing their faults, purging away sins or +imperfections? The grandeur that attended Mgr. Bourget's burial and +Cardinal McCloskey's obsequies consisted chiefly in that vast symphony +of prayer, which arose so harmoniously, and during so many days, for +their soul's welfare. + +Devotion to the dead, as we have seen, exists everywhere, is everywhere +dear to the hearts of the people, from those first early worshippers, +who, in the dawn of Christianity, in the dimness of the Catacombs +prayed for the souls of their brethren in Christ, begging that they +might "live in God," that God might refresh them, down through the ages +to our own day, increasing as it goes in fervor and intensity. We meet +with its records, written boldly, so to say, on the brow of nations, or +in out-of-the-way corners, down among the people, in the littleness and +obscurity of humble domestic annals. In the earliest liturgies, in the +most ancient sacramentaries, there is the prayer for "refreshment, +light, and peace," as it is now found in the missals used at the daily +sacrifice, on the lips of the priest, in the prayers of the humblest +and most unlettered petitioner. It is the "low murmur of the vale," +changing, indeed, at times into the thunder on the mountain tops, +amazing the unbelieving world which stands aloof and stares, as in the +instances but lately quoted, or existing forgotten, and overlooked by +them, but no less deep and solemn. It is a _Requiem Æternam_ +pervading all time, and ceasing only with time itself, when the +Eternity of rest for the Church Militant has begun. + + +PRAYER FOR THE DEAD IN THE ANGLO-SAXON CHURCH. + +DR. LINGARD. + +The Anglo-Saxons had inherited from their teachers the practice of +prayer for the dead--a practice common to every Christian Church which +dates its origin from any period before the Reformation. It was not +that they pretended to benefit by their prayers the blessed in heaven, +or the reprobate in hell; but they had never heard of the doctrine +which teaches that "every soul of man, passing out of the body, goeth +immediately to one or other of those places" (Book of Homilies. Hom. +VII. On Prayer). And therefore assuming that God will render to all +according to their works, they believed that the souls of men dying in +a state of less perfect virtue, though they might not be immediately +admitted to the supreme felicity of the saints, would not, at least, be +visited with the everlasting punishment of the wicked. [1] It was for +such as these that they prayed, that if they were in a state of +imperfect happiness, that happiness might be augmented; if in a state +of temporary punishment, the severity of that punishment might be +mitigated; and this they hoped to obtain from the mercy of God, in +consideration of their prayers, fasts, and alms, and especially of the +"oblation of the most Holy Victim in the Sacrifice of the Mass." + +[Footnote 1: "Some souls proceed to rest after their departure; some go +to punishment for that which they have done, and are often released by +alms-deeds, but chiefly through the Mass, if it be offered for them; +others are condemned to hell with the devil." (Serm. ad. Pop. in Oct. +Pent.) "There be many places of punishment, in which souls suffer in +proportion to their guilt before the general judgment, so that some of +them are fully cleansed, and have nothing to suffer in that fire of the +last day." (Hom. apud. Whelock, p. 386.)] + +This was a favorite form of devotion with our ancestors. It came to +them recommended by the practice of all antiquity; it was considered an +act of the purest charity on behalf of those who could no longer pray +for themselves; it enlisted in its favor the feelings of the survivor, +who was thus enabled to intercede with God for his nearest and dearest +friends, and it opened at the same time to the mourner a source of real +consolation in the hour of bereavement and distress. It is true, +indeed, that the petitioners knew not the state of the departed soul; +he might be incapable of receiving any benefit from their prayers, but +they reasoned, with St. Augustine, that, even so, the piety of their +intentions would prove acceptable to God. When Alcuin heard that +Edilthryde, a noble Saxon lady, lamented most bitterly the death of her +son, he wrote to her from his retreat at Tours, in the following +terms:--"Mourn not for him whom you cannot recall. If he be of God, +instead of grieving that you have lost him, rejoice that he is gone to +rest before you. Where there are two friends, I hold the death of the +first preferable to that of the second, because the first leaves behind +him one whose brotherly love will intercede for him daily, and whose +tears will wash away the frailties of his life in this world. Be +assured that your pious solicitude for the soul of your son will not be +thrown away. It will benefit both you and him--you, because you +exercise acts of hope and charity; him, because such acts will tend +either to mitigate his sufferings, or to add to his happiness." + +[Footnote 1: Ep. Cli Tom. I, p. 212.] + +But they did not only pray for others, they were careful to secure for +themselves, after their departure, the prayers of their friends. This +they frequently solicited as a favor or recompense, and for this they +entered into mutual compacts by which the survivor was bound to perform +certain works of piety or charity for the soul of the deceased. Thus +Beda begs of the monks of Lindisfarne that, at his death, they will +offer prayers and Masses for him as one of their own body; thus Alcuin +calls upon his former scholars at York to remember him in their prayers +when it shall please God to withdraw him from this world; and thus in +the multifarious correspondence of St. Boniface, the apostle of +Germany, and of Lullus, his successor in the See of Mentz, both of them +Anglo-Saxons, with their countrymen, prelates, abbots, thanes, and +princes, we meet with letters the only object of which is to renew +their previous engagements, and to transmit the names of their defunct +associates. It is "our earnest wish," say the King of Kent and the +Bishop of Rochester in their common letter to Lullus, "to recommend +ourselves and our dearest relatives to your piety, that by your prayers +we may be protected till we come to that life which knows no end. For +what have we to do on earth but faithfully to exercise charity towards +each other? Let us then agree, that when any among us enter the path +which leads to another life (may it be a life of happiness), the +survivors shall, by their alms and sacrifices, endeavor to assist him +in his journey. We have sent you the names of our deceased relations, +Irmige, Vorththry, and Dulicha, virgins dedicated to God, and beg that +you will remember them in your prayers and oblations. On a similar +occasion we will prove our gratitude by imitating your charity." + +Such covenants were not confined to the clergy, or to persons in the +higher ranks of life. England, at this period, was covered with +"gilds," or associations of townsmen and neighbors, not directly for +religious purposes, but having a variety of secular objects in view,-- +such as the promotion of trade and commerce, the preservation of +property and the prosecution of thieves, the legal defence of the +members against oppression, and the recovery of bots, or penalties, to +which they were entitled; but whatever might be their chief object, all +imposed one common obligation, that of accompanying the bodies of f the +deceased members to the grave, of paying the soul-shot for them at +their interment, and of distributing alms for the repose of their +souls. As a specimen of such engagements, I may here translate a +portion of the laws established in the gild at Abbotsbury. "If," says +the legislator, "any one belonging to this association chance to die, +each member shall pay one penny for the good of the soul, before the +body be laid in the grave. If he neglect, he shall be fined in a triple +sum. If any of us fall sick within sixty miles, we engage to find +fifteen men, who may bring him home; but if he die first, we will send +thirty to convey him to the place in which he desired to be buried. If +he die in the neighborhood, the steward shall inquire where he is to be +interred, and shall summon as many members as he can to assemble, +attend the corpse in an honorable manner, carry it to the minster, and +pray devoutly for the soul. Let us act in this manner, and we shall +truly perform the duty of our confraternity. This will be honorable to +us both before God and man. For we know not who among us may die first; +but we believe that, with the assistance of God, this agreement will +profit us all if it be rightly observed." + +But the clerical and monastic bodies inhabiting the more celebrated +monasteries offered guildships of a superior description. Among them +the service for the dead was performed with greater solemnity; the +rules of the institute insured the faithful performance of the duty; +and additional value was ascribed to their prayers on account of the +sanctity of the place and the virtue of its inmates. Hence it became an +object with many to obtain admission among the brotherhood in quality +of honorary associates; an admission which gave them the right to the +same spiritual benefits after death to which the professed members were +entitled. Such associates were of two classes. To some the favor was +conceded on account of their reputation for piety or learning; to +others it was due on account of their benefactions. Instances of both +abound in the Anglo-Saxon records. Beda, though a monk at Jarrow, +procured his name to be entered for this purpose on the bead-roll of +the monks at Lindisfarne; and Alcuin, though a canon at Tours, in +France, had obtained a similar favor from the monks at Jarrow. It +belonged, of right, to the founders of churches, to those who had made +to them valuable benefactions, [1] or had rendered to them important +services, or had bequeathed to them a yearly rent charge [2] for that +purpose. + +[Footnote 1: When Osulf, ealdorman, by the grace of God, gave the land +at Stanhamstede to Christ Church, he most humbly prayed that he and his +wife, Beornthrythe, might be admitted "into the fellowship of God's +servants there, and of their lords who had been, and of those who had +given lands to the Church."--Cod. Dipl. I. 292. The following is an +instance of a rent charge given by Ealburge and Eadwald to Christ +Church for themselves, and for Ealred and Ealwyne forty ambres of malt, +two hundred loaves, one wey, &c, &c.; "and I, Ealburge," she adds, +"command my son Ealwyne, in the name of God, and of all the saints, +that he perform this duty in his day, and then command his heirs to +perform it as long as Christendom shall endure."] + +[Footnote 2: I Monast. Ang. i. 278. A similar regulation is found among +the laws of the gild in London. "And ye have ordained respecting every +man who has given his 'wed' in our gildships, if he should die, that +each gild brother shall give a 'genuine loaf' for his soul, and sing a +ditty, or get it sung, within thirty days."--Thorpe's Laws of London +Gilds.] + +Of all these individuals an exact catalogue was kept; the days of their +decease [1] were carefully noted, and on their anniversaries a solemn +service of Masses and psalmody was yearly performed. [2] It may be +easily conceived that to men of timorous and penitent minds this custom +would afford much consolation. However great might be their +deficiencies, yet they hoped that their good works would survive them; +they had provided for the service of the Almighty a race of men, whose +virtues they might in one respect call their own, and who were bound, +by the strongest ties, to be their daily advocate at the throne of +divine mercy. [3] Such were the sentiments of Alwyn, the caldorman of +East Anglia, and one of the founders of Ramsey. Warned by frequent +infirmities of his approaching death, he repaired, attended by his sons +Edwin and Ethelward, to the abbey. The monks were speedily assembled. +"My beloved," said he, "you will soon lose your friend and protector. +My strength is gone: I am stolen from myself. But I am not afraid to +die. When life grows tedious death is welcome. To-day I shall confess +before you the many errors of my life. Think not that I wish to solicit +a prolongation of my existence. My request is that you protect my +departure by your prayers, and place your merits in the balance against +my defects. When my soul shall have quitted my body, honor your +father's corpse with a decent funeral, grant him a constant share in +your prayers, and recommend his memory to the charity and gratitude of +your successors." At the conclusion of his address the aged thane threw +himself on the pavement before the altar, and, with a voice interrupted +by frequent sighs, publicly confessed the sins of his past years, and +earnestly implored the mercies of his Redeemer.... He exhorted the +brethren to a punctual observance of their rule, and forbade his sons, +under their father's malediction, to molest them in possession of the +lands which he had bestowed on the abbey.... Within a few weeks he +died, his body was interred with proper solemnity in the Church; and +his memory was long cherished with gratitude by the monks of Ramsey. +[4] + +[Footnote 1: According to Wanly there is in the Cotton Library (Dom. A. +7) of the reign of Athelstan, in which the names of the chief +benefactors of the Church of Lindisfarne are written in letters of gold +and silver, which catalogue was afterwards continued, but not in the +same manner (Wanly, 249). This is probably the same book which was +published in 1841 by the Surtees Society, under the name of _Liber +Vitæ Ecclesiæ Dunelmensis_. It contains the names of all the +benefactors of St. Cuthbert's Church from its foundation, and lay +constantly on the altar for upwards of six centuries.] + +[Footnote 2: According to Wanly there is in the Cotton Library (Dom. A. +7) of the reign of Athelstan, in which the names of the chief +benefactors of the Church of Lindisfarne are written in letters of gold +and silver, which catalogue was afterwards continued, but not in the +same manner (Wanly, 249). This is probably the same book which was +published in 1841 by the Surtees Society, under the name of _Liber +Vitæ Ecclesiæ Dunelmensis_. It contains the names of all the +benefactors of St. Cuthbert's Church from its foundation, and lay +constantly on the altar for upwards of six centuries.] + +[Footnote 3: Thus when Leofric established canons in the Church of +Exeter, he made them several valuable presents, on condition that, in +their prayers and Masses, they should always remember his soul, "that +it might be the more pleasing to God." Monas. Ang. tom i. p. 222.] + +[Footnote 4: Hist. Rames, p. 427.] + +There were three kinds of good works usually performed for the benefit +of the dead: One consisted in the distribution of charity. To the +money, which the deceased, if he were in opulent or in easy +circumstances, bequeathed for that purpose, an addition was often made +by the contributions of his relatives and friends. Large sums were +often distributed in this manner. King Alfred the Great says in his +will: "Let there be given for me, and for my father, and for the +friends that he prayed for, and that I pray for, two hundred pounds; +fifty among the Mass-priests throughout my kingdom; fifty among the +servants of God that are in need, fifty among lay paupers, and fifty to +the church in which my body shall rest." [1] Archbishop Wulfred in his +will, (an. 831) made provision for the permanent support and clothing +of twenty-seven paupers, out of the income from certain manors which, +at his own cost and labor, he had recovered for the Church of +Canterbury. Frequently the testator bequeathed a yearly dole of money +and provisions to the poor on the anniversary of his death. Thus the +clergy of Christ-church gave away one hundred and twenty suffles, or +cakes of fine flour, on the anniversaries of each of their lords, by +which word we are probably to understand archbishops; but Wulfred was +not content with his accustomed charity; he augmented it tenfold on his +own anniversary, having bequeathed a loaf, a certain quantity of +cheese, and a silver penny to be delivered to twelve hundred poor +persons on that day. Of such dole some vestiges still remain in certain +parts of the kingdom. + +[Footnote 1: Cod Diplom (double S?) i. 115.] + +Another species of charity, at the death of the upper ranks, was the +grant of freedom to a certain number of slaves, whose poverty, to +render the gift more valuable, was relieved with a handsome present. In +the Council of Calcuith, it was unanimously agreed that each prelate at +his death should bequeath the tenth part of his personal property to +the poor, and set at liberty all bondmen of English descent, whom the +Church had acquired during his administration; and that each bishop and +abbot who survived him, should manumit three of his slaves, and give +three shillings to each, for the benefit of the soul of the deceased +prelate. + +The devotions in behalf of the dead consisted in the frequent +repetition of the Lord's Prayer, technically called a belt of +Paternosters, which was in use with private individuals, ignorant of +the Latin tongue; 2d, in the chanting of a certain number of psalms, +generally fifty, terminating with the collect for the dead, during +which collect all knelt down, and then repeated the anthem in Latin or +English: "According to Thy great mercy give rest to his soul, O Lord, +and of Thine infinite bounty grant to him eternal light in the company +of the saints;" [1] 3d, in the sacrifice of the Mass, which was offered +as soon as might be after death, again on the third day, and afterwards +as often as was required by the solicitude of the relatives or friends +of the deceased. No sooner had St. Wilfred expired than Talbert, to +whom he had intrusted the government of his monastery at Ripon, ordered +a Mass to be celebrated, and alms to be distributed daily for his soul. +On his anniversary the abbots of all the monasteries founded by Wilfred +were summoned to attend; they spent the preceding night in watching and +prayer, on the following morning a solemn Mass was performed, and then +the tenth part of the cattle belonging to the monastery was distributed +among the neighboring poor. + +[Footnote 1: On the death of St. Guthlade, his sister Pega recommended +his soul to God, and sang psalms for that purpose during three days.] + +In like manner we find the ealdorman Osulf, "for the redemption and +health of his own soul, and of his wife, Beornthrythe," giving certain +lands to the Church of Liming, in Kent, under the express condition +that "every twelve months afterwards, the day of their departure out of +this life should be kept with fasting and prayer to God, in psalmody +and the celebration of Masses." + +It would appear that some doubt existed with respect to the exact +meaning of this condition; and a few years later the archbishop, to set +the question at rest, pronounced the following decree: "Wherefore I +order that the godly deeds following be performed for their souls at +the tide of their anniversary; that every Mass priest celebrate two +Masses for the soul of Osulf, and two for Beornthrythe's soul; that +every deacon read two passions (the narratives of our Lord's sufferings +in the gospels) for his soul, and two for hers; and each of God's +servants (the inferior members of the brotherhood) two fifties" (fifty +psalms) "for his soul, two for hers; that as you in the world are +blessed with worldly goods through them, so they may be blessed with +godly goods through you." + +It should, however, be observed, that such devotions were not confined +to the anniversaries of the dead. In many, perhaps in all, of these +religious establishments, the whole community on certain days walked, +at the conclusion of the matin service, in procession to the cemetery, +and there chanted the dirge over the graves of their deceased brethren +and benefactors. + +Respecting these practices some most extraordinary opinions have +occasionally been hazarded. We have been told that the custom of +praying for the dead was no part of the religious system originally +taught to the Anglo-Saxons, that it was not generally received for two +centuries after their conversion, and that it probably took its rise +"from a mistaken charity, continuing to do for the departed what it was +only lawful to do for the living." To this supposition it may be +sufficient to reply, that it is supported by no reference to ancient +authority, but contradicted in every page of Anglo-Saxon history. +Others have admitted the universal prevalence of the practice, but have +discovered that it originated in the interested views of the clergy, +who employed it as a constant source of emolument, and laughed among +themselves at the easy faith of their disciples. But this opinion is +subject to equal difficulties with the former. It rests on no ancient +testimony: it is refuted by the conduct of the ancient clergy. No +instance is to be found of any one of these conspirators as they are +represented, who in an unguarded moment, or of any false brother who, +in the peevishness of discontent, revealed the secret to the ears of +their dupes. On the contrary, we see them in their private +correspondence holding to each other the same language which they held +to their disciples; requesting from each other those prayers which we +are told that they mutually despised, and making pecuniary sacrifices +during life to purchase what, if their accusers be correct, they deemed +an illusory assistence after death. + + +A SINGULAR FRENCH CUSTOM. + +Vernon is perhaps the only town in France wherein the ancient custom of +which we are about to speak still exists. When a death occurs, an +individual, robed in a mortuary tunic, adorned with cross-bones and +tear-drops, goes through the streets with a small bell in either hand, +the sound of which is sharp and penetrating; at every place where the +streets cross each other, he rings his bells three times, crying out in +a doleful voice: "Such-a-one, belonging to the Confraternity of St. +Roch, or the Confraternity of St. Sebastian, &c., &c., is recommended +to your prayers. He is dead. The funeral will take place at such-an- +hour." Then he rings again three times. The first Sunday of each month +arrives. Then, at the dawn of day the same individual goes again +through the town, ringing continuously, knocking thrice at the door of +each member of the confraternity, and stopping at the corners of the +streets, he sings: "Good people," or "good souls, who sleep, awake! +awake! pray for the dead! &c."--_Voix de la Verité_, July 22, +1846. + + +DEVOTION TO THE HOLY SOULS AMONGST THE EARLY ENGLISH. + +ANNA T. SADLIER. + +An English writer, the gifted author of the Knights of St. John, makes +the following assertion as regards the people of her own nationality: +"Our Catholic ancestors," she says, "are said to have been +distinguished above all other nations for their devotion towards the +dead; and it harmonizes with one feature in our national character, +namely, that gravity and attraction to things of solemn and pathetic +interest which, uncontrolled by the influence of faith, degenerates +even into melancholy." In view of this assertion, it will be +interesting to spend a few moments in gathering up the links of this +most ancient and most touching devotion, amongst a people who have +collectively, as it were, fallen away from grace. It is therefore our +purpose to look backwards into that solemn and beautiful past of which +heretical England can boast, and behold her, as Carlyle beheld her in +his "Past and Present," offering to the world the sublime spectacle of +a people devout and faithful, undisturbed by doubt, tranquilized by the +harmonious influence of religion, and unharassed by the spirit of so +called philosophic inquiry, which, misdirected, is the true bane of +English society at the present day. + +This retrospection, as we shall have occasion later on to recur to the +subject of devotion to the dead in England, must necessarily be both +brief and cursory. But even the merest outlines are of interest, for +they prove that prayer for the departed was no less the favorite +devotion of the learned than of the simple, and that it had its home in +those ancient seats of learning, Oxford and Cambridge and their +dependencies, from the very hour of their foundation. Of the Founder of +Oxford, it is said, that prayer for the dead was one of his devotions +of predilection. It is not necessary here for us to follow him, the +great and good William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, and +subsequently Lord Chancellor of England, in the gradual unfoldings of +that project of founding a University, so dear to him from almost the +moment of his elevation to the episcopate. Suffice that in the March of +1379, he laid the corner-stone of "St. Marie's College of Winchester, +Oxenford." It is with his great charity towards the Holy Souls that we +are at present concerned, and of this we have ample proof in the +testimonies of his biographers. Here is one of them, in the paragraph +which follows: + +"There was another devotion which was most dearly cherished by Wykeham, +and which is an equal indication of the singular _spirituality_ of +his mind,--we mean, that for the suffering souls in Purgatory. It may +be safely affirmed, that this devotion, so unselfish and unearthly in +its tendencies, carrying us beyond the grave, and making us familiar +with the secrets of the unseen world, could never find a place in the +heart of one who was engrossed by secular cares, or the love of money. +Its existence in any marked and special degree argues in the soul of +its possessor a profound sense of sin, a deep compassion for the +sufferings of others, and a habit of dwelling on the thoughts of death, +judgment, and eternity. Moreover, it is utterly opposed to anything of +that mercenary or commercial spirit which exists among men of the +world, who like to see some large practical result even in matters of +devotion. We pray, and are sensible of no return; we spend our money in +a Requiem Mass, and there is nothing but trust in God's word, and God's +fidelity, to assure us that the money is not thrown away. Every _De +Profundis_ that we say is as much an act of faith as it is an act of +charity; and it has its reward. We do not speak merely of the benefit +reaped by the souls of the faithful departed; but who can measure the +effect of this devotion on a man's own soul, bringing him (as it does) +into communion with the world of spirits, and realizing to him the +worth of Christian suffering, and the awful purity of God?"... + +Wykeham's heart was full of compassion for suffering, and the dead +shared his charity with the living. Never did he offer the Holy +Sacrifice for the departed without abundant tears. His reverence for +the Holy Mysteries, and the singular devotion with which he celebrated, +are often referred to by those who have written his life; one of whom, +after speaking of his various charities, thus continues: "Not only did +he, as we have said, offer his goods, but also his very self, as a +lively sacrifice to God, and hence, in the solemn celebration of Mass, +and chiefly at that part where there is made a special memorial of the +living and the dead, he was wont to shed many tears out of the humility +of his heart, reputing himself unworthy, as he was wont to express it +in speaking to his secretary, to perform such an office, or to handle +the most sublime mysteries of the Church." + +From the same biographer we add to the foregoing a further testimony as +to what a hold this devotion of predilection had taken upon the soul of +the Founder of Oxford: + +"Among his charities we accordingly find a great many which were solely +directed to the relief of the suffering souls. Wykeham's benevolence +had in it one admirable feature: it was not left to be carried out +after his death by his executors, but all his great acts of munificence +were performed in his own lifetime. One of his first cares, after his +accession to the See of Winchester, was to found a chantry in the +Priory of Southwyke, near Wykeham, for the repose of the souls of his +father and mother and sister, who were buried within the priory church; +and in all his after foundations provisions were made for the continual +remembrance of the dead; and (ever grateful to his early friends) King +Edward III., the Black Prince, and King Richard II. were all commended +to the charity of those who, as they prayed for Wykeham, were charged +at the same time to pray for the souls of his benefactors." + +In Winchester we read, also, of the College of the Holy Trinity, +endowed as a "carnarie," or charnel-house, of the city. The chief +duties of the priests belonging to the chantry attached thereto were to +bury the dead, and keep up perpetual Masses for the souls of the +departed. + +Those Colleges of Winchester, with their simple beauty and grandeur of +design, with their conventional rule of life, the singing of Matins, +and the daily chanting of the divine office by chaplains and fellows, +offer to us a very fair picture, indeed. But we observe that in the +Masses sung with "note and chant," there is one specially mentioned for +the souls of the founder's parents, and of all the faithful departed; a +second for the souls of King Edward III., Queen Philippa, the Black +Prince, Richard II., Queen Anne, and certain benefactors. + +On the 24th of July, 1403, the saintly Wykeham made his will. He +directed that his body should be laid in a chantry which he had himself +founded, and at the altar of which he was wont to offer up the Holy +Sacrifice. He desired that on the day of his burial, "to every poor +person coming to Winchester, and asking alms, for the love of God, and +for the health of his soul, there should be given fourpence." Alms were +likewise to be distributed in every place through which his body was to +pass, and large provision was made for Masses and prayers for the +repose of his soul. He had, besides, made an agreement with the monks +of St. Swithin's, by which they were to offer three Masses daily for +his parents and benefactors in the chantry chapel; the first of these +was a Mass of Our Lady, to be said very early. The boys attached to the +College were, moreover, to sing every night in perpetuity, either the +_Salve Regina_ or _Ave Regina_, with a _De Profundis_ for his soul's +repose. So, as the hour of his death drew near, he who had concerned +himself through life with the souls of the departed, essayed to make +provision for his own. Since that hour when he proceeded to the high +altar of Winchester Cathedral, escorted by the Lord Prior of Winchester +and the Abbot Hyde, to celebrate his first Pontifical Mass, the same +constant memory of the dead had been with him, as when kneeling he +prayed aloud for the soul of his predecessor, +William de Edyndon, and bade the choir chant the _De Profundis_, +while he himself recited the _Fidelium omnium conditor_. + +But leaving Oxford and its pious founder, we turn our gaze upon that +ancient foundation of Eton, which was to serve as a preparatory school +for the new establishment of King's College of Cambridge, which Henry +had in contemplation. Henry, in his famous Eton charter, makes mention +of his desire that this college shall be, as it were, a memorial of +him, and be composed of clerks, "who," he says, "shall pray for our +welfare whilst we live, and for our soul when we shall have departed +this life." The Pope, Eugenius IV., afterwards granted a plenary +indulgence to all who should visit the College Chapel of Our Lady of +Eton, after Confession and Communion. Henry having visited the +Colleges of Winchester, first met there with William Wayneflete, with +whom he was to be united in so warm and beautiful a friendship. The +"Master of Winton," as Wayneflete then was, is described as "simple, +devout, and full of learning." But a short time after he was removed +to Eton, and presently raised to the Provostship. Among many beautiful +and pious customs, the memory of the dead was carefully preserved +among the Eton scholars, and their verses on All Souls' Day were on +the blessedness of those who die in the Lord. But Wayneflete is, of +course, chiefly identified with Magdalen College, Oxford, said to be +"the finest collegiate building in England," and of which he was the +founder. It was, in truth, his dream, and one which he was destined +to see realized. Here is neither the place nor time to dwell upon its +beauties. The first stone was laid by the venerable Tybarte, its first +president. He was buried in the middle of the inner chapel, and upon a +cope, preserved among the ancient church vestments, is one upon which +is worked the inscription, "_Orate pro anima Magistri Tybarte_." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Pray for the soul of Master Tybarte.] + +Among the rules and regulations of this new foundation was one which +obliged the president, fellows, and scholars to recite, while dressing, +certain prayers in honor of the Blessed Trinity, and a suffrage for the +founder. Daily prayers were offered up for the repose of the souls of +the founder's father and mother, "those of benefactors of the college, +and for all the souls of the faithful departed." These suffrages were +to be made by every one, at whatever hour of the day was most +convenient. + +There were many foundations of Masses attached to this College of +Magdalen. Of these daily Masses, offered at the six altars of the +chapel, the early "Morrow Mass" was always said in the Arundel Chapel, +for the soul of Lord Arundel, the chief benefactor of the institute. +Another Mass was to be said every day for "souls of good memory," +including, besides the two kings, Henry III. and Edward III., his dear +and never forgotten friends, Henry VI., Lord Cromwell, and Sir John +Fastolfe, as well as King Edward IV. Other Masses and prayers were said +for other intentions. The founder was to be especially remembered every +quarter. Every day, after High Mass, one of the demys was to say aloud +in the chapel, "_Anima fundatoris nostri Willielmi, et animae omnium +fidelium defunctorum, per miscricordiam Dei in pace requiescat._" +[1] The same prayer was to be repeated in the hall after dinner and +supper. + +[Footnote 1: "May the soul of our founder, William, and the souls of +all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace."] + +But the life of the Founder of Magdalen, the great Bishop, was drawing +to a close. We shall see by his will how firm his faith in that most +Catholic of all doctrines--Purgatory. After various bequests, he left a +certain portion of his property for Masses and alms-deeds for his own +soul and the souls of his parents and friends. On the day of his +burial, and on the thirtieth day from the time of his decease, and on +other appointed days, his executors are charged to have 5,000 Masses +said in honor of the Five Wounds of Christ, and the Five Joys of Mary-- +his favorite devotions--for the same intention. His remains were buried +at Winchester, in a tomb which he had prepared as a place of burial +during his lifetime. His was, indeed, the third chantry chapel in +Winchester, the others being those of his predecessor. This custom was +common to all the great prelates of the time. They prepared a place of +sepulture during their life, and there where they officiated at all +solemn offices, and so frequently celebrated requiems for the departed, +they knew that their remains were one day to be laid, and prayers and +the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to be offered for themselves. It was +thus a constant reminder of death. + +A ceremony connected with Magdalen Tower seems likewise to have had its +origin in this pious custom of remembrance of the dead. "On the 1st of +May," says Anthony Wood, "the choral ministers of this house do, +according to ancient custom, salute Flora from the top of the tower, at +four in the morning, with vocal music of several parts." Of course, as +a chronicler remarks, it was not to salute Flora that any Catholic +choristers thus made vocal the sweet air of May. "The sweet music of +Magdalen Tower," remarks the author of the Knights of St. John, "had a +directly religious origin. On the 1st of May the society was wont +annually to celebrate the obit or Requiem Mass of King Henry VII., who +proved a generous benefactor to the College, and who is still +commemorated as such upon that day. The requiem was not, indeed, +celebrated _on the top of the tower_, as Mr. Chalmers, in his +history of the university, affirms, in total ignorance that a +_requiem_ is a Mass, and that a Mass must be said upon an altar; +but it is probable that the choral service chanted on the 1st of May +consisted originally of the _De Profundis_, or some other psalm, +for the repose of Henry's soul, and as a special mark of gratitude." +Some semblance of the old custom is still kept up, as ten pounds is +still annually paid by the rectory of Slimbridge, in Gloucestershire, +for the purpose of keeping up this ceremony. + +Such are a few brief glimpses of this belief in Purgatory, which was so +dear to the hearts of Englishmen, in those centuries before the blight +of heresy had fallen upon the Island of the Saints. These hints upon +the subject are given very much at random, and will simply serve to +show how prayer for the dead was a part of all Christian lives in those +ages of faith. It was incorporated in the rules of every collegiate +institute, and more especially those two most notable ones of Oxford +and Cambridge. It entered into every man's calculations, and was +provided for in every Will and Testament. Had it been in our power to +go backwards, into a still more remote antiquity, it would have been +our pleasant task to find this belief in suffrage for the dead taking +so vigorous root in every heart. Do we not find the Venerable Bede, +"the Father of English Learning," who was born in 673 and died in 734, +asking that his name may be enrolled amongst the monks of the monastery +founded by St. Aidan, in order that his soul after death might have a +share in the Masses and prayers of that numerous community, as he tells +us himself in his Preface to the Life of St. Cuthbert. "This pious +anxiety," says Montalembert, "to assure himself of the help of prayer +for his soul after death is apparent at every step in his letters. It +imprints the last seal of humble and true Christianity on the character +of the great philosopher, whose life was so full of interest, and whose +last days have been revealed to us in minute detail by an eye-witness." +[1] + +[Footnote 1: "Monks of the West," Vol v, p 89.] + +The passionate entreaties of Anselm, another of the shining lights of +early Anglo-Saxon days, that the soul of his young disciple Osbern be +remembered in prayers and Masses, proves what value he attached to +suffrages for the departed: + +"I beg of you," he writes to his friend Gondulph, "of you and of all my +friends, to pray for Osbern. His soul is my soul. All that you do for +him during my life, I shall accept as if you had done it for me after +my death. ... I conjure you for the third time, remember me, and forget +not the soul of my well-beloved Osbern. And if I ask too much of you, +then forget me and remember him.... The soul of my Osbern, ah! I +beseech thee, give it no other place than in my bosom." + +And do we not read of those "prayers for souls," incessant and +obligatory, which were identified with all the monastic habits--thanks +to that devotion for the dead which received in a monastery its final +and perpetual sanction. "They were not content," says Montalembert, +"even with common and permanent prayer for the dead of each isolated +monastery. By degrees, vast spiritual associations were formed among +communities of the same order and the same country, with the aim of +relieving by their reciprocal prayers the defunct members of each +house. Rolls of parchment, transmitted by special messengers from +cloister to cloister, received the names of those who had 'emigrated,' +according to the consecrated expression, 'from this terrestrial light +to Christ,' and served the purpose of a check and register to prevent +defalcation in that voluntary impost of prayer which our fervent +cenobites solicited in advance for themselves or for their friends." +And, of course, this was many years, even centuries, before the Feast +of All Souls was instituted by the Abbot Odilo and the monks of Cluny +in 998. English history, like every other history, furnishes us, +indeed, with innumerable traits of this pious devotion to the Holy +Souls. Obviously, our space must prevent us from entering more deeply +into the subject. May the few scattered hints we have been enabled to +throw out be of interest and profit to our readers! + + +DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY IN THE EARLY IRISH CHURCH. + +WALSH. [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland." Rev J. Walsh.] + +Coerced by the unvarying as well as unequivocal testimony of our +writers, our liturgies, our canons, Usher was obliged to admit that the +ancient Irish had been in the constant practice of offering up the +eucharistic sacrifice, and that Masses, termed _Requiem Masses_, +used to be celebrated daily. So interwoven is the doctrine of the +eucharistic sacrifice with the records of the nation, that the +antiquarian himself should reject the antiquities of Ireland if he had +ventured on the denial of this practice .... Admitting the practice of +the ancient Irish Church, Usher strives to escape from the difficulty, +as well as attempts to deceive his readers, by pretending that it had +been only a sacrifice of thanksgiving, offered as such for those souls +who were in possession of eternal happiness, and that it had not been +believed or practiced in the ancient Irish Church as a propitiatory +sacrifice. .... The ancient canons of the Irish Church as clearly point +out as the firmament demonstrates the glory of God, the doctrine of our +Church regarding the eucharistic sacrifice, as one of thanksgiving, and +also one of propitiation. In an ancient canon contained in D'Achery's +collection (lib. 2, cap. 20), the synod says: "The Church offers for +the souls of the deceased in four ways--for the very good, the +oblations are simply thanksgiving; for the very bad, they become +consolations to the living; for such as were not very good, the +oblations are made in order to obtain full remission; and for those who +were not very bad, that their punishment may be rendered more +tolerable." Here, then, is enunciated in plain terms, the doctrine of +the eucharistic oblation being a propitiatory sacrifice. When offered +for the first class of happy souls, it is an offering of thanksgiving. +When offered for those whose lives were bad in the sight of Heaven, its +oblation is a comfort to the faithful. When offered for those who were +not very good or very bad, the object of its oblation was to render +their state more tolerable, and that full pardon would be at length +accorded. The framers of this canon give us also the doctrine of a +middle state, as a tenet also believed by the Church of Ireland. + +Another canon, still more ancient, and which is reckoned among those of +St. Patrick, is entitled "Of the Oblation for the Dead." This canon is +couched in the following words: "There is a sin unto death, I do not +say that for it any do pray." This sin is final impenitence. + +The ancient Irish Missal, "the _Cursus Scotorum"_ contains an +oration for the dead: "Grant, O Lord, to him, Thy servant, deceased, +the pardon of all his sins, in that secret abode where there is no +longer room for penance. Do Thou, O Christ, receive the soul of Thy +servant, which Thou hast given, and forgive him his trespasses more +abundantly than he has forgiven those who have trespassed against him." +An oration is also given for the living and the dead: "Propitiously +grant that this sacred oblation may be profitable to the dead in +obtaining pardon, and to the living, in obtaining salvation; grant to +them (living and dead) the full remission of all their sins, and that +indulgence they have always deserved." + +The liturgy usually called _"Cursus Scotorum"_ was that which had +been first brought to Ireland by St,. Patrick, and was the only one +that had been used, until about the close of the sixth century. About +this period the Gallican liturgy, _"Cursus Gallorum"_ was, it is +probable, introduced into Ireland. The _"Cursus Scotorum"_ is +supposed to have been the liturgy originally drawn up and used by St. +Mark the evangelist; it was afterwards followed by St. Gregory +Nazianzen, St. Basil, and other Greek Fathers; then by Cassian, +Honoratus, St. Cassarius of Aries, St. Lupus of Troyes, and St. +Germaine of Auxerre, from whom St. Patrick received it, when setting +out on his mission to Ireland. A copy of the "_Cursus Scotorum_" +was found by Mabillon, in the ancient monastery of Bobbio, of which St. +Columbanus was founder, and which missal that learned writer believes +to have been written at least one thousand years before his time. ... +It contains two Masses for the dead; one a general Mass, and the other +"_Missa Sacerdotis defuncti_" (Mass for a deceased priest). + + +PRINCE NAPOLEON'S PRAYER. + +This prayer, in the handwriting of the Prince Imperial, was found among +the papers in his desk at Camden Palace. In publishing it the Morning +Post adds: "The elucidation of his character alone justifies the +publication of such a sacred document, which will prove to the world +how intimately he was penetrated with all the feelings which most +become a Christian, and which give higher hopes than are afforded by +the pains and merits of this transitory life." The following is a +translation: "O God, I give to Thee my heart, but give me faith. +Without faith there is no strong prayer, and to pray is a longing of my +soul. I pray, not that Thou shouldst take away the obstacles on my +path, but that Thou mayst permit me to overcome them. I pray, not that +Thou shouldst disarm my enemies, but that Thou shouldst aid me to +conquer myself. Hear, O God, my prayer. Preserve to my affection those +who are dear to me. Grant them happy days. If Thou only givest on this +earth a certain sum of joy, take, O God, my share, and bestow it on the +most worthy, and, may the most worthy be my friends. If thou seekest +vengeance on man, strike me. Misfortune is converted into happiness by +the sweet thought that those whom we love are happy. Happiness is +poisoned by the bitter thought: while I rejoice, those whom I love a +thousand times better than myself are suffering. For me, O God, no more +happiness. Take it from my path. I can only find joy in forgetting the +past. _If I forget those who are no more, I shall be forgotten in my +turn_, and how sad the thought that makes me say, 'Time effaces +all.' The only satisfaction I seek is that which lasts forever, that +which is given by a tranquil conscience. O, my God! show me where my +duty lies, and give me strength to accomplish it always. Arrived at the +term of my life, I shall turn my looks fearlessly to the past. Remember +it will not be for me a long remorse. I shall be happy. Grant, O God, +that my heart may be penetrated with the conviction that those whom I +love and who are dead shall see all my actions. My life shall be worthy +of this witness, and my innermost thoughts shall never make them +blush." + +That single line, "If I forget those who are no more, I shall be +forgotten in my turn," is an epitome of what is taught us, and what our +own hearts feel in relation to the dead. May the noble young heart that +poured forth this beautiful prayer be remembered by Christian charity +now that he is amongst the departed! + + +THE HELPERS OF THE HOLY SOULS. BY LADY GEORGIANA ILLERTON. + +It has always seemed to me a particularly interesting subject of +thought to trace as far back as possible the origin of great and good +works,--to ascertain what were the tendencies or the circumstances +which concurred in awakening the first ideas, or giving the first +impulses, which have eventually led to results the magnitude of which +was little foreseen by those destined to bring them about; how much of +natural character, and what peculiar gifts, united with God's grace in +the formation of some of those grand developments of religion which +have been the joy and the glory of the Church. + +What would we not give to know, for instance, at what page, at what +sentence, of the volume of the "Lives of the Saints" which St. Ignatius +was reading on his sick couch at the Castle of Loyola, the thought came +into his mind the ultimate development of which was the foundation of +the Society of Jesus? or when the blessed Father Clavers' soul was for +the first time moved by a casual mention, perhaps, of the sufferings of +the negro race? or the particular disappointment at some Parisian lady +going out of town in the midst of her works of charity, or at another +being detained at home by the sickness of some relative, which +suggested to St. Vincent de Paul the first idea of gathering together a +few servant girls from the country, to do with greater regularity, if +not more zeal, the visiting amongst the poor which the ladies had +undertaken, and thus founding the Order of the Sisters of Charity? I +suppose that every one who has done anything worth doing in the course +of their lives could call to mind the moment when a book, a sermon, a +conversation, a casual word, perhaps,--or, if they have been so +favored, a direct inspiration from God in the hour of prayer,--has +given the impulse--set fire, as it were, to the train lying ready in +their hearts. But long before this decisive time has come, indications +have existed, thoughts have arisen, feelings have been awakened, which, +like the cloud big as a man's hand, have foreshadowed the deluge of +graces and mercies about to inundate their souls. + +As an instance of these indications of a particular bias, I was struck +with the mention of a childish fancy in the early years of the +foundress of the Order of Helpers of the Souls in Purgatory,--a new +community, which has sprung up during the last ten years, and has a +history well worth relating. To many this fresh manifestation of the +spirit of the Church on earth, and of its close affinity with the +suffering Church in Purgatory, has come as a wonderful blessing and +consolation, and inspired them with a grateful regard for these new +oblates and victims of charity to the dead. + +About thirty years ago a little girl in the town of N--, in France, had +been much struck with the mention of Purgatory. It made a very great +impression upon her. She used to picture it to herself as a dark +closet, in which a little friend of hers who had lately died was +perhaps shut up, whilst she herself was playing in the garden and +running after butterflies; and she kept longing to open the door and +let her out. This little girl was subsequently educated in one of the +Convents of the Sacred Heart, and learnt in that school lessons of +self-devotion and ardent zeal for souls which were hereafter to bear +fruit. She has retained to this day an enthusiastic affection for the +religious teachers of her childhood; and devotion to the Sacred Heart +of Jesus is one of the principal devotions of the order she has +founded. + +The thought which had occurred to her almost in infancy continued to +haunt her in another form as she grew older. She kept asking herself," +How could I help God? He is our helper: how can we help Him? He gives +me everything: how could I give Him everything?" And the answer which +grace put into her heart to these oft-repeated questions was always, "By +paying the debts of the souls in Purgatory." + +The inevitable result of this thought was the desire to have wherewith +to pay these debts. For this object the necessity of a perfect life, of +a daily sanctification, of an ever-increasing store of merits and +satisfactions, was obvious. Hence naturally arose the idea of the +community-life, of the practice of the evangelical counsels, and of a +meritorious, arduous, self-sacrificing charity towards the poor, in +order worthily to pray, to act, and to suffer for the souls in +Purgatory--to become, as it were, a co-operator with our Lord, by +aiding His designs of mercy towards them, whilst satisfying His justice +by voluntary expiation. This lady was not led by one of those startling +bereavements which close a person's prospects of earthly happiness, and +leave them no object to live for but the hope of winning mercy at God's +hands for some dear departed one; or by the terrible anxiety about the +state of some beloved soul which forces on the survivor the practice of +a continual appeal to His compassionate goodness. Her zeal for the +souls in Purgatory was perfectly free from any earthly attachment; it +was as disinterested as possible, and sprung up in her heart before she +had known what it is to lose a friend or a relative, before she had +experienced the keen anguish of bereavement. She was a happy, contented +girl, living in a cheerful and comfortable home, beloved by her family, +enjoying all innocent pleasures, going occasionally into society, and +amusing herself like other young people; devoted, indeed, to good +works, and taking the lead in the numerous charities existing in her +native town. But this was not to be her eventual mode of life. It was +good as far as it went; but she had been chosen for the accomplishment +of a special work, and grace was continually urging her to its +fulfilment. + +On the 1st of November, 1853, Mdlle. ---- was hearing vespers with her +father and her mother in a church dedicated to Our Lady. Whilst the +Blessed Sacrament was being exposed on the altar, she felt a strong +internal inspiration prompting her to form an association of prayers +and offerings for the dead; but, afraid of being misled by her +imagination, she prayed earnestly that God would give her a sign that +this was indeed His will. As she was coming out of the church, a friend +of hers stopped her in the porch, and of her own accord proposed that +they should offer up jointly, during the month set apart for special +devotion to the souls in Purgatory, all their prayers and works for +their relief. This seemed to her a token that her inspiration had been +a true one, and that very evening an association was begun which by +this time numbers not less than fifteen thousand members. On the +following day, the 2d of November, during her thanksgiving after +Communion, Mdlle. ---- was strongly impressed with the thought that there +existed orders intended to supply every need in the Church militant, +but none exclusively devoted to the relief of the suffering portion of +the Church, and it appeared to her that she was called upon to fill up +this void. This idea seemed at the outset too bold a one. She felt +startled, almost alarmed, at its magnitude, and earnestly entreated our +Lord to make known to her if such was indeed to be her mission. She +begged of Him, by His Five Sacred Wounds, to give her five indications +of His will in this respect. Her prayers were heard, and during the +course of the years 1854 and 1855 these tokens were successively +vouchsafed to her. What she had asked for was, 1st, that the Holy +Father should approve of in writing, and give his blessing to, the +association of prayers set on foot on All Saints' Day (on the 7th of +July, 1854, Pius IX. wrote, with his own hand, at the bottom of the +petition presented to him, "_Benedicat vos Deus benedictione +perpetua_"--may God bless you with an everlasting blessing); 2d, +that a great number of Bishops should approve of this association; 3d, +that it should extend rapidly; 4th, that a few pious persons should co- +operate in the scheme, and devote themselves to works of charity in +behalf of the souls in Purgatory; 5th, that a priest might be met with +who had previously formed a similar project. + +In the month of July, 1855, Mdlle. ---- thought of consulting the Curé +d'Ars, whom she had for the first time heard of a little while before. +The sanctity of this extraordinary man was beginning to be much spoken +of, not only in France, but all over Europe. Pilgrims flocked to the +insignificant little town of Ars, seeking the advice and help of the +poor _curé_--whose ascetic mode of life, spiritual discernment, +heroic virtues, and even miraculous gifts, were gradually becoming +known, in spite of the desperate efforts he made to conceal them. We +can hardly imagine, when reading his Life, that in the neighboring +country of France, and in our own day, a man was actually living that +we might have seen and spoken and gone to confession to, the details of +whose supernatural existence are like the marvels that we read of in +the "Lives of the Saints." Mdlle. ---- felt persuaded that this holy +priest was the instrument appointed by God to make her acquainted with +His will, and earnestly longed in some way or other to communicate with +him. She did not think of obtaining leave from her parents to go to +Ars. It seemed to her that his answer to her question, after he had +considered the subject before God in prayer, would be more unbiassed, +and carry greater weight with it, than if she had spoken of it to him +herself. She did not wish to be influenced by any human considerations, +or to be tempted to say more than, "Such is my thought and desire; does +it come from God?" With this view she began a novena, and on the day it +ended one of her friends called to tell her she was going to Ars, and +to inquire if she could do anything for her. On the 5th of August this +friend sent her M. Vianney's answer: "Tell her that she can establish, +as soon as she likes, an order for the souls in Purgatory." + +The future foundress never had any personal communication with the Curé +d'Ars, and yet he always used to say, "I know her." On the 30th of +October Mdlle. ---- entreated him to pray on All Souls' Day for her +intention, and on the 11th of November the Abbé T--, his assistant in +his extensive correspondence, wrote to her as follows: + +"Your edifying letter reached me at Pont d'Ain, where our worthy +Bishop, Monseigneur Chalandon, was preaching a retreat. This seemed +expressly arranged by Providence, in order that I should speak to him +of you and your pious projects. On my return to Ars, on All Souls' Day, +I mentioned your wishes to my holy _curé_, begging him to meditate +on the subject in prayer before he gave me an answer. Three or four +times since I have put to him the same question, and always received +the same answer. 'He thinks that it is God who has inspired you with +the thought of a heroic self-devotion, and that you will do well to +found an order in behalf of the souls in Purgatory.' Whether the good +_curé_ speaks in consequence of a divine enlightenment, or whether +he only expresses his own opinion and his own wishes, which his tender +devotion to the souls in Purgatory would naturally incline in favor of +your design, neither I nor any of those most intimately acquainted with +him can presume to say. But you can remain certain of two things,--that +he quite approves of your vocation to the religious life, and of the +foundation of this new order, which he thinks will increase rapidly. +This is surely enough to confirm you in your intention, which you will +carry into effect whenever and wherever it will please God to open a +way to it, and you will then be the faithful instrument of His Divine +Providence." + +On the 25th of the same month M. Vianney sent a message to Mdlle. ---- in +answer to a letter in which she had spoken of the obstacles which she +foresaw on the part of her family. The Abbé T---- writes: + +"If I have not written to you before, it is because you particularly +wished to have an answer _after special prayer_. And now here is +this much-wished-for answer. The good _curé_ has expressed himself +as explicitly as possible. I told him that you were troubled at the +thought of a separation from your family more on their account than +your own, and also at relinquishing the many charitable works which you +carry on in your parish. To my great surprise, he who generally very +strongly recommends young people not to act against their parents' +wishes, but patiently to await their consent, did not hesitate in +advising you to proceed. He says that the tears your parents are now +shedding will soon be dried up. Do not, then, be afraid to let your +heart burn with the love of Jesus. He will find a way of removing all +the obstacles in your path, and of making you an angel of consolation +to His holy spouses, the souls in Purgatory. The moon has no light in +herself, and only reflects that of the sun. This is truly my case with +regard to our saintly priest. I will constantly remind him to pray for +you, and will unite my unworthy prayers to his, that, in the terrible +struggle in your heart between nature and grace, grace may remain +victorious." + +When this letter reached Mdlle. ----, the principal difficulty she +foresaw was already removed. On the 21st of November, the Feast of the +Presentation of the Blessed Virgin, her mother, seeing that her heart +was ready to break with the wish and the fear of broaching the subject +so painfully interesting to them both, had the pious courage to speak +first, and to give her full consent to her child's vocation. + +Both mother and daughter were struck some time afterwards at finding in +a little prayer-book they had not seen before, called "The Month of +November Consecrated to the Souls in Purgatory," the following prayer, +appointed to be said on the 21st of November, the very day on which +they had made their sacrifice, and uttered for the first time the +bitter word _separation_. + +"O Holy Spirit! who at divers times has raised up religious orders for +the needs of the Church Militant; O Father of Light! full of compassion +and zeal for the dead; we implore Thee to raise up also in behalf of +the suffering Church a new order, the object of which will be to work +day and night for the relief and the deliverance of the souls in +Purgatory; whose intentions, invariably dedicated to the dead, will +apply to them the merits of all their prayers, fastings, vigils, and +good works. Thou alone, Creating Spirit, canst achieve a work which +will procure so much glory to God, and for which we shall never cease +to sigh and pray." + +Other difficulties failed not to arise. Some persons were of opinion +that Mdlle. ---- ought to remain in the world for the very sake of the +objects she had in view, whereas her whole heart and soul were bent on +consecrating herself without any reserve to our Lord. She was warned +that her parents, who had never been separated from their children, +would suffer terribly if she left them; and finally, her own health +began to fail. But whilst the world and the devil were multiplying the +obstacles in her way, the venerable Curé d'Ars spared neither advice +nor encouragement to support her in her arduous struggle. On the 23d of +December his coadjutor writes: + +"Divine Providence always acts with sweetness and with power. The +consent of your good mother is an important step gained. The good +_curé_ advises you not to go to Paris until you have some means +wherewith to begin your work. You will do well to avail yourself of the +interest you possess in your diocese to obtain some aid towards it. The +_curé_ entirely approves of your becoming a religious. It is quite +possible that God may restore your health; and he advises you to make a +novena to St. Philomena. + +"The very day I received your letter, Monseigneur Chalandon, our worthy +Bishop, came to Ars, to call on my holy _curé_. I mentioned you +to him. He told me he had written to you. He also says that you must +not begin without some means and better health. Pray very hard that God +may give you both. I think the souls in Purgatory ought to take this +opportunity to prove that they have influence with God. Their interests +are at stake in the removal of these obstacles." Mdlle. ---- had asked to +make this novena conjointly with M. Vianney; and she soon received the +following letter: + +"It is to-day, the 9th of January, that our much-wished-for novena is +to begin. The souls in Purgatory are interested in the re-establishment +of your health. I am, you know, but the echo of our good and holy +_curé_. Your director gives you excellent advice. You might, +indeed, as soon as you have means enough of support for one year, go to +Paris for a while, and come back again to forward the work in the same +way you are doing now. You say, 'St. Vincent de Paul used to begin his +works with nothing.' So he did. But then, as my good _curé_ +observes, 'St. Vincent de Paul was a great saint!'" + +According to M. Vianney's advice, on the 19th of January, 1856, the +foundress went to Paris, where she met some persons who had, like her, +resolved to devote themselves to the service of the souls in Purgatory; +but who were quite at a loss how to proceed, and had no means of +support. All sorts of crosses awaited this little band of Helpers of +the Holy Souls, for such was the name they had taken. Not only were +funds wanting for their establishment, but they did not know where to +apply for work, and sufferings of every kind assailed them. Mdlle. ---- +experienced what always happens to generous souls at the outset of +their enterprises, when they have unreservedly devoted themselves to +the service of God, and are being tried like gold in the furnace. Blame +and neglect became her portion. Nobody thought it worth their while to +assist a little band of women, whose heroic project had seemed +admirable, indeed, in theory, but was now declared to be impracticable. +They were considered as mere enthusiasts; and, indeed, as was said by +M. Desgenettes, the venerable Curé of Notre Dame des Victoires, they +were truly possessed with the holy folly of the Cross. + +Meantime they had to work for their bread, and did work with all their +might. But it was not always that work could be obtained; and trials +without end beset the infant community, lodged in an attic in the Rue +St. Martin. Every day, as they asked their Heavenly Father for their +daily bread, they prepared themselves to receive with it their habitual +portion of sufferings and privations--a fit noviceship for souls +undertaking a work of heroic expiation. Mdlle. ----, who, for the first +time in her life quitted a home where she had known all the comforts of +affluence, had to undergo numberless privations. Illness combined with +poverty to heighten their trials. Their Divine Master made them +experience the kind of suffering which it was hereafter to be their +special vocation to relieve. The Curé d'Ars fully understood the nature +of that training, and never offered them any help but that of his +advice and prayers. "He does not give you anything," says a letter +written on the 16th of March, "but _he_ will ask St. Philomena, +his heavenly treasurer, to put it into the hearts of those who could +assist you to do so." And, indeed, help used to come whenever the +distress of the holy society became too urgent. One day the foundress +had not a single penny left, and was, to use a common expression, at +her wits' end. But, thank God, there is something better than human +wits or human ingenuity in such extremities; and that is prayer. The +Sister who acted as housekeeper placed her bills before the +Superioress, and asked for money to buy food for the day. Mdlle. ---- +told her to wait a little, and went out, not knowing very well what to +do next. She entered a church, threw herself on her knees before the +Blessed Sacrament, and prayed long and fervently. As she was coming +away she stopped before an image of our Holy Mother, and clasping her +hands, exclaimed: "My Blessed Mother, you _must_ get me 100 francs +to-day. I will take no refusal. You _cannot_, you never do forsake +your children." She went straight home, and up the dingy stairs into +the little room inhabited by the infant community. The instant she +opened the door her eyes fell on a letter lying on the table. She +opened it with a beating heart, and found in it a note of 100 francs. +There was no name; not a word written on the cover. The postman had +just left it, and to this day the donor of this sum, or the place it +came from, has not been discovered. Another time eight sous was all +that remained in the purse of the associates. They agreed to lay out +this money to advantage, and accordingly employed it in purchasing a +little statue of St. Joseph, whom they instituted their treasurer. The +Saint has fulfilled ever since the trust reposed in him; but he often +waits till the very last moment to supply the necessities of his +clients. I have seen this little image in their convents. It is, of +course, very dear to them. + +One day, when no needle-work was to be had, and distress was +threatening them, a little girl came to their room, and asked if they +had finished the bracelets she had been told to call for. Finding she +had mistaken the direction, the child said: "You could have some of +that work to do if you liked." + +Upon inquiry they found that the employment consisted in threading rows +of pearls for foreign exportation; that it was less fatiguing and +better paid than needle-work, and proved for some months a valuable +resource. On another occasion the sum of 500 francs was required for +some pressing necessity. This time the foundress had recourse to our +Lady of Victories. Having placed the matter in her hands, she went to +call on a person whom she thought might lend her this money, but met +with a decided negative. She did not know any one else in Paris to whom +she could apply; but on leaving the house she met a gentleman, with +whom she had no previous acquaintance, who came up to her and said: "I +think you are Mdlle. ----, and that you have a special devotion for the +souls in Purgatory. Will you allow me to place this 500 francs at your +disposal, and to recommend my intentions to your prayers?" Meanwhile +illnesses and trials continued to affect the little community. The Abbé +T---- writes from Ars: "Do not ask for miraculous cures. _M. le +Curé_ complains that St. Philomena sends us too many people." The +next letter is full of kind encouragement: "_M. le Curé_ only +smiles when I tell him all you have to go through, and he bids me +repeat the same thing to you, which he desired me to write to a good +Sister, devoted to all sorts of good works and suffering cruel +persecution. 'Tell her that these crosses are flowers which will soon +bear fruit.' You have thought, prayed, taken advice, and thoroughly +weighed the sacrifices you will have to make, and you have every reason +to believe that in doing this work you are doing God's will. The energy +which He alone can give will enable you to accomplish what you have +begun."..."_M. le Curé_ has said to me several times, in a tone +of the strongest conviction, 'Their enterprise cannot fail to succeed; +but the foundress will have to experience what anxiety and what labor, +what efforts and what sufferings, have to be endured ere such a work +can be consolidated; but,' he adds, 'if God is with them, who shall be +against them?'" + +On the 20th of June the Superioress received another letter from the +same good priest: + +"I feel deeply affected," he writes, "at the thought of the many and +severe trials which beset you. Tell your friend that the holy +_curé_ bids her not to look back, but obey with courage the sacred +call she has received. The souls in Purgatory must be enabled to say of +you, 'We have advocates on earth who can feel for us, because they know +themselves what it is to suffer.' And mind you go on praying to St. +Philomena, and begging of her to obtain for you the means necessary for +the accomplishment of your holy projects." + +The associates continued to pray, to work, and to suffer with patience +and cheerfulness. They received at last some unexpected assistance. New +members proposed to join them; but it became then absolutely necessary +to hire a house. The Superioress searched in every direction for a +suitable one, but without success. It seems as if the words, "there was +no room for them," were destined to prove applicable to all religious +foundations during their periods of probationary trial. After having +exerted herself, and employed others in vain for a long time, the +Superioress received a message from a holy man whose prayers she had +asked, desiring her to go to a particular part of the town, and to +await there some providential indication as to the abode she was +seeking. For several hours she paced up and down the streets of that +part of Paris, praying interiorly, but totally at a loss where to +apply. At last she accidentally turned into the Rue de la Barouillière, +and saw a house and garden with a bill upon it indicating that it was +to be let or sold. She immediately asked to go over it. All sorts of +difficulties, apparently insurmountable ones, stood in the way of the +purchase. They were overcome in a strangely unaccountable manner, and +the money which had to be paid in advance was actually forthcoming on +the appointed day, to the astonishment of all concerned. The history of +this negotiation, and the wonderful answers to prayer vouchsafed in the +course of it, are very striking; only the more we study the +manifestations of God's Providence with regard to works carried on in +faith and simple reliance on His assistance, the more _accustomed_ +we get to these miracles of mercy. The Helpers of the Souls in +Purgatory took possession of their new home on the 1st of July, 1856, +and not long after began their labors amongst the poor. An act of +kindness solicited at their hands towards a sick and destitute neighbor +soon after their arrival, was the primary cause of their choosing as +their particular line of charity attendance on the sick poor in their +own destitute homes by day and by night also. This, together with their +prayers, their fasts, and their watches, is the continual sacrifice +they offer up for the souls in Purgatory. + + * * * * * + +Before I go on with the history of the Helpers of the Holy Souls in +Purgatory, I must describe to you their house,--No. 16 Rue de la +Barouillière,--a very small and inconvenient one at the time of their +installation, but which has since been re-modelled according to the +wants of the increasing community, and an adjoining one added to it. I +have often visited this convent, which soon becomes dear to those who +would fain help the many beloved ones removed from their sight, but +feel the impotency of their own efforts, their want of holiness, of +courage, and of perseverance in this blessed work. The sight of this +religious house is very touching; the inscriptions on the walls, which +are taken from the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Saints, all +bear reference to the state of departed souls, and our duty towards +them; the quiet chapel where the Office for the Dead is daily said, and +a number of Masses offered up. The memorials of the saintly Curé d'Ars, +whose spirit seems to hover over the place, gives a peculiar character +to its aspect. The nuns do not wear the religious dress, but are simply +dressed in black, like persons in mourning. + + * * * * * + +On the 18th of August, 1856, Monseigneur Sibour, the Archbishop of +Paris, came to visit and bless the new community. "It is a grain of +mustard-seed," he said, "which will become a great tree, and spread its +branches far and wide." He approved of all that had been done since the +house had been opened, and allowed Mass to be said every day in the +chapel as soon as it could be properly fitted up, which was the case on +the ensuing 5th of November. On the 8th of the same month the house was +solemnly consecrated to the Blessed Virgin; the keys were laid at the +feet of her image, and she was entreated to become herself the +Superioress of the congregation. + +It was on the 27th of December, the feast of the disciple whom Jesus +loved, the great apostle of charity, that the foundress and five other +Sisters made their first vows. A few days afterwards, Monseigneur +Sibour was about to sign a grant of indulgences for the work of the +religious; someone standing beside him said, "Monseigneur, the souls in +Purgatory are guiding your pen." He smiled, and made haste to write his +name. He little thought how soon he would be himself numbered with the +dead. It was on the 3d of January, 1857, that his tragical death took +place. + + * * * * * + +On the 4th of August, 1859, the holy Curé of Ars died; but he lives in +the hearts and in the memories of the community which owes so much to +his prayers and his advice. His name is frequently on their lips; often +has his intercession obtained for them miraculous cures. Every memorial +of him is carefully preserved and venerated. + + * * * * * + +In the course of the year 1859, on the Feast of St. Benedict, Cardinal +Morlot sanctioned the institution of a third order of Helpers of the +Souls in Purgatory, and the affiliation to it of honorary members. The +ladies of the third order engage to lead a practically Christian life +in the world, to perform exactly all their religious duties, and those +of their state of life. They promise, in their measure, to suffer, act, +and pray for the dead, and offer up their good works, the sacrifices +they may be inspired to make, and the devotions prescribed by a simple +and easy rule adapted to their condition, for this object.... On the +day of the institution of the third order, twenty-eight ladies joined +it, received the cross, and made their act of consecration in presence +of the Archbishop. The honorary members have been continually and +rapidly increasing in number. + + * * * * * + +The new order has a special devotion to St. Joseph, the great minister +of God's mercy to all religious, the particular protector of the souls +in Purgatory, the foster-father of Christ's poor, and the helper of the +dying. He was himself once in limbo, and knows what it is to wait. It +is scarcely necessary to speak of their devotion to the Blessed Virgin, +whom they have crowned as the Queen of Purgatory, and invoke under the +title of Our Lady of Providence. They specially keep the Feast of the +Sacred Heart, those of St. Ignatius and St. Gertrude; but All Souls is +of course the day of their most particular devotion. The Holy Sacrament +is exposed during the whole time of the Octave. + + * * * * * + +And now, to use words of Père Blot, of the Society of Jesus: "How +consoling a thought it is that as the Holy Souls in Purgatory, in all +probability, and according to the opinion of the greatest theologians, +know what we do for them, and pray for us, they see these acts of +charity; they see these devoted women making themselves the slaves of +the poor, and sowing in tears, that they themselves may reap in joy. We +cannot also but believe that the prayers of the Holy Souls, and perhaps +their influence, contribute to the success of the mission carried on +for their sakes and in their name amidst the poor and suffering. +Several times when they have been invoked by the community, wonderful +cures have been vouchsafed and favors obtained. Instances of this kind +have excited the astonishment of physicians, and confirmed a pious +belief in the efficacy of those prayers. St. Catherine, of Bologna, +used to say, 'When I wish to obtain some favor from the Eternal Father, +I invoke the souls in the place of expiation, and charge them with the +petition I have to make to Him, and I feel I am heard through their +means.' Let us, then, if we feel inspired to do so, ask the prayers of +the souls in Purgatory; but, above all things, let us pray for them, +and, like these religious, join to our prayers acts of self-denying +charity towards the poor. Let us always remember, that to the Eternal +Lord of all things everything is present--the future as well as the +past. We call Him the King of Ages, because the order of events depends +wholly on His will, and nothing in their course or succession can alter +or change the effects of that will. He looks upon what is to come as if +it were present or already past. In consideration of the prayers, the +suffrages, and the good works of the Church, which He foresees, He +grants proportionate graces, even as if those prayers and good works +had been already offered up.... Amongst the Helpers of the Holy Souls +several have made great sacrifices to God in order to obtain mercy for +souls long ago called away from this world. We can all imitate their +example. 'Oh! if it was not too late!' is the cry of many a heart +tortured by anxiety for the fate of some loved one who has died +apparently out of the Church, or not in a state of grace. We answer, +'It is never too late. Pray; act; suffer. The Lord foresaw your +efforts. The Lord knew what was to come, and may have given to that +soul at its last hour some extraordinary graces, which snatched it from +destruction, and placed it in safety where your love may still reach +it, your prayers relieve, your sacrifices avail.'" + +I could not resist closing this letter with these sentences, which have +raised the hopes and stimulated the courage of many mourners. I only +wish this imperfect sketch of the Order of Helpers of the Holy Souls, +and of the nature of their work, might prove a first though feeble step +towards the introduction amongst us at some future day of a Sisterhood +which, in the words used on his death-bed by Father Faber, the great +advocate amongst us of devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, +"procures such immense glory to God." + + +THE MASS IN RELATION TO THE DEAD. + +O'BRIEN [1] + +[Footnote 1: Rev. John O'Brien, A.M., Prof. of Sacred Liturgy at Mt. +St. Mary's, Emmittsburg. "History of the Mass and its Ceremonies in the +Eastern and Western Churches."] + +The Mass of Requiem is one celebrated in behalf of the dead.... If the +body of the deceased be present during its celebration, it enjoys +privileges that it otherwise would not, for it cannot be celebrated +unless within certain restrictions. Masses of this kind are accustomed +to be said in memory of the departed faithful, _first_, when the +person dies--or, as the Latin phrase has it, _dies obitus seu +deposifionis_, which means any day that intervenes from the day of +one's demise to his burial; _secondly_, on the third day after +death, in memory of Our Divine Lord's resurrection after three days' +interval; _thirdly_, on the seventh day, in memory of the mourning +of the Israelites seven days for Joseph (Gen. i. 10); _fourthly_, +on the thirtieth day, in memory of Moses and Aaron, whom the Israelites +lamented this length of time (Numb. xx.; Deut. xxxiv.); and, finally, +at the end of the year, or on the anniversary day itself (Gavant., +Thesaur. Rit. 62). This custom also prevails with the Orientals. + +During the early days it was entirely at the discretion of every priest +whether he said daily a plurality of Masses or not (Gavant., Thesaur. +Rit. p. 19). It was quite usual to say two Masses, one of the occurring +feast, the other for the benefit of the faithful departed. This +practice, however, kept gradually falling into desuetude until the time +of Pope Alexander II. (A. D. 1061-1073), when that pontiff decreed that +no priest should say more than one Mass on the same day. + + * * * * * + +Throughout the kingdom of Aragon, in Spain (including Aragon, Valentia, +and Catalonia), also in the kingdom of Majorca (a dependency of +Aragon), it is allowed each secular priest to say two Masses on the 2d +of November, the Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed, and each +regular priest three Masses. This privilege is also enjoyed by the +Dominicans of the Monastery of St. James at Pampeluna (Benedict XIV., +_De Sacrif. Missal Romae, ex. Congr. de Prof. Fide_, an. 1859 +editio, p. 139). This grant, it is said, was first made either by Pope +Julius or Pope Paul III., and though often asked for afterwards by +persons of note, was never granted to any other country, or to any +place in Spain except those mentioned. For want of any very recent +information upon the subject, I am unable to say how far the privilege +extends at the present day. A movement is on foot, however, to petition +the Holy See for an extension of this privilege to the Universal +Church, in order that as much aid as possible may be given to the +suffering souls in Purgatory. + + * * * * * + +In case of a death occurring (amongst the Armenians) Mass is never +omitted. The Armenians say one on the day of burial and one on the +seventh, fifteenth, and fortieth after death; also one on the +anniversary day. This holy practice of praying for the dead and saying +Mass in their behalf is very common throughout the entire East, with +schismatics as well as Catholics. + + * * * * * + +As late as the sixteenth century, a very singular custom prevailed in +England--viz.: that of presenting at the altar during a Mass of Requiem +all the armor and military equipments of deceased knights and noblemen, +as well as their chargers. Dr. Kock (Church of our Fathers, II. 507), +tells us that as many as eight horses, fully caparisoned, used to be +brought into the church for this purpose at the burial of some of the +higher nobility. At the funeral of Henry VII., in Westminster Abbey, +after the royal arms had first been presented at the foot of the altar, +we are told that Sir Edward Howard rode into Church upon "a goodlie +courser," with the arms of England embroidered upon his trappings, and +delivered him to the abbots of the monastery (_ibid_). Something +similar happened at the Mass of Requiem for the repose of the soul of +Lord Bray in A. D. 1557, and at that celebrated for Prince Arthur, son +of Henry VII. (_ibid_). + + * * * * * + +As the priest begins to recite the memento for the dead, he moves his +hands slowly before his face, so as to have them united at the words +"_in somno pacis_." This gentle motion of the hands is aptly +suggestive here of the slow, lingering motion of a soul preparing to +leave the body, and the final union of the hands forcibly recalls to +mind the laying down of the body in its quiet slumber in the earth. As +this prayer is very beautiful, we transcribe it in full. It is thus +worded: "Remember, also, O Lord! Thy servants, male and female, who +have gone before us with the sign of faith and sleep in the sleep of +peace, N. N.; to them, O Lord! and to all who rest in Christ, we +beseech Thee to grant a place of refreshment, light, and peace; through +the same Christ our Lord. Amen." At the letters N. N. the names of the +particular persons to be prayed for among the departed were read out +from the diptychs in ancient times. When the priest comes to them now +he does not stop, but pauses awhile at "_in, somno pacis_" to make +his private memento of those whom he wishes to pray for in particular, +in which he is to be guided by the same rules that directed him in +making his memento for the living, only that here he cannot pray for +the conversion of any one, as he could there, for this solely relates +to the dead who are detained in Purgatory. Should the Holy Sacrifice be +offered for any soul among the departed which could not be benefited by +it, either because of the loss of its eternal salvation or its +attainment of the everlasting joys of heaven, theologians commonly +teach that in that case the fruit of the Mass would enter the treasury +of the Church, and be applied afterwards in such indulgences and the +like as Almighty God might suggest to the dispensers of his gift +(Suarez, _Disp._, xxxviii, sec. 8). We beg to direct particular +attention here to the expression "sleep of peace." That harsh word +_death_, which we now use, was seldom or never heard among the +early Christians when talking of their departed brethren. Death to them +was nothing else but a sleep until the great day of resurrection, when +all would rise up again at the sound of the angel's trumpet; and this +bright idea animated their minds and enlivened all their hopes when +conversing with their absent friends in prayer. So, too, with the place +of interment; it was not called by that hard name that distinguishes it +too often now, viz., the _grave-yard_, but was called by the +milder term of _cemetery,_ which, from its Greek derivation, means +a dormitory, or sleeping-place. Nor was the word _bury_ employed +to signify the consigning the body to the earth. No, this sounded too +profane in the ears of the primitive Christians; they rather chose the +word _depose_, as suggestive of the treasure that was put away +until it pleased God to turn it to better use on the final reckoning +day. The old Teutonic expression for cemetery was, to say the least of +it, very beautiful. The blessed place was called in this tongue +_gottes-acker_--that is, God's field--for the reason that the dead +were, so to speak, the seed sown in the ground from which would spring +the harvest reaped on the day of general resurrection in the shape of +glorified bodies. According to this beautiful notion, the stone which +told who the departed person was that lay at rest beneath, was likened +to the label that was hung upon a post by the farmer or gardener to +tell the passer-by the name of the flower that was deposited beneath. +This happy application of the word _sleep_ to death runs also +through Holy Scripture, where we frequently find such expressions as +"He slept with his fathers," "I have slept and I am refreshed," applied +from the third Psalm to our Divine Lord's time in the sepulchre; the +"sleep of peace," "he was gathered to his fathers," etc. + +The prayers of the Orientals for the faithful departed are singularly +touching. In the Coptic Liturgy of St. Basil the memento is worded +thus: "In like manner, O Lord! remember also all those who have already +fallen asleep in the priesthood and amidst the laity; vouchsafe to give +rest to their souls in the bosoms of our holy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, +and Jacob; bring them into a place of greenness by the waters of +comfort, in the paradise of pleasure where grief and misery and sighing +are banished, in the brightness of the saints." The Orientals are very +much attached to ancient phraseology, and hence their frequent +application of "the bosom of Abraham" to that middle state of +purification in the next life which we universally designate by the +name of Purgatory. In the Syro-Jacobite Liturgy of John Bar Maadan, +part of the memento is thus worded: "Reckon them among the number of +Thine elect; cover them with the bright cloud of Thy saints; set them +with the lambs on Thy right hand, and bring them into Thy habitation." +The following extract is taken from the Liturgy of St. Chrysostom, +which, as we have said already, all the Catholic and schismatic Greeks +of the East follow: "Remember all those that are departed in the hope +of the resurrection to eternal life, and give them rest where the light +of Thy countenance shines upon them." But of all the Orientals, the +place of honor in this respect must be yielded to the Nestorians; for, +heretics as they are, too much praise cannot be given them for the +singular reverence they show towards their departed brethren. From a +work of theirs called the "Sinhados," which Badger quotes in his +"Nestorians and their Rituals," we take the following extract: "The +service of third day of the dead is kept up, because Christ rose on the +third day. On the ninth day, also, there should be a commemoration, and +again on the thirtieth day, after the example of the Old Testament, +since the people mourned for Moses that length of time. A year after, +also, there should be a particular commemoration of the dead, and some +of the property of the deceased should be given to the poor in +remembrance of him. We say this of believers; for, as to unbelievers, +should all the wealth of the world be given to the poor in their +behalf, it would profit them nothing." The Armenians call Purgatory by +the name _Goyan_--that is, a mansion. The Chaldeans style it +_Matthar_, the exact equivalent of our term. By some of the other +Oriental Churches it is called _Kavaran_, or place of penance; and +_Makraran_, a place of purification (Smith and Dwight, I. p. 169). + +We could multiply examples at pleasure to prove that there is no church +in the East to which the name of Christian can be given that does not +look upon praying for the faithful departed, and offering the Holy Mass +for the repose of their souls, as a sacred and solemn obligation. +Protestants who would fain believe otherwise, and who not unfrequently +record differently in their writings about the Oriental Christians, can +verify our statements by referring to any Eastern Liturgy and examining +for themselves. We conclude our remarks on this head by a strong +argument in point from a very unbiased Anglican minister--the Rev. Dr. +John Mason Neale. Speaking of prayers for the dead in his work entitled +"A History of the Holy Eastern Church," general introduction, Vol. I. +p. 509, this candid-speaking man uses the following language: "I am not +now going to prove, what nothing but the blindest prejudice can deny, +that the Church, east, west, and south, has, with one consentient and +universal voice, even from Apostolic times, prayed in the Holy +Eucharist for the departed faithful." + + +FUNERAL ORATION ON DANIEL O'CONNELL. + +REV. THOMAS BURKE, O. P. + +["Wisdom conducted the just man through the right ways, and showed him +the kingdom of God, made him honorable in his labors, and accomplished +his works. She kept him safe from his enemies, and gave him a strong +conflict that he might overcome; and in bondage she left him not till +she brought him the sceptre of the kingdom, and power against those +that oppressed him, and gave him everlasting glory."--Wisdom x. [1] ] + +[Footnote 1: From the funeral oration preached at Glassaevin Cemetery, +in May, 1869, on the occasion of the removal of the remains of the +Liberator to their final resting place.] + +Nor was Ireland forgotten in the designs of God. Centuries of patient +endurance brought at length the dawn of a better day. God's hour came, +and it brought with it Ireland's greatest son, Daniel O'Connell. We +surround his grave to-day to pay him a last tribute of love, to speak +words of praise, of suffrage, and prayer. For two and twenty years has +he silently slept in the midst of us. His generation is passing away, +and the light of history already dawns upon his grave, and she speaks +his name with cold, unimpassioned voice. In this age of ours a few +years are as a century of times gone by. Great changes and startling +events follow each other in such quick succession that the greatest +names are forgotten almost as soon as those who bore them disappear, +and the world itself is surprised to find how short-lived is the fame +which promised to be immortal. The Church alone is the true shrine of +immortality--the temple of fame which perisheth not; and that man only +whose name and memory is preserved in her sanctuaries receives on this +earth a reflection of that glory which is eternal in heaven. But before +the Church will crown any one of her children, she carefully examines +his claims to the immortality of her gratitude and praise. She asks, +"What has he done for God and for man?" This great question am I come +here to answer to-day for him whose tongue, once so eloquent, is now +stilled in the silence of the grave, and over whose tomb a grateful +country has raised a monument of its ancient faith and a record of its +past glories; and I claim for him the need of our gratitude and love, +in that he was a man of faith, whom wisdom guided in "the right ways," +who loved and sought "the kingdom of God," who was "most honorable in +his labors," and who accomplished his "great works;" the liberator of +his race, the father of his people, the conqueror in "the undented +conflict" of principle, truth and justice.... + +....Before him stretched, full and broad, the two ways of life, and he +must choose between them: the way which led to all that the world +prized--wealth, power, distinction, title, glory, and fame; the way of +genius, the noble rivalry of intellect, the association with all that +was most refined and refining--the way which led up to the council +chambers of the nation, to all places of jurisdiction and of honor, to +the temples wherein were enshrined historic names and glorious +memories, to a share in all blessings of privilege and freedom.... +Before him opened another way. No gleam of sunshine illumined this way; +it was wet with tears--it was overshadowed by misfortune--_it was +pointed out to the young traveller of life by the sign of the +cross_, and he who entered it was bidden to leave all hope behind +him, for it led through the valley of humiliation, into the heart of a +fallen race, and an enslaved and afflicted people. I claim for +O'Connell the glory of having chosen this latter path, and this claim +no man can gainsay, for it is the argument of the Apostle in favor of +the great lawgiver of old--"By faith Moses" denied himself to be the +son of Pharoah's daughter. + +....Into this way was he led by his love for his religion and his +country. He firmly believed in that religion in which He was born. He +had that faith which is common to all Catholics, and which is not +merely a strong opinion nor even a conviction, but an absolute and most +certain knowledge that the Catholic Church is the one and the only true +messenger and witness of God upon earth; and that to belong to her +communion and to possess her faith is the first and greatest of all +endowments and privileges, before which everything else sinks into +absolute nothing ... He was Irish of the Irish and Catholic of the +Catholic. His love for religion and country was as the breath of his +nostrils, the blood of his veins, and when he brought to the service of +both the strength of his faith and the power of his genius, with the +instinct of a true Irishman, his first thought was to lift up the +nation by striking the chains off the National Church. And here again, +two ways opened before him. One was a way of danger and of blood, and +the history of his country told him that it ever ended in defeat and in +great evil.... He saw that the effort to walk in it had swept away the +last vestige of Ireland's national legislature and independence. But +another path was still open to him, and wisdom pointed it out as "the +right way." Another battle-field lay before him on which he could +"fight the good fight" and vindicate all the rights of his religion and +of his country. The armory was furnished by the inspired Apostle when +he said: ... "Having your loins girt about with truth, and having on +the breast-plate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of +the Gospel of Peace, in all things taking the shield of faith.... And +take unto you the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word." O'Connell +knew well that such weapons in such a hand as his were irresistible-- +that girt around with the truth and justice of his cause, he was clad +in the armor of the Eternal God, that with words of peace and order on +his lips, with the strong shield of faith before him and the sword of +eloquent speech in his hand, with the war-cry of obedience, principle, +and law, no power on earth could resist him, for it is the battle of +God, and nothing can resist the Most High. + + * * * * * + +... He who was the Church's liberator and most true son, was also the +first of Ireland's statesmen and patriots. Our people remember well, as +their future historian will faithfully record, the many trials borne +for them, the many victories gained in their cause, the great life +devoted to them by O'Connell. Lying, however, at the foot of the altar, +as he is to-day, whilst the Church hallows his grave with prayer and +sacrifice, it is more especially as the Catholic Emancipator of his +people that we place a garland on his tomb. It is as the child of the +Church that we honor him, and recall with tears of sorrow our +recollections of the aged man, revered, beloved, whom all the glory of +the world's admiration and the nation's love had never lifted up in +soul out of the holy atmosphere of Christian humility and simplicity. +Obedience to the Church's laws, quick zeal for her honor and the +dignity of her worship, a spirit of penance refining whilst it +expiated, chastening while it ennobled all that was natural in the man; +constant and frequent use of the Church's holy sacraments which shed +the halo of grace around his venerated head,--these were the last grand +lessons which he left to his people, and thus did the sun of his life +set in the glory of Christian holiness. + +.... In the triumph of Catholic Emancipation, he pointed out to the +Irish people the true secret of their strength, the true way of +progress, and the sure road to victory.... Time, which buries in utter +oblivion so many names and so many memories, will exalt him in his +work. The day has already dawned and is ripening into its perfect noon, +when Irishmen of every creed will remember O'Connell, and celebrate him +as the common friend, and the greatest benefactor of their country. +What man is there, even of those whom our age has called great, whose +name, so many years after his death, could summon so many loving hearts +around his tomb? We, to-day, are the representatives not only of a +nation but of a race.... Where is the land that has not seen the face +of our people and heard their voice? And wherever, even to the ends of +the earth, an Irishman is found to-day, his spirit and his sympathy are +here. The millions of America are with us--the Irish Catholic soldier +on India's plains is present amongst us by the magic of love--the Irish +sailor standing by the wheel this moment in far-off silent seas, where +it is night, and the Southern stars are shining, joins his prayer with +ours, and recalls the glorious image and the venerated name of +O'Connell. ... He is gone, but his fame shall live forever on the +earth, as a lover of God and of His people. Adversities, political and +religious, he had many, and like a + + "Tower of strength + Which stood full square to all the winds that blew," + +the Hercules of justice and of liberty stood up against them. Time, +which touches all things with mellowing hand, has softened the +recollections of past contests, and they who once looked upon him as a +foe, now only remember the glory of the fight, and the mighty genius of +him who stood forth the representative man of his race, and the +champion of his people. They acknowledge his greatness, and they join +hands with us to weave the garland of his fame. + +But far other, higher and holier are the feelings of Irish Catholics +all the world over to-day. They recognize in the dust which we are +assembled to honor, the powerful arm which promoted them, the eloquent +tongue which proclaimed their rights and asserted their freedom, the +strong hand which, like that of the Maccabees of old, first struck off +their chains and then built up their holy altars. They, mingling the +supplication of prayer and the gratitude of suffrage with their tears, +recall--oh! with how much love--the memory of him who was a Joseph to +Israel--their tower of strength, their buckler, and their shield--who +shed around their homes, their altars, and their graves the sacred +light of religious liberty, and the glory of unfettered worship. "His +praise is in the Church," and this is the pledge of the immortality of +his glory. "A people's voice" may be "the proof and echo of all Human +fame," but the voice of the undying Church, is the echo of "everlasting +glory," and, when those who surround his grave to-day shall have passed +away, all future generations of Irishmen to the end of time will be +reminded of his name and glory. + + +THE INDULGENCE OF PORTIUNCULA. + +Towards the middle of the fourth century, four pilgrims from Palestine +came to settle in the neighborhood of Assisi, and built a chapel there. +Nearly two centuries after, this little chapel passed into the hands of +the monks of St. Benedict, who owned some lots, or _portions_ of +land, in the vicinity, whence came the name of _Portiuncula_, +given first to those little plots of ground, and afterwards to the +chapel itself. St. Bonaventure says that, later still, it was called +"Our Lady of Angels," because the heavenly spirits frequently appeared +there. + +St. Francis, at the outset of his penitential life, going one day +through the fields about Assisi, heard a voice which said to him: "Go, +repair my house!" He thought the Lord demanded of him to repair the +sanctuaries in which He was worshipped, and, amongst others, the Church +of St. Damian, a little way from Assisi, which was falling to decay. + +He went to work, therefore, begging in the streets of Assisi, and +crying out: "He who giveth me a stone shall have one blessing--he who +giveth me two, shall have two." + +Meanwhile, Francis often bent his steps towards the little chapel of +the Portiuncula, built about half a league from Assisi, in a fertile +valley, in the midst of a profound solitude. The place had great charms +for him, and he resolved to take up his abode there, but as the little +chapel was urgently in need of repair, he undertook to do it, +following, as he thought, the orders he had received from Heaven. He +made himself a cell in the hollow of a neighboring rock, and there +spent several years in great austerities. Some disciples, having joined +him, inhabited caverns which they found in the rocks around, and some +built themselves cells. This was the origin of the Order of St. +Francis. The _Portiuncula_, or Our Lady of Angels, afterwards +given to the holy penitent by the Benedictine Abbot of Monte Soubasio, +thus became the cradle of the three orders founded by the Seraphic +Patriarch, and is unspeakably dear to every child of St. Francis. [1] + +[Footnote 1: The little chapel of the Portiuncula is now inclosed +beneath the dome of the great basilica of Our Lady of Angels, built to +preserve it from the injuries of the weather. It stands there still +with its rough, antique walls, in all the prestige of its marvellous +past. "I know not what perfume of holy poverty," says a pious author, +"exhales from that venerable chapel. The pavement within is literally +worn by the knees of the pious faithful, and their repeated and burning +kisses have left their imprint on its walls."] + +Francis, in the midst of his prodigious austerities, living always in +the greatest privation, united, nevertheless, the most tender +compassion for men and a marvellous love for poverty. He prayed above +all, and with tears and groans, for the conversion of sinners. But one +night--it was in October, 1221--Francis being inspired with a greater +love and a deeper pity for men who were offending their God and +Saviour, shedding torrents of tears, macerating his body, already +attenuated by excessive mortifications, hears, all at once, the voice +of an Angel commanding him to repair to the chapel of the Portiuncula. +Ravished with joy, he rises immediately, and entering with profound +respect into the chapel, he falls prostrate on the ground, to adore the +majesty of God. He then sees Our Lord Jesus Christ, who appears to him, +accompanied by His Holy Mother and a great multitude of Angels, and +says to him: "Francis, thou and thy brethren have a great zeal for the +salvation of souls; indeed, you have been placed as a torch in the +world and as the support of the Church. Ask, then, whatsoever thou wilt +for the welfare and consolation of nations, and for My glory." + +In the midst of the wonders which ravished him, Francis made this +prayer: "Our most holy Father, I beseech Thee, although I am but a +miserable sinner, to have the goodness to grant to men, that all those +who shall visit this Church may receive a plenary indulgence of all +their sins, after having confessed to a priest; and I beseech the +Blessed Virgin, Thy Mother, the advocate of mankind, to intercede, that +I may obtain this favor." + +The merciful Virgin interceded, and Our Lord said to Francis: "What +thou dost ask is great, nevertheless thou shalt receive still greater +favors. I grant it to thee, but I will that it be ratified on earth by +him to whom I have given the power of binding and loosening." + +The companions of the Saint overheard this colloquy between Our Lord +and St. Francis; they beheld numerous troops of Angels, and a great +light that filled the Church, but a respectful fear prevented them from +approaching. + +Next day Francis set out, accompanied by one of his brethren, and +repaired to Perugia, where Pope Honorius III. then was. The Saint, +introduced to the Pontiff, repeated the order he had received from Our +Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and conjured him not to refuse what the Son +of God had been pleased to grant him. + +"But," said the Sovereign Pontiff, "thou askest of me something very +great, and the Roman Court is not wont to grant such an indulgence." +"Most Holy Father," replied Francis, "I ask it not of myself; it is +Jesus Christ who sendeth me. I come on His behalf." Wherefore the Pope +said publicly three times: _"I will that thou have it."_ + +The Cardinals made several objections; but Honorius, at length +convinced of the will of God, granted most liberally, most +gratuitously, and in perpetuity, this indulgence solicited so +earnestly, yet with so much humility, _but only during one natural +day, from evening till evening, including the night, till sunset on the +following day._ + +At these words, Francis humbly bowed his head. As he was going away, +the Pope demanded of him: "Whither goest thou, simple man? What +assurance hast thou of that which thou hast obtained?" "Holy Father," +he replied, "thy word is sufficient for me; if this Indulgence be the +work of God, He Himself will make it manifest. Let Jesus Christ, His +holy Mother and the Angels be in that regard, notary, paper and +witness; I ask no other authentic act." Such was the effect of the +great confidence he felt in the truth of the apparition. + +The Indulgence of the Portiuncula had been two years granted, and still +the day when the faithful might gain it was not fixed. Francis waited +till Jesus Christ, the first Author of a grace so precious, should +determine it. + +Meanwhile, one night, when Francis was at prayer in his cell, the +tempter suggested to him to diminish his penances: feeling the malice +of the demon, he goes into the woods, and rolls himself amongst briers +and thorns until he is covered with blood. A great light shines around +him, he sees a quantity of white and red roses all about, although it +is the month of January, in a very severe winter. God had changed the +thorny shrubs into magnificent rose-bushes, which have ever since +remained green and without thorns, and covered with red and white +roses. [1] Angels, who appeared then in great numbers, said to him: +"Francis, hasten to the church; Jesus is there with His holy Mother." +At the same moment, he was clothed in a spotless white habit, and +having reached the church, after a profound obeisance, he made this +prayer: "Our Father, Most Holy Lord of heaven and earth, Saviour of +mankind, vouchsafe, through Thy great mercy, to fix the day for the +Indulgence Thou hast had the goodness to grant." Our Lord replied that +He would have it to be from the evening of the day on which the Apostle +St. Peter was bound with chains till the following day. He then ordered +Francis to present himself to his vicar, and give him some white and +red roses in proof of the truth of the fact, and to bring some of his +companions who might bear testimony of what they had heard. + +[Footnote 1: "We have received from Rome," says the editor of the +"Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory," "some leaves from these miraculous +rose-bushes. We will willingly give some to the devout clients of St. +Francis."] + +The Pope, convinced by proofs so incontestable, confirmed the +Indulgence with all its privileges. + +The Indulgence of the Portiuncula, was soon known throughout the whole +world; and the prodigies which were seen wrought every year at St. Mary +of Angels, excited the devotion of the faithful to gain it. Many times +there were seen there fifty thousand, and even a hundred thousand +persons assembled together from all parts. + +Meanwhile, in order to facilitate the means of gaining an Indulgence so +admirable, the Sovereign Pontiffs extended it to all the churches of +the three Orders of St. Francis, and it may be gained by all the +faithful indiscriminately. "Of all Indulgences," said Bourdaloue, "that +of the Portiuncula is one of the surest and most authentic that there +is in the Church, since it is an Indulgence granted immediately by +Jesus Christ, a privilege peculiar to itself, and this Indulgence has +spread amongst all Christian people with a marvellous progress of +souls, and a sensible increase of piety." + +The Indulgence of the Great Pardon has another very special privilege; +it is, that it may be gained _totus quotus_--that is to say, as +often as one visits a church to which it is attached, and prays for the +Sovereign Pontiff; and this privilege may be enjoyed from the 1st of +August about two o'clock in the afternoon, till sunset on the following +day. + +Pope Boniface VIII. said that it is "most pious to gain that Indulgence +several times for oneself; for, although by the first gaining of a +plenary Indulgence, the penalty be remitted, by seeking to gain it +again, one receives an augmentation of grace and of glory that crowns +all their good works." Besides, this Indulgence can be applied to the +Souls in Purgatory, as it can be also gained for the living by way of +satisfaction, provided they be in the state of grace. + +It was one day revealed to St. Margaret of Cortona that the Souls in +Purgatory eagerly look forward every year to the Feast of Our Lady of +Angels, because it is a day of deliverance for a great number of them. + +While speaking of the Indulgence of the Portiuncula, we are naturally +disposed to say a few words in regard to the grievous outrage recently +committed on that place, venerated for more than six hundred years by +all Christian nations, and manifestly chosen as the object of divine +predilection by all the prodigies there wrought. + +The Italian government had unlawfully, and in a sacrilegious manner, +possessed itself of the Convent of the Portiuncula; and notwithstanding +the protest of all the members of the Order of St. Francis, and the +indignation excited by so arbitrary an act in every Catholic heart, +those iniquitous men put it up for sale, and actually sold it by public +auction. The Minister General of the Franciscan Order, unwilling that +this brightest gem of the Franciscan crown should fall into impious +hands, resolved to have it purchased for him by a lay person. But how +was this to be done, when he had no revenue, often not means enough for +necessary expenses? a grave question, truly, for the children of St. +Francis, who might have seen themselves bereft of the cradle of their +Order, were it not that, at the critical moment, a man of a truly +Christian heart came forward and advanced the thirty-four thousand +francs, the price to which their precious relic had been raised. Thus, +God would not permit that so many memories connected with His servant +Francis should be effaced from the earth, although they would still +have lived in the hearts of his children, and the Friars Minors are +still the owners and possessors of that venerable sanctuary. [1]-- +_Almanac of the Souls in Purgatory_, 1881. + +[Footnote 1: Nevertheless, means must be taken to pay back this sum so +seasonably advanced. Hence it is, that at the request of the Minister +General of the Franciscans, Father Marie, of Brest, has made a touching +appeal to all friends of the Order and of justice, and has opened +subscription lists wherever there are children of St. Francis, and +there are children of St. Francis all over the world. These lists, with +the names of the pious donors, shall be sent to Assisium, to be +preserved there in the very sanctuary of the Portiuncula.--ED. AL.] + + +CATHERINE OF CARDONA. + +Catherine of Cardona was born in the very highest rank. She was but +eight years old when she lost her father, Raymond of Cardona, who was +descended from the kings of Aragon. Catherine had already made herself +remarkable by her love of prayer, solitude, and mortification, and by +her admirable fidelity to grace she had drawn down upon herself, at an +age still so tender, the signal favor of Heaven. + +One day, whilst absorbed in prayer in her little oratory, her father +appeared to her enveloped in the flames of Purgatory, and, conjuring +her to deliver him, he said to her: "Daughter, I shall remain in this +fire until thou hast done penance for me." With a heart full of +compassion, Catherine promised her father to satisfy the divine justice +for him, and the vision disappeared. + +From that moment Catherine, rising above the weakness of her age and +sex, applied herself to those amazing austerities which have made her a +prodigy of penance. To open Heaven to her father, she freely sheds, in +bloody scourgings, the first fruits of that virginal blood which is to +flow for half a century in innumerable torments. Magnanimous child, she +is already the martyr of filial piety, but her tears, her +mortifications, her prayers have disarmed the divine justice and +discharged the paternal debt. Raymond, resplendent with the glory of +the blessed, appears again to his daughter, and addresses her in these +words: "God has accepted thy penance, my daughter, and I go to enjoy +His glory. By that penance, thou hast become so pleasing to Jesus +Christ that He has chosen thee for His spouse. Continue all thy life to +immolate thyself as a victim for the salvation of souls; such is His +divine will." + +With these words, which filled the heart of Catherine with joy +unspeakable, he goes to Heaven to sing the mercies of his God, and to +intercede with Him, in his turn, for the beloved daughter who was his +liberator. + +Oh! happy, thrice happy Catherine! Whilst accomplishing an act of +filial piety, she gained the title of Spouse of Christ, and secured for +herself a powerful intercessor in heaven.--_Almanac of the Souls in +Purgatory, 1881._ + +The life of the little Catherine was so admirable that we cannot resist +the desire of giving some extracts from it here. It will be so much the +more appropriate that her whole life was consecrated to the relief of +the souls in Purgatory and the salvation of men. + +Overwhelmed with the happiness of seeing herself chosen for the spouse +of the God of Virgins, Catherine consecrates herself entirely to Him, +and promises inviolable fidelity to Him. Rejoiced to belong to the same +Spouse as the Agathas and Agnesses, she makes a vow of perpetual +virginity, and exclaims in the fullness of her bliss: "Thou alone, mine +Adorable Beloved, Thou alone shalt reign over my heart, Thou alone +shalt have dominion over it for all eternity!" Then Jesus invisibly +places on her finger the marriage ring, and endows with strength her +who aspires only to die with Him on the cross. + +Catherine, who, after the death of her father, was placed under the +care of the Princess of Salerno, a near relative of her mother, leads +in the palace of the princess a life no less rigorous than that of the +penitents of the desert; but she will have no other witness of it than +He by whom she alone desires to be loved. Condemned by her rank to wear +rich clothing, she values only the glorious vesture of the soul, which +is grace. The hair-cloth that macerates her flesh is her chosen +garment. At that age, when people allow themselves to be dazzled by the +world, Catherine of Cardona has trampled it beneath her feet, and later +on, becoming entirely free from the slavery of the world, she retires +to the Capuchin Convent at Naples, and there prepares, by a seclusion +of twenty-five years, to give to the great ones of the earth an example +of the most sublime virtues. Called by the Princess of Salerno to share +her disfavor with the king, she hesitates not to quit her dear +solitude, and repairs to Spain, in 1557. Her presence at Valladolid was +an eloquent sermon, and produced the happiest fruits in souls. The +Princess died at the end of two years; and Philip II., knowing the +wisdom of Catherine, kept her at the Court, appointing her as governess +to Don Carlos, his son, and the young Don Juan of Austria, afterwards +the hero of Lepanto. + +In 1562, Our Lord, in a vision, says to Catherine: "Depart from this +palace; retire to a solitary cave, where thou mayest more freely apply +thyself to prayer and penance." At these words, the soul of Catherine +is inundated with joy, and she feels that no worldly obstacle could +restrain her. She would fain set out forthwith, but her spiritual +guides opposed her doing so. Finally, after many trials, whilst she was +in prayer, before the dawn, the crucifix she wore hanging from her +neck, suddenly rose into the air, and said: "Follow me!" She followed +it to a window on the ground-floor; and although it was fastened with +great iron bars, Catherine, without knowing how, found herself in the +street. Transported with joy at this new miracle, she flew to the place +where the Hermit of Alcada and another priest were waiting to conduct +her to the desert. Seeing the heroic virgin, they blessed Him who had +thus broken her chains. In order that she might not be recognized they +cut off her hair, gave her a hermit's robe, and set out without delay. +Arriving at a small hill about four leagues from Roda, Catherine said +to her guides: "Here it is that God will have me take up my abode; let +us go no farther." After a careful search they discovered amongst +thorny hedges difficult to get through, a species of grotto +sufficiently deep; but the entrance thereto was so narrow, and the roof +so low, that Catherine, who was of medium height and rather full +figure, could hardly stand upright in it. The two guides of the holy +recluse, taking leave of her, left her some instruments of penance, and +three loaves, for all provision. There it was that the daughter of the +Duke of Cardona commenced, in 1562, that admirable life which has been +the wonder of all succeeding ages. + +Teresa, the seraphic Teresa, who lived at that time not far from +Catherine's solitude, cried out in a transport of admiration: "Oh! how +great must be the love that transported her, since she thought neither +of food, nor danger, nor the disgrace her flight might bring upon her; +what must be the intoxication of that holy soul, flying thus to the +desert, solely engrossed by the desire of enjoying there without +obstacle the presence of her Spouse! And how firm must be her +resolution to break with the world, since she thus fled from all its +pleasures!" + +St. Teresa adds that Catherine spent more than eight years in this +desert cave, that after having exhausted the small provision of three +loaves left her by the hermit who had served her as a guide, she had +lived solely on roots and wild herbs, but that, after several years, +she met with a shepherd, who thenceforward faithfully supplied her with +bread, of which she, nevertheless, ate but once in three days. The +discipline which she took with a large chain lasted often for an hour +and a half, and sometimes two hours. Her hair-cloth was so rough that a +woman, returning from a pilgrimage, having asked hospitality of her, +told me (it is still St. Teresa who speaks), that feigning sleep, she +saw the holy recluse take off her hair-cloth and wipe it clean, for it +was full of blood. The warfare she had to sustain against the demons +made her suffer still more than her austerities; she told our sisters +that they appeared to her, now in the form of great dogs who sprang on +her shoulders, and now in that of snakes; but do as they might, they +could not make her afraid. + +She heard Mass in a convent of the Sisters of Mercy, a quarter of a +league distant; sometimes she made the journey on her knees. She wore a +tunic of coarse serge, and over that a robe of drugget so fashioned +that she was taken for a man. + +Nevertheless, the fame of her sanctity soon spread everywhere, and the +people conceived so great a veneration for her that they flocked from +every side, so that, on certain days, the surrounding country was +covered with vehicles full of people going to see her. + +"About this time," says St. Teresa, "she was seized with a great desire +to found near her cave a monastery of religious, but being undecided in +her choice of the order, she postponed for a time the execution of her +design. One day while at prayer before a crucifix which she always +carried about her, Our Lord showed her a white mantle, and gave her to +understand that she was to found a monastery of barefooted Carmelites. +She knew not till then that such an order existed, as she had never +heard it mentioned; indeed, we had then but two monasteries of reformed +Carmelites, that of Moncera and that of Pastrana. Catherine was +speedily informed of the existence of this last. As Pastrana belonged +to the Princess of Eboli, her former friend, she set out for that town +with the firm resolution of doing what Our Lord had enjoined her to do. +It was at Pastrana, in the church of our religious, that the Blessed +Catherine took the habit of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, having no +intention, notwithstanding that act, to embrace the religious life. Our +Lord conducted her by another way, and she never felt any attraction +towards that state. What kept her away from it was the fear of being +obliged through obedience to moderate her austerities and quit her +solitude." + +As she had worn man's apparel ever since she had been in the desert, +she would not now change it. So, in laying aside her hermit's robe, and +assuming that of Carmel, she took a habit like that of the barefooted +Carmelite monks, and wore it till her last breath. In this Catherine +was led by a very special way. + +Catherine had been preceded at Pastrana by the account of the wonders +which had marked the eight years she had spent in her cave; she was +thus greeted as a saint as soon as she appeared; no one was surprised +to see her in her Carmelite habit, a cowl on her head, a white mantle +on her shoulders, a robe of coarse drugget, and a leathern girdle. God +permitted the appearance of Catherine at the court of Philip II. as a +virgin with the heart of a man, victorious over all the weakness, of +her sex, and rivalling in her austerities the most famous penitents of +the desert. At the Escurial, she observed the same abstinence as in her +hermitage; there, as in her cave, she took but one hour's sleep, and +gave to prayer the rest of the time at her disposal. + +From the Escurial, Catherine returned to Madrid. From the carriage in +which she rode, she gave her blessing to the multitudes who crowded the +road as she passed. ... The Nuncio, having sent for her, reproached her +for wearing the apparel of a man, and for taking it upon her to give +her blessing, like a bishop. The humble virgin heard all prostrate on +the ground. When the Nuncio had finished speaking, she arose and +justified herself with that holy simplicity peculiar to herself. The +legate of the Holy See, perceiving then that God was leading the +Blessed Catherine by an extraordinary way, left her at liberty to wear +that costume, blessed her, and recommended himself to her prayers. + +In Madrid Catherine again met Don Juan of Austria, who had been +appointed Generalissimo of the Christian fleet directed against the +Turks. He gave her the name of mother, and regarded her as a Saint. +After having given some wise counsel to the young prince, she predicted +to him that he should obtain a victory over the enemies of the +Christian name. It was a happy day in the life of Don Juan on which he +heard these prophetic words. Kneeling on the ground, with clasped hands +and tearful eyes, the future liberator of Christendom asked Catherine's +blessing, and arose with a heart strengthened by an invincible hope. + +The Carmelites of Toledo, amongst whom she spent some time, endeavoring +to persuade her to diminish her austerities a little, she replied in +these memorable words, which reveal to us the secret of her life: "When +one has seen, as I have, what Purgatory and Hell are, one cannot do too +much to draw souls from one, and preserve them from the other; I may +not spare myself, since I have offered myself in sacrifice for them." + +On the 7th October, 1571, Catherine was warned by a light from above +that the great combat against the Turks was to take place that day. She +macerated herself with fearful rigor, and offered herself as a victim +to the anger of God, justly indignant at the sins of His people. She +addressed to the Saviour of men the most tender supplications, when, +all at once, seized with a holy transport, she uttered in a distinct +voice these words, which were heard by several persons of the Court: "O +Lord, the hour is come, help Thy Church; give the victory to the +Catholic chiefs; have pity on so many kingdoms which are Thine own, +preserve them from ruin! The wind is against us: my God, if Thou order +it not to change, we perish!" + +Some time after, she cried out in a still stronger voice: "Blessed be +Thou, O Lord, Thou hast changed the wind at the needful moment; finish +what Thou hast begun!" After these words she prayed in silence for a +long space of time. Then, starting up joyfully, she offered to God the +most lively thanksgivings for the victory He had just granted to His +Church. + +Soon, in fact, the news of the victory of Lepanto confirmed the +miraculous vision of Catherine. Don Juan wrote immediately to the +venerable Catherine of Cardona, thanking her for her prayers, and sent +her, as a memento, some spoils taken from the enemy. + +Catherine having received, at the Court and elsewhere, sufficient means +to found her monastery, regained her solitude in the month of March, +1572. She lived there five years longer. It has been considered as a +supernatural thing that mortifications so extraordinary as hers had not +ended her life sooner. She died on the 11th of May, 1577. + +"One day," says St. Teresa, "after having received communion in the +church of this monastery (that which Catherine had founded), I entered +into a profound recollection, which was soon followed by an ecstasy. +Whilst I was thus ravished out of myself, that holy woman appeared to +my intellectual vision, resplendent with light like a glorified body, +and surrounded by angels. She said to me: 'Weary not of founding +monasteries, but rather pursue that work with ardor.' I understood, +albeit that she did not say so, that she was assisting me with God. +This apparition left me exceedingly comforted, and inflamed with the +desire of working for Our Lord's glory. Hence, I hope from His divine +goodness and the powerful prayers of that Saint, that I may be able to +do something for His service." + + +THE EMPEROR NICHOLAS PRAYING FOR HIS MOTHER. + +Heretics or Schismatics care very little about contradicting +themselves. It is of the nature of the iniquity of lying. The _Anti +de la Religion_, of March 1, 1851, judiciously observes: + +"It is well known that the Russian Church pretends not to admit the +doctrine of Purgatory, which one of its principal prelates set down as +'_a crude modern invention._' Nevertheless, the manifesto recently +published by the Emperor Nicholas, on the death of his mother, the +Grand Duchess Elizabeth, Duchess of Nassau, concludes with these words: +'We are convinced that all our faithful subjects will unite their +prayers with ours, _for the repose of the soul_ of the deceased.' +How are we to reconcile this request for prayers with the denial of +Purgatory, coming as it does from the mouth of the supreme pontiff of +the Church of Russia?"--"_Christian Anecdotes._" + + +FUNERAL ORATION ON PIUS VI. + +REV. ARTHUR O'LEARY, O S F. + +Thou hast lifted me up, and cast me down. My days are like a shadow; +that declineth, and I am withered like grass; but thou, O Lord, shall, +endure forever.--Ps. cii., verses 10, 11, 12. + +Yes! O my God! You lift up and you cast down; you humble and you exalt +the sons of men. You cut off the breath of princes, and are terrible to +the kings of the earth. It is then we know your power, when, by the +stroke of death, we feel what we are, that our life is but as a shadow +that declineth, a vapor dispersed by the beams of the rising sun, or as +the grass which loses at noon the verdure it had acquired from the +morning dew. It is a truth of which we, are made sensible upon this +mournful occasion, and in this sacred temple, where the trophies of +death are displayed, and its image reflected on every side. The +mournful accents of the solemn dirge, the sable drapery that lines +these walls, the vestments of the ministers of the sacred altar, this +artificial darkness which is a figure of the darkness of the grave;-- +the tapers that blaze around the sanctuary to put us in mind that when +our mortal life is extinct, there is an immortal life beyond the grave, +in a kingdom of light and bliss reserved for those who walk on earth by +the light of the gospel;--that tomb, in which the tiara and the +sceptre, the Pontifical dignity, and the power of the temporal prince, +are covered over with a funeral shroud,--every object that strikes the +eye, and every sound that vibrates on the ear, is an awful memento +which reminds us of our approaching dissolution, points out the vanity +and nothingness of all earthly grandeur, and convinces, us that in +holiness of life, which unites us to God and secures an immortal crown +in the enjoyment of the sovereign good, consists the greatness as well +as the happiness of man. An awful truth exemplified in many great +characters, hurled from the summit of power and grandeur into an abyss +of woe, whose unshaken virtue supported them under the severest trials, +and whose greatness of soul shone conspicuous in their fall as well as +in their elevation. A truth particularly exemplified in His Holiness +Pope Pius VI., whose obsequies we are assembled to solemnize on this +day--Pius VI. great in prosperity; Pius VI. great in adversity. + +When his life is written by an impartial hand, when his contemporaries +are dead, when history lays open the hidden and mysterious springs of +the events connected with his reign, and posterity erects a tribunal, +at which it is to judge, without dread of giving offence, then his +virtues and wisdom will appear in their true light, as the symmetry and +proportion of those beautiful statues, which are placed in the +porticoes or entrance of temples and public edifices, are better +discovered, and seen to a greater advantage at a certain distance. + + * * * * * + +Though His life was spotless, yet as the judgments of God are +unsearchable, as there is such a quantity of dross mixed with our +purest gold, such chaff with our purest grain, our purest virtues +tarnished with so many imperfections, that on appearing in the presence +of God, into whose Kingdom the slightest stain is not admitted, who can +say, "My soul is pure; I have nothing to answer for?" as in our belief, +divine justice may inflict temporary as well as eternal punishments +beyond the grave, according to the quality of unexpiated offences, let +us perform the sacred rites of our holy religion for the repose of his +soul. [1] + +[Footnote 1: These extracts are taken from the funeral oration on Pius +VI, delivered at St. Patrick's Chapel, Soho, in presence of Monsignore +Erskine, Papal Auditor, on the 10th Nov., 1799.] + + +FROM THE FUNERAL ORATION ON THE REV. ARTHUR. O'LEARY, O.S.F. + +REV. MORGAN D'ARCY. + +My brethren, as it is God alone, that searcher of hearts, who can truly +appreciate the merits of His elect, as it belongs only to the Holy +Catholic Church, "_that pillar and ground of truth_," to canonize +them, as we know that nothing impure can enter into heaven, and that +Moses himself, that great legislator, and peculiar favorite of heaven, +was not entirely spotless in the discharge of his ministry, nor exempt +from temporal punishment at his death, let us no longer interrupt the +awful mysteries and impressive ceremonies of religion, but, uniting, +and, as it were, embodying our prayers and fervent supplications, let +us offer a holy violence to heaven; while we mingle our tears with the +precious blood of the spotless Victim offered in sacrifice on our +hallowed altar, let us implore the Father of Mercies, through the +merits and passion of His adorable Son, our merciful Redeemer, to +purify this His minister, and admit him to a participation of the +never-ending joys of the heavenly Jerusalem. May he rest in peace. +_Amen_. + + +DE MORTUIS. OUR DECEASED PRELATES. + +[From a Sermon delivered by Most Rev. ARCHBISHOP CORRIGAN, of NEW YORK, +at the THIRD PLENARY COUNCIL of BALTIMORE.] + +Remember your prelates who have spoken the Word of God to you. Heb. c. +xiii. v. 2. + +Of the forty-six Fathers who sat in the Second Plenary Council, only +sixteen still survive. More than this. During the few years that have +since elapsed not only have thirty bishops and archbishops gone to the +house of their eternity, but in several instances, their successors, +too, have passed away, so that the Solemn Requiem offered this morning +for the prelates who have died since the last Council is chanted for +forty-two consecrated rulers. For these, "as it is a good and wholesome +thought to pray for the dead," we send up our sighs and our prayers in +the spirit of fraternal charity, and as a tribute of love and gratitude +to our Fathers in the faith who had the burden of the day and the heat, +and who now rest from their labors. "Blessed are the dead who die in +the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit,... for their works +follow them." + +In the commemorative services and solemn supplications offered in this +cathedral, the first place, dear brethren, is deservedly due to your +own lamented archbishops.... Besides these, memory turns, with fond +regret, to a long list of Right Reverend Prelates, who were all present +at the late Plenary Council, and who have since, one by one, passed +away.... As we repeat each well-known name, hosts of pleasant memories +come crowding on the mind just as by-gone scenes are awakened to new +life by some sweet strain of once familiar music. Venerable forms loom +up again before us with the paternal kindness, the distinguished +presence, the winning ways we knew so well of old; and while the vision +lasts we seem to hear a still small voice saying: "To-day for me, to- +morrow for thee," or the echo of the words spoken by the wise woman of +Thecua to the king on his throne: "We all die, and fall down into the +earth, like waters that return no more." + +"Star differeth from star in glory." The bishops, whose virtues we +commemorate, differed in gifts of mind, in habits of thought, in +nationality, in early training, in personal experience, in almost +everything else but their common faith. This golden bond united them to +each other and to us. There was still another point of resemblance and +another link that bound them all together--the participation in the +divine work of the Good Shepherd which was laid upon them all.... + + + + +PART IV. + +THOUGHTS OF VARIOUS AUTHORS ON PURGATORY. + + The fuel justice layeth on, + And mercy blows the coals, + The metal in this furnace wrought + Is men's defiled souls.--SOUTHWELL. + + +THOUGHTS OF VARIOUS AUTHORS ON PURGATORY. + + +PURGATORY. + +CARDINAL NEWMAN. + +Thus we see how, as time went on, the doctrine of Purgatory was brought +home to the minds of the faithful as a portion or form of penance due +for post-baptismal sin. And thus the apprehension of this doctrine, and +the practice of Infant Baptism, would grow into general reception +together. Cardinal Fisher gives another reason for Purgatory being then +developed out of earlier points of faith. He says: "Faith, whether in +Purgatory or in Indulgences, was not so necessary in the Primitive +Church as now; for then love so burned that every one was ready to meet +death for Christ. Crimes were rare; and such as occurred were avenged +by the great severity of the Canons.... The doctrine of post-baptismal +sin, especially when realized in the doctrine of Purgatory, leads the +inquirer to fresh developments beyond itself. Its effect is to convert +a Scripture statement, which might seem only of temporary application, +into a universal and perpetual truth. When St. Paul and St. Barnabas +would 'confirm the souls of the disciples,' they taught them 'that we +must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.' It is +obvious what very practical results would follow on such an +announcement in the instance of those who accepted the apostolic +decision; and, in like manner, a conviction that sin must have its +punishment, here or hereafter, and that we all must suffer, how +overpowering will be its effect, what a new light does it cast on the +history of the soul, what a change does it make in our judgment of the +external world, what a reversal of our natural wishes and aims for the +future! Is a doctrine conceivable which would so elevate the mind above +this present state, and teach it so successfully to dare difficult +things, and to be reckless of danger and pain? He who believes that +suffer he must, and that delayed punishment may be the greater, will be +above the world, will admire nothing, fear nothing, desire nothing. He +has within his breast a source of greatness, self-denial, heroism. This +is the secret spring of strenuous efforts and persevering toil; of the +sacrifice of fortune, friends, ease, reputation, happiness. There is, +it is true, a higher class of motives which will be felt by the Saints; +who will do from love what all Christians who act acceptably do from +faith. And, moreover, the ordinary measures of charity which Christians +possess suffice for securing such respectable attention to religious +duties as the routine necessities of the Church require. But, if we +would raise an army of devoted men to resist the world, to oppose sin +and error, to relieve misery, or to propagate truth, we must be +provided with motives which keenly affect the many. Christian love is +too rare a gift, philanthropy is too weak a material, for that +occasion. Nor is there an influence to be found to suit our purpose +besides this solemn conviction, which arises out of the very rudiments +of Christian theology, and is taught by its most ancient masters,--this +sense of the awfulness of post-baptismal sin. It is in vain to look out +for missionaries for China or Africa, or evangelists for our great +towns, or Christian attendants on the sick, or teachers of the +ignorant, on such a scale of numbers as the need requires, without the +doctrine of Purgatory. For thus the sins of youth are turned to account +by the profitable penance of manhood; and terrors, which the +philosopher scorns in the individual, become the benefactors, and earn +the gratitude of nations."--_Essay on the Development of Christian +Doctrine_, [1] p. 386. + +[Footnote 1: Nevertheless, means must be taken to pay back this sum so +seasonably advanced. Hence it is, that at the request of the Minister +General of the Franciscans, Father Marie, of Brest, has made a touching +appeal to all.] + + +OUR DEBT TO THE DEAD. + +CARDINAL MANNING + +The Saints, by their intercession and their patronage, unite us with +God. They watch over us; they pray for us; they obtain graces for us. +Our guardian angels are round about us: they watch over and protect us. +The man who has not piety enough to ask their prayers must have a heart +but little like to the love and veneration of the Sacred Heart of +Jesus. But there are other friends of God to whom we owe a debt of +piety. They are those who are suffering beyond the grave, in the silent +kingdom of pain and expiation--in the dark and yet blessed realm of +purification; that is to say, the multitudes who pass out of this +world, washed in the Precious Blood, perfectly absolved of all guilt of +sin, children and friends of God, blessed souls, heirs of the kingdom +of Heaven, all but Saints; nevertheless, they are not yet altogether +purified for His kingdom. They are there detained--kept back from His +presence--until their expiation is accomplished. You and I, and every +one of us, will pass through that place of expiation. Neither you nor I +are Saints, nor, upon earth, ever will be; therefore, before we can see +God, we must be purified by pain in that silent realm. But those +blessed souls are friends of God next after His Saints; and in the same +order they ought to be the objects of our piety; that is, of our love +and compassion, of our sympathy and our prayers. They can do nothing +now for themselves: they have no longer any Sacraments; they do not +even pray for themselves. They are so conformed to the will of God that +they suffer there in submission and in silence. They desire nothing +except that His will should be accomplished. Therefore, it is our duty +to help them--to help them by our prayers, our penances, our +mortifications, our alms, by the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar. There may +be father and mother, brother and sister, friend and child, whom you +have loved as your own life: they may now be there. Have you forgotten +them? Have you no pity for them now, no natural piety, no spirit of +love for them? Do you forget them all the day long? Look back upon +those who made your home in your early childhood, the light of whose +faces you can still see shining in your memories, and the sweetness of +whose voice is still in your ears--do you forget them because they are +no longer seen? Is it, indeed, "out of sight, out of mind"? What an +impiety of heart is this! + +The Catholic Church, the true mother of souls, cherishes, with loving +memory, all her departed. Never does a day pass but she prays for them +at the altar; never does a year go by that there is not a special +commemoration of all her children departed on one solemn day, which is +neither feast nor fast, but a day of the profoundest piety and of the +deepest compassion. Surely, then, if we have the spirit of piety in our +hearts, the holy souls will be a special object of our remembrance and +our prayers. How many now are there whom we have known in life? There +are those who have been grievously afflicted, and those who have been +very sinful, but, through the Precious Blood and a death-bed +repentance, have been saved at last. Have you forgotten them? Are you +doing nothing for them? There may also be souls there for whom there is +no one to pray on earth; there may be souls who are utterly forgotten +by their own kindred, outcast from all remembrance; and yet the +Precious Blood was shed for their sakes. If no one remember, them now, +you, at least, if you have in your hearts the gift of piety, will pray +for them.--_Internal Mission of the Holy Ghost, p._ 247. + + +PURGATORY + +CARDINAL WISEMAN. + +I need hardly observe, that there is not a single liturgy existing, +whether we consider the most ancient period of the Church, or the most +distant part of the world, in which this doctrine is not laid down. In +all Oriental liturgies, we find parts appointed, in which the Priest or +Bishop is ordered to pray for the souls of the faithful departed; and +tables were anciently kept in the churches, called the _Dyptichs_, +on which the names of the deceased were enrolled, that they might be +remembered in the Sacrifice of the Mass and the prayers of the +faithful. The name of Purgatory scarcely requires a passing comment. It +has, indeed, been made a topic of abuse, on the ground that it is not +to be found in Scripture. But where is the word Trinity to be met with? +Where is the word _Incarnation_ to be read in Scripture? Where are +many other terms, held most sacred and important in the Christian +religion? The doctrines are, indeed, found there; but these names were +not given, until circumstances had rendered them necessary. We see that +the Fathers of the Church have called it a purging fire--a place of +expiation or purgation. The idea is precisely, the name almost, the +same. + +It has been said by divines of the English Church, that the two +doctrines which I have joined together, of prayers for the dead and +Purgatory, have no necessary connection, and that, in fact, they were +not united in the ancient Church. The answer to this assertion I leave +to your memories, after the passages which I have read you from the +Fathers. They surely speak of purgation by fire after death, whereby +the imperfections of this life are washed out, and satisfaction made to +God for sins not sufficiently expiated; they speak, at the same time, +of our prayers being beneficial to those who have departed this life in +a state of sin; and these propositions contain our entire doctrine on +Purgatory. It has also been urged that the established religion, or +Protestantism, does not deny or discourage prayers for the dead, so +long as they are independent of a belief in Purgatory; and, in this +respect, it is stated to agree with the primitive Christian Church. +But, my brethren, this distinction is exceedingly fallacious. Religion +is a lively, practical profession; it is to be ascertained and judged +by its sanctioned practices and outward demonstration, rather than by +the mere opinions of the few. I would at once fairly appeal to the +judgment of any Protestant, whether he has been taught, and has +understood that such is the doctrine of his Church. If, from the +services which he attended, or the Catechism which he has learned, or +the discourses heard, he has been led to suppose that praying for the +dead, in terms however general, was noways a peculiarity of +Catholicism, but as much a permitted practice of Protestantism. It is a +practical doctrine in the Catholic Church, it has an influence highly +consoling to humanity, and eminently worthy of a religion that came +down from heaven to second all the purest feelings of the heart. Nature +herself seems to revolt at the idea that the chain of attachment which +binds us together in life, can be rudely snapped asunder by the hand of +death, conquered and deprived of its sting since the victory of the +cross. But it is not to the spoil of mortality, cold and disfigured, +that she clings with affection. It is but an earthly and almost +unchristian grief, which sobs when the grave closes over the bier of a +departed loved one: but the soul flies upward to a more spiritual +affection, and refuses to surrender the hold which it had upon the love +and interest of the spirit that has fled. Cold and dark as the +sepulchral vault is the belief that sympathy is at an end when the body +is shrouded in decay, and that no further interchange of friendly +offices may take place between those who have lain down to sleep in +peace and us, who for awhile strew fading flowers upon their tomb. But +sweet is the consolation to the dying man, who, conscious of +imperfection, believes that even after his own time of merit is +expired, there are others to make intercession on his behalf; soothing +to the afflicted survivors the thought, that instead of unavailing +tears they possess more powerful means of actively relieving their +friend, and testifying their affectionate regret, by prayer and +supplication. In the first moments of grief, this sentiment will often +overpower religious prejudice, cast down the unbeliever on his knees +beside the remains of his friend, and snatch from him an unconscious +prayer for rest; it is an impulse of nature, which for the moment, +aided by the analogies of revealed truth, seizes at once upon this +consoling belief. But it is only like the flitting and melancholy light +which sometimes plays as a meteor over the corpses of the dead; while +the Catholic feeling, cheering, though with solemn dimness, resembles +the unfailing lamp which the piety of the ancients is said to have hung +before the sepulchres of their dead. It prolongs the tenderest +affections beyond the gloom of the grave, and it infuses the inspiring +hope that the assistance which we on earth can afford to our suffering +brethren, will be amply repaid when they have reached their place of +rest, and make of them friends, who, when _we_ in our turns fail, +shall receive us into everlasting mansions. [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Lectures on the Catholic Church," often called the +"Moorfield Lectures," from being delivered in St. Mary's Moorfields, in +the Lent of 1836. Vol. I., Lecture xi, pp 65,68. This lecture upon +Purgatory is an admirable exposition of the Catholic doctrine, +supported by numberless testimonies from the Fathers.] + + +REPLY TO SOME MISSTATEMENTS ABOUT PURGATORY. + +ARCHBISHOP SPALDING, OF BALTIMORE. + +"The Synod of Florence," says this writer, [1] "was the first which +taught the doctrine of Purgatory, as an article of faith. It had, +indeed, been held by the Pope and by many writers, and it became the +popular doctrine during the period under review; but it was not decreed +by any authority of the universal, or even the whole Latin Church. In +the Eastern Church it was always rejected." + +[Footnote 1: Rev. Wm. A. Palmer of Worcester College, Oxford, in his +"Compendium of Ecclesiastical History."] + +Even admitting, for the sake of argument, that the Council of Florence +was the first which defined this doctrine as an article of faith, would +it thence follow that the doctrine itself was of recent origin? It +could only be inferred that it was never before questioned, and that, +therefore, there was no need of any definition on the subject. Would it +follow from the fact, that the Council of Nice was the first general +synod which defined the doctrine of the consubstantiality of the Son +with the Father, that this, too, was a new doctrine, unknown to the +three previous centuries? Mr. Palmer himself admits that this tenet of +Purgatory "had become the popular doctrine during the period under +review;" which, in connection with the solemn promises of Christ to +guard His Church from error, clearly proves that it was an article of +divine revelation,--on the principles even of our Oxford divine! + +It is not true that "it was always rejected in the Eastern Church." The +Greek Church admitted it in the Council of Florence and, at least, +impliedly, in that of Lyons. It had never been a bar to union between +the churches, however their theologians may have differed on the +secondary question, whether the souls detained in this middle place of +temporary expiation are purified by a material fire. "The ancient +Fathers, both of the Greek and Latin Church, who had occasion to refer +to the subject, had unanimously agreed in maintaining the doctrine, as +could be easily shown by reference to their works. All the ancient +liturgies of both Churches had embodied this same article of faith. And +even at present, not only the Greek Church, but all the Oriental +sectaries still hold it as doctrine, and practice accordingly." + + +COUNT DE MAISTRE ON PURGATORY. + +You have heard, in countries separated from the Roman Church, the +_doctors of the law_ deny at once Hell and Purgatory. You might +well have taken the denial of a word for that of a thing. An enormous +power is that of words! The minister who would be angry at that of +Purgatory will readily grant us a _place of expiation_, or an +_intermediate state_, or perhaps even _stations_, who knows? +without thinking it in the least ridiculous. One of the great motives +of the sixteenth century revolt was precisely _Purgatory_. The +insurgents would have nothing less than Hell, pure and simple. +Nevertheless, when they became philosophers, they set about denying the +eternity of punishment, allowing, nevertheless, a _hell for a +time_, only through good policy and for fear of putting into heaven +at one stroke Nero and Messalina side by side with St. Louis and St. +Teresa. But a temporary hell is nothing else than Purgatory; so that +having broken with us because they did not want Purgatory, they broke +with us anew because they wanted Purgatory only. + + +WHAT THE SAINTS THOUGHT OF PURGATORY. + +In the Special Announcement of the "Messenger of St. Joseph's Union" +for 1885-6, we find the following interesting remarks in relation to +the devotion to the Souls in Purgatory: "St. Gregory the Great, +speaking of Purgatory, calls it 'a penitential fire harder to endure +than all the tribulations of this world.' St. Augustine says that the +torment of fire alone endured by the holy souls in Purgatory, exceeds +all the tortures inflicted on the martyrs; and St. Thomas says that +there is no difference between the fire of Hell and that of Purgatory. +Prayer for the souls in Purgatory is a source of great blessings to +ourselves. It is related of a holy religious who had for a long time +struggled in vain to free himself from an impure temptation, and who +appealed earnestly to the Blessed Virgin to deliver him, that she +appeared to him and commanded him to pray earnestly for the souls in +Purgatory. He did so, and from that time the temptation left him. The +duration of the period of confinement in Purgatory is probably much +longer than we are inclined to think. We find by the Revelations of +Sister Francesca of Pampeluna that the majority of souls in Purgatory +with whose sufferings she was made acquainted, were detained there for +a period extending from thirty to sixty years; and, as many of those of +whom she speaks were holy Carmelites, some of whom had even wrought +miracles when on earth, what must be the fate of poor worldlings who +seldom think of gaining an indulgence either for themselves or their +departed friends and relatives? Father Faber commenting on this +subject--the length of time that the holy souls are detained in +Purgatory--says very justly: 'We are apt to leave off too soon praying +for our parents, friends, or relatives, imagining with a foolish and +unenlightened esteem for the holiness of their lives, that they are +freed from Purgatory much sooner than they really are.' Can the holy +souls in Purgatory assist us by their prayers? Most assuredly. St. +Liguori says: 'Though the souls in Purgatory are unable to pray or +merit for themselves, they can obtain by prayer many favors for those +who pray for them on earth.' St. Catherine of Bologna has assured us +that she obtained many favors by the prayers of the holy souls in +Purgatory which she had asked in vain through the intercession of the +saints. The Holy Ghost says: 'He who stoppeth his ear against the cry +of the poor, shall also cry himself and shall not be heard,' and St. +Vincent Ferrer says, in expounding that passage, that the holy souls in +Purgatory cry to God for justice against those who on earth refuse to +help them by their prayers, and that God will most assuredly hear their +cry. Let us, therefore, do all in our power to relieve the holy souls +in Purgatory, and avert from ourselves the punishment that God is sure +to inflict on those whose faith is too dead, or whose hearts are too +cold to heed the cry that rises, day and night, from that sea of fire: +'Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends!'" Job xix. +21. + + +PURGATORY. + +CHATEAUBRIAND. + +That the doctrine of Purgatory opens to the Christian poet a source of +the marvellous which was unknown to antiquity will be readily admitted. +[1] Nothing, perhaps, is more favorable to the inspiration of the muse +than this middle state of expiation between the region of bliss and +that of pain, suggesting the idea of a confused mixture of happiness +and of suffering. The graduation of the punishments inflicted on those +souls that are more or less happy, more or less brilliant, according to +their degree of proximity to an eternity of joy or of woe, affords an +impressive subject for poetic description. In this respect, it +surpasses the subjects of heaven and hell, because it possesses a +future which they do not. + +[Footnote 1: Some trace of this dogma is to be found in Plato and in +the doctrine of Zeno. (See Diog. Laer.) The poets also appear to have +had some idea of it (Æneid, v. vi), but these notions are all vague and +inconsequent.] + +The river Lethe was a graceful appendage of the ancient Elysium; but it +cannot be said that the shades which came to life again on its banks +exhibited the same poetical progress in the way to happiness that we +behold in the souls of Purgatory. When they left the abodes of bliss to +reappear among men, they passed from a perfect to an imperfect state. +They re-entered the ring for the fight. They were born again to undergo +a second death. In short, they came forth to see what they had already +seen before. Whatever can be measured by the human mind is necessarily +circumscribed. We may admit, indeed, that there was something striking +and true in the circle by which the ancients symbolized eternity; but +it seems to us that it fetters the imagination by confining it always +within a dreaded enclosure. The straight line extended _ad +infinitum_ would, perhaps, be more expressive, because it would +carry our thoughts into a world of undefined realities, and would bring +together three things which appear to exclude each other--hope, +mobility, eternity. + +The apportionment of the punishment to the sin is another source of +invention which is found in the purgatorial state, and is highly +favorable to the sentimental.... If violent winds, raging fires, and +icy cold, lend their influence to the torments of hell, why may not +milder sufferings be derived from the song of the nightingale, from the +fragrance of flowers, from the murmur of the brook, or from the moral +affections themselves? Homer and Ossian tell us of the joy of grief +_aruerou tetarpo mesthagolo_. + +Poetry finds its advantage also in that doctrine of Purgatory which +teaches us that the prayers and other good works of the faithful may +obtain the deliverance of souls from their temporal pains. How +admirable is this intercourse between the living son and the deceased +father--between the mother and daughter--between husband and wife-- +between life and death. What affecting considerations are suggested by +this tenet of religion! My virtue, insignificant being as I am, becomes +the common property of Christians; and, as I participate in the guilt +of Adam, so also the good that I possess passes to the good of others. +Christian poets! the prayers of your Nisus will be felt, in their happy +effects, by some Euryalus beyond the grave. The rich, whose charity you +describe, may well share their abundance with the poor, for the +pleasure which they take in performing this simple and grateful act +will receive its regard from the Almighty in the release of their +parents from the expiatory flame. What a beautiful feature in our +religion to impel the heart of man to virtue by the power of love, and +to make him feel that the very coin which gives bread for the moment to +an indigent fellow-being, entitles, perhaps, some rescued soul to an +eternal position at the table of the Lord. [1] + +[Footnote 1: "Genius of Christianity." Book II., Chap. xv. pp. 338- +340.] + + +MARY AND THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED. + +BY BROTHER AZARIAS. + +Mary, from her nearness to Jesus, has imbibed many traits of the Sacred +Heart of Jesus. She shares, in a preeminent degree, His Divine +compassion for sorrow and suffering. Where He loves and pities, she +also loves and pities. Nay, may we not well say that all enduring +anguish of soul and writhing under the pangs of a lacerated heart, are +especially dear to both Jesus and Mary? Was not Jesus the Man of +Sorrows? and did He not constitute Mary the Mother of suffering and +sorrowing humanity? And even as His Divine breast knew keenest sorrow, +did not a sword of sorrow pierce her soul? She participated in the +agony of Jesus only as such a Mother can share the agony of such a Son; +in the tenderest manner, therefore, does she commiserate sorrow and +suffering wherever found. Though now far beyond all touch of pain and +misery, still as the devoted Mother of a pain-stricken race, she +continues to watch, to shield, to aid and to strengthen her children in +their wrestlings with these mysterious visitants. + +II. + +Nor does Mary's interest cease upon this side of the grave. It +accompanies souls beyond. And when she beholds those souls undergoing +their final purgation, before entering upon the enjoyment of the +beatific vision, she pities them with a pity all the more heartfelt +because their suffering is so much greater than any they could have +endured in this life. See the state of those souls. They are in grace +and favor with God; they are burning with love for Him; they are +yearning, with a yearning boundless in its intensity, to drink +refreshment of life, and love, and sanctification, and to be +replenished with goodness and truth, and to perfect their natures at +the Fountain-head of all truth, all goodness, all love, and all +perfection. They are yearning; but so clearly and piercingly does the +white light of God's truth and God's holiness shine through them and +penetrate every fold and recess of their moral natures, and reveal to +them every slightest imperfection, that they dare not approach Him and +gratify their intense desire to be united with Him. Their weaknesses +and imperfections; the traces in them of, and the attachments in them +to, former sins, incident upon the frailties of feeble human nature, +still cling to them, and must needs be consumed in the fiery ordeal of +suffering before their enjoyment of the beatific vision can be +completed and their union with the Godhead consummated. + +III. + +That there should be for souls after death such a state of purgation is +all within the grasp of human reason. It is a doctrine that was taught +in the remotest ages of the world. Here is a condensed version of the +tradition as handed down in clearest terms, beautifully expressed by +one of the world's greatest thinkers and writers: "All things are +distinctly manifest in the soul after it has been divested of the body; +and this is true both of the natural disposition of the soul and of the +affections that the man has acquired from his various pursuits. When +therefore the soul comes before the Judge ... the Judge finds all +things distorted through pride and falsehood and whatsoever is +unrighteous, for as much as the soul has been nurtured with untruth ... +and he forthwith sends it to a prison state where it will undergo the +punishment it deserves. But it behooveth that he that is punished, if +he be justly punished, either become better and receive benefit from +his punishment, or become a warning to others.... _But whoso are +benefited ... are such as have been guilty of curable transgressions; +their benefit here and hereafter [1] accrues to them through pains and +torments; for it is impossible to get rid of injustice by other manner +of means._" This reads like a page torn from one of the early +Fathers of the Church. [2] More than five centuries before the +Christian era it was penned by Plato. [3] Clearly does he draw the line +between eternal punishment for unrepented crimes and temporal +punishment for curable _Idmpa_ trangressions. Virgil in no +uncertain tone echoes the same doctrine, making no exception to the +rule that some corporeal stains and traces of ill follow all beyond the +grave; _and therefore do they suffer punishment and pay the penalty +of old wrongs._ [4] What antiquity has handed down, and reason has +found to be just and proper, the Church has defined and decreed. She +has gone further. She has supplemented and completed the pagan +conception of expiation by that of intercession; and she has added +thereto, for the comfort and consolation of the living and the dead, +that the souls so suffering "may be helped by the suffrages of the +faithful, but principally by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar." +[5] And in her prayers for deceased friends, relatives and benefactors, +she is mindful of Mary's sweet influence with her Son, and asks their +deliverance through her intercession. [6] + +[Footnote 1: Kai enthude kai en Aidou] + +[Footnote 2: There is a passage in Clement of Alexandria, not unlike +this in statement of the same doctrine ("Stromaton" 1. vi. m. 14, p. +794 Ed. Potter). The passage is quoted in "Faith of Catholics." Vol. +Ill p. 142.] + +[Footnote 3: Gorgias, cap. lxxx, lxxxi.] + +[Footnote 4: Æneid, lib. vi. 735, 740.] + +[Footnote 5: Council of Trent, Sess. xxv. Decret. de Purgatorio, p. +204.] + +[Footnote 6: Beata Maria semper virgine intercedente.] + +The tendency to commune with the dead, and to pray for them, is strong +and universal. It survives whatever systems or whatever creeds men may +invent for its suppression. Samuel Johnson is professedly a staunch +Protestant, bristling with prejudices, but a delicate moral sense +enters the rugged manhood of his nature. Instinctively he seeks to +commune with his departed wife, after the manner dear to the Catholic +heart, but forbidden to the Protestant. He keeps the anniversary of her +death. He composes a prayer for the repose of her soul, beseeching God +"to grant her whatever is best in her present state, and finally to +receive her to eternal happiness." [1] + +[Footnote 1: Boswell's Johnson, vol. 1, p. 100. Croker's Ed. There is +pathos in this entry, remembering the man: "Mar. 28, 1753. I kept this +day as the anniversary of my Tetty's death, with prayer and tears in +the morning. In the evening I prayed for her conditionally, if it were +lawful." _Ibid._ p. 97.] + +IV + +Of the nature and intensity of the sufferings of souls undergoing this +purgation, we on earth can form but the faintest conception. Not so +Mary. She sees things as they are. She sees the great love animating +those I holy souls. She sees their eager desire to be united to God, +the sole centre and object of their being. She sees and appreciates the +struggle going on in them between that intense desire--that great +yearning--that groping after perfect union--that unfilled and +unsatiated vagueness arising from their privation of the only fulness +that could replenish them, on the one hand, and on the other, the sense +of their unfitness, keen, strong, deep, intense, overwhelming them and +driving them back to the flames of pain and soul-hunger and soul-thirst +until they shall have satisfied God's justice to the last farthing, and +even the slightest stain has been cleansed, and they stand forth in the +light of God's sanctity, whole and spotless. She sees the terrible +struggle; and her motherly heart goes out in tender pity to these her +children, washed and ransomed by the Blood of her Divine Son, and she +is well disposed to extend to them the aid of her powerful +intercession. She is fitly called the Mother of Mercy. Her merciful +heart goes out to these, the favored ones of her Son, all the more +lovingly and tenderly because they are unable to help themselves. + +V. + +But whilst Mary looks upon those souls with an eye of tender mercy and +sweet compassion, and whilst Jesus is prepared to admit them to the +beatific vision as soon as they become thoroughly purified, still the +assuaging of their pains and the abridging of their time of purgation +depend in a great measure upon the graces and the merits that are +applied to them by us, their brethren upon earth. According to the +earnestness of the prayers we say for them, and the measure of the good +works we do for them, will the intercession of Mary and all the saints +be efficacious with Jesus in their behalf. It is unspeakably consoling +to the living and the dead to know that the members of the Church +militant upon earth have it within their power to aid and relieve the +members of the Church suffering. It is therefore really and indeed a +holy and a wholesome thought for us of the one to pray for those of the +other. It is more: it is an imperative duty we owe the faithful +departed. They are our brethren in Christ, bought at the same price, +nurtured by the same graces, living by the same faith, and sanctified +by the same spirit. Many of them may have been near and dear to us in +this life; and of these, many again may now suffer because of us; +whether it was that we led them directly into wrong-doing, or whether +it was that, in their loving kindness for us, they connived at, +permitted, aided or abetted us, in what their consciences had whispered +them not to be right. In each and every case it is our bounden duty to +do all in our power to assuage sufferings to which we may have been +accessory. In heart-rending accents do they cry out to us: "_Have +pity on me, have pity on me, at least ye my friends!_" [1] And as we +would have others do by us under like circumstances, so should we not +turn a deaf ear to their petition. + +[Footnote 1: Job, xix. 21.] + + +VI. + +Daily does the Angel of Death enter our houses, and summon from us +those that are rooted in our affections, and for whom our heart-throbs +beat in love and esteem. Daily must we bow our heads in reverent +silence and submission to the decree that snatches from us some loved +one. Perhaps it is a wife who mourns the loss of her husband. She finds +comfort and companionship in praying for the repose of his soul; in the +words of Tertullian, "she prays for his soul, and begs for him in the +interim refreshments, and in the first resurrection companionship, and +maketh offerings on the anniversary day of his falling asleep." [1] +Perhaps it is a husband whose loving wife has gone to sleep in death. +Then will he hold her memory sacred, and offer thereto the incense of +unceasing prayer, so that it may be said of him as St. Jerome wrote to +Pammachius: "Thou hast rendered what was due to each part; giving tears +to the body and alms to the soul.... There were thy tears where thou +knewest was death; there were thy works where thou knewest was life.... +Already is she honored with thy merits; already is she fed with thy +bread, and abounds with thy riches." [2] Perhaps it is a dear friend +around whom our heart-strings were entwined, and whose love for us was +more than we were worthy of: whose counsels were our guide; whose soul +was an open book in which we daily read the lesson of high resolve and +sincere purpose; whose virtuous life was a continuous inspiration +urging us on to noble thought and noble deed; and yet our friendship +may have bound his soul in ties too earthly, and retarded his progress +in perfection; in consequence he may still dread the light of God's +countenance, and may be lingering in this state of purgation. It +behooves us in all earnestness, and in friendship's sacred claim, to +pray unceasingly for that friend, beseeching God to let the dews of +Divine mercy fall upon his parching soul, assuage his pain, and take +him to Himself, to complete his happiness. + +[Footnote 1: "Dc Monogam," n. x. p 531. "Faith of Catholics," Vol. +III., p. 144.] + +[Footnote 2: Ep. XXXVII] + +So the sacred duty of prayer for the dead runs through all the +relations of life. From all comes the cry begging for our prayers. We +cannot in justice ignore it; we cannot be true to ourselves and +unmindful of our suffering brethren. Every reminder that we receive is +a voice coming from the grave. Now it is the mention of a name that +once brought gladness to our hearts; or we come across a letter written +by a hand whose grasp used to thrill our souls--that hand now stiffened +and cold in death; or it is the sight of some relic that vividly +recalls the dear one passed away; or it is a dream--and to whom has not +such a dream occurred?--in which we live over again the pleasant past +with the bosom friend of our soul, and he is back once more, in the +flesh, re-enacting the scenes of former days, breathing and talking as +naturally as though there were no break in his life or ours and we had +never parted. When we awaken from our dream, and the pang of reality, +like a keen blade, penetrates our hearts, let us not rest content with +a vain sigh of regret, or with useless tears of grief; let us pray God +to give the dear departed soul eternal rest, and admit it to the +perpetual light of His Presence. And in like manner should we regard +all other reminders as so many appeals to the charity of our prayers. +In this way will the keeping of the memory of those gone before us be +to them a blessing and to us a consolation. + +VII. + +Furthermore, every prayer we say, every sacrifice we make, every alms +we give for the repose of the dear departed ones, will all return upon +ourselves in hundredfold blessings. They are God's choice friends, dear +to His Sacred Heart, living in His grace and in constant communing with +Him; and though they may not alleviate their own sufferings, their +prayers in our behalf always avail. They can aid us most efficaciously. +God will not turn a deaf ear to their intercession. Being holy souls, +they are grateful souls. The friends that aid them, they in turn will +also aid. We need not fear praying for them in all faith and +confidence. They will obtain for us the special favors we desire. They +will watch over us lovingly and tenderly; they will guard our steps; +they will warn us against evil; they will shield us in moments of trial +and danger; and when our day of purgatorial suffering comes, they will +use their influence in our behalf to assuage our pains and shorten the +period of our separation from the Godhead. And so may we, in constant +prayer, begging in a special manner the intercession of Mary the Mother +of Mercy, say to our Lord and Saviour: "_Deliver them from gloom and +darkness, and snatch them from sorrow and grief; enter not into +judgment with them, nor severely examine their past life; but whether +in word or deed they have sinned, as men clothed with flesh, forgive +and do away with their transgressions." [1] + +[Footnote 1: From prayer for the Faithful Departed in the Syriac +Liturgy. See "Faith of Catholics," Vol. III, p. 203] + + +DR. JOHNSON ON PRAYERS FOR THE DEAD. + +BOSWELL. What do you, think, sir, of Purgatory, as believed by the +Roman Catholics? + +JOHNSON. Why, sir, it is a very harmless doctrine. They are of opinion +that the generality of mankind are neither so obstinately wicked as to +deserve everlasting punishment, nor so good as to merit being admitted +into the society of blessed spirits; and therefore that God is +graciously pleased to allow of a middle state, where they may be +purified by certain degrees of suffering. You see, sir, that there is +nothing unreasonable in this. + +BOSWELL. But then, sir, their Masses for the dead? + +JOHNSON. Why, sir, if it be once established that there are souls in +Purgatory, it is as proper to pray for them as for our brethren of +mankind who are yet in this life. + +BOSWELL. The idolatry of the Mass? + +JOHNSON. Sir, there is no idolatry in the Mass. They believe God to be +there, and they adore Him. + + * * * * * + +BOSWELL. We see in Scripture that Dives still retained an anxious +concern about his brethren? + +JOHNSON. Why, sir, we must either suppose that passage to be +metaphorical, or hold with many divines, and all purgatorians, that +departed souls do not all at once arrive at the utmost perfection of +which they are capable. + + * * * * * + +BOSWELL. Do you think, sir, it is wrong in a man who holds the doctrine +of Purgatory to pray for the souls of his deceased friends? + +JOHNSON. Why, no, sir. + + * * * * * + +He states, that he spent March 22, 1753, in prayers and tears in the +morning; and in the evening prayed for the soul of his deceased wife, +"conditionally, if it be lawful." The following is his customary prayer +for his dead wife: "And, O Lord, so far as it may be lawful in me, I +commend to Thy fatherly goodness the soul of my departed wife; +beseeching Thee to grant her whatever is best in her present state, and +finally to receive her into eternal happiness."--_Boswell's "Life of +Johnson,"_ Pages 169, 188. + +THE DOCTRINE OF PURGATORY. + +BURNETT [1] + +[Footnote 1: From his work, "The Path which Led a Protestant Lawyer to +the Catholic Church," p. 637.] + +The Council of Trent declared, as the faith of the Catholic Church, +"_that there is a Purgatory, and that the souls there detained are +helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the +acceptable sacrifice of the altar._" + +This is all that is required to be believed. As to the kind and measure +of the purifying punishment, the Church defines nothing. This doctrine +has been very much misrepresented, and has most generally been attacked +by sarcasm and denunciation. But is this a satisfactory method to treat +a grave matter of faith, coming down to us from the olden times? The +doctrine of Purgatory is most intimately connected with the doctrine of +sacramental absolution and satisfaction, and legitimately springs from +it. That there is a distinction in the guilt of different sins, must be +conceded. All our criminal laws, and those of all nations, are founded +upon this idea. To say that the smallest transgression, the result of +inadvertence, is equal in enormity to the greatest and most deliberate +crime, is utterly opposed to the plain nature of all law, and to the +word of God, which assures us that men shall be punished or rewarded +according to their works (Rom. ii. 6), as not to require any +refutation. Our Lord assures us that men must give an account in the +day of judgment for every idle word they speak (Matt, xii. 36), and St. +John tells us that nothing denied shall enter heaven (Rev. xxi. 27). +Then St. John says there is a sin unto death, and there is a sin which +is not unto death (I John, v. 16), and he also tells us that "all +unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not unto death." So we are +told by the same apostle, that if we confess our sins, God is faithful +and just to forgive us (I John, i. 9). Now we must put all these texts +together, and give them their full, harmonious, and consistent force. +We must carry out the principles laid down to their fair and logical +results. Suppose, then, a man speak an idle word, and die suddenly, +before he has time to repent and confess his sin, will he be lost +everlastingly? Must there not, in the very nature of Christ's system, +be a middle state, wherein souls can be purged from their lesser sins? + + +MALLOCK ON PURGATORY. [1] + +[Footnote 1: William Hurrell Mallock, the author of "Is Life Worth +Living," from which this extract is given, and of several other recent +works, was, at the time when the above was written, as he says himself +in his dedication, "an outsider in philosophy, literature, and +theology," and not, as might be supposed, a Catholic. It has been +positively asserted, and as positively denied, that he has since +entered the Church. But it is certain that he has not done so. Mallock +is not a Catholic.--COMPILER'S NOTE.] + +To those who believe in Purgatory, to pray for the dead is as natural +and rational as to pray for the living. Next, as to this doctrine of +Purgatory itself--which has so long been a stumbling-block to the whole +Protestant world--time goes on, and the view men take of it is +changing. It is becoming fast recognized on all sides that it is the +only doctrine that can bring a belief in future rewards and punishments +into anything like accordance with our notions of what is just or +reasonable. So far from its being a superfluous superstition, it is +seen to be just what is demanded at once by reason and morality, and a +belief in it to be not an intellectual assent, but a partial +harmonizing of the whole moral ideal.--_W. H. Mattock, "Is Life Worth +Living,"_ Page 297. + + +BOILEAU-DESPRÉAUX AND PRAYER FOR THE DEAD. + +We love to see the truth of our dogmas proclaimed from amid the great +assemblies of choice intelligences. Boileau did not hesitate to do +homage to the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory on the following solemn +occasion:-- + +On the death of Furetière, the French Academy deliberated whether they +would have a funeral service for him, according to the ancient custom +of the establishment. Despréaux, who had taken no part in the expulsion +of his former associate, gave expression, when he was no more, to the +language of courageous piety. He feared not to express himself in these +words: "Gentlemen, there are three things to be considered here--God, +the public, and the Academy. As regards God, He will, undoubtedly, be +well pleased if you sacrifice your resentment for His sake and offer +prayers to Him for the repose of a fellow-member, who has more need of +them than others, were it only on account of the animosity he showed +towards you. Before the public, it will be a glorious thing for you not +to pursue your enemy beyond the grave. And as for the Academy, its +moderation will be meritorious, when it answers insults by prayers, and +does not deny a Christian the resources offered by the Church for +appeasing the anger of God, all the more that, besides the +indispensable obligation of praying to God for your enemies, you have +made for yourselves a special law to pray for your associates." + + +ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS. [1] + +[Footnote 1: New York _Tablet_, Nov. 12, 1870] + +MRS. J. SADLIER. + +OF all the sublime truths which it is the pride and happiness of +Christians to believe, none is more beautiful, more consoling than that +of the Communion of Saints. Do we fully realize the meaning of that +particular article of our faith? From their earliest infancy Christian +children repeat, at their mother's knee, "I believe in the Communion of +Saints;" but it is only when the mind has attained a certain stage of +development that they begin to feel the inestimable privilege of being +in the Communion of Saints. + +But how sad to think that even in later life many of those whose +childhood lisped "I believe in the Communion of Saints," neither know, +nor care to know, what it means. Outside the Church who believes in the +Communion of Saints?--who rejoices in the glory of the glorified, or +invokes their intercession with God? Who believes in that state of +probation whereby the earth-stains are washed from the souls of men? +Who has compassion on "the spirits who are in prison?" To Catholics +only is the Communion of Saints a reality, a soul-rejoicing truth. How +inestimable is the privilege of being truly and indeed "of the +household of faith,"--within and of "the Church of the Saints," the +Church that alone connects the life which is and that which is to come, +the living and the dead! + +Year by year we are reminded of this truth, so solemn and so beautiful, +the Communion of Saints, by the double festival of All Saints and All +Souls--when the Church invites her children of the Militant Church to +rejoice with her on the glory of her Saints, and to pray with her for +the holy dead who are still in the purgatorial fire that is to prepare +them for that blessed abode into which "nothing defiled can enter." + +Grand and joyous is the feast of the Saints, when we lovingly honor all +our brethren who have gained their thrones in Heaven, and with faith +and hope invoke their powerful aid, that we, too, may come where they +are, and be partakers in their eternal blessedness; solemn and sad, but +most sweetly soothing to the heart of faith, is the day of All Souls, +when the altars are draped in black, and the chant is mournful, and +sacrifice is offered, the whole world over, for the dead who have slept +in Christ, with the blessing of the Church upon them. For them, if they +still have need of succor, are all the good works of the faithful +offered up, and the prayers of all the Saints and all the Angels +invoked, not only on the second day of November, but on every day of +that mournful month. + +Thus do we, who are still on earth, honor the glorified Saints of God, +and invoke them for ourselves and for the blessed souls who may yet be +debarred from the joys of Heaven. And this is truly the Communion of +Saints--the Church on earth, the Church in Heaven, the Church in +Purgatory, distinct, yet united, the children of one common Father, who +is God; of one common Mother, who is Mary, the Virgin ever Blessed. + + +LEIBNITZ [1] + +[Footnote 1: Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibnitz, the eminent Protestant +philosopher. The above is from his "Systema Theologicum."] + +ON THE MASS AS A PROPITIATORY SACRIFICE. + +No new efficacy is superadded to the efficacy of the Passion from this +propitiatory Sacrifice, repeated for the remission of sins; but its +entire efficacy consists in the representation and application of the +first bloody Sacrifice, the fruit of which is the Divine Grace bestowed +on all those who, being present at this tremendous sacrifice, worthily +celebrate the oblation in unison with the priest. And since, in +addition to the remission of eternal punishment, and the gift of the +merits of Christ for the hope of eternal life, we further ask of God, +for ourselves and others, both living and dead, many other salutary +gifts (and amongst those, the chief is the mitigation of that paternal +chastisement which is due to every sin, even though the penitent be +restored to favor); it is therefore clearly manifest that there is +nothing in our entire worship more precious than the sacrifice of this +Divine Sacrament, in which the Body of Our Lord itself is present. + + +EXTRACTS FROM "A TROUBLED HEART." + +How often have I been touched at the respect paid the dead in Catholic +countries; at the reverence with which the business man, hastening to +fulfil the duties of the hour, pauses and lifts his hat as the funeral +of the unknown passes him in the street! What pity streams from the +eyes of the poor woman who kneels in her humble doorway, and, crossing +herself, prays for the repose of the soul that was never known to her +in this life; but the body is borne towards the cemetery, and she joins +her prayer to the many that are freely offered along the solemn way +(pp. 151-2). + + * * * * * + +So passes the faithful soul to judgment; after which, if not ushered at +once into the ineffable glory of the Father, it pauses for a season in +the perpetual twilight of that border-land where the spirit is purged +of the very memory of sin. Even as Our Lord Himself descended into +Limbo; as He died for us, but rose again from the dead and ascended +into heaven, so we hope to rise and follow Him,--sustained by the +unceasing prayers of the Church, the intercession of the Saints, and +all the choirs of the just, who are called on night and day, and also +by the prayers and pleadings of those who have loved us, and who are +still in the land of the living. + +The prayers that ease the pangs of Purgatory, the _Requiem_, the +_Miserere_, the _De Profundis_--these are the golden stairs +upon which the soul of the redeemed ascends into everlasting joy. Even +the Protestant laureate of England has confessed the poetical justice +and truth of this, and into the mouth of the dying Arthur--that worthy +knight--he puts these words: + + "Pray for my soul! More things are wrought by prayer + Than this world dreams of; wherefore let thy voice + Rise like a fountain for me night and day; + For, what are men better than sheep or goats + That nourish a blind life within the brain, + If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer + Both for themselves and those who call them friend? + For so the whole round earth is every way + Bound by gold chains about the feet of God." [1] + +[Footnote 1: These exquisite lines will be found elsewhere in this +volume in the full description of King Arthur's death from Tennyson. +But they bear repetition.] + + +O ye gentle spirits that have gone before me, and who are now, I trust, +dwelling in the gardens of Paradise, beside the river of life that +flows through the midst thereof,--ye whose names I name at the Memorial +for the Dead in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,--as ye look upon the +lovely and shining countenances of the elect, and, perchance, upon the +beauty of our Heavenly Queen, and upon her Son in glory,--O remember me +who am still this side of the Valley of the Shadow, and in the midst of +trials and tribulations. And you who have read these pages, written +from the heart, after much sorrow and long suffering, though I be still +with you in the flesh, or this poor body be gathered to its long home, +--you whose eyes are now fixed upon this line, I beseech you, + + _Pray for me_!--_Anon_. + + +EUGÉNIE DE GUÉRIN AND HER BROTHER MAURICE. + +[In Eugénie de Guérin's journal we find the following beautiful words +written while her loving heart was still bleeding for the early death +of her best-loved brother, Maurice--her twin soul, as she was wont to +call him.] + +"O PROFUNDITY! O mysteries of that other life that separates us! I who +was always so anxious about him, who wanted so much to know everything, +wherever he may be now there is an end to that. I follow him into the +three abodes; I stop at that of bliss; I pass on to the place of +suffering, the gulf of fire. My God, my God, not so! Let not my brother +be there, let him not! He is not there. What! his soul, the soul of +Maurice, among the reprobate! ... Horrible dread, no! But in Purgatory, +perhaps, where one suffers, where one expiates the weaknesses of the +heart, the doubts of the soul, the half-inclinations to evil. Perhaps +my brother is there, suffering and calling to us in his pangs as he +used to do in bodily pain, 'Relieve me, you who love me!' Yes, my +friend, by prayer. I am going to pray. I have prayed so much, and +always shall. Prayer? Oh, yes, prayers for the dead, they are the dew +of Purgatory." + +_All Souls'_--How different this day is from all others, in +church, in the soul, without, within. It is impossible to tell all one +feels, thinks, sees again, regrets. There is no adequate expression for +all this except in prayer.... I have not written here, but to some one +to whom I have promised so long as I live, a letter on All Souls'.... + +O my friend, my brother, Maurice! Maurice! art thou far from me? dost +thou hear me? What are they, those abodes that hold thee now? ... +Mysteries of another life, how profound, how terrible ye are-- +sometimes, how sweet! + + +PASSAGES FROM THE VIA MEDIA. + +[Written while Cardinal Newman was still an Anglican] + +Now, as to the punishments and satisfactions for sins, the texts to +which the minds of the early Christians seem to have been principally +drawn, and from which they ventured to argue in behalf of these vague +notions, were these two: 'The fire shall try every man's work,' etc., +and 'He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire.' These +passages, with which many more were found to accord, directed their +thoughts one way, as making mention of fire, whatever was meant by the +word, as the instrument of trial and purification; and that, at some +time between the present time and the Judgment, or at the Judgment. As +the doctrine, thus suggested by certain striking texts, grew in +popularity and definiteness, and verged towards its present Roman form, +it seemed a key to many others. Great portions of the books of Psalms, +Job, and the Lamentations, which express the feelings of religious men +under suffering, would powerfully recommend it by the forcible and most +affecting and awful meaning which they received from it. When this was +once suggested, all other meanings would seem tame and inadequate. + +To these may be added various passages from the prophets, as that in +the beginning of the third chapter of Malachi, which speaks of fire as +the instrument of purification, when Christ comes to visit His Church. + +Moreover, there were other texts of obscure and indeterminate meaning, +which seem on this hypothesis to receive a profitable meaning; such as +Our Lord's words in the Sermon on the Mount, "Verily, I say unto thee, +thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the +uttermost farthing;" and St. John's expression in the Apocalypse, that, +"no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to +open the book."--_Via Media, pp._ 174-177. + +Most men, to our apprehensions, are too little formed in religious +habits either for heaven or for hell; yet there is no middle state when +Christ comes in judgment. In consequence, it is obvious to have +recourse to the interval before His coming, as a time during which this +incompleteness may be remedied, as a season, not of changing the +spiritual bent and character of the soul departed, whatever that be, +for probation ends with mortal life, but of developing it in a more +determinate form, whether of good or evil. Again, when the mind once +allows itself to speculate, it will discern in such a provision a means +whereby those who, not without true faith at bottom, yet have committed +great crimes, or those who have been carried off in youth while still +undecided, or who die after a barren, though not immoral or scandalous +life, may receive such chastisement as may prepare them for heaven, and +render it consistent with God's justice to admit them thither. Again, +the inequality of the sufferings of Christians in this life compared +one with another, leads the mind to the same speculations; the intense +suffering, for instance, which some men undergo on their death-bed, +seeming as if but an anticipation in their case of what comes after +death upon others, who, without greater claims on God's forbearance, +live without chastisement and die easily. The mind will inevitably +dwell upon such thoughts, unless it has been taught to subdue them by +education or by the fear of the experience of their dangerousness.-- +_Via Media, pp. 174-177_. + + +ALL SOULS. + +FROM THE FRENCH. + +November is come; and the pleasant verdure that the groves and woods +offered to our view in the joyous spring is fast losing its cheerful +hue, while its withered remains lie trembling and scattered beneath our +feet. The grave and plaintive voice of the consecrated bell sends forth +its funereal tones, and, recalling the dead to our pensive souls, +implores, for them the pity of the living. Oh! let us hearken to its +thrilling call; and may the sanctuary gather us together within its +darkened walls, there to invoke our Eternal Father, and breathe forth +cherished names in earnest prayer! + +When the solemn hour of the last farewell was come for those we loved, +and their weakened sight was extinguished forever, it seemed as if our +hearts' memory would be eternal, and as if those dear ones would never +be forgotten. But time has fled, their memory has grown dim, and other +thoughts reign paramount in our forgetful hearts, which barely give +them from time to time a pious recollection. + +Nevertheless, they loved us, perhaps too well, lavish of a love that +Heaven demanded. How devoted was their affection; and shall we now +requite it by a cruel forgetfulness? Oh! if they suffer still on our +account; if, because of their weakness, they still feel the wrath of +God's justice, shall we not pray, when their voices implore our help, +when their tears ascend towards us? + +Alas! in this life what direful contamination clings to the steps of +irresolute mortals! Who has not wavered in the darksome paths into +which the straight road so often deviates? + +The infinite justice of the God of purity perhaps retains them in the +dungeons of death. Alas! for long and long the Haven of eternal life +may be closed against them! Oh, let us pray; our voices will open the +abode of celestial peace unto the imprisoned soul. The God of +consolation gave us prayer, that love might thus become eternal.-- +_The Lamp_, Nov. 5, 1864. + + +AN ANGLICAN BISHOP PRAYING FOR THE DEAD. + +Foremost among later Anglican divines in piety, in learning, and in the +finer qualities of head and heart, stands the name of Reginald Heber, +Bishop of the Establishment, whose gentle memory,--embalmed in several +graceful and musical poems, chiefly on religious subjects,--is still +revered and cherished by his co-religionists, respected and admired +even by those who see in him only the man and the poet--not the +religious teacher. I am happy to lay before my readers the following +extract from a letter of Bishop Heber, in which that amiable and +accomplished prelate expresses his belief in the efficacy of prayers +for the departed: + +"Few persons, I believe, have lost a beloved object, more particularly +by sudden death, without feeling an earnest desire to recommend them in +their prayers to God's mercy, and a sort of instinctive impression that +such devotions might still be serviceable to them. + + * * * * * + +"Having been led attentively to consider the question, my own opinion +is, on the whole, favorable to the practice, which is, indeed, so +natural and so comfortable, that this alone is a presumption that it is +neither unpleasing to the Almighty nor unavailing with Him. + +"The Jews, so far back as their opinions and practices can be traced +since the time of Our Saviour, have uniformly recommended their +deceased friends to mercy; and from a passage in the Second Book of +Maccabees, it appears that, from whatever source they derived it, they +had the same custom before His time. But if this were the case, the +practice can hardly be unlawful, or either Christ or His Apostles +would, one should think, have, in some of their writings or discourses, +condemned it. On the same side it may be observed that the Greek +Church, and all the Eastern Churches, pray for the dead; and that we +know the practice to have been universal, or nearly so, among the +Christians a little more than one hundred and fifty years after Our +Saviour. It is spoken of as the usual custom by Tertullian and +Epiphanius. Augustine, in his _Confessions_, has given a beautiful +prayer which he himself used for his deceased mother, Monica; and among +Protestants, Luther and Dr. Johnson are eminent instances of the same +conduct. I have, accordingly, been myself in the habit, for some years, +of recommending on some occasions, as, after receiving the sacrament, +etc., my lost friends by name to God's goodness and compassion, through +His Son, as what can do them no harm, and may, and I hope will, be of +service to them." + + +THE "PURGATORY" OF DANTE. + +MARIOTTI. + +In the course of his remarks upon the _Divina Comedia_ of Dante, a +bitter opponent of the Holy See and of everything Catholic, Mariotti, +[1] an apostle of United Italy, expresses his views upon the ancient +doctrine of Purgatory. These views are but an instance of how its +beauty and truthfulness to nature strike the minds of those who have +strayed from the centre of Christian unity. + +[Footnote 1: Mariotti, author of "Italy Past and Present," an +unscrupulous opponent of the Papacy and of the Church.] + +"To say nothing of its greatness and goodness, the poem of Dante," says +Mariotti, "is the most curious of books. The register of the past, +noting down every incident within the compass of man's nature.... Dante +is the annalist, the interpreter, the representative of the Middle +Ages.... The ideas of mankind were in those '_dark_' ages +perpetually revolving upon that 'life beyond life,' which the +omnipresent religion of that _fanatical_ age loved to people with +appalling phantoms and harrowing terrors. Dante determined to +anticipate his final doom, and still, in the flesh, to break through +the threshold of eternity, and explore the kingdom of death.... No poet +ever struck upon a subject to which every fibre in the heart of his +contemporaries more readily responded than Dante. It is not for me to +test the soundness of the Roman Catholic doctrine of Purgatory, or to +inquire which of the Holy Fathers first dreamt of its existence. It +was, however, a sublime contrivance, unscriptural though it may be--a +conception full of love and charity, in so far as it seemed to arrest +the dead on the threshold of eternity; and making his final welfare +partly dependent on the pious exertions of those who were left behind, +established a lasting interchange of tender feelings, embalmed the +memory of the departed, and by a posthumous tie wedded him to the +mourning survivor.... Woe to the man, in Dante's age, who sunk into his +grave without bequeathing a heritage of love; on whose sod no +refreshing dew of sorrowing affection descended. Lonely as his relics +in the sepulchre, his spirit wandered in the dreaded region of +probation; alone he was left defenceless, prayerless, friendless to +settle his awful score with unmitigated justice. It is this feeling, +unrivalled for poetic beauty, that gives color and tone to the second +division of Dante's poem. The five or six cantos, at the opening, have +all the milk of human nature that entered into the composition of that +miscalled saturnine mind. With little more than two words, the poet +makes us aware that we have come into happier latitudes. Every strange +visitor breathes love and forgiveness. The shade we meet is only +charged with tidings of joy to the living, and messages of good will. +The heart lightens and brightens at every new stratum of the atmosphere +in that rising region; the ascent is easy and light, like the gliding +of a boat down the stream. The angels we become familiar with are +angels of light, such as human imagination never before nor afterwards +conceived. They come from afar across the waves, piloting the barge +that conveys the chosen spirits to heaven, balancing themselves on +their wide-spread wings, using them as sails, disdaining the aid of all +mortal contrivance, and relying on their inexhaustible strength; red +and rayless at first, from the distance, as the planet Mars when he +appears struggling through the mist of the horizon, but growing +brighter and brighter with amazing swiftness. They stand at the gate of +Purgatory, they guard the entrance to each of the seven steps of its +mountain--some with green vesture, vivid as new-budding leaves, +gracefully waving and floating in simple drapery, fanned by their +wings; bearing in their hands flaming swords broken at the point; +others, ash-colored garments; others again, in flashing armor, but all +beaming with so intense, so overwhelming a light, that dizziness +overcomes all mortal ken, whenever directed to their countenance. The +friends of the poet's youth one by one arrest his march, and engage him +in tender converse. The very laws of immutable fate seem for a few +moments suspended to allow full scope for the interchange of +affectionate sentiments. The overawing consciousness of the place he is +in, for a moment forsakes the mortal visitor so miraculously admitted +into the world of spirits. He throws his arms round the neck of the +beloved shade, and it is only by the smile irradiating its countenance +that he is reminded of the intangibility of its ethereal substance. The +episodes of "the Purgatory" are mostly of this sad and tender +description. The historical personages introduced seem to have lost +their own identity, and to have merged into a blessed calmness, +characterizing medium of the region they are all travelling through." +It is plain that, bitterly hostile as is this faithless Italian to the +Church of his fathers, and the truth which it teaches, his poetic +instinct, at least, rises above mere prejudice, and enables him to +penetrate into that dim but holy atmosphere created by the poet's +genius, and yet more fully by the poet's faith. This homage to the +union of religious grandeur, natural tenderness, and supernatural +fervent charity, which make this doctrine unconsciously dear to every +human heart, is of value coming from the pen of so prejudiced a +witness. It is but one of countless testimonies that in all times, and +in all ages, have sprung from the heart of man, as it were in his own +despite. + + +THE MOUTH OF NOVEMBER. [1] + +[Footnote 1: New York _Tablet_, Nov. 26, 1859.] + +MARY E. BLAKE (MARIE). + +It is but a few days since the Church has celebrated the triumph of her +saints, rejoicing in the eternal felicity of that innumerable throng +whom she has given to the celestial Sion. She invites us to share her +joy. She bids us look up from the rugged pathway of our thorn-strewn +pilgrimage to that blissful abode which is to be the term and the +reward of all our trials. Yet, like a true mother, she cannot forget +that portion of her family who are sighing for their deliverance, in +that region of pain to which they are consigned by eternal justice. On +one day she sings with radiant brow and tones of jubilee her _Sursum +Corda_; on the next, she kneels a suppliant, chanting with uplifted +hands and tearful eyes her _Requiem Æternam_; and we, the +companions of her exile, shall we not sympathize with every emotion of +the heart of our tender Mother? + +Among the pious customs which owe their existence to the fertile spirit +of Catholic devotion is that which dedicates the month of November to +the Suffering Souls in Purgatory. It would seem as though the annual +circle of commemorative devotion were incomplete without this crowning +fulfilment of charity. + +Some years since, I met with a graphic description of a spectacle in +the Catholic Cemetery of New Orleans. It was the 2d of November, when +the friends and relatives of the dead came to scatter emblematic +wreaths and sweet-scented flowers on their graves. This custom was +observed by the French Catholics and their descendants; and the writer, +although a Protestant, was deeply impressed with its beauty and +significance. He asked why, among Americans, there was so little of +this eloquent affection for the dead. He might have found an answer in +the fact that the principle of faith was wanting--of that vivid and +active faith which seeks and finds by such means its outward +manifestation. + +We, also, are the children of the Saints. We have inherited from them +the same faith in all its integrity, and how does our _practice_ +correspond with it? What are we doing for that army of holy captives +who cannot leave their prison till the uttermost farthing be paid? Let +us not imitate those tepid Christians who are satisfied with erecting +costly monuments, and observing, with scrupulous exactness, the usual +period of "mourning," while the poor souls are left to pine forgotten, +if they have gone with some-lingering stains--some earthly tarnish on +their nuptial garment. Ah! there is so much that might be done if we +would only reflect, and let our hearts be softened by the intense +eloquence of their mute appeal.... + +These are a few of the thoughts suggested by the late solemnity, and +perhaps they cannot be concluded more appropriately than by introducing +the following poem, found in an old magazine. If the theme be +sufficient to inspire thus one who had but faint glimmerings of divine +truth, what should be expected of us, who rejoice in the fullness of +that light? I twine, then, this flower of the desert with the leaves I +have gathered, and offer my humble wreath as a tribute of faith and +affection on the altar dedicated to the dear departed. + +_November_, 1859. + +LITANY OP THE DEPARTED. + +It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.-- +II. Mach. xii. 26. + + For the spirits who have fled + From the earth which once they trod; + For the loved and faithful dead, + We beseech the living God! + Oh! receive and love them! + By the grave where Thou wert lying, + By the anguish of Thy dying, + Spread Thy wings above them; + Grant Thy pardon unto them, + _Dona eis requiem!_ + + Long they suffered here below, + Outward fightings, inward fears; + Ate the cheerless bread of woe,-- + Drank the bitter wine of tears:-- + Now receive and love them! + By Thy holy Saints' departures, + By the witness of Thy martyrs, + Spread Thy wings above them. + On the souls in gloom who sit, + _Lux eterna luceat_! + + Lord, remember that they wept, + When Thy children would divide; + Lord, remember that they slept + On the bosom of Thy Bride; + And receive and love them! + By the tears Thou couldst not smother; + By the love of Thy dear Mother, + Spread Thy wings above them. + To their souls, in bliss with Thee, + _Dona pacem, Domini_! + + Grant our prayers, and bid them pray, + O thou Flower of Jesse's stem; + Lend a gracious ear when they, + Plead for us, as we for them. + _Deus Angelorum_, + _Dona eis requiem_, + _Et beatitudinem_. + _Cordibus eorum_ + _Jesu, qui salutam das_ + _Micat lumen animas_! + +--_Acolytus_. + + +ALL SOULS' DAY [1] + +[Footnote 1: New York _Tablet_, Nov. 12, 1864.] + +MRS. J. SADLIER. + +Nothing in the whole grand scheme of Religion is more beautiful than +the tender care of the Church over her departed children. Not content +with providing for their spiritual wants during their lives, and +sending them into eternity armed with and strengthened by the last +solemn Sacraments, blessing their departure from, as she blessed their +entrance into, this world, her maternal solicitude follows them beyond +the grave, and penetrates to the dreary prison in the Middle State +where, happily, they may be, as the Apostle says, "cleansed so as by +fire." With the tender compassion of a fond mother, the Church, +_our_ mother, yearns over the sufferings of her children, all the +dearer to her because they suffer in the Lord, and by His holy will. + +By every means within her power she aids these blessed souls who are at +once so near Heaven, and so far from it; by solemn prayers, by +sacrifice, by continual remembrance of them in all her good works, she +gives them help and comfort herself, while encouraging the faithful to +imitate her example in that respect by numerous and great Indulgences, +and by the crown of eternal blessedness she holds out to those who +perform faithfully and in her own proper spirit this Seventh Spiritual +Work of Mercy--"to pray for the living _and the dead_." In every +Mass that is said the long year round on each of her myriad altars, a +solemn commemoration is made for the Dead immediately after the +Elevation of the Sacred Host, the great Atoning Sacrifice of the New +Law; in all the other public offices of the Church, "the faithful +departed" are tenderly remembered, and, to crown the efforts of her +maternal charity, the second day of November of every year is set apart +for the solemn remembrance of these her most beloved and most afflicted +children, for whose benefit and relief all the Masses of that day +throughout the whole Catholic world are specially offered up. Nay, more +than that, the entire month of November is devoted to the Souls in +Purgatory, and the good works and pious prayers of all the holy +communities who spend their lives in commune with God are offered up +with that benign intention during the month. + +In Catholic countries, the faithful are touchingly reminded of this sad +though pleasing duty to their departed brethren, by the tolling of the +several convent and church bells at eight o'clock in the evening, at +which time the different communities unite in reciting the solemn _De +Profundis_, and other prayers for the dead. Solemn and sonorous we +have heard that passing-bell, year after year, booming through the +darkness and storm of the November night in a northern land [1] where +the pious customs of the best ages of France, transplanted over two +centuries ago, flourish still in their pristine beauty and touching +fervor. + +[Footnote 1: Eastern, or French Canada, now known as the Province of +Quebec] + +But, though all Catholics may not hear the _De Profundis_ bell of +November nights, nor all households kneel at evening hour to join in +spirit with the pious communities who are praying then for the faithful +departed, yet all Catholics know when, on the first of November, they +celebrate the great and joyous festival of All Saints, that the next +day will bring the mournful solemnity of All Souls, when the altars of +the Church will be draped with black, and her ministers robed in the +same sombre garb, whilst offering the "Clean Oblation" of the New Law +for the souls who are yet in a state of purgation in the other life. + +To the deep heart of Catholic piety nothing can be more sensibly +touching than "the black Mass" of All Souls' Day. If the feast be not +celebrated by the laity as it so faithfully is by the Church, it +certainly ought to be, if the spirit of the faith be still amongst +them. The funereal solemnity of the occasion touches the deepest, +holiest sympathies in every true Catholic heart, reminding each of +their loved and lost, and filling their souls with the soothing hope +that the Great Sacrifice then offered up for all the departed children +of the Church may release one or more of their nearest and dearest from +the cleansing fires of Purgatory. Then, while the funeral dirge fills +the sacred edifice, and the mournful _Dies Iræ_ thrills the hearts +of all, each one thinks of his own departed ones, and recalls with +indescribable sadness other just such celebrations in the years long +past, when those for whom they now invoke the mercy of Heaven were +still amongst the living. Then comes, too, the solemn thought that +some, perhaps many, of those then present in life and health may be +numbered with the dead before All Souls' Day comes round again, and a +voice from the depths of the Christian heart asks, "May not I, too, be +then with the dead?" + +When noting with surprise and regret how many Catholics neglect the +celebration of All Souls' Day, we have often endeavored to account for +such strange apathy. Surely, if the charity of the Church do not +inspire them--if they do not feel, with the valiant Macchabeus of old, +that "it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the Dead that +they may be loosed from their sins"--if natural affection, even, do not +move them to think of the probable sufferings of their own near and +dear--sufferings which they may have it in their power to alleviate--at +least, a motive of self-interest ought to make them reflect that when +they themselves are with the dead, retributive justice may leave them +forgotten by their own flesh and blood, as they forget others now. But +to those who do faithfully unite with the Church in her solemn +commemoration of the faithful departed on All Souls' Day, nothing can +be more soothing to the deep heart of human sadness, as nothing is more +imposing, or more strikingly illustrative of that Catholic charity, +that all-embracing charity which has its life and fountain within the +Church. + + + + +CEMETERIES. + +THE respect due to cemeteries is too closely connected with the +doctrine of Purgatory for us to omit observing here that those asylums +of the dead, being the objects of pious reverence, even amongst +infidels, ought to be still more so amongst us. It was in this +connection that Mgr. Pelletan, Arch-priest of the Cathedral of Algiers, +wrote thus on the 13th of March, 1843: + +"Here in Algiers, do we not see, every Friday, the Mussulman Arab, +wandering pensively through his cemetery, placing on some venerated and +beloved grave bouquets of flowers, branches of boxwood; wrapped in his +bornouse, he sits for hours beside it, motionless and thoughtful; lost +in gentle melancholy, it would seem as though he were holding intimate +and mysterious converse with the dear departed one whose loss he +deplores.... + +"But for us, Christians, nourished, enlightened by the truth of God, +what special homage, what profound reverence we should manifest towards +the remains of our fathers, our brethren who died in the same faith! +Oh, let us remember the first faithful--the martyrs--the catacombs! The +cemetery is for us the land where grows invisibly the harvest of the +elect; it is the sleeping world of intelligence; sheltered are its +peaceful slumbers in the bosom of nature ever young, ever fruitful; the +crowd of the dead pressed together beneath those crosses, under those +scattered flowers, is the crowd that will one day rise to take +possession of the infinite future, from which it is only separated by +some sods of turf. + +"Hence how lively, how motherly has ever been the solicitude of the +Church in this respect! She wishes that the ground wherein repose the +remains of her children be blessed and consecrated ground; she purifies +it with hyssop and holy water; she calls down upon it by her humble +supplications, the benediction of Him who disposes according to His +will of things visible and invisible, of souls and of bodies; she +wishes that the cross should rise in its midst, that her children may +rest in peace in its shade while awaiting the grand awaking; even as a +temple and a sanctuary, she banishes from it games, noise of all kinds, +and even all that savors of levity or irreverence."--_Dictionnaire +d'Anecdotes Chrétiens, p_. 993. + + +OPINIONS OF VARIOUS PROTESTANTS. + +Some say, like Lessing in his "Treatise on Theology," "What hinders us +from admitting a Purgatory? as if the great majority of Christians had +not really adopted it. No, this intermediate state being taught and +recognized by the ancient Church, notwithstanding the scandalous abuses +to which it gave rise, should not be absolutely rejected." + +Others, with Dr. Forbes (_controv. pontif. princip., anno_ 1658): +"Prayer for the dead, MADE USE OF FROM THE TIMES OF THE APOSTLES, +cannot be rejected as useless by Protestants. They should respect the +judgment of the primitive Church, and adopt a practice sanctioned by +the continuous belief of so many ages. We repeat that prayer for the +dead is a salutary practice." + +Several others, rising to our point of view, drawing their inspiration +from the sources of Catholic charity, tell you, with the theologian +Collier (Part II. p. 100): "Prayer for the dead revives the belief in +the immortality of the soul, withdraws the dark veil which covers the +tomb, and establishes relations between this world and the other. Had +it been preserved, we should probably not have had amongst us so much +incredulity. I cannot conceive why our Church, which is so remote from +the primitive times of Christianity, should have abandoned or disdained +a custom that had never been interrupted; which, on the contrary, as we +have reason to believe from Scripture, existed in ancient times; which +was practiced in the Apostolic age, in the time of miracles and +revelations; introduced amongst the articles of faith, and never +rejected, except by Arius." + +"It was evidently in use in the Church in the time of St. Augustine, +and down to the sixteenth century. If we do nothing for our dead, if we +omit to occupy ourselves with them and pray for them, as was formerly +done in the Holy Supper, we break off all intercourse with the Saints; +and then, how could we dare to say that we remain in communion with the +blessed? And if we break off in this way from the most noble part of +the universal Church, may it not be said that we mutilate our belief +and reject one of the articles of the Christian faith?" + +"Yes," says the German Sheldon, in his turn, "prayer for the dead is +one of the most ancient and most efficacious practices of the Christian +religion." + +You have just heard the sound of some bells; listen again and you shall +hear something different. + +You think, then, that there are Protestants who admit Purgatory and +others who deny it? You are mistaken! There are some who at once admit +and do not admit it. This is difficult to comprehend, but it is so, +nevertheless, and this is how they take it: + +On the one side, they will have nothing but hell, pure and simple; this +is the Catholic side; but on the other is the philosophic side, the +eternity of horrible pains is something too hard; and then, why not a +hell that will end a little sooner, or a little later? For, in fine, +there are small criminals and great criminals. So that their temporary +hell--that is to say, having an end--being, after all, nothing more +than one Purgatory, it follows that, having broken with us because they +did not want Purgatory, they broke off again because they wanted +Purgatory only.--_Dictionnaire d'Anecdotes_, 998-9. + +Mr. Thorndike, a Protestant theologian, says: "The practice of the +Church of interceding for the dead at the celebration of the Eucharist, +is so general and so ancient, that it cannot be thought to have come in +upon imposture, but that the same aspersion will seem to take hold of +the common Christianity." + +The Protestant translators of Du Pin observe, that St. Chrysostom, in +his thirty-eighth homily on the Philippians, says, that to pray for the +faithful departed in the tremendous mysteries, was decreed by the +Apostles. + +The learned Protestant divine, Dr. Jeremy Taylor, writes thus: "We find +by the history of the Machabees, that the Jews did pray and make +offerings for the dead, which appears by other testimonies, and by +their form of prayer still extant, which they used in the captivity. +Now, it is very considerable, that since our Blessed Saviour did +reprove all the evil doctrines and traditions of the Scribes and +Pharisees, and did argue concerning the dead and the resurrection, yet +He spake no word against this public practice, but left it as He found +it; which He who came to declare to us all the will of His Father would +not have done, if it had not been innocent, pious, and full of charity. +The practice of it was at first, and was universal: it being plain both +in Tertullian and St. Cyprian, and others." + +"Clement," says Bishop Kaye, "distinguishes between sins committed +before and after baptism: the former are remitted at baptism, the +latter are purged by discipline.... The necessity of this purifying +discipline is such, that if it does not take place in this life, it +must after death, and is then to be effected by fire, not by a +destructive, but a discriminating fire, pervading the soul which passes +through it."--_Clem_., ch. xii. + + +SOME THOUGHTS FOR NOVEMBER. + + I stood upon an unknown shore, + A deep, dark ocean, rolled beside; + Dear, loving ones were wafted o'er + That silent and mysterious tide. + +To most persons, the idea of Purgatory is simply one of pain; they try +to avoid thinking about it, because the subject is unpleasant, and +people's thoughts do not naturally revert to painful subjects; they +feel that it is a place to which they must go at least, if they escape +worse; they must suffer, they cannot help it, and so the less they +think about it beforehand, the better. Purgatory and suffering are to +them synonymous terms; perhaps fear keeps them from some sins which, +without this salutary apprehension, they would readily fall into; but, +on the whole, they take their chance, and hope for the best. This, +perhaps, is the view of a large class of people, and of those who will +scarcely own to themselves what they think on the subject; but their +lives are the tell-tales, and we cannot but fear that to escape hell is +the utmost effort of many who apparently are good Catholics. Still, we +would not say that they do not love God, that they are not in many ways +pleasing to Him; but, oh! how many there are who only want a little +more generosity to become Saints! Then, there is another class, further +on in their heavenward journey--souls who do love God, who do seek only +to please Him, who are generous, often even noble-hearted, in their +Master's service; souls who can say, "Our Father," and look up with +child-like love to Heaven; but even with such, and perhaps with almost +all, the feeling about Purgatory is much the same; it is a sort of +necessary evil; a something that must be endured. They feel strongly +all that justice demands; their very sanctity and goodness lead them to +desire that that which is evil in them should be taken out, even by +fire; but still there are few that do really see the deep, deep love of +Purgatory. We are very far from wishing to hinder people from thinking +less of its sufferings--nay, rather their very intenseness and severity +only pleads our case more strongly. All that has been revealed to the +Saints, all that has been made known to us by the Church or tradition, +proclaims the same fact. Suffering, intense, unearthly anguish, is the +portion of those most blessed souls; and it has been said that the +pains of Purgatory only differ in duration from those of hell. Still, +there is this difference--oh! blessed be God, there is this difference, +and it is all we could ask: in hell, the damned blaspheme their Master +with the demons that torment them; in Purgatory, the holy souls love +their God with the angelic choirs who await their entrance to the land +of bliss. If the souls of the damned could love, hell would cease to be +hell; if the souls of the blessed ones in prison could cease to love, +Purgatory would be worse to them than a thousand such hells. + + * * * * * + +Yes; Purgatory is love, and if it be true that the love of God extends +even to hell, because its torments might be worse, did not His infinite +mercy temper His infinite justice, how much more truly may this be said +of Purgatory! We have no wish to enter into any detailed account of +what the pains of Purgatory are supposed to be; this is a subject for +the pen of the theologian, or the raptures of the Saint. Awful and +terrible we know they are. But there is one suffering which we wish to +speak of, because we cannot but hope, if people reflected upon it +seriously, that they would learn to think of Purgatory less as a +necessary evil, and more as a most tender mercy, and be more inclined +to enter into a hearty co-operation with those who are anxious to help +the poor souls in this awful prison. + +Surely, the one object of our whole lives is, not so much to get to +Heaven because we shall be happy there, as to see Jesus forever and +forever, to be near Him, to gaze on Him, and to love Him without fear; +for then love will be fearless, because suffering and sin will have +ceased. + +And what will happen when we die? Oh! if we were sent to Purgatory +without seeing Jesus, we might bear it better. There have been souls on +earth privileged to suffer for months the pains of the holy souls, and +they have lived and borne the pain, and longed, if it were possible, +even for more; but they had not seen Jesus as we shall see Him at the +moment of our death. The very thought makes us shudder and our life- +blood run cold. What if we should indeed be saved, we who have so +trembled and feared, and known not whether we were worthy of love or +hatred? What if we should behold the face of Divinest Majesty gaze upon +us even for one moment in tenderness? And yet, unless we see it in +unutterable wrath, this will be. But what then? Shall we see it +forever? Shall our eyes gaze on and on, and feast themselves on that +sight for all eternity? ... Ah! not yet; we must lose sight of that +vision of delight; it must be withdrawn from us--not, thank God, in +anger, but in sorrow. Oh! what are the pains of Purgatory, what the +burning of its fire, in comparison with the suffering which the soul +endures when separated, even for a moment, from her God? Who can tell, +who can understand, who can even faintly guess, what will be the +anguish of longing which shall consume our very being? But why must +this be? Why does love, infinite, tender love, inflict such intense +pain? Why does the parent turn away from his child, and forbid him his +presence for a time? Is it that he loves him less than when he lavished +on him the tenderest caresses? ... Why, but because suffering is needed +as an atonement to justice, because love cannot be perfected without +fear. "It is here tried and purified, but hath in Heaven its perfect +rest." Oh! the love of Purgatory! we shall never know it, or understand +it, until we are there. Yes, we cannot but think that the greatest, the +keenest suffering of the soul will be the remembrance of that which it +has seen for a passing moment, and the pining to behold again and +forever the face of God. It has been revealed to Saints that so intense +is this desire, that the soul would gladly place itself even in the +most fearful tortures, could it thus become more quickly purged from +that which withholds it from the presence of God. Did we but well +consider, and enter into this feeling, we should be much more careful +about our imperfections and our venial sins. + + * * * * * + +The Saints have ever desired suffering, and consider it as the greatest +favor which could be bestowed upon them; not that it is in itself +desirable, but because it perfects love. Let us, then, we who are not +Saints, think of Purgatory with more affection; let us rejoice that, if +we are not privileged to have keen, unearthly anguish in this life, we +shall yet suffer, and suffer intensely, in the next. Our love will be +purified; our dross be purged away; the weary pain which we feel +continually when we think how vile we are in the sight of God, how the +eye of Jesus, with all its tenderness, must often turn from us in +sorrow--the weary pain, the deep degradation of misery and sin, will +one day cease; we shall not tremble under our Father's eye, or long to +hide ourselves from our Father's countenance. Now we must often feel, +when trying with our whole hearts to please God, how impure, how +sullied we are before Him. Our pride, our vanity, our impatience, our +self-love, are all there. God sees them; how can He, then, look on us +as we desire He should? And often we almost long to be in those purging +flames, even should it be for years and years, that this vileness might +be burned away. + + + + +PART V. + +LEGENDARY AND POETICAL. + + Well beseems + That we should help them wash away the stains + They carried hence; that so, made pure and light, + They may spring upward to the starry spheres. + Ah! so may mercy tempered justice rid + Your burdens speedily; that ye have power + To stretch your wing, which e'en to your desire + Shall lift you. + +--DANTE. + +LEGENDARY AND POETICAL. + +DIES IRÆ. + + The day of wrath, that dreadful day + Shall the whole world in ashes lay, + As David and Sybils say. + + What horror will invade the mind, + When the strict Judge, who would be kind, + Shall have few venial faults to find! + + The last loud trumpet's wondrous sound + Must thro' the rending tombs rebound, + And wake the nations underground. + + Nature and death shall with surprise + Behold the pale offender rise, + And view the Judge with conscious eyes. + + Then shall with universal dread, + The sacred mystic book be read, + To try the living and the dead. + + The Judge ascends His awful throne, + He makes each secret sin be known, + And all with shame confess their own. + + O then! what int'rest shall I make, + To save my last important stake, + When the most just have cause to quake! + + Thou mighty formidable King! + Thou mercy's unexhausted spring! + Some comfortable pity bring. + Forget not what my ransom cost, + Nor let my dear-bought soul be lost, + In storms of guilty terror tost. + + Thou, who for me didst feel such pain, + Whose precious blood the cross did stain, + Let not those agonies be vain. + + Thou whom avenging powers obey, + Cancel my debt (too great to pay) + Before the said accounting day. + + Surrounded with amazing fears, + Whose load my soul with anguish hears, + I sigh, I weep, accept my tears. + + Thou, who wast mov'd with Mary's grief, + And by absolving of the thief, + Hast given me hope, now give relief. + + Reject not my unworthy prayer, + Preserve me from the dangerous snare, + + Which death and gaping hell prepare. + + Give my exalted soul a place + Among the chosen right hand race, + The sons of God, and heirs of grace. + + From that insatiate abyss, + Where flames devour and serpents hiss, + Promote me to Thy seat of bliss. + + Prostrate, my contrite heart I rend, + My God, my Father, and my Friend: + Do not forsake me in my end. + + Well may they curse their second birth, + Who rise to a surviving death. + Thou great Creator of mankind, + Let guilty man compassion find.--_Amen_. + + +AUTHORSHIP OF THE DIES IRÆ. + +O'BRIEN. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Rev. John O'Brien, A.M., Prof. of Sacred Liturgy in Mount +St. Mary's College, Emmettsburg, Md.] + +The authorship of the "Dies Iræ" seems the most difficult to settle. +This much, however, is certain: that he who has the strongest claims to +it is Latino Orsini, generally styled _Frangipani_, whom his +maternal uncle, Pope Nicholas III. (Gætano Orsini), raised to the +cardinalate in 1278. He was more generally known by the name of +Cardinal Malabranca, and was, at first, a member of the Order of St. +Dominic. (See _Dublin Review_, Vol. XX., 1846; Gavantus, Thesaur. +Sacr. Rit., p. 490.) + +As this sacred hymn is conceded to be one of the grandest that has ever +been written, it is but natural to expect that the number of authors +claiming it would be very large. Some even have attributed it to Pope +Gregory the Great, who lived as far back as the year 604. St. Bernard, +too, is mentioned in connection with it, and so are several others; but +as it is hardly necessary to mention all, we shall only say that, after +Cardinal Orsini, the claims to it on the part of Thomas de Celano, of +the Order of Franciscans Minor, are the greatest. There is very little +reason for attributing it to Father Humbert, the fifth general of the +Dominicans in 1273; and hardly any at all for accrediting it to +Augustinus de Biella, of the Order of Augustinian Eremites. A very +widely circulated opinion is that the "Dies Iræ," as it now stands, is +but an improved form of a Sequence which was long in use before the age +of any of those authors whom we have cited. Gavantus gives us, at page +490 of his "Thesaurus of Sacred Rites," a few stanzas of this ancient +sequence. [1] + +[Footnote 1: We subjoin this Latin stanza: Cum recordor moriturus, + Quid post mortem sum futurus + Terror terret me venturus, + Queru expecto non securus.] + + * * * * * + +To repeat what learned critics of every denomination under heaven have +said in praise of this marvellous hymn, would indeed be a difficult +task. One of its greatest encomiums is, that there is hardly a language +in Europe into which it has not been translated; it has even found its +way into Greek and Hebrew--into the former, through an English +missionary of Syria, named Hildner; and into the latter, by Splieth, a +celebrated Orientalist. Mozart avowed his extreme admiration of it, and +so did Dr. Johnson, Sir Walter Scott, and Jeremy Taylor, besides hosts +of others. The encomium passed upon it by Schaff is thus given in his +own words: "This marvellous hymn is the acknowledged master-piece of +Latin poetry and the most sublime of all uninspired hymns. The secret +of its irresistible power lies in the awful grandeur of the theme, the +intense earnestness and pathos of the poet, the simple majesty and +solemn music of its language, the stately metre, the triple rhyme, and +the vocal assonances, chosen in striking adaptation--all combining to +produce an overwhelming effect, as if we heard the final crash of the +universe, the commotion of the opening graves, the trumpet of the +archangel summoning the quick and the dead, and saw the King 'of +tremendous majesty' seated on the throne of justice and mercy, and +ready to dispense everlasting life, or everlasting woe." (See "Latin +Hymns," Vol. I. p. 392, by Prof. March, of Lafayette College, Pa.) + +The music of this hymn formed a chief part in the fame of Mozart; and +it is said, and not without reason, that it contributed in no small +degree to hasten his death, for so excited did he become over its awe- +enkindling sentiments while writing his celebrated "Mass of Requiem," +that a sort of minor paralysis seized his whole frame, so + + Terret dies me terroris, + Dies irae, ac furoris, + Dies luctus, ac moeroris, + Dies ultrix peccatoris, + Dies irae, dies illa, etc, etc. + +that he was heard to say: "I am certain that I am writing this Requiem +for myself. It will be my funeral service." He never lived to finish +it; the credit of having done so belongs to Sussmayer, a man of great +musical attainments, and a most intimate friend of the Mozart family.-- +_Dublin Review_, Vol. I., May, 1836. + +The allusion to the sibyl in the third line of the first stanza, "Teste +David cum Sybilla," [1] has given rise to a good deal of anxious +inquiry; and so very strange did it sound to French ears at its +introduction into the sacred hymnology of the Church, that the Parisian +rituals substituted in its place the line, _Crucis expandens +vexilla_. The difficulty is, however, easily overcome if we bear in +mind that many of the early Fathers held that Almighty God made use of +these sibyls to promulgate His truths in just the same way as He did of +Balaam of old, and many others like him. The great St. Augustine has +written much on this subject in his "City of God;" and the reader may +form some idea of the estimation in which these sibyls were held, when +he is told that the world-renowned Michael Angelo made them the subject +of one of his greatest paintings.... In the opinions of the ablest +critics it was the Erythrean sibyl who uttered the celebrated +prediction about the advent of our Divine Lord and His final coming at +the last day to judge the living and the dead.... The part of the +sibyl's response which referred particularly to the Day of Judgment was +written (as an acrostic) on the letters of Soter, or Saviour. It is +given as follows in the translation of the "City of God" of St. +Augustine: + +[Footnote 1: As David and Sibyls say.] + + "Sounding, the archangel's trumpet shall peal down from heaven, + Over the wicked who groan in their guilt and their manifold sorrows, + Trembling, the earth shall be opened, revealing chaos and hell. + Every king before God shall stand on that day to be judged; + Rivers of fire and of brimstone shall fall from the heavens." + + +DANTE'S "PURGATORIO." + + The bright sun was risen + More than two hours aloft; and to the sea + My looks were turned. "Fear not," my master cried. + "Assured we are at happy point. Thy strength + Shrink not, but rise dilated. Thou art come + To Purgatory now. Lo! there the cliff + That circling bounds it. Lo! the entrance there, + Where it doth seem disparted."... + + Reader! thou markest how my theme doth rise; + Nor wonder, therefore, if more artfully + I prop the structure. Nearer now we drew, + Arrived whence, in that part where first a breach + As of a wall appeared. I could descry + A portal, and three steps beneath, that led + For inlet there, of different color each; + And one who watched, but spake not yet a word, + As more and more mine eye did stretch its view, + I marked him seated on the highest step, + In visage such as past my power to bear. + Grasped in his hand, a naked sword glanced back + The rays so towards me, that I oft in vain + My sight directed. "Speak from whence ye stand," + He cried; "What would ye? Where is your escort? + Take heed your coming upward harm ye not." + + "A heavenly dame, not skilless of these things," + Replied the instructor, "told us, even now, + 'Pass that way, here the gate is.'" "And may she, + Befriending, prosper your ascent," resumed + The courteous keeper of the gate. "Come, then, + Before our steps." We straightway thither came. + + The lowest stair was marble white, so smooth + And polished, that therein my mirrored form + Distinct I saw. The next of hue more dark + Than sablest grain, a rough and singed block + Cracked lengthwise and across. The third, that lay + Massy above, seemed porphyry, that flamed + Red as the life-blood spouting from a vein. + On this God's Angel either foot sustained, + Upon the threshold seated, which appeared + A rock of diamond. Up the trinal steps + My leader cheerily drew me. "Ask," said he, + "With humble heart, that he unbar the bolt." + Piously at his holy feet devolved + I cast me, praying him, for pity's sake, + That he would open to me; but first fell + Thrice on my bosom prostrate. Seven times + The letter that denotes the inward stain, + He, on my forehead, with the blunted point + Of his drawn sword, inscribed. And "Look," he cried, + "When entered, that thou wash these scars away." + Ashes, or earth ta'en dry out of the ground, + Were of one color with the robe he wore. + From underneath that vestment forth he drew + Two keys, of metal twain; the one was gold, + Its fellow, silver. With the pallid first, + And next the burnished, he so plyed the gate, + As to content me well. "Whenever one + Faileth of these that in the key-hole straight + It turn not, to this alley then expect + Access in vain." Such were the words he spake. + "One is more precious, but the other needs + Skill and sagacity, large share of each, + Ere its good task to disengage the knot + Be worthily performed. From Peter these + I hold, of him instructed that I err + Rather in opening, than in keeping fast; + So but the suppliant at my feet implore." + + Then of that hallowed gate he thrust the door. + Exclaiming, "Enter, but this warning hear: + He forth again departs who looks behind." + + As in the hinges of that sacred ward + The swivels turned, sonorous metal strong. + Harsh was the grating; nor so surlily + Rocked the Tarpeian when by force bereft + Of good Metellus, thenceforth from his loss + To leanness doomed. Attentively I turned, + Listening the thunder that first issued forth; + And "We praise Thee, O God," methought I heard, + In accents blended with sweet melody. + The strains came o'er mine ear, e'en as the sound + Of choral voices, that in solemn chant + With organ mingle, and, now high and clear + Come swelling, now float indistinct away.--_Canto IX_. + + * * * * * + + Hell's dunnest gloom, or night unlustrous, dark, + Of every planet reft, and palled in clouds, + Did never spread before the sight a veil + In thickness like that fog, nor to the sense + So palpable and gross. Entering its shade, + Mine eye endured not with unclosed lids; + Which marking, near me drew the faithful guide, + Offering me his shoulder for a stay. + + As the blind man behind his leader walks, + Lest he should err, or stumble unawares + On what might harm him, or perhaps destroy; + I journeyed through that bitter air and foul, + Still listening to my escort's warning voice, + + "Look that from me thou part not." Straight I heard + Voices, and each one seemed to pray for peace, + And for compassion to the Lamb of God + That taketh sins away. The prelude still + Was "Agnus Dei;" and, through all the choir, + One voice, one measure ran, that perfect seemed + The concord of their song. "Are these I hear + Spirits, O Master?" I exclaimed; and he, + "Thou aim'st aright: these loose the bonds of wrath."--_Canto_ +XVI. + + * * * * * + + Forthwith from every side a shout arose + So vehement, that suddenly my guide + Drew near, and cried: "Doubt not, while I conduct thee." + "Glory!" all shouted (such the sounds mine ear + Gathered from those who near me swelled the sounds), + "Glory in the highest be to God!" We stood + Immovably suspended, like to those, + The shepherds, who first heard in Bethlehem's field + That song: till ceased the trembling, and the song + Was ended: then our hallowed path resumed, + Eyeing the prostrate shadows, who renewed + Their customed mourning. Never in my breast + Did ignorance so struggle with desire + Of knowledge, if my memory do not err, + As in that moment; nor, through haste, dared I + To question, nor myself could aught discern. + So on I fared, in thoughtfulness and dread.--_Canto XX._ + + * * * * * + + Now the last flexure of our way we reached; + And, to the right hand turning, other care + Awaits us. Here the rocky precipice + Hurls forth redundant flames; and from the rim + A blast up-blown, with forcible rebuff + Driveth them back, sequestered from its bound. + + Behooved us, one by one, along the side, + That bordered on the void, to pass; and I + Feared on one hand the fire, on the other feared + Headlong to fall: when thus the instructor warned: + "Strict rein must in this place direct the eyes. + A little swerving and the way is lost." + + Then from the bosom of the burning mass, + "O God of mercy!" heard I sung, and felt + No less desire to turn. And when I saw + Spirits along the flame proceeding, I + Between their footsteps and mine own was fain + To share by turns my view. At the hymn's close + They shouted loud, "I do not know a man;" [1] + Then in low voice again took up the strain.-_Canto XXV_. + +[Footnote 1: _I do not know a man._ St. Luke, i. 34.] + + * * * * * + + Now was the sun [1] so stationed, as when first + His early radiance quivers on the heights + Where streamed his Maker's blood; while Libra hangs + Above Hesperian Ebro; and new fires, + Meridian, flash on Ganges' yellow tide. + So day was sinking, when the Angel of God + Appeared before us. Joy was in his mien. + Forth of the flame he stood--upon the brink; + And with a voice, whose lively clearness far + Surpassed our human, "Blessed are the pure + In heart," he sang; then, near him as we came, + "Go ye not further, holy spirits," he cried, + "Ere the fire pierce you; enter in, and list + Attentive to the song ye hear from thence." + I, when I heard his saying, was as one + Laid in the grave. My hands together clasped, + And upward stretching, on the fire I looked, + And busy fancy conjured up the forms, + Erewhile beheld alive, consumed in flames.--_Canto XXVII._ + +[Footnote 1: At Jerusalem it was dawn, in Spain midnight, and in India +noonday, while it was sunset in Purgatory] + + +HAMLET AND THE GHOST. + +SHAKESPEARE. + + HAMLET. Where wilt thou lead me? Speak, I'll go no further. + GHOST. Mark me. + HAM. I will. + GHOST. My hour is almost come, + When I to sulphurous and tormenting flames + Must render up myself. + HAM. Alas! poor ghost! + GHOST. Pity me not, but lend thy serious hearing + To what I shall unfold. + HAM. Speak, I am bound to hear. + GHOST. So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear. + HAM. What? + GHOST. I am thy father's spirit; + Doomed for a certain time to walk the night; + And, for the day, confined to fast in fires, + Till the foul crimes, done in my days of nature, + Are burnt and purged away. But that I am forbid + To tell the secrets of my prison-house, + I could a tale unfold, whose lightest word + Would harrow up thy soul; freeze thy young blood; + Make thy two eyes, like stars, start from their spheres; + Thy knotted and combined locks to part, + And each particular hair to stand on end, + Like quills upon the fretful porcupine; + But this eternal blason must not be + To ears of flesh and blood. + + +CALDERON'S "PURGATORY OF ST. PATRICK." + +In a work of this nature, it is essential to its purpose that the +compiler should take cognizance of the many legends, wild and +extravagant as some of them are, which have been current at various +times and amongst various peoples, on the subject of Purgatory. For +they have, indeed, a deep significance, proving how strong a hold this +belief in a middle state of souls has taken on the popular mind. They +are, in a certain sense, a part of Catholic tradition, and have to do +with what is called Catholic instinct. They prove that this dogma of +the Church has found a home in the hearts of the people, and become +familiar to them, as the tales of childhood whispered around the winter +hearth. If it appear now and then, in some such uncouth disguise, as +that which we, are about to present to our readers, we see, +nevertheless, through it all the truth, or rather the fragments of +truth, such as is often found floating about through Europe on the +breath of tradition. The curious legend has been turned by Calderon +from dross into precious gold. He presents it to us in his "Purgatory +of St. Patrick" with a beauty that divests it of much of its native +wildness. He presumably drew his materials for the drama from a work, +"The Life and Purgatory of St. Patrick," published in Spain in 1627 by +Montalvan, a Spanish dramatist. It was translated into French by a +Franciscan priest and doctor of theology, François Bouillon; as also +into Portuguese by Father Manuel Caldeira. When this work was issued +Calderon was wish the army in Flanders. He must have seen it, his +brilliant imagination at once taking hold of it as the groundwork for a +splendid effort of his genius. + +We cite here an extract from an introduction by Denis Florence +MacCarthy to his translation of Calderon's "Purgatory of St. Patrick." +It will be of interest as following the thread of this weird legend: + +The curious history of Ludovico Enio, on which the principal interest +of this play depends, has been alluded to, and given more or less fully +by many ancient authors. The name, though slightly altered by the +different persons who have mentioned him, can easily be recognized as +the same in all, whether as Owen, Oien, Owain, Eogan, Euenius, or +Ennius. Perhaps the earliest allusion to him in any printed English +work is that contained in 'Ranulph Hidgen's Polychronicon,' published +at Westminster by Wynkin de Worde, in 1495: 'In this Steven's tyme, a +knyght that hyght Owen wente into the Purgatory of the second Patrick, +abbot, and not byshoppe. He came agayne and dwelled in the abbaye of +Ludene of Whyte Monks in Irlonde, and tolde of joycs and of paynes that +he had seen.' + +The history of Enio had, however, existed in manuscript for nearly +three centuries and a half before the Polychronicon was printed; it had +been written by Henry, the Monk of Salterey, in Huntingdonshire, from +the account which he had received from Gilbert, a Cistercian monk of +the Abbey of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Luden, or Louth, above +mentioned. [1] Colgan, after collating this manuscript with two others +on the same subject, which he had seen, printed it nearly in full in +his "Trias." ... Matthew Paris had, however, before this, in his +"History of England," under date 1153, given a full account of the +adventures of OEnus in the Purgatory. ... Sir Walter Scott mentions, in +his "Border Minstrelsy," that there is a curious Metrical Romance in +the Advocates' Library of Edinburgh, called "The Legend of Sir Owain," +relating his adventures in St. Patrick's Purgatory; he gives some +stanzas from it, descriptive of the knight's passage of "The Brig o' +Dread;" which, in the legend, is placed between Purgatory and Paradise. +This poem is supposed to have been written early in the fourteenth +century. + +[Footnote 1: Colgan's "Trias Thanmaturgæ," p. 281, Ware's "Annals of +Ireland," A.D. 1497.] + +A second extract on the subject, taken from the Essay by Mr. Wright on +the "Purgatory of St. Patrick," published in London in 1844, gives +still further information with regard to it. + +"The mode," he says, "in which this legend was made public is thus told +in the Latin narrative. Gervase (the founder and first Abbot of Louth, +in Lincolnshire) sent his monk, Gilbert, to the king, then in Ireland, +to obtain a grant to build a monastery there. Gilbert, on his arrival, +complained to the king, Henry II., that he did not understand the +language of the country. The king said to him,' I will give you an +excellent interpreter,' and sent him the knight Owain, who remained +with him during the time he was occupied in building the monastery, and +repeated to him frequently the story of his adventures in Purgatory. +Gilbert and his companions subsequently returned to England, and there +he repeated the story, and some one said he thought it was all a dream, +to which Gilbert answered: 'That there were some who believed that +those who entered the Purgatory fell into a trance, and saw the vision +in the spirit, but that the knight had denied this, and declared that +the whole was seen and felt really in the body.' Both Gilbert, from +whom Henry of Salterey received the story, and the bishop of the +diocese, assured him that many perished in this Purgatory, and were +never heard of afterwards." It is clear from the allusion to it in +Cæsarius of Heisterbach, that already, at the beginning of the +thirteenth century, St. Patrick's Purgatory had become famous +throughout Europe. 'If any one doubt of Purgatory,' says this writer, +'let him go to Scotland (i. e., Ireland, to which this name was +anciently given), and enter the Purgatory of St. Patrick, and his +doubts will be expelled.' This recommendation was frequently acted upon +in that, and particularly in the following century, when pilgrims from +all parts of Europe, some of them men of rank and wealth, repaired +thither. On the patent rolls in the Tower of London, under the year +1358, we have an instance of testimonials given by the king, Edward +III., on the same day, to two distinguished foreigners, one a noble +Hungarian, the other a Lombard, Nicholas de Becariis, of their having +faithfully performed this pilgrimage. And still later, in 1397, we find +King Richard II. granting a safe conduct to visit the same place to +Raymond, Viscount of Perilhos, Knight of Rhodes, and Chamberlain of the +King of France, with twenty men and thirty horses. Raymond de Perilhos, +on his return to his native country, wrote a narrative of what he had +seen, in the dialect of the Limousin (_Lemosinalingna_), of which +a Latin version was printed by O'Sullivan in his '_Historia Catholica +Ibernica.' ... This is a mere compilation from the story of 'Henry of +Salterey,' and begins, like that, with an account of the origin of the +Purgatory. He represents himself as having been first a minister to +Charles V. of France, and subsequently the intimate friend of John I. +of Aragon, after whose death (in 1395) he was seized with the desire of +knowing how he was treated in the other world, and determined, like a +new Æneas, to go into St. Patrick's Purgatory in search of him. He saw +precisely the same sights as the knight, Owain, but (as in Calderon) +only twelve men came to him in the hall instead of fifteen, and in the +fourth hall of punishments he saw King John of Aragon, and many others +of his friends and relations. + +We will now select from the drama of "Calderon" a few characteristic +passages, to show how this subject was treated by the glowing pen and +fervid fancy of the greatest of all the poets of Catholic Spain, whose +poetry, indeed, is deserving of more widespread appreciation than it +has yet received at the hands of the Catholic reading public. We will +begin with those lines in which Ludovico Enio, the hero of the tale, +makes known his identity to King Egerio. + + LUDOVICO. Listen, most beautiful divinity, + For thus begins the story of my life. + Great Egerio, King of Ireland, I + + Am Ludovico Enio--a Christian also-- + In this do Patrick and myself agree, + And differ, being Christians both, + And yet as opposite as good from evil. + But for the faith which I sincerely hold + (So greatly do I estimate its worth), + I would lay down a hundred thousand lives-- + Bear witness, thou all-seeing Lord and God. + + . . . . . . All crimes, + Theft, murder, treason, sacrilege, betrayal + Of dearest friends, all these I must relate. + For these are all my glory and my pride. + In one of Ireland's many islands I + Was born, and much do I suspect that all + The planets seven, in wild confusion strange, + Assisted at my most unhappy birth. + +He proceeds with a catalogue of his crimes, most dark, indeed, and +relates how St. Patrick, who was present, had saved him from shipwreck. +The King, however, who is a pagan, takes the Knight into his service, +while he bids the Saint begone. Before they part Patrick asks of him a +favor: + + PATRICK. This one boon I ask-- + LUDOVICO. What is it? + PATRICK. That, alive or dead, we meet + In this world once again. + LUDOVICO. Dost thou demand + So strange and dread a promise from me? + PATRICK. Yes. + LUDOVICO. I give it to thee then. + PATRICK. And I accept it. + +What follows is from a conversation between Patrick and the King, +wherein are explained many of the truths of faith, including the +existence of heaven and of hell. Thus the Saint: + + PATRICK. There are more places + In the other world than those of + Everlasting pain and glory: + Learn, O King, that there's another, + Which is Purgatory; whither + Flies the soul that has departed + In a state of grace; but bearing + Still some stains of sin upon it: + For with these no soul can enter + God's pure kingdom--there it dwelleth + Till it purifies and burneth + All the dross from out its nature; + Then it flieth, pure and limpid, + Into God's divinest presence. + + KING. So you say, but I have nothing, + Save your own words, to convince me; + Give me of the soul's existence + Some strong proof--some indication-- + Something tangible and certain-- + Which my hands may feel and grasp at. + And since you appear so powerful + With your God, you can implore him, + That to finish my conversion, + He may show some real being, + Not a mere ideal essence, + Which all men can touch; remember, + But one single hour remaineth + For this task: this day you give us + Certain proofs of pain or glory, + Or you die: where we are standing + Let your God display his wonders-- + And since we, perhaps, may merit + Neither punishment nor glory, + Let the other place be shown us, + Which you say is Purgatory. + +PATRICK then prays, concluding with the words: + + "I ask, O Lord, may from Thy hand be given, + That Purgatory, Hell, and Heaven + May be revealed unto those mortals' sight." + +An Angel then descends and speaks as follows: + + ANGEL. Patrick, God has heard thy prayer, + He has listened to thy vows; + And as thou hast ask'd, allows + Earth's great secrets to lie bare. + Seek along this island ground + For a vast and darksome cave, + Which restrains the lake's dark wave, + And supports the mountains round; + He who dares to go therein, + Having first contritely told + All his faults, shall there behold + + Where the soul is purged from sin. + He shall see with mortal eyes + Hell itself--where those who die + In their sins forever lie, + In the fire that never dies. + He shall see, in blest fruition, + Where the happy spirits dwell. + But of this be sure as well-- + He who without true contrition + Enters there to idly try + What the cave may be, doth go + To his death--he'll suffer woe + While the Lord doth reign on high. + Who this day shall set you free + From this poor world's weariness; + + He shall grant to you, in pity, + Bliss undreamed by mortal men-- + Making thee a denizen + Of his own celestial city. + He shall to the world proclaim + His omnipotence and glory, + By the wondrous Purgatory, + Which shall bear thy sainted name. + +Polonia, the King's daughter, whom Ludovico had married and deserted, +having first tried to kill her, appears upon the scene just as the +King, Patrick, and some others, who have set out upon their quest for +the Purgatory, have reached a gloomy mountain and a deep cave. Polonia +relates the wonders and the terrors of the cavern through which she has +passed. Patrick then speaks as follows: + + PATRICK. This cave, Egerio, which you see, concealeth + Many mysteries of life and death, + Not for him whose hardened bosom feeleth + Nought of true repentance or true faith. + But he who freely enters, who revealeth + All his sins with penitential breath, + Shall endure his Purgatory then, + And return forgiven back again. + +Later in the drama we find Ludovico desiring + + "To enter + Into Patrick's Purgatory; + Humbly and devoutly keeping + Thus the promise that I gave him." + +Again, he says: + + "I have faith and firm reliance + That you yet shall see me happy, + If in God's name blessed Patrick, + + "Aid me in the Purgatory." + +Having confessed his sins and made due preparation, he enters the cave. +On his return hence, the Priest, or Canon as he is called, bids him +relate the wonders he has seen. He finds himself first "in thick and +pitchy darkness," he hears horrid clangor, and falls down at length +into a hall of jasper, where he meets with twelve grave men, who +encourage him, and bid him keep up his courage amid the fearful sights +he is to behold later on. At length he reaches the Purgatory: + + "I approached another quarter; + There it seemed that many spirits + I had known elsewhere, were gathered + Into one vast congregation, + Where, although 'twas plain they suffered, + Still they looked with joyous faces, + Wore a peaceable appearance, + Uttered no impatient accents, + But, with moistened eyes uplifted + Towards the heavens, appeared imploring + Pity, and their sins lamenting. + This, in truth, was Purgatory, + Where the sins that are more venial + Are purged out." + +He then alludes to that Bridge or "Brig o' Dread," to which allusion +will be made in another portion of our volume. As this passage is +celebrated, it is well to give it in full: + + LUDOVICO. To a river did they lead me, + Flowers of fire were on its margin, + Liquid sulphur was its current, + Many-headed hydras--serpents-- + Monsters of the deep were in it; + It was very broad, and o'er it + Lay a bridge, so slight and narrow + That it seem'd a thin line only. + It appear'd so weak and fragile, + That the slightest weight would sink it. + "Here thy pathway lies," they told me, + "O'er this bridge so weak and narrow; + And, for thy still greater horror, + Look at those who've pass'd before thee." + Then I look'd, and saw the wretches + Who the passage were attempting + Fall amid the sulphurous current, + Where the snakes with teeth and talons + Tore them to a thousand pieces. + Notwithstanding all these horrors, + I, the name of God invoking, + Undertook the dreadful passage, + And, undaunted by the billows, + Or the winds that blew around me, + Reached the other side in safety. + Here within a wood I found me, + So delightful and so fertile, + That the past was all forgotten. + On my path rose stately cedars, + Laurels--all the trees of Eden. + +After having described some of the glories of this abode of bliss, he +relates his meeting with "the resplendent, the most glorious, the great +Patrick, the Apostle"--and was thus enabled to keep his early promise. +The poem ends with the following somewhat confused list of authorities: + + "For with this is now concluded + The historic legend told us + By Dionysius, the great Carthusian, + With Henricus Salteriensis, + Cæsarius Heisterbachensis, + Matthew Paris, and Ranulphus, + Monbrisius, Marolicus Siculus, + David Rothe, and the judicious + Primate over all Hibernia, + Bellarmino, Beda, Serpi, + Friar Dymas, Jacob Sotin, + Messingham, and in conclusion + The belief and pious feeling + Which have everywhere maintained it." + +From Alban Butler's notes to "Lives of the Saints," Vol. I. p. 103, we +subjoin the following: + +"St. Patrick's Purgatory is a cave on an island in the Lake Dearg +(Lough Derg), in the County of Donegal, near the borders of Fermanagh. +Bollandus shows the falsehood of many things related concerning it. +Upon complaint of certain superstitious and false notions of the +vulgar, in 1497, it was stopped up by an order of the Pope. See +Bollandus, 'Tillemont,' p. 287, Alemand in his 'Monastic Hist. of +Ireland,' and Thiers, 'Hist. des. Superst.' I. 4 ed. Nov. It was soon +after opened again by the inhabitants; but only according to the +original institution, as Bollandus takes notice, as a penitential +retirement for those who voluntarily chose it, probably in imitation of +St. Patrick, or other saints, who had there dedicated themselves to a +penitential state. They usually spent several days here, living on +bread and water, lying on rushes, praying and making stations +barefoot." + + +THE BRIG O' DREAD. + +SIR WALTER SCOTT. + +In connection with the extracts which we have given from the celebrated +Drama of Calderon, the "Purgatory of St. Patrick," and in particular of +that one which relates to the passage of Ludovico over the bridge which +leads from Purgatory to Paradise, it will be interesting to quote the +following from Sir Walter Scott's "Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border:" + +"There is a sort of charm, sung by the lower ranks of Roman Catholics, +in some parts of the north of England, while watching a dead body +previous to interment. The tone is doleful and monotonous, and, joined +to the mysterious import of the words, has a solemn effect. The word +sleet, in the chorus, seems to be corrupted from selt or salt; a +quantity of which, in compliance with a popular superstition, is +frequently placed on the breast of a corpse. The mythologic ideas of +the dirge are common to various creeds. The Mahometan believes that, in +advancing to the final judgment seat, he must traverse a bar of red-hot +iron, stretched across a bottomless gulf. The good works of each true +believer, assuming a substantial form, will then interpose between his +feet and this 'Bridge of Dread;' but the wicked, having no such +protection, fall headlong into the abyss." Passages similar to this +dirge are also to be found in "Lady Culross' Dream," as quoted in the +second Dissertation, prefixed by Mr. Pinkerton to his select Scottish +Ballads, 2 vols. The dreamer journeys towards heaven, accompanied and +assisted by a celestial guide: + + "Through dreadful dens, which made my heart aghast, + He bore me up when I began to tire. + Sometimes we clamb o'er craggy mountains high, + And sometimes stay'd on ugly braes of sand. + + "They were so stay that wonder was to see; + But when I fear'd, he held me by the hand. + Through great deserts we wandered on our way-- + Forward we passed a narrow bridge of trie, + O'er waters great, which hideously did roar." + +Again, she supposes herself suspended over an infernal gulf: + + "Ere I was ware, one gripped me at the last, + And held me high above a flaming fire. + The fire was great, the heat did pierce me sore; + My faith grew-weak; my grip was very small. + I trembled fast; my faith grew more and more." + +A horrible picture of the same kind, dictated probably by the author's +unhappy state of mind, is to be found in Brooke's "Fool of Quality." +The Russian funeral service, without any allegorical imagery, expresses +the sentiment of the dirge in language alike simple and noble: "Hast +thou pitied the afflicted, O man? In death shalt thou be pitied. Hast +thou consoled the orphan? The orphan will deliver thee. Hast thou +clothed the naked? The naked will procure thee protection."-- +_Richardson's "Anecdotes of Russia."_ + +But the most minute description of the Brig o' Dread occurs in the +legend of Sir Owain, No. XL. in the MS. collection of romances, W. 4. +I, Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. Sir Owain, a Northumbrian knight, +after many frightful adventures in St. Patrick's Purgatory, at last +arrives at the bridge, which, in the legend, is placed betwixt +Purgatory and Paradise: + + "The fendes han the Knight ynome, + To a stink and water thai ben ycome, + He no seigh never er non swiche; + It stank fouler than ani hounde, + And mani mile it was to the grounde, + And was as swart as piche. + + "And Owain seigh ther ouer ligge + A swithe, strong, naru brigge: + The fendes seyd tho; + Lo, Sir Knight, sestow this, + This is the brigge of Paradis, + Here ouer thou must go. + + "And we the schul with stones prowe + And the winde the schul ouer blow, + And wirche the ful wo; + Thou no schalt for all this unduerd, + Bot gif thou falle a midwerd, To our fewes [1] mo. + +[Footnote 1: Sir Walter Scott says probably a contraction of +"fellows."] + + "And when thou art adoun yfalle, + Than schal com our felawes alle, + And with her hokes the hede; + We schul the teche a newe playe: + Thou hast served ous mani a day, + And into helle the lede. + + "Owain biheld the brigge smert, + The water ther under blek and swert, + And sore him gan to drede; + For of othing he tok yeme, + Never mot, in sonne beme, + Thicker than the fendes yede. + + "The brigge was as heigh as a tower, + And as scharpe as a rasour, + And naru it was also; + + "And the water that ther run under, + Brend o' lighting and of thonder, + That thocht him michel wo. + + "Ther nis no clerk may write with ynke, + No no man no may bithink, No no maister deuine; + That is ymade forsoth ywis, + Under the brigge of paradis Halven del the pine. + + "So the dominical ous telle, + Ther is the pure entrae of helle, + Seine Poule [1] verth witnesse; + Whoso falleth of the brigge adown, + Of him nis no redempcion, Neither more nor lesse. + +[Footnote 1: St. Paul.] + + "The fendes seyd to the Knight tho, + 'Ouer this brigge might thou nowght go, + For noneskines nede; + Fie peril sorwe and wo, + And to that stede ther thou com fro, + Wel fair we schul the lede.' + + "Owain anon began bithenche, + Fram hou mani of the fendes wrenche, + God him saved hadde; + He sett his fot opon the brigge, + No feld he no scharpe egge, + No nothing him no drad. + + "When the fendes yseigh tho, + That he was more than half ygo, + Loude thai gun to crie: + Allas! Allas! that he was born! + This ich night we habe forlorn + Out of our baylie."--_Minstrelsy of Scottish Border._ + + +SHELLEY AND THE PURGATORY OF ST. PATRICK. + +It will be of interest to quote the following passage from one of +Shelley's best known works, "The Cenci," of which he himself says: "An +idea in this speech was suggested by a most sublime passage in 'El +Purgatorio de San Patricio,' of Calderon." + +"But I remember, Two miles on this side of the fort, the road Crosses a +deep ravine; 'tis rough and narrow, And winds with short turns down the +precipice; And in its depths there is a mighty rock Which has, from +unimaginable years, Sustained itself with terror and with toil Over the +gulf, and with the agony With which it clings seems slowly coming down; +Even as a wretched soul, hour after hour, Clings to the mass of life; +yet clinging, leans; And leaning, makes more dark the dread abyss In +which it fears to fall; beneath this crag Huge as despair, as if in +weariness, The melancholy mountain yawns." + + +ON A GREAT FUNERAL. [1] + +[Footnote: The above lines apply with peculiar impressiveness to the +funeral of General Grant, so lately occupying public attention.] + +AUBREY DE VERE. + +No more than this? The chief of nations bears Her chief of sons to his +last resting-place; Through the still city, sad and slow of pace, The +sable pageant streams; and as it nears That dome, to-day a vault +funereal, tears Run down the gray-hair'd veteran's wintry face; Deep +organs sob and flags their front abase; And the snapt wand the rite +complete declares. Soul, that before thy Judge dost stand this day, +Disrobed of strength and puissance, pomp and power; O soul! defrauded +at thine extreme hour Of man's sole help from man, and latest stay, +Swells there for thee no prayer from all that host, And is this burial +but a nation's boast? + + +"MORTE D'ARTHUR." + +TENNYSON. + + Then loudly cried the bold Sir Bedivere, + "Ah! my Lord Arthur, whither shall I go? + Where shall I hide my forehead and my eyes? + For now I see the true old times are dead, + When every morning brought a noble chance, + And every chance brought out a noble knight. + Such times have been not since the light that led + The holy Elders with the gift of myrrh. + But now the whole Round Table is dissolved + Which was an image of the mighty world; + And I, the last, go forth companionless, + And the days darken round me, and the years, + Among new men, strange faces, other minds." + + And slowly answered Arthur from the barge: + "The old order changeth, yielding place to new, + And God fulfils Himself in many ways. + Lest one good custom should corrupt the world. + Comfort thyself: what comfort is in me? + I have lived my life, and that which I have done + May He within Himself make pure! but thou, + If thou shouldst never see my face again, + Pray for my soul. + More things are wrought by prayer + Than this world dreams of. + Wherefore, let thy voice + Rise like fountain for me night and day. + For what are men better than sheep or goats + That nourish a blind life within the brain, + If, knowing God, they lift not hands of prayer + Both for themselves and those who call them friend? + For so the whole round earth is every way + Bound by gold chains about the feet of God. + But now farewell! + I am going a long way + With these thou seest--if indeed I go + (For all my mind is clouded with a doubt) + To the island-valley of Avilion; + Where falls not hail, or rain, or any snow; + Nor ever wind blows loudly; but it lies + Deep-meadowed, happy, fair with orchard lawns + And bowery hollows crowned with summer sea, + Where I will heal me of my grievous wound." + + So said he, and the barge with oar and sail + Moved from the brink, like some full-breasted swan. + That, fluting a wild carol, ere her death, + Ruffles her pure cold plume, and takes the flood + With swarthy webs. + Long stood Sir Bedivere + Revolving many memories, till the hull + Looked one black dot against the verge of dawn, + And on the meer the wailing died away. + + +GUIDO AND HIS BROTHER. + +COLLlN DE PLANCY. + +The brother who forgets his brother is no longer a man, he is a +monster.--Sr. John Chrysostom. + +Peter the Venerable relates the story of a lord of his time, named Guy +or Guido, who had lost his life in battle; this was very common in the +Middle Ages, when the nobles were beyond all else great warriors. As +this Guido had not been able to make his last confession, he appeared +fully armed, to a priest, some time after his death. + +"Stephanus," said he (that was the name of the priest), "I pray thee go +to my brother Anselm; thou shalt tell him that I conjure him to restore +an ox which I took from a peasant," naming him; "and also to repair the +damage I did to a village which did not--belong to me, by wrongfully +imposing taxes thereupon. I was unable to confess, or to expiate these +two sins, for which I am grievously tormented. As an assurance of what +I tell thee," continued the apparition, "I warn thee that, when thou +returnest to thy dwelling, thou shalt find that the money thou hast +saved to make the pilgrimage of St. James has been stolen." + +The priest, on his return, actually found that his strongbox had been +broken open and his money carried off; but he could not discharge his +commission, because Anselm was absent. + +A few days after, the same Guido appeared a second time, to reproach +Stephanus for his neglect. The good priest excused himself on the +impossibility of finding Anselm; but learning that he had returned to +his manor, he repaired thither, and faithfully fulfilled his +commission. + +He was received very coolly. Anselm told him that he was not obliged to +do penance for the sins of his brother; and with these words he +dismissed him. + +The dead man, who experienced no relief, appeared a third time, and +bemoaning his brother's harshness, he besought the worthy servant of +God to have compassion himself on his distress, and assist him in his +extremity. Stephanus, much affected, promised that he would, He +restored the price of the stolen ox, gave alms to the wronged village, +said prayers, recommended the deceased to all the good people he knew, +and then Guido appeared no more. + + +BERTHOLD IN PURGATORY. + +COLLIN DE PLANCY. + +Miseremini mei, miseremini mei, saltem vos, amici moi.--JOB xix. + +A short time after the death of Charles the Bald, there is found in +Hincmar a narrative which it may be well to introduce here; it is the +journey of Berthold, or Bernold, to Purgatory in the spirit. + +Berthold was a citizen of Rheims, of good life, fulfilling his +Christian duties and enjoying public esteem. He was subject to +ecstasies, or syncope, which sometimes lasted a good while. Then, +whether he had visions, or that his soul transported itself or was +transported out of his body--an effect which, is evidently produced in +our days by magnetism--he made, in his ecstasies, several journeys into +Purgatory. + +Having fallen seriously ill when already well advanced in age, he +received all the sacraments which console the conscience; after which +he remained four entire days in a sort of ecstasy, during which he took +no nourishment of any kind. At the end of the fourth day he had become +so weak that there was hardly any breath in him. About midnight, +however, he begged his wife to send quickly for his confessor. He +afterwards remained motionless. But, at the end of a quarter of an +hour, he said to his wife: + +"Place a seat here, for the priest is coming." + +He entered the moment after, and recited the beautiful prayers for the +departing soul, to which Berthold responded clearly and exactly. After +this he had again a moment of ecstasy; and, coming out of it, he +related his several visits to Purgatory, and the commissions wherewith +he had been charged by many suffering souls. + +He was conducted by a spirit, an Angel doubtless. Amongst those who +were being purified, in ice or in fire, he found Ebbon, Archbishop of +Rheims; Pardule, Bishop of Laon; Enée, Bishop of Paris, and some other +prelates, clothed in filthy garments, torn and rusty. Their faces were +wrinkled, haggard, and sallow. Ebbon besought him to ask the clergy and +people of Rheims to pray for him and his companions, who made him the +same request. He charged himself with all these commissions. + +He found, farther on, or in another visit, the soul of Charles the +Bald, extended in the mud and much exhausted. The ex-king asked +Berthold to recommend him to Archbishop Hincmar and the princes of his +family, acknowledging that he was principally punished for having given +ecclesiastical benefices to courtiers and worldly laics, as had been +done by his ancestor, Charles Martel. Berthold promised to do what he +could. + +Farther on, and perhaps also on another occasion, he saw Jesse, Bishop +of Orleans, in the hands of four dark spirits, who were plunging him +alternately into a well of boiling pitch and one of ice-cold water. Not +far from him, Count Othaire was in other torments. The two sufferers +recommended themselves, like the others, to the pious offices of +Berthold, who faithfully executed the commissions of the souls in pain. +He applied, on behalf of the bishops, to their clergy and people; for +King Charles the Bald, to Archbishop Hincmar. He wrote besides--for he +was a lettered man--to the relatives of the deceased monarch, making +known to them the state wherein he had seen him. He went to urge the +wife of Othaire, his vassals and friends, to offer up prayers and give +alms for him; and in a last visit which he was permitted to make, he +learned that Count Othaire and Bishop Jessé were delivered; King +Charles the Bald had reached the term of his punishment; and he saw the +Bishops Ebbon, Enée, and Pardule, who thanked him as they went forth +from Purgatory, fresh and robed in white. + +After this account, whereto Berthold subjoined that his guide had +promised him some more years of life, he asked for Holy Communion, +received it, felt himself cured, left his bed on the following day, and +his life was prolonged for fourteen years. + + +A LEGEND OF ST. NICHOLAS. + + +Let us quote here, says Collin de Plancy, a good English religious +whose journey has been related by Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny, +and by Denis the Carthusian. This traveller speaks in the first person: + +"I had St. Nicholas for a guide," he says; "he led me by a level road +to a vast horrible space, peopled with the dead, who were tormented in +a thousand frightful ways. I was told that these people were not +damned, that their torment would in time come to an end, and that it +was Purgatory I saw. I did not expect to find it so severe. All these +unfortunates wept hot tears and groaned aloud. Since I have seen all +these things I know well that if I had any relative in Purgatory, I +would suffer a thousand deaths to take him out of it. + +"A little farther on, I perceived a valley, through which flowed a +fearful river of fire, which rose in waves to an enormous height. On +the banks of that river it was so icy cold that no one can have any +idea of it. St. Nicholas conducted me thither, and made me observe the +sufferers who were there, telling me that this again was Purgatory." + +"DREAM OF GERONTIUS." + +CARDINAL NEWMAN. + +ANGEL. Thy judgment now is near, for we are come Into the veiled +presence of our God. + +SOUL. I hear the voices that I left on earth. + +ANGEL. It is the voice of friends around thy bed, + Who say the "Subvenite" with the priest. + Hither the echoes come; before the + Throne Stands the great Angel of the Agony, + The same who strengthened Him, what time He knelt + Lone in that garden shade, bedewed with blood. + That Angel best can plead with Him for all + Tormented souls, the dying and the dead. + +ANGEL OF THE AGONY. Jesu! by that shuddering dread which fell on Thee; + Jesu! by that cold dismay which sicken'd Thee; + Jesu! by that pang of heart which thrill'd in Thee; + Jesu! by that mount of sins which crippled Thee; + Jesu! by that sense of guilt which stifled Thee; + Jesu! by that innocence which girdled Thee; + Jesu! by that sanctity which reign'd in Thee; + Jesu! by that Godhead which was one with Thee; + Jesu! spare these souls which are so dear to Thee; + Who in prison, calm and patient, wait for Thee; + Hasten, Lord, their hour, and bid them come to Thee, + To that glorious Home, where they shall ever gaze on Thee. + +SOUL. I go before my Judge. Ah! ... + +ANGEL. ... Praise to His Name! The eager spirit has darted from my +hold, + And, with the intemperate energy of love, + Flies to the dear feet of Emmanuel; + But, ere it reach them, the keen sanctity, + Which, with its effluence, like a glory, clothes + And circles round the Crucified, has seized, + And scorch'd, and shrivell'd it; and now it lies + Passive and still before the awful Throne. + O happy, suffering soul! for it is safe, + Consumed, yet quicken'd, by the glance of God. + +SOUL. Take me away, and in the lowest deep + There let me be, And there in hope the lone night-watches keep, + Told out for me. + There, motionless and happy in my pain, + Lone, not forlorn,--There will I sing my sad, perpetual strain, + Until the morn. + There will I sing, and soothe my stricken breast, + Which ne'er can cease + To throb, and pine, and languish, till possess'd + Of its Sole Peace. + There will I sing my absent Lord and Love:--Take me away, + That sooner I may rise, and go above, + And see Him in the truth--of everlasting day. + +ANGEL. Now let the golden prison ope its gates, + Making sweet music, as each fold revolves + Upon its ready hinge. + And ye, great powers, + Angels of Purgatory, receive from me + My charge, a precious soul, until the day, + When from all bond and forfeiture released, + I shall reclaim it for the courts of light. + + +SOULS IN PURGATORY + +1. Lord, Thou hast been our refuge: in every generation; + +2. Before the hills were born, and the world was: from age to age, Thou +art God. + +3. Bring us not, Lord, very low: for Thou hast said, Come back again, +ye sons of Adam! + +4. A thousand years before Thine eyes are but as yesterday: and as a +watch of the night which is come and gone. + +5. The grass springs up in the morning: at evening-tide it shrivels up +and dies. + +6. So we fall in Thine anger: and in Thy wrath are we troubled. + +7. Thou hast set our sins in Thy sight: and our round of days in the +light of Thy countenance. + +8. Come back, O Lord! how long: and be entreated for Thy servants. + +9. In Thy morning we shall be filled with Thy mercy: we shall rejoice +and be in pleasure all our days. + +10. We shall be glad according to the days of our humiliation: and the +years in which we have seen evil. + +11. Look, O Lord, upon Thy servants and upon Thy work: and direct their +children. + +12. And let the beauty of the 'Lord our God be upon us: and the work of +our hands, establish Thou it. + +Glory be to the Father, and to the Son: and to the Holy Ghost. + +As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: world without +end. Amen. + +ANGEL. Softly and gently, dearly-ransom'd soul, In my most loving arms +I now enfold thee, And, o'er the penal waters, as they roll, I poise +thee, and I lower thee, and hold thee. + +And carefully I dip thee in the lake, And thou, without a sob, or a +resistance, Dost through the flood thy rapid passage take, Sinking +deep, deeper, into the dim distance. + +Angels, to whom the willing task is given, Shall tend, and nurse, and +lull thee, as thou liest; And Masses on the earth, and prayers in +heaven, Shall aid thee at the throne of the Most High. + +Farewell, but not for ever! brother dear, Be brave and patient on thy +bed of sorrow; Swiftly shall pass thy night of trial here, And I will +come and wake thee on the morrow. + + +ST. GREGORY RELEASES THE SOUL OF THE EMPEROR TRAJAN + +MRS. JAMESON. + +In a little picture in the Bologna Academy he is seen praying before a +tomb, on which is inscribed "TRAJANO IMPERADOR;" beneath are two +angels, raising the soul of Trafan out of flames. Such is the usual +treatment of this curious and poetical legend, which is thus related in +the "Legenda Aurea": "It happened on a time, as Trajan was hastening to +battle at the head of his legions, that a poor widow flung herself in +his path, and cried aloud for justice, and the emperor stayed to listen +to her; and she demanded vengeance for the innocent blood of her son, +killed by the son of the emperor. Trajan promised to do her justice +when he returned from his expedition. 'But, sire', answered the widow, +'should you be killed in battle, who will then do me justice?' 'My +successor,' replied Trajan. And she said, 'What will it signify to you, +great emperor, that any other than yourself should do me justice? Is it +not better that you should do this good action yourself than leave +another to do it?' And Trajan alighted, and having examined into the +affair, he gave up his own son to her in place of him she had lost, and +bestowed on her likewise a rich dowry. Now, it came to pass that as +Gregory was one day meditating in his daily walk, this action of the +Emperor Trajan came into his mind, and he wept bitterly to think that a +man so just should be condemned to eternal punishment. And entering a +church, he prayed most fervently that the soul of the good emperor +might be released from torment. And a voice said to him, 'I have +granted thy prayer, and I have spared the soul of Trajan for thy sake; +but because thou hast supplicated for one whom the justice of God had +already condemned, thou shalt choose one of two things: either thou +shalt endure for two days the fires of Purgatory, or thou shalt be sick +and infirm for the remainder of thy life.' Gregory chose the latter, +which sufficiently accounts for the grievous pains and infirmities to +which this great and good man was subjected, even to the day of his +death." + +This story of Trajan was extremely popular in the Middle Ages; it is +illustrative of the character of Gregory.... Dante twice alludes to it. +He describes it as being one of the subjects sculptured on the walls of +Purgatory, and takes occasion to relate the whole story. + +"There was storied on the rock Th'exalted glory of the Roman Prince, +Whose mighty worth moved Gregory to earn This mighty conquest--Trajan +the Emperor. A widow at his bridle stood attired In tears and mourning. +Round about them troop'd Full throng of knights: and overhead in gold +The eagles floated, struggling with the wind The wretch appear'd amid +all these to say: 'Grant vengeance, sire! for woe, beshrew this heart, +My son is murder'd!' He, replying, seem'd: 'Wait now till I return.' +And she, as one Made hasty by her grief: 'O, sire, if thou Dost not +return?'--'Where I am, who then is, May right thee.'--'What to thee is +others' good, If thou neglect thine own?'--'Now comfort thee,' At +length he answers: 'It beseemeth well My duty be perform'd, ere I move +hence. So justice wills and pity bids me stay.'"--_Purg. Canto X_. + +It was through the efficacy of St. Gregory's intercession that Dante +afterwards finds Trajan in Paradise, seated between King David and King +Hezekiah.--_Purg. Canto XX_. + + +ST. GREGORY AND THE MONK + +There was a monk who, in defiance of his vow of poverty, secreted in +his cell three pieces of gold. Gregory, on learning this, +excommunicated him, and shortly afterwards the monk died. When Gregory +heard that the monk had perished in his sin, without receiving +absolution, he was filled with grief and horror, and he wrote upon a +parchment a prayer and a form of absolution, and gave it to one of his +deacons, desiring him to go to the grave of the deceased and read it +there: on the following night the monk appeared in a vision, and +revealed to him his release from torment. + +This story is represented in the beautiful bas-relief in white marble +in front of the altar of his chapel; it is the last compartment on the +right. + + +In chapels dedicated to the Service of the Dead, St. Gregory is often +represented in the attitude of supplication, while on one side, or in +the background, angels are raising the tormented souls out of the +flames.--_Sacred and Legendary Art, Vol. I._ + + +THE LEGEND OF GEOFFROID D'IDEN. + +It is related by Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny, that, in the +first half of the twelfth century, the Lord Humbert, son of Guichard, +Count de Beaujeu, in the Maçonnais, having made war on some other +neighboring lords, Geoffroid d'Iden, one of his vassals, received in +the fight a wound which instantly killed him. Two months after his +death, Geoffroid appeared to Milon d'Ansa, who knew him well; he begged +him to tell Humbert de Beaujeu, in whose service he had lost his life, +that he was in Purgatory, for having aided him in an unjust war and not +having expiated his sins by penance, before his unlooked-for death; +that he besought him, therefore, most urgently, to have compassion on +him, and also on his own father, Guichard, who, although he had led a +religious life at Cluny in his latter days, had not entirely satisfied +the justice of God for his past sins, and especially for a portion of +his wealth, which, as his children knew, was ill gained; that, in +consequence thereof, he prayed him to have the Holy Sacrifice of the +Mass offered for him and for his father, to distribute alms to the +poor, and to recommend both sufferers to the prayers of good people, in +order to shorten their time of penance. "Tell him," added the +apparition, "that if he hear thee not, I must go myself to announce to +him that which I have now told to thee." + +The lof Ansa (now Anse) faithfully discharged the task imposed upon +him. Humbert was frightened; but he neither had prayers nor Masses +offered up, made no reparation, and distributed no alms. + +Nevertheless, fearing lest Guichard his father or Geoffroid d'Iden +might come to disturb him, he no longer dared to remain alone, +especially by night; and he always had some of his people around him, +making them sleep in his chamber. + +One morning, as he was still in bed, but awake, he saw appear before +him Geoffroid d'Iden, armed as on the day of the battle. Showing him +the mortal wound which he had received, and which appeared still fresh, +he warmly reproached him for the little pity he had for himself and for +his father, who was groaning in torment; and he added: "Take care lest +God may treat thee in His rigor, and refuse thee the mercy thou dost +not grant to us; and for thee, give up thy purpose of going to the war +with Amadeus. If thou goest thither, thou shalt lose thy life and thy +possessions." + +At that moment, Richard de Marsay, the Count's squire, entered, coming +from Mass; the, spirit disappeared, and thenceforward Humbert de +Beaujeu went seriously to work to relieve his father and his vassal, +after which he made the journey to Jerusalem to expiate his own sins. + + +THE QUEEN OF PURGATORY. + +BY FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, D. D. + + Oh! turn to Jesus, Mother! turn, + And call Him by His tenderest names; + Pray for the Holy Souls that burn + This hour amid the cleansing flames. + + Ah! they have fought a gallant fight; + In death's cold arms they persevered; + And, after life's uncheery night, + The harbor of their rest is neared. + + In pains beyond all earthly pains + Fav'rites of Jesus, there they lie, + Letting the fire wear out their stains, + And worshipping God's purity. + + Spouses of Christ they are, for He + Was wedded to them by His blood; + And angels o'er their destiny + In wondering adoration brood. + + They are the children of thy tears; + Then hasten, Mother! to their aid; + In pity think each hour appears + An age while glory is delayed! + + See, how they bound amid their fires, + While pain and love their spirits fill; + Then, with self-crucified desires, + Utter sweet murmurs, and lie still. + + Ah me! the love of Jesus yearns + O'er that abyss of sacred pain; + And, as He looks, His bosom burns + With Calvary's dear thirst again. + + O Mary! let thy Son no more + His lingering spouses thus expect; + God's children to their God restore, + And to the Spirit His elect. + + Pray then, as thou hast ever prayed; + Angels and Souls all look to thee; + God waits thy prayers, for He hath made + Those prayers His law of charity. + + +THE DEAD PRIEST BEFORE THE ALTAR. + +REV. A. J. RYAN. + + Who will watch o'er the dead young priest, + People and priests and all? + No, no, no, 'tis his spirit's feast, + When the evening shadows fall. + Let him rest alone--unwatched, alone, + Just beneath the altar's light, + The holy Hosts on their humble throne + Will watch him through the night. + + The doors were closed--he was still and fair, + What sound moved up the aisles? + The dead priests come with soundless prayer, + Their faces wearing smiles. + And this was the soundless hymn they sung: + "We watch o'er you to-night; + Your life was beautiful, fair and young, + Not a cloud upon its light. + To-morrow--to-morrow you will rest + With the virgin priests whom Christ has blest." + + Kyrie Eleison! the stricken crowd + Bowed down their heads in tears + O'er the sweet young priest in his vestment shroud. + Ah! the happy, happy years! + They are dead and gone, and the Requiem Mass + Went slowly, mournfully on, + The Pontiff's singing was all a wail, + The altars cried and the people wept, + The fairest flower in the Church's vale + Ah me! how soon we pass! + In the vase of his coffin slept. _--From In Memoriam._ + + +MEMORIALS OF THE BEAD. + +R. R. MADDEN. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Author of "Lives and Times of United Irishmen."] + + 'Tis not alone in "hallowed ground," + At every step we tread + Midst tombs and sepulchres, are found + Memorials of the dead. + + 'Tis not in sacred shrines alone, + Or trophies proudly spread + On old cathedral walls are shown + Memorials of the dead. + + Emblems of Fame surmounting death, + Of war and carnage dread, + They were not, in the "Times of Faith," + Memorials of the dead. + + From marble bust and pictured traits + The living looks recede, + They fade away: so frail are these + Memorials of the dead. + + On mural slabs, names loved of yore + Can now be scarcely read; + A few brief years have left no more + Memorials of the dead. + + Save those which pass from sire to son, + Traditions that are bred + In the heart's core, and make their own + Memorials of the dead. + + +A CHILD'S REQUIESCAT IN PACE. + +_ELIZA ALLEN STARR_. + + With the gray dawn's faintest break, + Mother, faithfully I wake, + Whispering softly for thy sake + _Requiescat in pace_! + + When the sun's broad disk at height + Floods the busy world with light, + Breathes my soul with sighs contrite, + _Requiescat in pace_! + + When the twilight shadows lone + Wrap the home once, once thine own, + Sobs my heart with broken moan, + _Requiescat in pace_! + + Night, so solemn, grand, and still, + Trances forest, meadow, rill; + Hush, fond heart, adore His will, + _Requiescat in pace_! + + +THE SOLITARY SOUL. + +I died; but my soul did not wing its flight straight to the heaven- +nest, and there repose in the bosom of Him who made it, as the minister +who was with me said it would. Good old man! He had toiled among us, +preaching baptizing, marrying, and burrying, until his hair had turned +from nut-brown to frost-white; and he told me, as I lay dying, that the +victory of the Cross was the only passport I needed to the joys of +eternity; that a life like mine would meet its immediate reward. And it +did; but, O my God! not as he had thought, and I had believed. + +As he prayed, earth's sights and sounds faded from me, and the strange, +new life began. The wrench of agony with which soul and body parted +left me breathless; and my spirit, like a lost child, turned frightened +eyes towards home. + +I stood in a dim, wind-swept space. No gates of pearl or walls of +jacinth met my gaze; no streaming glory smote my eyes; no voice bade me +enter and put on the wedding garment. Hosts of pale shapes circled by, +but no one saw me. All had their faces uplifted, and their hands--such +patient, pathetic hands--were clasped on their hearts; and the air was +heavy with the whisper, "Christ! Christ!" that came unceasingly from +their lips. + +Above us, the clouds drifted and turned; about us, the horizon was +blotted out; mist and grayness were everywhere. A voiceless wind swept +by; and as I gazed, sore dismayed and saddened, a rent opened in the +driving mass, and I saw a man standing with arms upraised. He was +strangely vestured; silver and gold gleamed in his raiment, and a large +cross was outlined upon his back. He held in his hands a chalice of +gold, in which sparkled something too liquid for fire, too softly +brilliant for water or wine. + +As this sight broke on our vision, two figures near me uttered a cry, +whose rapturous sweetness filled space with melody; and, like the up- +springing lark, borne aloft by the beauty of their song, they vanished; +and those about me bowed their heads, and ceased their moan for a +moment. + +"What is it?" I cried. "Who is the man? What was it he held in his +hand?" + +But there was none to answer me, and I drove along before the wind with +the rest, helpless, bewildered. + +How long this lasted I do not know; for there was neither night nor day +in the sad place; and a fire of longing burnt in my breast, so keen, so +strong, that all other sensation was swallowed up. + +And then, too, my grief! There were many deeds of my life to which I +had given but casual regret. When the minister would counsel us to +confess our sins to God, I had knelt in the church and gone through the +form; but here, where the height and depth and breadth of God's +perfection dawned upon me, and grew hourly clearer, they seemed to rend +my heart, and to far outweigh any little good I might have done. Oh! +why did no one ever preach the justice of God to me, and the necessity +of personal atonement! Why had they only taught me, "Believe, and you +shall be saved?" + +Time by time, the shapes about me rose and vanished with the same cry +as the two I saw liberated in my first hour; and sometimes--like an +echo--the sound of human voices would go through space--some choked +with tears, some low with sadness, some glad with hope. + +"Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord!" + +"And let perpetual light shine upon them!" + +"May they rest in peace!" + +And the "Amen" tolled like a silver bell, and I would feel a respite. + +But no one called me by name, no one prayed for my freedom. My mother's +voice, my sister's dream, my father's belief--all were that I was happy +before the face of God. And friends forgot me, except in their +pleasures. + +At seasons, through the mist would loom an altar, at which a man, in +black robes embroidered with silver, bowed and bent. The chalice, with +its always wonderful contents, would be raised, and a disc, in whose +circle of whiteness I saw Christ crucified. From the thorn-wounds, the +Hands, the Feet, the Side, shot rays of dazzling brightness; and my +frozen soul, my tear-chilled eyes, were warmed and gladdened; for the +man who held this wondrous image would himself sigh: "For _all_ +the dead, sweet Lord!" And to me, even me, would come hope and peace. + +But, oh! the agony, oh! the desolateness, to be cut off from the sweet +guerdon of immediate release! Oh! the pain of expiating every fault, +measure for measure! Oh, the grief of knowing that my own deeds were +the chains of my captivity, and my unfulfilled duties the barriers that +withheld me from beholding the Beatific Vision! + +Sometimes a gracious face would gleam through the mist--a face so +tender, so human, so full of love, that I yearned to hear it speak to +_me_, to have those radiant eyes turned on _me_. My companions called +her "Mary!" and I knew it was the Virgin of Nazareth. Often she would +call them by name, and say: "My child, my Son bids thee come home." + +Why had I never known this gentle Mother! Why could I not catch her +mantle, and clinging to it, pass from waiting to fulfilment! + +Once when I had grown grief-bowed with waiting, worn with longing, I +saw again the vision of the Church. At a long railing knelt many young +girls, and they received at the hands of the priest what I had learned +to discern as the Body of the Lord. One--God bless her tender heart!-- +whispered as she knelt: "O dearest Lord, I offer to Thee this Holy +Communion for the soul _that has no one to pray for her_." + +And through the grayness rang at last _my_ name, and straight to +heaven I went, ransomed by that mighty price, freed by prayer from +prison. + + +O you who live, who have voices and hearts, for the sake of Christ and +His Holy Mother; by the love you bear your living, and the grief you +give your dead, pray for those whose friends do not know how to help +them; for the suddenly killed; for the executed criminal; and for those +who, having suffered long in Purgatory, need one more prayer to set +them free.--_Ave Maria_, November 10, 1883. + + +THE STORY OF THE FAITHFUL SOUL. + +_Founded on an old French Legend_. + +ADELAIDE ANNE PROCTER. + + The fettered spirits linger In purgatorial pain, + With penal fires effacing + Their last faint earthly stain, + Which Life's imperfect sorrow + Had tried to cleanse in vain. + + Yet, on each feast of Mary + Their sorrow finds release, + For the great Archangel Michael + Comes down and bids it cease; + And the name of these brief respites + Is called "Our Lady's Peace." + + Yet once--so runs the legend-- + When the Archangel came, + And all these holy spirits + Rejoiced at Mary's name, + One voice alone was wailing, + Still wailing on the same. + + And though a great Te Deum + The happy echoes woke, I + This one discordant wailing + Through the sweet voices broke: + So when St. Michael questioned, + Thus the poor spirit spoke:-- + + I am not cold or thankless, + Although I still complain; + I prize Our Lady's blessing, + Although it comes in vain + To still my bitter anguish, + Or quench my ceaseless pain. + + "On earth a heart that loved me + Still lives and mourns me there, + And the shadow of his anguish + Is more than I can bear; + All the torment that I suffer + Is the thought of his despair. + + "The evening of my bridal + Death took my Life away; + Not all Love's passionate pleading + Could gain an hour's delay. + And he I left has suffered + A whole year since that day. + + "If I could only see him-- + If I could only go + And speak one word of comfort + And solace--then, I know + He would endure with patience, + And strive against his woe." + + Thus the Archangel answered: + "Your time of pain is brief, + And soon the peace of Heaven + Will give you full relief; + Yet if his earthly comfort + So much outweighs your grief, + + "Then, through a special mercy, + I offer you this grace-- + You may seek him who mourns you + And look upon his face, + And speak to him of Comfort, + For one short minute's space. + + "But when that time is ended, + Return here and remain + A thousand years in torment, + A thousand years in pain; + Thus dearly must you purchase + The comfort he will gain." + + The lime-trees shade at evening + Is spreading broad and wide; + Beneath their fragrant arches + Pace slowly, side by side, + In low and tender converse, + A Bridegroom and his Bride. + + The night is calm and stilly, + No other sound is there + Except their happy voices:-- + What is that cold bleak air + That passes through the lime-trees, + And stirs the Bridegroom's hair? + + While one low cry of anguish, + Like the last dying wail + Of some dumb, hunted creature, + Is borne upon the gale-- + Why dogs the Bridegroom shudder + + And turn so deathly pale? + + Near Purgatory's entrance + The radiant Angels wait; + It was the great St. Michael + Who closed that gloomy gate, + When the poor wandering spirit + Came back to meet her fate. + + "Pass on," thus spoke the Angel: + "Heaven's joy is deep and vast; + Pass on, pass on, poor spirit, + For Heaven is yours at last; + In that one minute's anguish, + Your thousand years have passed." + + +GENÉRADE, THE FRIEND OF ST. AUGUSTINE. + +J. COLLIN DE PLANCY. + +ST. AUGUSTINE reckoned among his friends the physician Genérade, highly +honored in Carthage, where his learning and skill were much esteemed. +But by one of those misfortunes of which there are, unhappily, but too +many examples, while studying the admirable mechanism of the human +body, he had come to believe matter capable of the works of +intelligence which raise man so far above other created beings. He was, +therefore, a materialist; and St. Augustine praying for him, earnestly +besought God to enlighten that deluded mind. + +One night while he slept, this doctor, who believed, as some do still, +that "when one is dead, all is dead"--we quote their own language--saw +in his dreams a young man, who said to him: "Follow me." He did so, and +was conducted to a city, wherein he heard, on the right, unknown +melodies, which filled him with admiration. What he heard on the left +he never remembered. But on awaking he concluded, from this vision, +that there was, somewhere, something else besides this world. + +Another night he likewise beheld in sleep the same young man, who said +to him: + +"Knowest thou me?" + +"Very well," answered Genérade. + +"And wherefore knowest thou me?" + +"Because of the journey we made together when you showed me the city of +harmony." + +"Was it in a dream, or awake, that you saw and heard what struck you +then?" + +"It was in a dream." + +"Where is your body now?" + +"In my bed." + +"Knowest thou well that thou now seest nothing with the eyes of the +body?" + +"I know it." + +"With what eyes, then, dost thou see me?" + +As the physician hesitated, and could not answer, the young man said to +him: + +"Even as thou seest and hearest me, now that thine eyes are closed and +thy senses benumbed, so, after thy death, thou shalt live, thou shalt +see, thou shalt hear--but with the organs of the soul. Doubt, then, no +more!" + + +ST. THOMAS AQUINAS AND FRIAR ROMANUS. + +WE are about to treat of facts concerning which our fathers never had +any hesitation, because they had faith. Nowadays, the truths which are +above the material sight have been so roughly handled that they are +much diminished for us. And if the goodness of God had not allowed some +rays of the mysteries which He reserves for Himself to escape, if some +gleams of magnetism and the world of spirits occupying the air around +us had not a little embarrassed those of our literati who make a merit +of not believing, we would hardly dare, in spite of the grave +authorities on which they rest, to represent here some apparitions of +souls departed from this world. We shall venture to do so, +nevertheless. + +One day, when St. Thomas Aquinas was praying in the Church of the +Friars, Preachers, at Naples, the pious friar Romanus, whom he had left +in Paris, where he replaced him in the chair of Theology, suddenly +appeared beside him. Thomas, seeing him, said: + +"I am glad of thine arrival. But how long hast thou been here?" + +Romanus answered: "I am now out of this world. Nevertheless, I am +permitted to come to thee, because of thy merit." + +The Saint, alarmed at this reply, after a moment's recollection, said +to the apparition: "I adjure thee, by Our Lord Jesus Christ, tell me +simply if my works are pleasing to God!" + +Romanus replied: "Persevere in the way in which thou art, and believe +that what thou doest is agreeable unto God." + +Thomas then asked him in what state he found himself. + +"I enjoy eternal life," answered Romanus. "Nevertheless, for having +carelessly executed one clause of a will which the Bishop of Paris gave +me in charge, I underwent for fifteen days the pains of Purgatory." + +St. Thomas again said: "You remind me that we often discussed the +question whether the knowledge acquired in this life remain in the soul +after death. I pray you give me the solution thereof." + +Romanus made answer: "Ask me not that. As for me, I am content with +seeing my God." + +"Seest thou him face to face?" went on Thomas. + +"Just as we have been taught," replied Romanus, "and as I see thee." + +With these words he left St. Thomas greatly consoled. + + +THE KEY THAT NEVER TURNS. + +ELEANOR C. DONNELLY. + +"In Purgatory, dear," I said to-day, Unto my pet, "the fire burns and +burns, Until each ugly stain is burned away--And then an Angel turns A +great, bright key, and forth the glad soul springs Into the presence of +the King of kings." + +"But in that other prison?" "Sweetest love! The same fierce fire burns +and burns, but thence None e'er escapes." The blue eyes, raised above, +Were fair with innocence. "Poor burning souls!" she whispered low, "ah +me! No Angel ever comes to turn _their_ key!" + + +THE BURIAL. + +THOMAS DAVIS. + + "ULULU! ululu! wail for the dead, + Green grow the grass of + Fingal on his head; + And spring-flowers blossom, ere elsewhere appearing, + And shamrocks grow thick on the martyr for Erin. + Ululu! ululu! soft fall the dew + On the feet and the head of the martyred and true." + + For a while they tread + In silence dread-- + Then muttering and moaning go the crowd, + Surging and swaying like mountain cloud, + And again the wail comes wild and loud. + + "Ululu! ululu! kind was his heart! + Walk slower, walk slower, too soon we shall part. + The faithful and pious, the + Priest of the Lord, + His pilgrimage over, he has his reward. + + "By the bed of the sick, lowly kneeling, + To God with the raised cross appealing-- + He seems still to kneel, and he seems still to pray, + And the sins of the dying seem passing away. + + "In the prisoner's cell, and the cabin so dreary, + Our constant consoler, he never grew weary; + But he's gone to his rest, + And he's now with the blest, + Where tyrant and traitor no longer molest-- + Ululu! ululu! wail for the dead! + Ululu! ululu! here is his bed." + + Short was the ritual, simple the prayer, + Deep was the silence, and every head bare; + The Priest alone standing, they knelt all around, + Myriads on myriads, like rocks on the ground. + Kneeling and motionless.-- + "Dust unto dust." + + "He died as becometh the faithful and just-- + Placing in God his reliance and trust;" + + Kneeling and motionless-- + "Ashes to ashes"-- + Hollow the clay on the coffin-lid dashes; + Kneeling and motionless, wildly they pray, + But they pray in their souls, for no gesture have they-- + Stern and standing--oh! look on them now! + Like trees to one tempest the multitude bow. + + +HYMN FOR THE DEAD. + +NEWMAN. + + Help, Lord, the souls which Thou hast made, + The souls to Thee so dear, + In prison, for the debt unpaid + Of sins committed here. + + Those holy souls, they suffer on, + + Resign'd in heart and will, + Until Thy high behest is done, + And justice has its fill. + For daily falls, for pardon'd crime, + They joy to undergo + The shadow of Thy cross sublime, + The remnant of Thy woe. + + Help, Lord, the souls which Thou hast made, + The souls to Thee so dear, + In prison, for the debt unpaid Of sins committed here. + + Oh! by their patience of delay, + Their hope amid their pain, + Their sacred zeal to burn away + Disfigurement and stain; + Oh! by their fire of love, not less + In keenness than the flame, + Oh! by their very helplessness, + Oh! by Thy own great Name, + + Good Jesu, help! sweet Jesu, aid + The souls to Thee most dear, + In prison, for the debt unpaid + Of sins committed here. + + +THE TWO STUDENTS. + +The Abbé de Saint Pierre, says Collin de Plancy, has given a long +account, in his works, of a singular occurrence which took place in +1697, and which we are inclined to relate here: + +In 1695, a student named Bezuel, then about fifteen years old, +contracted a friendship with two other youths, students like himself, +and sons of an attorney of Caen, named D'Abaquène. The elder was, like +Bezuel, fifteen; his brother, eighteen months younger. The latter was +named Desfontaines. The paternal name was then given only to the +eldest; the names of those who came after were formed by means of some +vague properties.... + +As the young Desfontaines' character was more in unison with Bezuel's +than that of his elder brother, these two students became strongly +attached to each other. + +One day during the following year, 1696, they were reading together a +certain history of two friends like themselves, who had promised each +other, with some solemnity, that he of the two who died first would +come back to give the survivor some account of his state. The historian +added that the dead one really did come back, and that he told his +friend many wonderful things. Young Desfontaines, struck by this +narrative, which he did not doubt, proposed to Bezuel that they should +make such a promise one to the other. Bezuel was at first afraid of +such an engagement. But several months after, in the first days of +June, 1697, as his friend was going to set out for Caen, he agreed to +his proposal. + +Desfontaines then drew from his pocket two papers in which he had +written the double agreement. Each of these papers expressed the formal +promise on the part of him who should die first to come and make his +fate known to the surviving friend. He had signed with his blood the +one that Bezuel was to keep. Bezuel, hesitating no longer, pricked his +hand, and likewise signed with his blood the other document, which he +gave to Desfontaines. + +The latter, delighted to have the promise, set out with his brother. +Bezuel received some days after a letter, in which his friend informed +him that he had reached his home in safety, and was very well. The +correspondence between them was to continue. But it stopped very soon, +and Bezuel was uneasy. + +It happened that on the 31st of July, 1697, being about 2 o'clock in +the afternoon, in a meadow where his companions were amusing themselves +with various games, he felt himself suddenly stunned and taken with a +sort of faintness, which lasted for some minutes. Next day, at the same +hour, he felt the same symptoms, and again on the day after. But then-- +it was Friday, the 2d of August--he saw advancing towards him his +friend Desfontaines, who made a sign for him to come to him. Being in a +sitting posture and under the influence of his swoon, he made another +sign to the apparition, moving on his seat to make place for him. + +The comrades of Bezuel moving around saw this motion, and were +surprised. + +As Desfontaines did not advance, Bezuel arose to go to him. The +apparition then took him by the left arm, drew him aside some thirty +paces, and said: + +"I promised you that, if I died before you, I would come to tell you. I +was drowned yesterday in the river at Caen, about this hour. I was out +walking; it was so warm that we took a notion to bathe. A weakness came +over me in the river, and I sank to the bottom. The Abbé de Menil-Jean, +my companion, plunged in to draw me out; I seized his foot; but whether +he thought it was a salmon that had caught hold of him, or that he felt +it actually necessary to go up to the surface of the water to breathe, +he shook me off so roughly that his foot gave me a great blow in the +chest, and threw me to the bottom of the river, which is there very +deep." + +Desfontaines then told his friend many other things, which he would not +divulge, whether the dead boy had prayed him not to do so, or for other +reasons. + +Bezuel wanted to embrace the apparition, but he found only a shadow. +Nevertheless, the shadow had squeezed his arm so tightly, that it +pained him after. + +He saw the spirit several times, yet always a little taller than when +they parted, and always in the half-clothing of a bather. He wore in +his fair hair a scroll on which Bezuel could only read the word +_In_. His voice had the same sound as when he was living, he +appeared neither gay nor sad, but perfectly tranquil. He charged his +friend with several commissions for his parents, and begged him to say +for him the Seven Penitential Psalms, which had been given him as a +penance by his confessor, three days before his death, and which he had +not yet recited. + +The apparition always ended by a farewell expressed in words which +signified: "Till we meet again! (_Au revoir!_)" At last, it ceased +at the end of some weeks; and the surviving friend, who had constantly +prayed for the dead, concluded from this that his Purgatory was over. + +This Monsieur Bezuel finished his studies, embraced the ecclesiastical +state, became _curé_ of Valogne, and lived long, esteemed by his +parishioners and the whole city, for his good sense, his virtuous life, +and his love of truth. + + +THE PENANCE OF DON DIEGO RIEZ. + +_A Legend of Lough Derg._ [1] + +[Footnote 1: Lough Derg, in Donegal, was a place famous for pilgrimage +from a very early period, and was much resorted to out of France, +Italy, and the Peninsula, during the Middle Ages, and even in the +sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In Mathew Paris, and Froissart, as +well as in our native annals, and in O'Sullivan Beare, there are many +facts of its extraordinary history.] + +T. D. MCGEE. + + There was a knight of Spain--Diego Riaz, + Noble by four descents, vain, rich and young, + Much woe he wrought, or the tradition lie is, + Which lived of old the Castilians among; + His horses bore the palm the kingdom over, + His plume was tall, costliest his sword, + The proudest maidens wished him as a lover, + The _caballeros_ all revered his word + + But ere his day's meridian came, his spirit + Fell sick, grew palsied in his breast, and pined-- + He fear'd Christ's kingdom he could ne'er inherit, + The causes wherefore too well he divined. + Where'er he turns, his sins are always near him, + Conscience still holds her mirror to his eyes, + Till those who long had envied came to fear him, + To mock his clouded brow and wintry sighs. + + Alas! the sins of youth are as a chain + Of iron, swiftly let down to the deep, + How far we feel not--till when, we'd raise't again + We pause amid the weary work and weep. + Ah, it is sad a-down Life's stream to see. + So many agèd toilers so distress'd, + And near the source--a thousand forms of glee + Fitting the shackle to Youth's glowing breast. + + He sought peace in the city where she dwells not, + He wooed her amid woodlands all in vain, + He searches through the valleys, but he tells not + The secret of his quest to priest or swain, + Until, despairing evermore of pleasure, + He leaves his land, and sails to far Peru; + There, stands uncharm'd in caverns of treasure, + And weeps on mountains heavenly high and blue. + + Incessant in his ears rang this plain warning-- + "Diego, as thy soul, thy sorrow lives"; + He hears the untired voice, night, noon, and morning, + Yet understanding not, unresting grieves. + One eve, a purer vision seized him, then he + Vow'd to Lough Derg, an humble pilgrimage-- + The virtues of that shrine were known to many, + And saving held even in that skeptic age. + + With one sole follower, an Esquire trustful, + He pass'd the southern cape which sailors fear, + And eastward held: meanwhile his vain and lustful + Past works more loathsome to his soul appear. + Through the night-watches, at all hours o' day, + He still was wakeful as the pilot, and + For grace, his vow to keep, doth always pray, + And for his death to lie in the saints' land. + + But ere his eyes beheld the Irish shore, Diego died. + Much gold he did ordain + To God and Santiago--furthermore, + His Esquire plighted, ere he went to Spain, + To journey to the Refuge of the Lake; + Before St. Patrick's solitary shrine, + A nine days' vigil for his rest to make, + Living on bitter bread and penitential wine. [1] + +[Footnote 1: The brackish water of the lake, boiled, is called wine by +the pilgrims.] + + The vassal vow'd; but, ah! how seldom pledges + Given to the dying, to the dead, are held! + The Esquire reach'd the shore, where sand and sedge is + O'er melancholy hills, by paths of eld; + Treeless and houseless was the prospect round, + Rock-strewn and boisterous the lake before; + A Charon-shape in a skiff a-ground-- + The pilgrim turned, and left the sacred shore. + + That night he lay a-bed hard by the Erne-- + The island-spangled lake--but could not sleep-- + When lo! beside him, pale, and sad, and stern, + Stood his dead master, risen from the deep. + "Arise," he said, "and come." From the hostelrie + And over the bleak hills he led the sleeper, + And when they reach'd Derg's shore, "Get in with me," + He cried; "nor sink my soul in torments deeper." + + The dead man row'd the boat, the living steer'd, + Each in his pallor sinister, until + The Isle of Pilgrimage they duly near'd-- + "Now hie thee forth, and work thy master's will!" + So spoke the dead, and vanish'd o'er the lake, + The Squire pursued his course, and gain'd the shrine, + There, nine days' vigil duly he did make, + Living on bitter bread and penitential wine. + + The tenth eve shone in solemn, starry beauty, + As he, rejoicing, o'er the old paths came, + Light was his heart from its accomplished duty, + All was forgotten, even the latest shame-- + When these brief words some disembodied voice + Spoke near him: "Oh, keep sacred, evermore, + Word, pledge, and vow, so may you still rejoice, + And live among the Just when Time is o'er!" + + +THE DAY OF ALL SOULS. + +ELIZA ALLEN STARR. + + FROM the far past there comes a thought of sweetness, + From the far past a thought of love and pain; + A voice, how dear! a look of melting kindness, + A voice, a look, we ne'er shall know again. + + A fresh, young face, perchance of boyish gladness, + An aged face, perchance of patient love; + My heart-strings fail, I sob in utter anguish, + As past my eyes these lovely spectres move. + + The chill morn breaks, the matin star still flaming; + The hushed cathedral's massive door stands wide; + Through the dim aisles I pass, in silent weeping, + From mortal eyes my sorrowing tears to hide. + + Already morn has touched the painted windows; + The yellow dawn creeps down the storied panes; + Already, in the early solemn twilight, + The sanctuary's taper softly wanes. + + My faltering step before the altar pauses; + My treasur'd dead I see remembered here; + All climes, all nations, lost on land or ocean, + They on whose grave none ever drop a tear. + + The Church, their single mourner, drapes in sorrow + The festal shrines she loves with flowers to dress; + And "Kyrie! Kyrie!" sighs, while lowly bending + To Thee, O God! to shorten their distress. + + "_Dies iræ, dies illa,_" sobs the choir; + "_In pace, pace,_" from the altar rises higher; + "_Lux æterna;_" daylight floods the altar, + Priest and choir take up the holy psalter. + "_Requiescant in pace!" + Amen, amen, in pace!_ + + +THE MESSAGE OF THE NOVEMBER WIND. + +BY ELEANOR C. DONNELLY. + +I. + + Wrapped in lonely shadows late, + (Bleak November's midnight gloom), + As I kneel beside the grate + In the silent sitting-room: + Down the chimney moans the wind, + Like the voice of souls resigned, + Pleading from their prison thus, + "Pray for us! pray for us! + Gentle Christian, watcher kind, + Pray for us, oh! pray for us!" + +II. + + Melt mine eyes with sudden tears-- + Old familiar tones are there; + Dear ones lost in other years, + Breathing Purgatory's prayer. + Through my fingers pass the beads, + Tender heart, responsive bleeds, + As the wind, all tremulous, + "Pray for us! pray for us!" + Seems to murmur "Love our needs-- + Pray for us! oh, pray for us!" + + +A LEGEND OF THE TIME OF CHARLEMAGNE. + +We read in the _Gesta Caroli Magni_ that Charlemagne had a man-at- +arms who served him faithfully till his death. Before breathing his +last he called a nephew of his, to make known to him his last will: + +"Sixty years," said he, "have I been in the service of my prince; I +have never amassed the goods of this world, and my arms and my horse +are all I have. My arms I leave to thee, and I will that my horse be +sold immediately after my death; I charge thee with the care of this +matter, if thou wilt promise me to distribute the full price amongst +the poor." + +The nephew promised to execute the will of his uncle, who died in +peace, for he was a good and loyal Christian. But when he was laid in +the earth the young man, considering that the horse was a very fine +one, and well-trained, was tempted to keep him for himself. He did not +sell him, and gave no money to the poor. Six months after, the soul of +the dead man appeared to him and said: "Thou hast not accomplished that +which I had ordered thee to do for the welfare of my soul, and for six +months I have suffered great pains in Purgatory. But behold God, the +strict Judge of all things, has decreed, and His angels will execute +the decree, that my soul be placed in eternal rest, and that thine +shall undergo all the pains and torments which I had still to undergo +for the expiation of my sins." + +Thereupon the nephew, being instantly seized with a violent disease, +had barely time to confess to a priest, who had just been announced. He +died shortly after, and went to pay the debt he had undertaken to +discharge. + + +THE DEAD MASS. + +It has been, and still is believed, that the mercy of God sometimes +permits souls that have sins to expiate, to come and expiate them on +earth. Of this the following is an example: + +Polet, the principal suburb of Dieppe, is still inhabited almost +exclusively by fishermen, who, in past times, more especially, have +ever been solid and faithful Christians. The Catholic worship was +formerly celebrated with much solemnity in their church, consecrated +under the invocation of "Our Lady of the Beach" (Notre Dame des +Grèves); and the mothers of the worthy fishermen who give to Polet an +aspect so picturesque, have forgotten only the precise date of the +adventure we are about to relate. + +The sacristan of Notre Dame des Grèves dwelt in a little cottage quite +close to the church. He was an exact and pious man; he had the keys of +the sacred edifice and the care of the bells. Several worthy priests +were attached to the lovely church; the earliest Masses were never rung +except by the honest sacristan. Now, one morning, during the Christmas +holydays, he heard, before day, the tinkle of one of his bells +announcing a Mass. He rose immediately and ran to the window. The snow- +covered roofs enabled him to see objects so distinctly that he thought +the day was beginning to dawn. He hastened to put on his clothes and go +to the church. The total solitude and silence reigning all around him +made him understand that he was mistaken and that day was not yet +breaking. He tried to go into the church, however, but the door was +closed. + +How, then, could he have heard the bell? If robbers had got in, they +would certainly have taken good care not to touch the bell. He listens; +not the slightest noise in the holy place. Should he return home? Not +so, for having heard the bell, he must go in. + +He opens a little door leading into the sacristy; he passes through +that, and advances towards the choir. + +By the light of the small lamp burning before the tabernacle and that +of a taper already lighted, he perceives, at the foot of the altar, a +priest robed in a chasuble, and in the attitude of a celebrant about to +commence Mass. All is prepared for the Holy Sacrifice. He stops in +dismay. The priest, a stranger to him, is extremely pale; his hands are +as white as his alb; his eyes shine like the glow-worm, the light going +forth, as it were, from the very centre of the orbits. + +"Serve my Mass," he said gently to the sacristan. + +The latter obeyed, spell-bound with terror. But if the pallor of the +priest and the singular fire of his eyes frightened him, his voice, on +the contrary, was mild and melancholy. + +The Mass goes on. At the elevation of the Sacred Host the limbs of the +priest tremble and give forth a sound like that of dry reeds shaken by +the wind. At the _Domine, non sum dignus_, his breast, which he +strikes three times, sounds like the coffin when the first shovel-full +of earth is cast upon it by the grave-digger. The Precious Blood +produces in his whole body the effect of water which, in the silence of +the night, falls drop by drop from the roof. + +When he turns to say _Ita Missa est_, the priest is only a +skeleton, and that skeleton speaks these words to the server: + +"Brother, I thank thee! In my life-time, I was a priest; I owed this +Mass at my death. Thou hast helped me to discharge my debt; my soul is +freed from a heavy burden." + +The spectre then disappeared. The sacristan saw the vestments fall +gently at the foot of the altar, and the burning taper suddenly went +out. At that moment, a cock crowed somewhere in the neighborhood. The +sacristan took up the vestments, and passed the rest of the night in +prayer. + + +THE EVE OF ST. JOHN. + +SIR WALTER SCOTT. + + "O fear not the priest who sleepeth to the east! + For to Dryburgh the way he has ta'en; + And there to say Mass, till three days do pass, + For the soul of a Knight that is slayne." + + He turned him round, and grimly he frowned; + Then he laughed right scornfully-- + "He who says the Mass-rite for the soul of that Knight, + May as well say Mass for me." + + Then changed, I trow, was that bold baron's brow, + From dark to the blood-red high; + "Now tell me the mien of the Knight thou hast seen, + For by Mary he shall die." + + "O hear but my word, my noble lord, + For I heard her name his name, + And that lady bright, she called the Knight + Sir Richard of Coldinghame." + + The bold baron's brow then chang'd, I trow, + From high blood-red to pale-- + "The grave is deep and dark--and the corpse is stiff and stark-- + So I may not trust thy tale. + + "The varying light deceived thy sight, + And the wild winds drown'd the name, + For the Dryburgh bells ring, and the white monks do sing, + For Sir Richard of Coldinghame." + + It was near the ringing of matin-bell, + The night was well-nigh done, + When the lady looked through the chamber fair, + On the eve of good St. John. + + The lady looked through the chamber fair, + By the light of a dying flame; + And she was aware of a knight stood there-- + Sir Richard of Coldinghame. + + "By Eildon-tree for long nights three, + In bloody grave have I lain, + The Mass and the death-prayer are said for me, + But, lady, they are said in vain. + + "By the baron's hand, near Tweed's fair stand, + Most foully slain I fell; + And my restless sprite on the beacon's height, + For a space is doom'd to dwell." + + He laid his left palm on an oaken beam, + His right upon her hand; + The lady shrunk, and fainting sunk, + For it scorched like a fiery brand. + + +THE BEQUEST OF A SOUL, IN PURGATORY. + +[From "A Collection of Spiritual Hymns and Songs on Various Religious +Subjects," published by Chalmers & Co., of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1802. +Its quaint and touching simplicity, redolent of old-time faith, will +commend it to the reader] + + From lake where water does not go, + A prisoner of hope below, + To mortal ones I push my groans, + In hopes they'll pity me. + + O mortals that still live above, + Your faith, hope, prayers, and alms, and love, + Still merit place With God's sweet grace; + O faithful, pity me. + + My fervent groans don't merit here, + Strict justice only doth appear, + My smallest faults, + And needless talks Heap chains and flames on me. + + Though mortal guilt doth not remain, + I still am due the temp'ral pain, I did delay + To satisfy, + Past coldness scorcheth me. + + Tepidity and good works done + With imperfections mixt, here come; + All these neglects + And least defects,-- + Great anguish bring on me. + + Though my defects here be not spared, + Yet endless glory for me's prepared, + I love in flames, + And hope in chains; + O friends, then, pity me! + + My God, my Father, is most dear, + For me your sighs and prayers He'll hear; + Though just laws scourge, + His mercies urge, + That you would pity me. + + Through pains and flames + I'll come to Him, + They purge me both from stain and sin; + When I'm set free, + Their friends I'll be + Who now do pity me. + + The smallest thing that could defile + Keeps me from bliss in this exile. + God loves to see + That you me free; + For His love pity me! + + For me who alms give, fast, or pray, + Great store of grace will come their way; + Try this good thought-- + Great help is brought, + And souls from sin set free. + + If you for me now do not pray, + The utmost farthing I must pay; + The time is hid + That I'll be rid, + Unless you pity me. + + In mortal sin who yields his breath, + Pray not for him behind his death. + All mortal crime + I quit in time; + O faithful, pity me! + + For me good works may be practised, + Thus some were for the dead baptized. + Suet pains endure + For me, and sure + You'll help and pity me! + + For his good friend, as Scriptures say, + Onesiphorus, Paul did pray, [1] + His words, you see, + Urge, then, for me; + And thus you'll pity me. + +[Footnote 1: II. Tim., i. 16, 18.] + + This third place clear in writ you spy, + Where all your works the fire will try, + From death game rose, + Sure then all those + From third place were set free. + + In hell there's no redemption found; + God ne'er degrades whom + He once crowned--These judgments both + Confirmed by oath + And absolute decree. + + For all the Saints prayer should be made, + Who stand in need, alive or dead. + I stand in need + That you with speed + Should help and pity me. + + In presence of our sweetest Lord, + For dead they, prayed, as all accord. + Christ did not blame + What I now claim; + Oh! haste and pity me! + + To a third place Christ's soul did go. + And preached to spirits there below; + This in the Creed + And Writ you read, + That you may pity me. + + When Christ on earth would stay no more, + These captives freed He brought to glore; + There I will be, + And soon set free, + If you would pity me. + + Mind, then, Communion of the Saints; + All should supply each other's wants: + In pains and chains, + And scorching flames, + I languish; pity me! + + Eternal rest, eternal glore, + Eternal light, eternal store, + To them accord, + O sweetest Lord! + There's mercy still with Thee! + + Let mercy stay Thy just revenge, + Their scorching flames to glory change; + The precious flood + Of Thine own blood + For them we offer Thee! + + +ALL SOULS. + +BY MARION MUIR. + + FOR all the cold and silent clay + That once, alive with youth and hope, + Rushed proudly to the western slope- + O brothers, pray! + + For all who saw the orient day + Rise on the plain, the camp, the flood, + The sudden discord drowned in blood- + O brothers, pray! + + For all the lives that ebbed away + In darkness down the gulf of tears; + For all the gray departed years- + O brothers, pray! + + For all the souls that went astray + In deserts hung with double gloom; + For all the dead without a tomb- + O brothers, pray! + + For we have household peace; but they + Who led the way, and held the land, + Are homeless as the heaving sand- + Oh! let us pray! + + +THE DEAD. + +(From the French of Octave Cremacie.) + +ANNA T. SADLIER. + + O dead, ye sleep within your tranquil graves; + No more ye bear the burden that enslaves + Us in this world of ours. + For you outshine no stars, no storms rave loud, + No buds has spring, the horizon no cloud, + The sun marks not the hours. + + The while, with anxious thought oppress'd, we go, + Each weary day but bringing deeper woe, + Silently and alone + Ye list the sanctuary chant arise, + That downwards first to you, remounts the skies, + Sweet pity's monotone. + + The vain delights whereto our souls incline, + Are naught beside the prayer to love divine, + Alms-giving of the heart, + Which reaching to you warms your chilly dust + And brings your name enshrined a sacred trust, + Swift to the throne of God! + + Alas! love's warmest memory will fade + Within the heart, ere yet the mourning shade + Has ceased to mark the garb. + Forgetfulness, our meed to you, outweighs + The leaded coffin as it dully lays + Upon your lifeless bones. + + Our selfish hearts but to the present look, + And see in you the pages of a book + Now laid aside long read. + For loving in our fev'rish joy or pain + But those who serve our hate, pride, love of gain, + No more can serve the dead. + + To cold ambition or to joy's sweet store, + Ye dusty corpses minister no more, + We give to you neglect. + Nor reck we of that suff'ring world's pale bourne + Where you beyond the bridgeless barrier mourn + O'erpast the wall of death. + + 'Tis said that when our coldness grieves you sore, + Ye quit betimes that solitude's cold shore + Where ye forsaken dwell, + And flit about in darkness' sad constraint, + The while from spectral lips your mournful plaint + Upon the winds outswell. + + When nightingales their woodland nests have left, + The autumn sky of gray, white-capped, cloud-reft, + Prepares the shroud which Winter soon shall spread + On frozen fields; there comes a day thrice blest, + When earth forgetting, all our musings rest + On those who are no more the dreamless dead. + + The dead their graves forsake upon this day, + As we have seen doves mount with joyous grace, + Escape an instant from their prison drear, + Their coming brings us no repellent fear. + Their mien is dreamy, passing sweet their face, + Their fixed and hollow eyes cannot betray. + + When spectral coming thus unseen they gaze + On crowds who, kneeling in the temple, pray + Forgiveness for them, one faint, joyful ray, + As light upon the opal, glittering plays, + On faces pale and calm an instant rests, + And brings a moment's warmth to clay-cold breasts. + + They, the elect of God, with souls of saints, + Who bear each destined load without complaints, + + Who walk all day beneath God's watching eye, + And sleep the night 'neath angels' ministry, + Nor made the sport of visions that arise + To show th' abyss of fire to dreaming eyes. + + All they who while on earth, the pure of heart, + The heav'nly echoes hear, and who in part + Make smooth for man rude ways he has to tread, + And knowing earthly vanity, outspread + Their virtue like a carpet rich and rare, + And walk o'er evil, touching it nowhere. + + When come sad guests from off that suff'ring shore, + Which Dante saw in dream sublime of yore, + Appearing midst us here that day most blessed, + 'Tis but to those; for they alone have guessed + The secrets of the grave; alone they understand + The pallid mendicants, who ask for heav'n. + + Of Israel's King the psalms, inspired cries, + With Job's sublime distress, commingled rise; + The sanctuary sobs them through the naves + While wak'ning subtle fear, the bell's deep toll + With fun'ral sounds, demanding pity's dole + For wand'ring ghosts, as countless as the waves. + + Give on this day, when over all the earth + The Church to God makes moan for parted worth; + Your own remorse, regret at least to calm + Awak'ning memory's dying flame, give balm, + Flow'rs for their graves, and prayer for each loved soul, + Those gifts divine can yet the dead console. + + Pray for your friends, and for your mother pray, + Who made less drear for you life's desert way, + For all the portions of your heart that lie + Shut in the tomb, alas, each youthful tie + Is lost within the coffin's close constraint, + Where, prey of worms, the dead send up their plaint + + For exiles far from home and native land, + Who dying hear no voice, nor touch no hand + In life alone, more lonely still in death. + With none for their repose, to breathe one prayer, + Cast alms of tears upon an alien grave, + Or heed the stranger lonely even there; + + For those whose wounded souls when here below, + But anxious thought and bitter fancies know, + With days all joyless, nights of dull unrest; + For those who in night's calm find all so blest + And meet, in place of hope with morning beams, + A horrid wak'ning to their golden dreams; + + For all the pariahs of human kind + Who, heavy burdens bearing, find + How high the steeps of human woe they scale. + Oh, let your heart some off'ring make to these, + One pious thought, one holy word of peace, + Which shall twixt them and God swift rend the veil. + + The tribute bring of prayers and holy tears, + That when your hour draws nigh of nameless fears, + When reached their term shall be your numbered days, + Your name made known above with grateful praise, + By those whose suff'rings it was yours to end, + Arriving there find welcome as a friend! + + Your loving tribute, white-winged angels take, + Ere bearing it unto eternal spheres, + An instant lay it on the grass-grown graves, + While dying flow'rs in church-yards raise each head + To life, refreshed by breath of prayer, awake + And shed their fragrance on the sleeping dead. + + +A REQUIEM. + +SIR WALTER SCOTT. + + No sound was made, no word was spoke, + Till noble Angus silence broke; + And he a solemn sacred plight + Did to St. Bryde of Douglas make, + That he a pilgrimage would take + To Melrose Abbey, for the sake + Of Michael's restless sprite. + Then each, to ease his troubled breast, + To some blessed saint his prayers addressed- + Some to St. Modan made their vows, + Some to St. Mary of the Lowes, + Some to the Holy Rood of Lisle, + Some to our Lady of the Isle; + Each did his patron witness make, + That he such pilgrimage would take, + And monks should sing, and bells should toll, + All for the weal of Michael's soul, + While vows were ta'en, and prayers were prayed. + + Most meet it were to mark the day + Of penitence and prayer divine, + When pilgrim-chiefs, in sad array, + Sought Melrose, holy shrine. + With naked foot, and sackcloth vest, + And arms enfolded on his breast, + Did every pilgrim go; + The standers-by might hear aneath, + Footstep, or voice, or high-drawn breath. + Through all the lengthened row; + No lordly look, no martial stride, + Gone was their glory, sunk their pride, + + Forgotten their renown; + Silent and slow, like ghosts, they glide, + To the high altar's hallowed side, + And there they kneeled them down; + Above the suppliant chieftains wave + The banners of departed brave; + Beneath the lettered stones were laid + The ashes of their fathers dead; + From many a garnished niche around, + Stern saint and tortured martyr frowned, + And slow up the dim aisle afar, + With sable cowl and scapular, + And snow-white stoles, in order due, + The holy Fathers, two and two, + In long procession came; + Taper, and host, and book they bare, + And holy banner, flourished fair + With the Redeemer's name; + Above the prostrate pilgrim band + The mitred Abbot stretched his hand, + And blessed them as they kneeled; + With holy cross he signed them all, + And prayed they might be sage in hall, + And fortunate in field. + + The Mass was sung, and prayers were said, + And solemn requiem for the dead; + And bells tolled out their mighty peal, + For the departed spirit's weal; + And ever in the office close + The hymn of intercession rose; + And far the echoing aisles prolong + The awful burthen of the song-- + _Dies Irae, Dies Illa, + Salvet SÆlum in Favilla;_ + While the pealing organ rung, + Thus the holy father sung: + + +HYMN FOR THE DEAD. + + The day of wrath, that dreadful day, + When heaven and earth shall pass away, + What power shall be the sinner's stay? + How shall he meet that dreadful day? + When, shrivelling like a parched scroll, + The flaming heavens together roll; + While louder yet, and yet more dread, + Swells the high trump that wakes the dead; + O! on that day, that wrathful day, + When man to judgment wakes from clay, + Be Thou the trembling sinner's stay, + Though heaven and earth shall pass away. + + +THE PENANCE OF ROBERT THE DEVIL. + +COLLIN DE PLANCY. + +In Normandy, the most sinister associations still remain connected with +the name of Robert the Devil. By the people, who change historical +details, but yet preserve the moral thereof, it is believed that Robert +is undergoing his penance here below, on the theatre of his crimes, and +that, after a thousand years, it is not yet ended. Messrs. Taylor and +Charles Nodier have mentioned this tradition in their "Voyage +Pittoresque de l'Ancienne France" ("Picturesque Journey through Old +France"). + +"On the left shore of the Seine," say they, "not far from Moulineaux, +are seen the colossal ruins, which are said to be the remains of the +castle, or fortress, of Robert the Devil. Vague recollections, a +ballad, some shepherd's tales--these are all the chronicles of those +imposing ruins. Nevertheless, the fame of Robert the Devil's doings +still survives in the country which he inhabited. His very name still +excites that sentiment of fear which ordinarily results only from +recent impressions. + +"In the vicinity of the castle of Robert the Devil every one knows his +misdeeds, his violent conquests, and the rigor of his penance. The +cries of his victims still reecho through the vaults, and come to +terrify himself in his nocturnal wanderings, for Robert is condemned to +visit the ruins and the dungeons of his castle. + +"Sometimes, if the old traditions of the country are to be believed, +Robert has been seen, still clad in the loose tunic of a hermit, as on +the day of his burial, wandering in the neighborhood of his castle, and +visiting, barefoot and bareheaded, the little corner of the plain where +the cemetery must have been. Sometimes, a shepherd straying through the +adjoining copse in search of his flock, scattered by an evening storm, +has been frightened by the fearful aspect of the phantom, seen by the +glare of the lightning, flitting about amongst the graves. He has heard +him, in the pauses of the tempest, imploring the pity of their mute +inhabitants; and on the morrow he shunned the place in horror, because +the earth, freshly turned up, had opened on every side to terrify the +murderer." + +But there is another tradition which we cannot omit. + +A band of those Northmen who, during the troubled reign of Charles III. +of France--without any sufficient reason called Charles the Simple--had +invaded that part of Neustria where Robert the Devil was born; a group +of these fierce warriors were one evening warming themselves around a +fire of brambles, and, joyous in a country more genial than their own, +they sang, to a wild melody, the great deeds of their princes, when +they saw, leaning against the trunk of a tree, an old man poorly clad, +and of a sad, yet resigned aspect. They called to him as he passed +along before the fortress of Robert the Devil, then only half ruined. + +"Good man," said they, "sing us some song of this country." + +The old man, advancing slowly, chanted in an humble yet manly voice, +the beautiful prose of St. Stephen. It told how the first of the +martyrs paid homage till the end to Jesus Christ, Our Lord; and how, +expiring under their blows, he besought Heaven to forgive his +murderers. + +But this hymn displeased the rude band, who began brutally to insult +the old man. The latter fell on one knee and uttered no complaint. + +At this moment appeared a young man, before whom all the soldiers rose +to their feet. His lofty mien and his tone of authority indicated the +son of a mighty lord. + +"You who insult a defenceless old man," said he, "your conduct is base +and cowardly. Away with you! those who insult women or old men are +unworthy to march with the brave. For you, good old man, come and share +my meal. It is for the chief to repair the wrong-doings of those he +commands." + +"Young man," said the stranger, "what you have just done is pleasing to +God, who loveth justice; but it concerneth not me, who can bear no ill- +will to any one." + +He then told his name; related the hideous story of his crimes, then +his conversion through the prayers of his mother, and his penance, +which was to last yet a long time. He showed how the grace of faith and +of repentance had entered into his heart. + +"Exhausted with emotion," said he, "I sat down on a stone amid some +ruins; I slept. Oh! blessed be my good angel for having sent me that +sleep! Scarcely had I closed mine eyes when I had a vision. It seemed +to me that the mountain on which rises the Castle of Moulinets darted +up to heaven and formed a staircase. Up the steps went slowly a crowd +of phantoms, in which I, alas! recognized my crimes. There were women +and young maidens, whose death was my doing, hardworking vassals +dishonored, old men driven from their dwellings, and forced to ask the +bread of charity. I saw thus ascending not only men, but things, houses +burned, crops destroyed, flocks, the hope and the care of a whole life +of toil, sacrificed at a moment in some wild revel. + +"And I saw an angel rising rapidly. Then did my limbs quiver like the +leaves of the aspen. I said to that ascending angel: + +"'Whither goest thou?' He answered: 'I bring thy crimes before the +Lord, that they may bear testimony against thee.' + +"Then all my members became as it were burning grass. 'O good angel!' I +cried, 'could I not at least efface some of these images?' He replied: +'All, if thou wilt.' 'And how?' 'Confess them; the breath of thy avowal +will disperse them. Weep them in penance, and thy tears will efface +even the traces thereof.'" + +The old man then told how he had made his confession, and what penance +he did, wandering about in rags, without other food than that which he +shared with the dogs. + +"I had known," he added, "all the pleasures of the earth, and had known +some of its joys. But I found them still more in the miseries, the +life-long fatigue, the hard humiliations of penance, because they were +expiating my faults. Thus, then, O strangers, whatever fate Heaven may +decree for you, if you desire happiness, find Our Lord Jesus Christ, +and practice His justice." + +The old man was silent; the barbarians remained motionless. He, +however, taking the young chief by the hand, led him to the esplanade +of the castle, and showing him all that vast country which is watered +by the Seine: "Young man," said he, "for as much as thou hast protected +a poor old man, God will reward the noble heart within thee. Thou seest +these lands so rich--they were once mine; and even now, after God, they +have no other lawful owner. I give them to thee; make faith and equity +reign there. I will rejoice in thy reign." + +Now this chief, to whom the penitent Robert thus bequeathed his faith +and his inheritance, was Rollo, first Duke of the Normans. + + +ALL SOULS' EVE. + + Where the tombstones gray and browned, + And the broken roods around, + And the vespers' solemn sound, + Told an old church near; + I sat me in the eve, + And I let my fancy weave + Such a vision as I leave + With a frail pen here. + + Methought I heard a trail + Like to slowly-falling hail + And the sadly-plaintive wail + Of a misty file of souls, + As they glided o'er the grass, + Sighing low: "Alas! alas! + How the laggard moments pass + In purgatorial doles!" + + Through their garments' glancing sheen, + As if nothing were between, + Pierced the moon's benignant beam + To a grove of stunted pines; + In whose distant lightsome shade, + With their gilded coats arrayed, + + Danced a fairy cavalcade, + To a fairy poet's rhymes. + + Then a cloud obscured the moon, + And the fairy dance and rune + Faded down behind the gloom + Which along the upland fell, + And my ears could only hear, + In the church-yard lone and drear, + The tinkle soft and clear + Of the morning Mass's bell. + It eddied through the air, + And it seemed to call to prayer + All the waiting spirits there + Which the moon's beams showed, + But each tinkle sank to die + In a heart-distressing sigh, + And no worshippers drew nigh + With the penitential word. + + Mute as statue, on each knoll + Stood a thin, transparent soul, + While the fresh breeze stole + From its long night's rest, + Till it bore upon its tongue, + Like a snatch of sacred song, + All the peopled graves among, + _Ite Missa est!_ + + Then a cry, as Angels raise + In an ecstasy of praise, + When the Godhead's glowing rays + To their eager sight is given, + Shook the consecrated ground, + And the souls it lost were found + From their venial sins unbound, + In the happy fields of heaven! + + Where the tombstones gray and browned, + And the broken roods around, + And the vespers' solemn sound, + Told an old church near; + I sat me in the eve, + And I let my fancy weave + Such a vision as I leave + With a frail pen here. + + +ELEVENTH MONTH, NOVEMBER: THE HOLY SOULS. + +COMMEMORATION OF ALL SOULS. + +HARRIET M. SKIDMORE. + + O faithful church! O tender mother-heart, + That, 'neath the shelter of thy deathless love, + Shieldest the blood-bought charge thy Master gave; + Laving the calm, unfurrowed infant brow + With the pure wealth of Heaven's cleansing stream; + Breathing above the sinner's grief-bowed head + The mystic words that loose the demon-spell, + And bid the leprous soul be clean again; + Decking the upper chamber of the heart + For the blest banquet of the Lord of love; + Binding upon the youthful warrior's breast + The buckler bright, the sacred shield of strength, + The fair, celestial gift of Pentecost, + Borne on the pinions of the holy Dove! + And when, at last, life's sunset hour is near, + And the worn pilgrim-feet stand trembling on + The shadowy borders of the death-dark vale, + At thy command the priestly hand bestows + The potent unction in the saving Name, + And gives unto the parched and pallid lip + The blest Viaticum, the Bread of Life, + As staff and stay for that drear pilgrimage! + Thy prayers ascend, with magic incense-breath, + From the lone couch, where, fainting by the way, + The frail companion of the deathless soul + Parteth in pain from its immortal guest. + And when, at last, the golden chain is loosed, + And through the shadows of that mystic vale + The ransomed captive floateth swiftly forth, + In solemn tones thy _De Profundis_ rings + O'er all the realms of vast eternity; + Thy tender litanies call gently down + The angel-guides, the white-robed band of Saints, + To lead the wanderer to "the great White Throne," + To plead, with Heaven's own pitying tenderness, + For life and mercy at the judgment-seat. + The account is given, the saving sentence breathed, + Yet He who said that nought by sin defiled + Can take at once its blessed place amid + The spotless legion of His shining Saints, + Will find, upon the white baptismal robe, + Full many a blemish; stains too lightly held, + Half-cleansed by an imperfect sorrow's flood. + "The Christian shall be saved, yet as by fire;" + So, to the pain-fraught, purifying flame + The robe is given, till every blighting spot + Hath faded from its primal purity; + Still, faithful Church, thy blest Communion binds + Each suffering child unto thy mother's heart. + Full well thou know'st the wondrous power of prayer-- + That 'tis a holy and a wholesome thought + To plead for those who in the drear abode + Of penance linger, "that they may be loosed + From all their sins;" that on each spotless brow + Love's shining hand may place the starry crown. + And so the holy Sacrifice ascends, + A sweet oblation for that wailing band + Thy regal form in mourning hues is draped, + Thy pleading _Miserere_ ceaseth not + Till, at its blest entreaty, Love descends, + As erst, from His rent tomb, to Limbo's realm, + And leads again the freed, exultant throng, + Within the gleaming gates of gold and pearl, + To bask in fadeless splendor, where the flow + Of the "still waters" by the "pastures green" + Faints not, nor slackens, through the endless years. + O Christians, brethren by that holy tie + That links the living with the ransomed dead! + Children of one fond mother are ye all, + White-robed in heaven, militant on earth, + And sufferers 'mid the purifying flame. + O ye who tread the highway of our world, + Join now your voices with that mother's sigh! + And while the mournful autumn wind laments, + And sad November's ceaseless tear-drops fall + Upon "the Silent City's" marble roofs, + O'er lonely graves amid the pathless wild, + Or where the wayworn pilgrim sank to rest + In some lone cavern by the crested sea-- + List to the pleading wail that e'er ascends + From the dark land of suffering and woe: + "Our footsteps trod your fair, sun-lighted paths, + Our voices mingled in your joyous songs, + Our tears were blended in one common grief; + Perchance our erring hearts' excessive love + For you, the worshipped idols of our lives, + Hath been the blemish on our bridal robes. + Plead for us, then, and let your potent prayer + Unlock the golden gates, that we who beat + Our eager wings against these prison bars, + May wing our flight to endless liberty!" + + +THE MEMORY OF THE DEAD. + +FATHER FABER + +[This poem scarcely comes within the scope of the present work, yet it +is, by its nature, so closely connected therewith, and is, moreover, so +exquisitely tender and pathetic, so beautiful in its mournful +simplicity, that I decided on giving it a place amongst these funereal +fragments.] + + Oh! it is sweet to think + Of those that are departed, + While murmured Aves sink + To silence tender-hearted-- + While tears that have no pain + Are tranquilly distilling, + And the dead live again + In hearts that love is filling. + + Yet not as in the days + Of earthly ties we love them; + For they are touched with rays + From light that is above them; + Another sweetness shines + Around their well-known features; + God with His glory signs + His dearly-ransomed creatures. + + Yes, they are more our own, + Since now they are God's only; + And each one that has gone + Has left one heart less lonely. + He mourns not seasons fled, + Who now in Him possesses + Treasures of many dead + In their dear Lord's caresses. + + Dear dead! they have become + Like guardian angels to us; + And distant Heaven like home, + Through them begins to woo us; + Love that was earthly, wings + Its flight to holier places; + The dead are sacred things + That multiply our graces. + + They whom we loved on earth + Attract us now to Heaven; + Who shared our grief and mirth + Back to us now are given. + They move with noiseless foot + Gravely and sweetly round us, + And their soft touch hath cut + Full many a chain that bound us. + + O dearest dead! to Heaven + With grudging sighs we gave you; + To Him--be doubts forgiven! + Who took you there to save you:-- + Now get us grace to love + Your memories yet more kindly, + Pine for our homes above + And trust to God more blindly. + + +THE HOLY SOULS. + +WRITTEN FOR MUSIC BY THE AUTHOR OF "CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS AND SCHOLARS." + + O Mary, help of sorrowing hearts, + Look down with pitying eye + Where souls the spouses of thy Son, + In fiery torments lie; + Far from the presence of their Lord + The purging debt they pay, + In prisons through whose gloomy shades + There shines no cheering ray. + + The fire of love is in their hearts, + Its flame burns fierce and keen; + They languish for His Blessed Face, + For one brief moment seen; + Prisoners of hope, their joy is there + To wait His Holy Will, + And, patient in the cleansing flames, + Their penance to fulfil. + + But dark the gloom where smile of thine, + Sweet Mother, may not fall, + Oh, hear us, when for these dear souls + Thy loving aid we call! + Thou art the star whose gentle beam + Sheds joy upon the night, + Oh, let its shining pierce their gloom + And give them peace and light. + + The sprinkling of the Precious Blood + From thy dear hand must come, + Quench with its drops their cruel flames, + And call them to their home; + Freed from their pains, and safe with thee, + In Jesu's presence blest, + Oh, may the dead in Christ receive + Eternal light and rest! + + +THE PALMER'S ROSARY. + +ELIZA ALLEN STARR. + + No coral beads on costly chain of gold + The Palmer's pious lips at Vespers told; + No guards of art could Pilgrim's favor win, + Who only craved release from earth and sin. + He from the Holy Land his rosary brought; + From sacred olive wood each bead was wrought, + Whose grain was nurtured, ages long ago, + By blood the Saviour sweated in His woe; + Then on the Holy Sepulchre was laid + This crown of roses from His passion made; + The Sepulchre from which the Lord of all + Arose from death's dark bed and icy thrall. + + Yet not complete that wreath of joy and pain, + Which for the dead must sweet indulgence gain; + The pendant cross, on which with guileless art, + Some hand had graved what touches every heart, + The image of the Lamb for sinners slain, + From Bethlehem's crib, now shrine, his prayers obtain; + And tears and kisses tell the holy tale + Of pilgrim love and penitential wail. + + The love, the tears, which fed his pious flame, + May well be thine, my heart, in very same; + Since bead and cross, by Palmer prized so well, + At vesper-hour, these fingers softly tell, + And press, through them, each dear and sacred spot + Where God once walked, "yet men received Him not." + And still, with pious Palmer gray, of yore, + Thy lips can kiss the ground He wet with gore, + Still at the Sepulchre with her delay, + Who found Him risen ere the break of day; + And hover round the crib with meek delight + Where shepherds hasted from their flocks by night, + To there adore Him whom a Virgin blessed, + Bore in her arms and nourished at her breast. + My Rosary dear! my Bethlehem Cross so fair! + + No rose, no lily can with thee compare; + No gems, no gold, no art, or quaint device + Could be my precious Rosary's priceless price; + For Heaven's eternal joys at holier speed, + I trust to win through every sacred bead; + And still for suffering souls obtain release + From cleansing fires to everlasting peace. + + +A LYKE WAKE DIRGE. + +[From Sir Walter Scott's "Minstrelsy of the Border," we take this +fragment. The dirge to which the eminent author alludes in a before- +quoted extract from his work, and which he erroneously styles "a +charm," is here given in full. The reader will observe that it partakes +not the least of the nature of a charm. It would seem to have some +analogy with the "Keen," or Wail of the Irish peasantry.] + + This ae nighte, this ae nighte, + Every nighte and alle; + Fire and sleet, and candle lighte, + And Christe receive thye saule. + + When thou from hence away are paste, + Every nighte and alle; + To Whinny-muir thou comest at laste; + And Christe receive thye saule. + + If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon; + Every nighte and alle; + Sit thee down and put them on; + And Christe receive thye saule. + If hosen and shoon thou ne'er gavest nane, + Every nighte and alle, + The whinnes shall pricke thee to the bare bane; + And Christe receive thye saule. + + From Whinny-muir, when thou mayest passe, + Every nighte and alle; + To Brig o' Dread thou comest at laste; + And Christe receive thye saule. + + From Brig o' Dread when thou mayest passe, + Every nighte and alle; + To Purgatory fire thou comest at laste; + And Christe receive thye saule. + + If ever thou gavest meat or drink, + Every nighte and alle, + The fire shall never make thee shrinke; + And Christe receive thye saule. + + If meat or drink thou never gavest nane, + Every nighte and alle; + The fire will burn thee to the bare bane; + And Christe receive thye saule. + + This ae nighte, this ae nighte, + Every nighte and alle; + Fire and sleet, and candle lighte, + And Christe receive thye saule. + + +ALL SOULS' DAY. + +SECOND VESPERS OF ALL SAINTS. + +_From "Lyra Liturgica."_ + + What means this veil of gloom + Drawn o'er the festive scene; + The solemn records of the tomb + Where holy mirth hath been: + As if some messenger of death should fling + His tale of woe athwart some nuptial gathering? + + Our homage hath been given + With gladsome voice to them + Who fought, and won, and wear in heaven + Christ's robe and diadem; + Now to the suffering Church we must descend, + Our "prisoners of hope" with succor to befriend. + + They will not strive nor cry, + Nor make their pleading known; + Meekly and patiently they lie, + Speaking with God alone; + And this the burden of their voiceless song, + Wafted from age to age, "How long, O Lord, how long?" + + O blessed cleansing pain! + Who would not bear thy load, + Where every throb expels a stain, + And draws us nearer GOD? + Faith's firm assurance makes all anguish light, + With earth behind, and heaven fast opening on the sight. + + Yet souls that nearest come + To their predestin'd gain, + Pant more and more to reach their home: + Delay is keenest pain + To those that all but touch the wish'd for shore, + Where sin, and grief that comes of sin, shall fret no more. + + And O--O charity, + For sweet remembrance sake, + These souls, to God so very nigh, + Into your keeping take! + Speed them by sacrifice and suffrage, where + They burn to pour for you a more prevailing prayer. + + They were our friends erewhile, + Co-heirs of saving grace; + Co-partners of our daily toil, + Companions in our race; + We took sweet counsel in the house of God, + And sought a common rest along a common road. + + And had their brethren car'd + To keep them just and pure, + Perchance their pitying God had spar'd, + The pains they now endure. + What if to fault of ours those pains be due, + To ill example shown, or lack of counsel true? + + Alas, there are who weep + In fierce, unending flame, + Through sin of those on earth that sleep, + Regardless of their shame; + Or who, though they repent, too sadly know + No help of theirs can cure or soothe their victim's woe. + + Thanks to our God who gives, + In fruitful Mass or prayer, + To many a friend that dies, yet lives, + A salutary share; + Nor stints our love, though cords of sense be riven, + Nor bans from hope the soul that is not ripe for heaven. + +Feast of the Holy Dead! + Great Jubilee of grace! + When angel guards exulting lead + To their predestin'd place + Souls, that the Church shall loose from bonds to-day + In every clime that basks beneath her genial sway. + + +THE SUFFERING SOULS. + +BY E. M. V. BULGER. + +It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.--II Mac. xii. +46. + + In some quiet hour at the close of day, + When your work is finished and laid away, + Think of the suffering souls, and pray. + + Think of that prison of anguish and pain, + Where even the souls of the Saints remain, + Till cleansed by fire from the slightest stain. + + Think of the souls who were dear to you + When this life held them; still be true, + And pray for them now; it is all you can do. + + Think of the souls who are lonely there, + With no one, perchance, to offer a prayer + That God may have pity on them and spare. + + Think of the souls that have longest lain + In that place of exile and of pain, + Suffering still for some uncleansed stain. + + Think of the souls who, perchance, may be + On the very threshold of liberty-- + One "_Ave Maria_" may set them free! + + Oh, then, at the close of each passing day, + When your work is finished and folded away, + Think of the suffering souls, and pray! + + Think of their prison, so dark and dim, + Think of their longing to be with Him + Whose praises are sung by the cherubim! + + As you tell the beads of your Rosary, + Ask God's sweet Mother their mother to be; + Her immaculate hands hold Heaven's key. + + Oh, how many souls are suffering when + You whisper "Hail Mary" again and again, + May see God's face as you say "_Amen!_" + +--_Ave Maria_, November 24, 1883. + + +THE VOICES OF THE DEAD. + + 'Twas the hour after sunset, + And the golden light had paled; + The heavy foliage of the woods + Were all in shadow veiled. + + Yet a witchery breathed through the soft twilight, + A thought of the sun that was set, + And a soft and mystic radiance + Through the heavens hung lingering yet. + + The purple hills stood clear and dark + Against the western sky, + And the wind came sweeping o'er the grass + With a wild and mournful cry: + + It swept among the grass that grows + Above the quiet grave, + And stirred the boughs of the linden-trees + That o'er the church-yard wave. + + And the low murmur of the leaves + All softly seemed to say, + + "It is a good and wholesome thought + For the dead in Christ to pray." + + Earth's voices all are low and dim; + But a human heart is there, + With psalms and words of holy Church, + To join in Nature's prayer. + + A Monk is pacing up and down; + His prayers like incense rise; + Ever a sweet, sad charm for him + Within that church-yard lies. + + Each morning when from Mary's tower + The sweet-toned _Ave_ rings, + This herdsman of the holy dead + A Mass of Requiem sings. + + And when upon the earth there falls + The hush of eventide, + A dirge he murmurs o'er the graves + Where they slumber side by side. + + "Eternal light shine o'er them, Lord! + And may they rest in peace!" + His matins all are finished now, + And his whispered accents cease. + + But, hark! what sound is that which breaks + The stillness of the hour? + Is it the ivy as it creeps + Against the gray church tower? + + Is it the sound of the wandering breeze, + Or the rustling of the grass, + Or the stooping wing of the evening birds + As home to their nests they pass? + No; 'tis a voice like one in dreams, + Half solemn and half sad, + Freed from the weariness of earth, + Not yet with glory clad; + + Full of the yearning tenderness + Which nought but suffering gives; + Too sad for angel-tones--too full + Of rest for aught that lives. + + They are the Voices of the Dead + From the graves that lie around, + And the Monk's heart swells within his breast, + As he listens to the sound. + + "Amen! Amen!" the answer comes + Unto his muttered prayer; + "Amen!" as though the brethren all + In choir were standing there. + + The living and departed ones + On earth are joined again, + And the bar that shuts them from his ken + For a moment parts in twain. + + Over the gulf that yawns beneath, + Their echoed thanks he hears + For the Masses he has offered up, + For his orisons and tears. + + And as the strange responsory + Mounts from the church-yard sod, + Their mingled prayers and answers rise + Unto the throne of God. [1] + +[Footnote 1: There is a story recorded of St. Birstan, Bishop of +Winchester, who died about the year of Christ 944, how he was wont +every day to say Mass and Matins for the dead; and one evening, as he +walked in the church-yard, reciting his said Matins, when he came to +the _Requiescat in Pace_, the voices in the graves round about him +made answer aloud, and said, "Amen, Amen!"--_From the "English +Martyrology" for October 22_] + +--_M. R., in "The Lamp," Oct. 31, 1863._ + + +THE CONVENT CEMETERY. + +REV. ABRAM J. RYAN. + +[This is an extract from Father Ryan's poem, "Their Story Runneth +Thus."] + + And years and years, and weary years passed on + Into the past; one autumn afternoon, + When flowers were in their agony of death, + And winds sang "_De Profundis_" o'er them, + And skies were sad with shadows, he did walk + Where, in a resting-place as calm as sweet, + The dead were lying down; the autumn sun + Was half-way down the west--the hour was three, + The holiest hour of all the twenty-four, + For Jesus leaned His head on it, and died. + He walked alone amid the Virgins' graves, + Where calm they slept--a convent stood near by, + And from the solitary cells of nuns + Unto the cells of death the way was short. + + Low, simple stones and white watched o'er each grave, + While in the hollows 'twixt them sweet flowers grew, + Entwining grave with grave. He read the names + Engraven on the stones, and "Rest in peace" + Was written 'neath them all, and o'er each name + A cross was graven on the lowly stone. + He passed each grave with reverential awe, + As if he passed an altar, where the Host + Had left a memory of its sacrifice. + And o'er the buried virgin's virgin dust + He walked as prayerfully as though he trod + The holy floor of fair Loretto's shrine. + He passed from grave to grave, and read the names + Of those whose own pure lips had changed the names + By which this world had known them into names + Of sacrifice known only to their God; + Veiling their faces they had veiled their names. + The very ones who played with them as girls, + Had they passed there, would know no more than he, + Or any stranger, where their playmates slept. + And then he wondered all about their lives, their hearts, + Their thoughts, their feelings, and their dreams, + Their joys and sorrows, and their smiles and tears. + He wondered at the stories that were hid + Forever down within those simple graves. + + +ONE HOUR AFTER DEATH. + +ELIZA ALLEN STARR. + + Oh! I could envy thee thy solemn sleep, + Thy sealed lid, thy rosary-folding palm, + Thy brow, scarce cold, whose wasted outlines keep + The "_Bona Mors_" sublime, unfathomed calm. + + I sigh to wear myself that burial robe + Anointed hands have blessed with pious care: + What nuptial garb on all this mortal globe + Could with thy habit's peaceful brown compare? + + Beneath its hallowed folds thy feeble dust + Shall rest serenely through the night of time; + Unharmed by worm, or damp, or century's rust, + But, fresh as youth, shall greet th' eternal prime + + Of that clear morn, before whose faintest ray + Earth's bliss will pale, a taper's flickering gleam; + I see it break! the pure, celestial day, + And stars of mortal hope already dim. + + "_In pace_" Lord, oh! let her sweetly rest + In Paradise, this very day with Thee: + Her faithful lips her dying Lord confessed, + Then let her soul Thy risen glory see! + + +A PRAYER FOR THE DEAD. + +T. D. MCGEE. + + Let us pray for the dead! + For sister and mother, + Father and brother, + For clansman and fosterer, + And all who have loved us here; + For pastors, for neighbors, + At rest from their labors; + Let us pray for our own beloved dead! + That their souls may be swiftly sped + Through the valley of purgatorial fire, + To a heavenly home by the gate called Desire! + + I see them cleave the awful air, + Their dun wings fringed with flame; + They hear, they hear our helping prayer, + They call on Jesu's name. + + Let us pray for the dead! + For our foes who have died, + May they be justified! + For the stranger whose eyes + Closed on cold alien skies; + For the sailors who perished + By the frail arts they cherished; + Let us pray for the unknown dead. + + Father in heaven, to Thee we turn, + Transfer their debt to us; + Oh! bid their souls no longer burn + In mediate anguish thus. + Let us pray for the soldiers, + On whatever side slain; + Whose white bones on the plain + Lay unclaimed and unfathered, + By the vortex-wind gathered, + Let us pray for the valiant dead. + + Oh! pity the soldier, + Kind Father in heaven, + Whose body doth moulder + Where his soul fled self-shriven. + + We have prayed for the dead; + All the faithful departed, + Who to Christ were true-hearted; + And our prayers shall be heard, + For so promised the Lord; + And their spirits shall go + Forth from limbo-like woe-- + And joyfully swift the justified dead + Shall feel their unbound pinions sped, + Through the valley of purgatorial fire, + To their heavenly home by the gate called Desire, + + By the gate called Desire, + In clouds they've ascended-- + O Saints, pray for us, + Now your sorrows are ended! + + +THE DE PROFUNDIS BELL. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Among the many beautiful and pious customs of Catholic +countries, none appeals with more tender earnestness to the pitying +heart than that of the _De Profundis_ bell. While the shades of +night are gathering over the earth, a solemn, dirge like tolling +resounds from the lofty church towers. Instantly every knee is bent, +and countless voices, in city and hamlet, from castle and cottage, +repeat, with heartfelt earnestness, the beautiful psalm, "_De +Profundis_," or, "Out of the depths," etc., for the souls of the +faithful departed. Thus is illustrated, in a most touching manner, the +blessed doctrine of the Communion of Saints. Thus does the Church +Militant clasp, each day anew, the holy tie which binds her to the +suffering Church of Purgation. + +The compassionate heart of the Christian is stirred to its inmost +depths by the plaintive call of that warning bell; and as, in the holy +hush of nightfall, he obeys its tender appeal, how fully does he +realize that "it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the +dead."] + + +HARRIET M. SKIDMORE. + + The day was dead; from purple summits faded + Its last resplendent ray, + And softly slept the wearied earth, o'ershaded + By twilight's dreamy gray; + Then flowed deep sound-waves o'er silence holy + Of nature's calm repose, + + As from its lofty dome, outpealing slowly + Through the still gloaming, rose + The deep and dirge-like swell + Of _De Profundis_ bell. + + To heedful hearts each solemn cadence falling + Through twilight's misty veil, + An echo seemed of spirit-voices calling + With sad, beseeching wail; + And thus outspake the mournful intonation: + "Plead for us, brethren, plead!" + From the drear depths of woe and desolation + Our cry of bitter need + Floats upward in the swell + Of _De Profundis_ bell. + Then bowed each knee, the plaintive summons heeding, + And rose the blended sigh. + As incense-breath of fond, united pleading + E'en to the throne on high: + "Hear, Lord, the cry of fervent supplication + Earth's children lift to Thee; + And from the depths of long and dread purgation + Thy faithful captives free, + Ere dies on earth the swell + Of _De Profundis_ bell. + + "If, in Thy sight, scarce e'en the perfect whiteness + Of seraph-robe is pure, + Shall mortals brave Thine eye's eternal brightness? + Shall man its search endure? + Ah! trusting hope may meet the dazzling splendor + Of those celestial rays, + For with Thee, Lord, is pardon sweet and tender, + When contrite sorrow prays. + Ay, Thou wilt lead, from desert-waste of sadness, + Thine Israel's chosen band; + And Miriam's song of pure, triumphant gladness + Shall, in Thy promised land, + Succeed the dirge-like swell + Of _De Profundis_ bell." + + +NOVEMBER. + +ANNA. T. SADLIER. + + Robed in mourning, nave and chancel, + In the livery of the dead, + Hymns funereal are chanted. + Services sublime are read. + + Sounds the solemn _Dies Iræ_, + Fraught with echoes from the day + When the majesty of Heaven + Shall appear in dread array. + + Next the Gospel's weird recital, + Full of mystery and dread; + Holding message for the living, + Bringing tidings of the dead. + + With its resurrection promised-- + Resurrection unto life, + With its full and true fruition, + And immunity from strife. + + Blest immunity from sorrow, + Primal man's unhappy dower; + While the evil shall find judgment + In the resurrection hour. + + To the Lord, the King of Glory, + Goes the voiceless, tuneless prayer, + From the deep pit to deliver, + From eternal pains to spare. + + All who wait the holy coming, + Wait the dawning of a day + That shall ope the gates of darkness, + Shall illume the watcher's way. + May the holy Michael lead them + To the fullness of the light + That of old, in prophet visions, + Burst on Adam's dazzled sight. + + May they pass from death to living-- + Message that the Master's voice + Gave to Abraham the faithful, + Bade his exiled soul rejoice. + + May perpetual light descending + Touch their foreheads, dark with fear-- + Dark with deadly torments suffered; + Sign them with the glory near! + + May they rest, O Lord, forever + In a peace that, unexpressed, + Shall bestow upon the pilgrims + Dual crowns of light and rest! + + Death's weird canticle is ringing + In its supplication strong-- + In its far cry to the heavens, + Couched in wild, unearthly song. + + Ay, this _Libera_ o'ercomes us, + Requiem, at once, and dirge-- + Makes this life with life immortal + In our consciousness to merge. + + +FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY. + +ANONYMOUS. + + Ye souls of the faithful who sleep in the Lord, + But as yet are shut out from your final reward, + Oh! would I could lend you assistance to fly + From your prison below to your palace on high! + + O Father of Mercies! Thine anger withhold, + These works of Thy hand in Thy mercy behold; + Too oft from Thy path they have wandered aside, + But Thee, their Creator, they never denied. + + O tender Redeemer, their misery see, + Deliver the souls that were ransomed by Thee; + Behold how they love Thee, despite all their pain; + Restore them, restore them to favor again! + + O Spirit of Grace! O Consoler divine! + See how for Thy presence they longingly pine; + Ah! then, to enliven their sadness descend, + And fill them with peace and with joy in the end! + + O Mother of Mercy! dear soother in grief! + Send thou to their torments a balmy relief; + Oh! temper the rigor of justice severe, + And soften their flames with a pitying tear. + + Ye Patrons, who watched o'er their safety below, + Oh! think how they need your fidelity now; + And stir all the Angels and Saints in the sky + To plead for the souls that upon you rely! + + Ye friends, who once sharing their pleasure and pain, + Now hap'ly already in Paradise reign, + Oh! comfort their hearts with a whisper of love, + And call them to share in your pleasures above! + O Fountain of Goodness! accept of our sighs: + Let Thy mercy bestow what Thy justice denies; + So may Thy poor captives, released from their woes, + Thy praises proclaim, while eternity flows! + + All ye who would honor the Saints and their Head, + Remember, remember to pray for the dead-- + And they, in return, from their misery freed, + To you will be friends in the hour of your need! + +--_Garland of Flowers_. + + +ALL SOULS' EVE. + + 'Twas All Souls' Eve; the lights in Notre Dame + Blazed round the altar; gloomy, in the midst, + The pall, with all its sable hangings, stood; + With torch and taper, priests were ranged around, + Chanting the solemn requiem of the dead; + And then along the aisles the distant lights + Moved slowly, two by two; the chapels shone + Lit as they pass'd in momentary glare; + Behind the fretted choir the yellow ray, + On either hand the altar, blazing fell. + She thought upon the multitude of souls + Dwelling so near and yet so separate. + With dawn she sought Saint Jacques; the altars there + Had each its priest; the black and solemn Mass, + The nodding feathers of the catafalque, + The flaring torches, and the funeral chant, + And intercessions for the countless souls + In Purgatory still. With pity new + The Pilgrim pray'd for the departed. Long + She knelt before the Blessed Sacrament, + Beside Our Lady's altar. Pictured there, + She saw, imprisoned in the forked flames, + The suffering souls who ask the alms of prayer; + Her taper small an aged peasant lit, + To burn before Our Lady, that her voice, + Mother of mercy as she is, might plead + For one who left her still on earth to pray. + . . . . . Sable veils + Soon hid the altars; all things spoke of death, + And realms where those who leave the upper air + Wait till the stains of sin are cleansed, and pant + Amid the thirsty flames for Paradise. [1] + +[Footnote 1: These verses are taken from an anonymous metrical work +called "The Pilgrim," published in England in 1867.] + + +OUR NEIGHBOR. + +ELIZA ALLEN STARR. + + Set it down gently at the altar rail, + The faithful, aged dust, with honors meet; + Long have we seen that pious face, so pale, + Bowed meekly at her Saviour's blessed feet. + + These many years her heart was hidden where + Nor moth, nor rust, nor craft of man could harm; + The blue eyes, seldom lifted, save in prayer, + Beamed with her wished-for heaven's celestial calm. + + As innocent as childhood's was the face, + Though sorrow oft had touched that tender heart; + Each trouble came as winged by special grace, + And resignation saved the wound from smart. + + On bead and crucifix her finger kept, + Until the last, their fond, accustomed hold; + "My Jesus," breathed the lips; the raised eyes slept, + The placid brow, the gentle hand grew cold. + + The choicely ripening cluster, ling'ring late + Into October on its shrivelled vine, + Wins mellow juices, which in patience wait + Upon those long, long days of deep sunshine. + + Then set it gently at the altar rail, + The faithful, aged dust, with honors meet; + How can we hope, if such as she can fail + Before th' Eternal God's high judgment-seat? + + +PURGATORY. + +OLD BELLS. + + Ring out merrily, + Loudly, cheerily, + Blithe old bells from the steeple tower. + Hopefully, fearfully, + Joyfully, tearfully, + Moveth the bride from her maiden bower. + Cloud there is none in the bright summer sky, + Sunshine flings benison down from on high; + Children sing loud as the train moves along, + "Happy the bride that the sun shineth on." + + Knell out drearily, + Measured out wearily, + Sad old bells from the steeple gray. + Priests chanting slowly, + Solemnly, slowly, + Passeth the corpse from the portal to-day. + Drops from the leaden clouds heavily fall, + Drippingly over the plume and the pall; + Murmur old folk, as the train moves along, + "Happy the dead that the rain raineth on." + + Toll at the hour of prime, + Matin and vesper chime, + Loved old bells from the steeple high; + Rolling, like holy waves, + Over the lowly graves, + Floating up, prayer-fraught, into the sky. + Solemn the lesson your lightest notes teach, + Stern is the preaching your iron tongues preach; + Ringing in life from the bud to the bloom; + Ringing the dead to their rest in the tomb. + + Peal out evermore-- + Peal as ye pealed of yore, Brave old bells, on each holy day. + In sunshine and gladness, + Through clouds and through sadness, + Bridal and burial have both passed away. + Tell us life's pleasures with death are still rife; + Tell us that death ever leadeth to life; + Life is our labor and death is our rest, + If happy the living, the dead are the blest. + +--_Popular Poetry_. + + +O HOLY CHURCH! + +HARRIET M. SKIDMORE. + + O holy Church! thy mother-heart + Still clasps the child of grace; + And nought its links of love can part, + Or rend its fond embrace. + + Thy potent prayer and sacred rite + Embalm the precious clay, + That waits the resurrection-light-- + The fadeless Easter day. + + And loving hearts, by faith entwined, + True to that faith shall be, + And keep the sister-soul enshrined + In tender memory; + + Shall bid the ceaseless prayer ascend, + To win her guerdon blest; + The radiant day that hath no end, + The calm, eternal rest. + + +AN INCIDENT OF THE BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN. + +SIR WALTER SCOTT. + + Again he faced the battle-field-- + Wildly they fly, are slain, or yield. + "Now then," he said, and couch'd his spear, + "My course is run, the goal is near; + One effort more, one brave career, + Must close this race of mine." + Then, in his stirrups rising high, + He shouted loud his battle-cry, + "St. James for Argentine!" + + * * * * * + + Now toil'd the Bruce, the battle done, + To use his conquest boldly won: + And gave command for horse and spear + To press the Southern's scatter'd rear, + Nor let his broken force combine, + When the war-cry of Argentine + Fell faintly on his ear! + "Save, save his life," he cried. "O save + The kind, the noble, and the brave!" + The squadrons round free passage gave, + The wounded knight drew near. + He raised his red-cross shield no more, + Helm, cuish, and breast-plate stream'd with gore. + Yet, as he saw the King advance, + He strove even then to couch his lance-- + The effort was in vain! + The spur-stroke fail'd to rouse the horse; + Wounded and weary, in 'mid course + He tumbled on the plain. + Then foremost was the generous Bruce + To raise his head, his helm to loose:-- + "Lord Earl, the day is thine! + My sovereign's charge, and adverse fate, + Have made our meeting all too late; + Yet this may Argentine, + As boon from ancient comrade, crave-- + A Christian's Mass, a soldier's grave." + Bruce pressed his dying hand--its grasp + Kindly replied; but, in his clasp + It stiffen'd and grew cold-- + And, "O farewell!" the victor cried, + Of chivalry the flower and pride, + The arm in battle bold, + The courteous mien, the noble race, + The stainless faith, the manly face! + Bid Ninian's convent light their shrine, + For late-wake of De Argentine. + O'er better knight on death-bier laid, + Torch never gleamd, nor Mass was said! [1] + +[Footnote 1: It is said that the body of Sir Giles de Argentine was +brought to Edinburgh, and interred with the greatest pomp in St. Giles' +Church. Thus did the royal Bruce respond to the dying knight's +request.] + +--_From "The Lord of the Isles"_ + + +PRAY FOE THE MARTYRED DEAD. + + Pray for the Dead! When, conscienceless, the nations + + Rebellious rose to smite the thorn-crowned Head + Of Christendom, their proudest aspirations + Ambitioned but a place amongst the dead. + + Pray for the Dead! The seeming fabled story + of early chivalry, in them renewed, + Shines out to-day with an ascendent glory + Above that field of parricidal feud. + + The children of a persecuted mother, + When nations heard the drum of battle beat, + Through coward Europe, brother leagued with brother, + Rallied and perished at her sacred feet. + + O Ireland, ever waiting the To-morrow, + Lift up thy widowed, venerable head, + Exultingly, through thy maternal sorrow, + Not comfortless, like Rachel, for thy dead. + + For, where the crimson shock of battle thundered, + From hosts precipitated on a few, + Above thy sons, outnumbered, crushed and sundered, + Thy green flag through the smoke and glitter flew. + + Lift up thy head! The hurricane that dashes + Its giant billows on the Rock of Time, + Divests thee, mother, of thy weeds and ashes, + Rendering, at least, thy grief sublime. + + For nations, banded into conclaves solemn, + Thy name and spirit in the grave had cast, + And carved thy name upon the crumbling column + Which stands amid the unremembered Past. + + Pray for the Dead! Cold, cold amid the splendor + Of the Italian South our brothers sleep; + The blue air broods above them warm and tender, + The mists glide o'er them from the barren deep. + + Pray for the Dead! High-souled and lion-hearted, + Heroic martyrs to a glorious trust, + By them our scorned name is re-asserted, + By them our banner rescued from the dust. + +--_Kilkenny Journal_. + + +IN WINTER + +ELIZA ALLEN STARR. + + How lonely on the hillside look the graves! + The summer green no longer o'er them waves; + No more, among the frosted boughs, are heard + The mournful whip-poor-will or singing bird. + + The rose-bush, planted with such tearful care, + Stands in the winter sunshine stiff and bare; + Save here and there its lingering berries red + Make the cold sunbeams warm above the dead. + + Through all the pines, and through the tall, dry grass, + The fitful breezes with a shiver pass, + While o'er the autumn's lately flowering weeds + The snow-birds flit and peck the shelling seeds. + + Because those graves look lonely, bleak and bare, + Because they are not, as in summer, fair, + O turn from comforts, cheery friends, and home, + And 'mid their solemn desolation roam! + + On each brown turf some fresh memorial lay; + O'er each dear hillock's dust a moment stay, + To breathe a "Rest in Peace" for those who lie + On lonely hillsides 'neath a wintry sky. + + +OSEMUS. + +MARY E MANNIX + + Welcome, ye sad dirges of November, + When Indian summer drops her brilliant crown + All withered, as in clinging mantle brown + She floats, away to die beneath the leaves; + Pressed are the grapes, gathered the latest sheaves; + O wailing winds! how can we but remember + The loved and lost? O ceaseless monotones! + Hearing your plaints, counting your weary moans + Like voices of the dead, like broken sighs + From stricken souls who long for Paradise, + We will not slight the message that ye bear, + Nor check a pitying thought, nor guide a prayer. + They have departed, we must still remember; + Welcome, ye sad, sad dirges of November! + + +FUNERAL HYMN. + +_From the French of Theodore Nisard_ + +A. T. SADLIER + + The bell is tolling for the dead, + Christians, hasten we to prayer, + Our brothers suffer there, + Consumed in struggles vain. + + Have pity, have pity on them, + In torturing flames immersed, + The stains their souls aspersed + Retain them far from heav'n. + Since God has giv'n us power, + Oh, let us their woes relieve; + Their hope do not deceive, + Our protectors they will be. + + For these suff'ring ones we pray, + Lord Jesus, Victim blest, + Take them from pain to rest, + Thy children, too, are they. + + * * * * * + +[As the translation is a very rude one, we add the French original, +which, particularly when set to music, is full of a deep solemnity and +pathos.] + +CHANT FUNÈBRE. + +NISARD + + La cloche tinte pour les morts + Chrétiens, mettons nous en prières! + Ceux qi gemissent sont des frères, + Se consumant en vains efforts. + Pitié pour eux! Pitié pour eux! + Ils tourbillonnent dans la flamme; + Les taches qui souillent leur âmes, + Les tiennent captifs loin des cieux. + Mettons un terme à leur douleurs, + Dieu nous en donne la puissance; + Ne trompons point leur espérance, + Puis ils seront nos protecteurs. + Disons pour nos fières souffrants: + Sauveur Jésus, Sainte Victime, + Tirez nos frères de l'abime, + Car, eux aussi, sont vos enfants. + + +REQUIESCAT IN PACE. + +HARRIET M. SKIDMORE + + O Father, give them rest-- + Thy faithful ones, whose day of toil is o'er, + + Whose weary feet shall wander never more + O'er earth's unquiet breast! + + The battle-strife was long; + Yet, girt with grace, and guided by Thy light, + They faltered not till triumph closed the fight, + Till pealed the victor's song. + + Though drear the desert path, + With cruel thorns and flinty fragments strewn, + Where fiercely swept, amid the glare of noon. + The plague-wind's biting wrath. + + Still onward pressed their feet; + For patience soothed with sweet celestial balm, + And, from the rocks, hope called her founts to calm + The Simoom's venom-heat. + + Their march hath reached its close, + Its toils are o'er, its Red Sea safely passed; + And pilgrim feet have cast aside at last + Earth's sandal-shoon of woes. + + Thou blissful promised land! + One rapturous glimpse of matchless glory caught, + One priceless vision, with thy beauty fraught, + Hath blessed that way-worn band. + + And to thy smiling shore + Their ceaseless messengers of longing went, + And blooms of bliss and fruitage of content, + Returning, gladly bore. + + Yet sadly still they wait; + For, past idolatries to gods of clay, + And past rebellions 'gainst the Master's sway, + Have barred the golden gate. + + The magic voice of prayer, + The saving rite, the sacrifice of love, + The human tear, the sigh of Saints above, + Blent in one off'ring fair-- + + These, these alone, can win + The boon they crave: glad entrance into rest, + The fadeless crown, the garment of the blest, + Washed pure from stain of sin. + + Hear, then, our eager cry. + O God of mercy! bid their anguish cease; + To prisoned souls, ah! bring the glad release, + And hush the mourner's sigh. + + Mother of pitying love! + On sorrow's flood thy tender glances bend, + And o'er its dark and dreadful torrent send + The olive-bearing dove. + + Thy potent prayer shall be + An arch of peace, a radiant promise-bow, + To span the gulf, and shed its cheering glow + O'er the dread penance-sea. + + And on its pathway blest + The ransomed throng, in garments washed and white, + May safely pass to love's fair realm of light, + To heaven's perfect rest. + + +THE FEAST OF ALL SOULS IS THE COUNTRY. + +_From the French of Fontanes_. [1] + +[Footnote 1: Louis, Marquis de Fontanes, Peer of France, and Member of +the French Academy.] + +ANNA T. SADLIER + + E'en now doth Sagittarius from on high, + Outstretch his bow, and ravage all the earth, + The hills, and meadows where of flowers the dearth + Already felt, like some vast ruins lie. + + The bleak November counts its primal day, + While I, a witness of the year's decline, + Glad of my rest, within the fields recline. + No poet heart this beauty can gainsay, + No feeling mind these autumn pictures scorn, + But knows how their monotonous charms adorn. + Oh, with what joy does dreamy sorrow stray + At eve, slow pacing, the dun-colored vale; + He seeks the yellow woods, and hears the tale + Of winds that strip them of their lonely leaves; + For this low murmur all my sense deceives. + In rustling forests do I seem to hear + Those voices long since still, to me most dear. + In leaves grown sere they speak unto my heart. + + This season round the coffin-lid we press, + Religion wears herself a mourning dress, + More grand she seems, while her diviner part + At sight of this, a world in ruins, grows. + To-day a pious usage she has taught, + Her voice opens vaults wherein our fathers dwell. + Alas, my memory doth keep that thought. + The dawn appeareth, and the swaying bell + Mingles its mournful sound with whistling winds, + The Feast of Death proclaiming to the air. + Men, women, children, to the Church repair, + Where one, with speech and with example binds + These happy tribes, maintaining all in peace. + He follows them, the first apostles, near, + Like them the pastor's holy name makes dear. + + "With hymns of joy," said he, "but yesterday + We celebrated the triumphant dead + Who conquer'd heav'n by burning zeal, faith-fed. + For plaintive shades, whom sorrow makes his prey + We weep to-day, our mourning is their bliss, + All potent prayer is privileged in this, + Souls purified from sin by transient pain + It frees; we'll visit their most calm domain. + Man seeks it, and descends there every hour. + But dry our tears, for now celestial rays + The grave's dim region swift shall penetrate; + Yea, all its dwellers in their primal state + Shall wake, behold the light in mute amaze. + Ah, might I to that world my flight then wing + In triumph to my God, my flock recovered bring." + + So saying, offered he the holy rite, + With arms extended praying God to spare, + The while adoring knelt he humbly there. + That people prostrate! oh, most solemn sight + That church, its porticoes with moss o'ergrown, + The ancient walls, dim light and Gothic panes, + In its antiquity the brazen lamp + A symbol of eternity doth stamp. + A lasting sun. God's majesty down sent, + Vows, tears and incense from the altars rise, + Young beauties praying 'neath their mothers' eyes, + Do soften by their voices innocent, + The touching pomp religion there reveals; + The organ hush'd, the sacred silence round, + All, all uplifts, ennobles and inspires; + Man feels himself transported where the choirs + Of seraphim with harps of gold entone + Low at Jehovah's feet their endless song. + Then God doth make His awful presence known, + Hides from the wise, to loving hearts is shown: + He seeks less to be proved than to be felt. [1] + From out the Church the multitudes depart, + In separate groups unto th' abode they go + Of tranquil death, their tears still silent flow. + The standard of the Cross is borne apart, + Sublime our songs for death their sacred theme, + Now mixed with noise that heralds storms they seem; + Now lower above our heads the dark'ning clouds, + Our faces mournful, our funereal hymn + Both air and landscape in our grief enshrouds. + + Towards death's tranquil haven, on we fare, + The cypress, ivy, and the yew trees haunt + The spot where thorns seem growing everywhere. + Sparse lindens rise up grimly here and there, + The winds rush whistling through their branches gaunt. + Hard by a stream, my mind found there exprest + In waves and tombs a twofold lesson drest, + Eternal movement and eternal rest. + + Ah, with what holy joy these peasants fain + Would honor parent dust; they seek with pride + The stone or turf, concealing those allied + To them by love, they find them here again. + Alas, with us we may not seek the boon + Of gazing on the ashes of our dead. + Our dead are banish'd, on their rights we tread, + Their bones unhonored at hap-hazard strewn. + E'en now 'gainst us cry out their _Manes_ pale, + Those nations and those times dire woes entail, + 'Mongst whom in hearts grown weak by slow degree, + The _cultus_ of the dead has ceased. + Here, here, at least have they from wrong been free, + Their heritage of peace preserving best. + No sumptuous marbles burden names here writ, + A shepherd, farmer, peasant, as is fit, + Beneath these stones in tranquil slumber see; + Perchance a Turenne, a Corneille they hide, + Who lived obscure, e'en to himself unknown. + But if from men he'd risen separate, + Sublime in camps, the theatre, the state, + His name by idol-loving worlds outcried, + Would that have made his slumber here more sweet? + +[Footnote 1: La Harpe said that these last twenty lines were the most +beautiful verses in the French tongue. They necessarily lose +considerably in the translation.] + + +REQUIEM ÆTERNAM. + +T. D. MCGEE. + +[This beautiful requiem, written March 6th, 1868 (St. Victor's Day), on +the death of an intimate friend, acquires a new pathos and a new +solemnity, from the fact that its gifted author met his death at the +hands of an assassin but one month later, on the 7th of April of the +same year. Like Mozart, he wrote his own requiem] + + Saint Victor's Day, a day of woe, + The bier that bore our dead went slow + And silent gliding o'er the snow-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + With Villa Maria's faithful dead, + Among the just we make his bed, + The cross, he loved, to shield his head-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + The skies may lower, wild storms may rave + Above our comrade's mountain grave, + That cross is mighty still to save-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Deaf to the calls of love and care, + He bears no more his mortal share, + Nought can avail him now but prayer-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + To such a heart who could refuse + Just payment of all burial dues, + Of Holy Church the rite and use? + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Right solemnly the Mass was said, + While burn'd the tapers round the dead, + And manly tears like rain were shed-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + No more St. Patrick's aisles prolong + The burden of his funeral song, + His noiseless night must now be long-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Up from the depths we heard arise + A prayer of pity to the skies, + To Him who dooms or justifies-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Down from the skies we heard descend + The promises the Psalmist penned, + The benedictions without end-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Mighty our Holy Church's will + To shield her parting souls from ill, + Jealous of Death, she guards them still-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + The dearest friend will turn away, + And leave the clay to keep the clay, + Ever and ever she will stay-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + When for us sinners at our need, + That mother's voice is raised to plead, + The frontier hosts of heaven 'take heed-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Mother of Love! Mother of fear, + And holy Hope, and Wisdom dear, + Behold we bring thy suppliant here-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + His glowing heart is still for aye, + That held fast by thy clemency, + Oh! look on him with loving eye-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + His Faith was as the tested gold, + His Hope assured, not over-bold, + His Charities past count, untold-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Well may they grieve who laid him there, + Where shall they find his equal--where? + Nought can avail him now but prayer-- + _Miserere Domine!_ + + Friend of my soul, farewell to thee! + Thy truth, thy trust, thy chivalry; + As thine? so may my last end be! + _Miserere Domine!_ + + + + +APPENDIX + + +ASSOCIATION OF MASSES AND STATIONS OF THE CROSS FOR THE BELIEF OF THE +HOLY SOULS. + +It would be a great defect in a book such as this to omit all mention +of an Association which exists in Montreal, Canada, for the special +relief of the Souls in Purgatory. It is certain that there are +Purgatorian societies, established in many other cities, both of Europe +and America. But this Canadian one seems unique, in so far, that it +has a triple aim: first, that of relieving the holy souls; second, +that of the conversion of infidels; third, that of contributing to the +support of the Mendicant Order of St. Francis. The money received is +sent direct to these missionaries, by whom the Masses are said. +Touching stories are told of the joy of these devoted apostles on +receipt of such alms, which aid them so much in the various good works +in which they are engaged. + +The society has, as it were, two branches. In the first the associates +merely bind themselves to make the Way of the Cross once a week, on a +day fixed, with the primary object of relieving the holy souls, and +particularly those most pleasing to God; and the secondary one of +converting the infidels. At the end of this exercise, they make use of +the following invocation: "Holy Souls in Purgatory, rest in peace, and +pray for us." + +The other branch has for its object the procuring of Masses for the +deliverance of the suffering souls. Each associate must pay to the +treasurer twenty-five cents a month, or three dollars a year; for which +Masses will be said according to the intention of the subscriber, +having always in view those souls which are most pleasing to God. + +One may become a life member, on payment of twenty-five dollars. +Foundations of Masses can also be made in connection with the +Association. They are similar to those which came into existence at the +time of the Crusades and at many other epochs in Christian history. +Such foundations are sometimes made in wills. They are, of course, not +within the reach of every one. It is necessary to pay five hundred +dollars into the hands of the Society. Every necessary security for its +proper use is given, and the donor is entitled in perpetuity to a +certain yearly rental to be expended in Masses for his soul. The sum +may be paid in instalments, or several persons may club together in +making the foundation. It is a sublime thought that the Holy Sacrifice +will thus continue to be said for us, long after our memory has passed +away from earth. But as the three dollars a year which constitutes one +a member of the Association is much more within the reach of most of +us, it may be well to lay more stress upon the advantages which we +shall thereby gain for ourselves and our deceased friends. It entitles +us after death to a special Mass and a Way of the Cross every year from +each associate. The number of associates is very great; besides a share +in all the Masses and Stations, we have also a share in the good works +of the missionaries of St. Francis, and can gain Indulgences which have +been granted to the members. These Indulgences, plenary and partial, +are attached to all the principal, and to some of the minor feasts of +the year. + +In connection with the work, an almanac both in French and English is +published every year at Montreal, and sold for the moderate sum of five +cents. In this pamphlet a full account is given of the Association, and +there is besides a great deal of useful and interesting reading, such +as anecdotes relating to the dead, the opinions of various spiritual +authors on Purgatory, and letters from foreign countries, or from +various individuals concerning, the society and its progress. [1] + +[Footnote 1: To become an associate one must address himself to the +chaplain, Rev. F. Reid, 401 St. Denis Street, or to the treasurer, +Louis Ricard, Esq., 166 St. Denis St, Montreal, Canada.] + + +EXTRACTS FROM "THE CATHOLIC REVIEW." [1] + +[Footnote 1: November, 1885.] + +"The Month of the Holy Souls" is at hand. In Catholic lands November is +specially devoted by the faithful to increased suffrages for the repose +of the holy and patient dead. Many reports reach us from experienced +priests showing that the practice of requesting Requiem Masses for the +dead is not increasing. Priests have what is, in some respects, a +natural objection to urge upon their people perseverance in this old +Catholic practice of piety and gratitude. It is one which can be easily +understood. Yet, largely owing to this nice delicacy, they are, after +their own deaths, forgotten by many bound to them through spiritual +gratitude. One of the most experienced priests in New York tells us +that for five priests that have died in his house he has not known ten +Masses to be said at the request of the laity. How does friendship +serve others less public and less popular? It gives a big funeral, a +long procession of useless carriages, but no alms to the poor, and no +Masses for the dead. + +What a pity it is that in drawing so much that is Catholic and +beautiful from Ireland, we did not adopt its truly Christian devotion +for the forgotten and neglected dead, which makes every priest recite +the _De Profundis_ and prayers for the faithful departed, before +he leaves the altar. We noticed some time ago that the Holy See +sanctioned a Spanish practice of permitting to each priest three Masses +on All Souls' Day as on Christmas Day. No doubt, were it properly +petitioned, it would likewise extend to all the churches drawing their +faith from St. Patrick's preaching, that privilege, as well as the +beautiful custom that now has the force of law in Ireland, and that +recalls so much of her devotion to the dead and of her suffering for +the Catholic faith. That _De Profundis is one of the chapters of +"fossil history," which in all future periods will recall the generous +endowments that Ireland once provided for her dead, and the ruthless +confiscations by which they were robbed. + +Not a Catholic American paper that we have received this November has +failed to argue ably, generously, and most Christianly, for suffrages +for those who have gone before and are anticipating the advent of final +peace. + +The letters which come to a Catholic newspaper office are a very sure +barometer of the waves of thought in the Catholic atmosphere of the +country. From those that we have received we can affirm that no +devotion would be much more popular with the people than that which was +pronounced in the days of the Maccabees "a holy and wholesome thought." + +Every day now there is an agreeable record in the daily papers of New +York of Requiem services held in the various churches for the repose of +the soul of the late Cardinal. Church after church seems to surpass its +predecessors in the grateful devotion of the people, who show that they +remember their prelate. In St. Gabriel's the Cardinal's private +secretary, Mgr. Farley, had the satisfaction of witnessing an +exceptionally large gathering to honor his illustrious chief. The +Paulist Fathers had a Requiem service that was worthy of their Church +and their affection for the dead, to whom they were bound by so many +ties. + +Rome, if the city of the soul, is also pre-eminently the city of the +dead. So many great and illustrious deaths are reported to it daily +from the ends of the earth that to it death and greatness are familiar +and almost unnoticeable facts. It is, therefore, not undeserving of +remark to find the newspapers of the Eternal City marking their notices +of the passing of our Cardinal with unusual signs of mourning. Their +comments on the great loss of the American Church are toned by the +_gravis mœror_ with which the Holy Father received by Atlantic +Cable the sad news. + +In the American College, Rev. Dr. O'Connell, the President, took +immediate steps to pay to its illustrious patron the last homage that +Catholic affection and loyalty can render to the great dead. From a +letter to _The Catholic Review_ we learn that the celebrant of the +Solemn Mass of Requiem was the rector, Rev. Dr. O'Connell; Rev. John +Curley, deacon; Rev. Bernard Duffy, sub-deacon; Rev. Thomas McManus and +William Guinon, acolytes; Mr. William Murphy, thurifer; and Rev. +Messrs. Cunnion and Raymond, masters of ceremonies. All these gentlemen +are students from the diocese of New York. + + +A REQUIEM FOR THE CARDINAL IN PARIS. + +PARIS, _October_ 30.--A solemn funeral service of exceptional +splendor was celebrated this morning at the Madeleine for the repose of +the late Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York. The church was +hung with black and was resplendent with lights. Outside the portico, +on the steps, were two large funeral torches, with green flames. +Similar torches were visible in many parts of the edifice, including +the lofty upper galleries. The catafalque was of large dimensions, and +was flanked on either side by numerous lights and torches as well as by +marble images. Over all was a sable canopy, suspended from the ceiling. +A Cardinal's hat, with its tassels, lay on the pall. The late +Cardinal's motto, "In the hope of life eternal," was repeated +frequently in the decorations. + + +A DUTY OF NOVEMBER. + +"HAVE PITY ON ME, AT LEAST YOU, MY FRIENDS." + +(_From the Texas Monitor_.) + +We have often repeated in our morning and night prayers the words of +the Creed: "I believe in the communion of saints," without thinking, +perhaps, that we were expressing our belief in one of the most +beautiful and consoling doctrines of the Holy Catholic Church. I +believe in the communion of saints--that is, I believe in the holy +communion of prayer and intercession which exists between all the +members of the Mystical Body of Christ--the Church, be they fighting +the battles of the Lord against the Devil, the Flesh, and the World, in +the ranks of the Church Militant on earth, or enjoying in the happy +mansions of Heaven their eternal reward, as members of the Church +Triumphant, or finally waiting in the dark prison of Purgatory until +they shall have paid their debt to the Eternal Justice "_to the last +farthing_," and be saved "yet, so as by fire." I believe in the +communion of saints--that is, I believe that there exists no barrier +between the members of Christ. Death itself cannot separate us from our +brethren, who have gone before us. We believe that we daily escape +innumerable dangers, both spiritual and temporal, through the prayers +of our friends of the Triumphant Church; and we believe also that it is +within our power to help by our prayers and sacrifices our friends who +are for a time in the middle place of expiation, because "nothing +defiled can enter the Kingdom of Heaven." + +It has always been the practice of the Catholic Church to offer prayers +and other pious works in suffrage for the dead, as is abundantly proved +by the writings of the Latin Fathers, Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. +Augustine, St. Gregory, and of the Greek Fathers, St. Ephrem, St. +Basil, and St. John Chrysostom. St. Chrysostom says: + +"It was not without good reason ordained by the Apostles that mention +should be made of the dead in the tremendous mysteries, because they +knew well that these would receive great benefit from it." By the +expression "tremendous mysteries" is meant the Holy Sacrifice of the +Mass. + +St. Augustine says, upon the same subject: + +"It is not to be doubted that the dead are aided by prayers of the Holy +Church and by the salutary sacrifice, and by the alms which are offered +for their spirits that the Lord may deal with them more mercifully than +their sins have deserved. For this, which has been handed down by the +Fathers, the Universal Church observes." + +St. Augustine also tells us that Arius was the first who dared to teach +that it was of no use to offer up prayers and sacrifices for the dead, +and this doctrine of Arius lie reckoned among heresies. (Heresy 53.) + +The Church has always made a memento of the dead in the holy sacrifice +of the Mass, and exhorted the faithful to pray for them. She urges us +to pray for the souls in Purgatory, because not being able to merit, +they cannot help themselves in the least. To their appeals for mercy +the Almighty answers that His Justice must be satisfied, and that the +night in which no one can any longer work has arrived for them (St. +John ix., v. 4), and thus these poor souls have recourse to our +prayers. According to the pious Gerson we may hear their supplications: +"Pray for us because we cannot do anything for ourselves. This help we +have a right to expect from you, you have known and loved us in the +world. Do not forget us in the time of our need. It is said that it is +in the time of affliction that we know our true friends; but what +affliction could be compared to ours? Be moved with compassion." Have +pity on us, at least you, our friends! + +The Church being aware of the ingratitude and forgetfulness of men, and +the facility with which they neglect their most sacred duties, has set +apart a day to be consecrated to the remembrance of the dead. On the 2d +day of November, All Souls' Day, she applies all her prayers to +propitiate the Divine Mercy through the merits of the Precious Blood of +Jesus Christ, her Divine Spouse, to obtain for the souls in Purgatory +the remission of the temporal punishment due to their sins, and their +speedy admission into the eternal abode of rest, light, and bliss. How +holy and precious is the institution of All Souls' Day! How full of +charity! It truly demonstrates the love and solicitude of the Church +for all her children. In the first centuries of the Church, while the +faithful were most exact in praying for their deceased friends and +relatives and in having the holy sacrifice of the Mass offered for +them, the Church had not yet appointed a special day for all the souls +in Purgatory. But in 998 St. Odilon, Abbot of Cluny, having established +in all the monasteries of his order the feast of the commemoration of +the faithful departed, and ordered that the office be recited for them +all, this devotion which was approved by the Popes, soon became general +in all the Western Churches. + +In doing away with the Christian practice of praying for the dead, the +Protestant sects have despised the voice of nature, the spirit of +Christianity, and the most ancient and respectable tradition. + +The most efficacious means to help the suffering souls in Purgatory are +prayer, fasting, almsgiving, and above all the holy sacrifice of the +Mass. By fasting we mean all sorts of mortifications to abstain from +certain things in our meals, to deprive ourselves of lawful amusements, +to suffer with resignation trials and contradictions, humiliations and +reverses of fortune. The alms we give for the dead prompt the Lord to +be merciful to them. The sacrifice of the Mass, which was instituted +for the living and the dead, is the most efficacious means of +delivering them from their pains. "If the sacrifices which Job," says +St. John Chrysostom, "offered to God for his children purified them, +who could doubt that, when we offer to God the Adorable Sacrifice for +the departed, they receive consolation therefrom, and that the Blood of +Christ which flows upon our altars for them, the voice of which ascends +to heaven, brings about their deliverance." + +Not only charity and gratitude demand that we should pray for the souls +in Purgatory, but it is also for us a positive duty, which we are in +justice bound to fulfill. Perhaps some of these poor souls are +suffering on our account. Perhaps they are relatives or friends who +have loved us too much, or who have been induced to commit sin by our +words or example. We are also prompted to pray for them by our own +interest. What consolation will it not be for us to know that we have +abbreviated their sufferings! How great will their gratitude be after +their deliverance! They will manifest it by praying for us, and +obtaining for us the help which is so necessary in this valley of +tears. In prosperity men forget those who have helped them in +adversity; but it will not be so with the souls in Purgatory. After +being admitted to the kingdom of heaven through the help of our +prayers, "they will solicit," says St. Bernard, "the most precious +gifts of grace in our behalf, and because the merciful shall obtain +mercy, we will receive after our death the reward of whatever may have +been done for the souls of Purgatory during our life. Others will pray +for us, and we shall share more abundantly in the suffrages which the +Church offers without ceasing, for those who sleep in the Lord." + + +PURGATORIAL ASSOCIATION. + +A CARD FROM REV. S. S. MATTINGLY. + +(from the Catholic Columbian) + +We wish to call the attention of the members of this Association to the +near approach of the commemoration of all the faithful departed, which +takes place on Monday, the second day of next November. Our Association +is in its fourth year of existence. Its numbers have increased beyond +our expectations. + +Just now, on account of the season, applications begin to come in more +rapidly, hence we wish to give again the conditions for membership, and +the benefits derived from it. The members say one decade of the beads, +or one "Our Father" and ten "Hail Marys" every day. They may take what +mystery of the Holy Rosary devotion may prompt, and retain or change it +at their own will, without reference to us. This is all that is +required, and, of course, the obligation cannot bind under pain of even +venial sin. Those families which say the Rosary every day need not add +another decade unless they choose, but may say the Rosary in union with +the Purgatorial Association, and thus gain the benefits for themselves +and the faithful departed. + +The benefits are one Mass every week, which is said for the poor souls, +for the spiritual and temporal welfare of the members, according to +their intention, and for the same intention a memento is made every day +during Holy Mass for them. + +There are many kind priests who are associated with us in this good +work, and they, we are sure, remember us all in the Holy Sacrifice. We +thank and beg them to continue to be mindful of us associated and bound +together in this most charitable work of shortening, by our prayers and +good works, the time of purgation for the souls in Purgatory. Those who +desire to become members may send their names, with a postal card +directed to themselves, so that their application may be answered. The +applications for membership are directed to Rev. S. S. Mattingly, +McConnellsville, Morgan County, Ohio. + +Some two or three times complaints have come to us, but in all cases +the letters never came to hand. We have from time to time received +letters not intended for us, and from this we judge our letters went +elsewhere. We try to be prompt, though an odd time our absence on the +mission may delay an answer. + +Now, dear friends, there is another fact to which we must advert. Many +of our dear associates, who were attracted by the charity of our work, +are no longer among the living. Their friends have kindly reminded us +of their death by letter, and we, grateful for this charity, always +pray for them. Their day is passed. Our time is coming. Who can +remember the kind faces which have gone out of our families and not +shed tears at their absence? Their places are vacant. Love leaves the +very chairs on which they sat unoccupied. We look around the room and +at the places their forms filled within it. All these bring tears to +our eyes, and make the heart too full for utterance. Thus fond +imagination, sprung from love, wipes out the vacancy. We look through +the mist of our tears and there again are the forms of our love, but +alas! they do not speak to us. And days and months are run into years, +yet our tears flow on; indeed we cannot and we do not want to forget +them. We think of our sins and faults and how they caused theirs, and +our cry of pardon for ourselves must come after or with that of mercy +for them. + + +THE HOLY FACE AND THE SUFFERING SOULS. + +The holy souls in Purgatory are ever saying in beseeching accents: +"Lord, show us Thy Face," desiring with a great desire to see it; +waiting, they longingly wait for the Divine Face of their Saviour. We +should often pray for the holy souls who during life thirsted to see, +in the splendor of its glory, the Human Face of Jesus Christ. We should +often say the Litany of the Holy Face of Jesus, that our Lord may +quickly bring these holy souls to the contemplation of His Adorable +Countenance. We should pray to Mary, Mother All-Merciful, who, before +all others, saw the Face of Jesus in His two-fold nativity in +Bethlehem, and from the tomb, to plead for those holy souls; to St. +Joseph, who saw the Face of Jesus in Bethlehem and Nazareth; to the +glorious St. Michael, Our Lady's regent in Purgatory, one of the seven +who stands before the throne and Face of God, who has been appointed to +receive souls after death, and is the special consoler and advocate of +the holy souls detained amidst the flames of Purgatory. We should also +pray to St. Peter for the holy souls, he to whom Christ gave the keys +of the kingdom of Heaven. The holy souls are suffering the temporal +penalty due to sin. This Apostle had by his sin effaced the image of +God in his soul, but Jesus turned His Holy Face toward the unfaithful +disciple, and His divine look wounded the heart of Peter with repentant +sorrow and love; also St. James and St. John, who with him saw the +glory of the Face of Jesus on Mount Thabor, and its sorrow in +Gethsemane, when, 'neath the olive trees, it was covered with +confusion, and bathed in a bloody sweat for our sins. These great +saints, dear to the Heart of Jesus, will surely hear our prayers in +behalf of the holy souls. St. Mary Magdalen, who saw the Holy Face in +agony on the cross, when its incomparable beauty was obscured under the +fearful cloud of the sins of the world, and who assisted the Virgin +Mother to wash, anoint, and veil the bruised, pale, features of her +Divine Son; the saint, whose many sins were forgiven her because she +had loved much, will lend heed to our prayers for the holy souls. We +should also invoke, for the holy souls, the Virgin Martyrs, because of +their purity, love, and the sufferings they endured to see in Heaven +the Face of their King. + +Yet nothing can help these souls so much as the Holy Sacrifice of the +Mass. By the "Blood of the Testament" these prisoners can be brought +out of the pit. Even to hear Mass with devotion for the holy souls, +brings them great refreshment. St. Jerome says: "The souls in +Purgatory, for whom the priest is wont to pray at Mass, suffer no pain +whilst Mass is being offered, that after every Mass is said for the +souls in Purgatory some souls are released therefrom." Our Blessed +Lady, the consoler of the afflicted, will always do much to aid the +holy souls; in her maternal solicitude, she has _promised_ to +assist and console the devout wearers of the Brown Scapular of Mount +Carmel detained in Purgatory, and also to speedily release them from +its flames, the Saturday after their death, if _some_ few +conditions have been complied with during their life-time on earth. +Bishop Vaughan says, "there can be no difficulty in believing thus, if +we consider the meaning of a Plenary Indulgence granted by the Church, +and applicable to the holy souls. The Sabbatine Indulgence is, in fact, +a Plenary Indulgence granted by God, through the prayers of the Blessed +Virgin Mary to the deceased who are in Purgatory, provided they have +fulfilled upon earth certain specified conditions. The Sacred +Congregation of the Holy Office by a Decree of February 13, 1613, +forever settled any controversy that should arise on the subject of +this Bull. St. Teresa, in the thirty-eighth chapter of her life, shows +the special favor Our Lady exerts in favor of her Carmelite children +and all who wear the Brown Scapular. She saw a holy friar ascending to +Heaven without passing through Purgatory, and was given to understand, +that because he had kept his rule well he had obtained the grace +granted to the Carmelite Order by special bulls, as to the pains of +Purgatory. So from their prison these waiting souls are ever crying out +to us, patient and resigned, yet with a most burning desire, they are +longing to be brought to the presence of God, and to gaze upon the +glorified countenance of the Incarnate Word. They are far more +perfectly members of the Mystical Body of Christ than we are, because +they are confirmed in grace, and the doctrine of the Communion of +Saints should hence prompt us to give the holy souls the charitable +assistance of our alms, prayers, and good works. 'Bear ye one another's +burdens, and so ye shall fulfill the law of Christ,' and thus one day +with them enjoy the endless Vision of the Holy Face of Jesus Christ in +its unclouded splendor in Heaven." + + +WHEN WILL THEY LEARN ITS SECRET? + +HOW THE CARDINAL'S OBSEQUIES IMPRESSED A BAPTIST SPECTATOR. + +(_From the Baptist Examiner._) + +For the third time in a quarter of a century the streets have been +thronged, and an unending procession has filed by the dead. Long lines +reached many blocks, both up and down Fifth avenue, and they grew no +shorter through the best part of three days. This recognition of the +eminence and power of the Cardinal, John McCloskey, has been very +general. + +All classes have paid homage. And why? He was a gentleman. He was +learned, politic, able, far-sighted, clean. His energy was without +measure. The rise and reach of his influence and work have no chance +for comparison with the accomplishment of any other American clergyman. +There is none to name beside him. He was a burning zealot all his life. +Elevation and honors came to him. He became a prince in his Church. He +swept every avenue of power and influence within his grasp into that +Church. He lived singly for it. In his death, his Church exalts +herself. She gives, after her faith, prayers, Masses, glory. In his, +life he spoke only for Rome. In his death his voice is intensified. His +life was one long gain to his people. In his, death they suffer no +loss. His time and character and personality are so exalted, that, +"being dead he yet speaketh." + +The Church of Rome stands alone. It is forever strange. It is a law to +itself. Thus it comes that this funeral does not belong to America, or +to the century. Rome and the Middle Ages conducted the obsequies. The +canons are prescribed. They have never changed. Behold then in New +York, what might have been seen in ruined Melrose Abbey in its ancient +day of splendor. + +The Cardinal lies in state in his cathedral, that consummate flower of +all his ministry. Saw you ever a Roman Pontiff lying in state? The high +catafalque is covered with yellow cloth. The body, decked in official +robes, uncoffined, reclines aslant thereon. The head is greatly +elevated. A mighty candle shines on the bier at either corner. The +Cardinal's red hat hangs at his feet. His cape is purple, his sleeves +are pink drawn over with lace, his shirt is crimson and white lace +covered. Purple gloves are on his hands. On his head is his tall white +mitre. His pectoral cross lies on his pulseless breast. His seal ring +glitters on his finger. To me it was an awful and uncanny figure. The +man was old and disease wasted. The lips were sunken over shrunken +gums. The chin was sharp and far-protruding. The colors of the cloths +were garish and loud. It was a gay lay figure, red and yellow and white +and black and purple and pink. It made me shudder. Yet lying there +under the very roof his hands had builded, that reclining figure was +immensely impressive. + +The work--the work, in light and strength and glory stands; but the +skilled and cunning workman is brought low, and lies cold and silent. +The crowded and glorious, almost living cathedral--the richly bedecked +body dismantled, deserted, dead. Was ever contrast so wide or +suggestive? The white, shining arches and pinnacles, up-pointing in +architectural splendor. The architect lies under them prone, +unconscious, decaying. The beautiful windows, all storied in colors +almost supernatural, and telling their histories and honoring their +place. But the temple of the Cardinal's soul is in ruins, the windows +are broken, and its day is darkness and mold. + +So, silent he lies in his house, surrounded by his faithful, whose +cries and lamentations he hears not, his cold hands clasped, his dead +face uncovered, as though looking above its high vaulted roof. + +I seemed to see again the bedizened skeleton of old St. Carlo Borromeo +in the crypt of the Cathedral of Milan, as lying in his coffin of +glass, his bones all bleached and dressed. But the careless throngs go +thoughtlessly, noisily on. Some weep, some laugh, and Thursday, the day +of sepulture, comes. What masses of people! What platoons of police! +The magnificent temple is packed by pious thousands. The four candles +about the bier become four shining rows. The glitter of royal violet +velvet and cloth of gold add to the gorgeous trappings of the dead. The +waiting multitudes look breathlessly at the black draped columns, the +emblems of mourning put on here and there. Without announcement a +single voice cries out from the dusky chancel the first lines of the +office for the dead. A great Gregorian choir of boys takes up the wail, +and their shrill treble is by-and-by joined by the hoarser notes of +four hundred priests, in the solemn music of the Pontifical Requiem +Mass. It has never been given to mortal ears to listen to such marvels +of musical sound in this country. Anon the great organs and the united +choirs render the master's most mournful music for the dead. Then +processions, then eulogy. And what eulogy! Schools, colleges, convents, +asylums, protectories, palaces, cathedrals, churches. What a vast and +impressive testimony! + +What a company rises up to call him blessed! This imposing pageantry is +not an empty show. It is Rome's display of her resources and power. Who +else can have such processions and vestments and music? Who can so +minister to the inherent, perhaps barbaric remnant, love for display? +In the wide world where can the ear of man catch such harmonies? The +music, as a whole, was a deluge of lofty and inspiring expressions. +Anguish, despair, devotion, submission, elevation! Ah, how the lofty +Gothic arches thundered! How they sighed and cried and melted. The +great assembly was swayed, awe-struck, like branches of forest trees in +gales or in zephyrs. The influence of those melodies will not die. Oh! +Rome is old, Rome is new; Rome is wise. Rome is the Solomon of the +Churches. + +Mark this well. The Cardinal is dead. What happens? Does the machinery +stagger? Has a great and irreparable calamity fallen on the churches? +Are any plans abandoned? Is the policy affected? Will aggression cease? +Nothing happens but a great and imposing funeral. The plans are not +affected. The lines do not waver. No work begun will be suspended. +Everything goes on. If only a deacon should die out of some Baptist +church, alas! my brethren, the plate returns empty to the altar. The +minister puts on his hat. Consternation jumps on the ridge-pole and +languishing, settles down. When shall we learn? When shall we plan +harmoniously, unite our counsels, work within the lines, cease wasting +resources, carry forward a common work, and when some man falls, put a +new man in his place, move up the line, and keep step? To-day, when a +gap is made here, we try to mend it, after a time, by seeking how great +a gap we can create somewhere else. What wonder that good men get tired +and go where no such folly flies, and where the current flows on and on +forever! + +And the old Cardinal rests in the crypt, under the high white altar. He +sleeps in the mausoleum of the great. He has the reward of his labors. +He carried into his tomb the insignia of his high office. Sealed up in +his coffin is a parchment which future ages may read, long after we are +all forgot, giving a condensed record of his long and active career. +The bishops and priests have gone home to their parishes; and their +tireless labors go on. They are thinking of the mighty but gentle and +kindly Cardinal; of the telegrams from the Papal Court, the College of +Cardinals, the Pope, and of the imposing funeral; of his own words +which they wrung from him amidst the rigors of death: + +"I bless you, my children, and all the churches." It was the parting of +a prophet. And the priests will live for the Church and mankind. They +are whispering, "The faithful are rewarded! Effort is acknowledged! O, +Rome has shaken the earth! Rome is putting her armor together again." +Sometimes I hear the creaking of her coat of mail as she mightily moves +herself in exercise. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK, PURGATORY *** + +This file should be named 7977-8.txt or 7977-8.zip + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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