Purgatory Explained by the Lives and Legends of the Saints

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

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


Chapter 49. Advantages - Spiritual and Temporal Favors - Christopher Sandoval at Louvain - The Lawyer Renouncing the World - Brother Lacci and Dr. Verdiano

Let us here cite another example, the more worthy of mention as a great Pope, Clement VIII, saw therein the finger of God, and recommended its publication for the edification of the Church. "Several authors," says Father Rossignoli, "have related the marvellous assistance which Christopher Sandoval, Archbishop of Seville, received from the souls in Purgatory. Whilst still a child, he was accustomed to distribute part of his pocket money in alms for the benefit of the holy souls. His piety increased with his age; for the sake of the poor suffering souls he gave away all that he could dispose of, and even went so far as to deprive himself of a
thousand little things which were useful or necessary. When he was pursuing his studies at the University of Louvain, it happened that some letters which he expected from Spain were delayed, in consequence of which he found himself reduced to such pecuniary straits that he had scarcely wherewith to purchase food. At this moment a poor person asked of him an alms for love of the souls in Purgatory, and, what had never happened to him before, he was obliged to refuse.

"Afflicted by this circumstance, he went into a church. 'If,' said he, 'I cannot give an alms for my poor souls, I can at least give them the assistance of my prayers.' 
"Scarcely had he finished his prayer when, on leaving the church, he was accosted by a beautiful young man, dressed as a traveller, who saluted him with respectful affability. Christopher experienced a feeling of religious awe, as though he were in the presence of a spirit in human form. But he was soon reassured by his amiable interlocutor, who spoke to him with the greatest gentleness of the Marquis of Dania, his father, his relatives and friends, just as a Spaniard who had recently arrived from the Peninsula. He ended by begging him to accompany him to a hotel, where they could dine together and be more at their ease. Sandoval, who had not eaten anything since the previous day, gladly accepted the gracious offer. They therefore seated themselves at table, and continued to converse most pleasantly together. After the repast, the stranger gave Sandoval a sum of money, entreating him to accept it, and to make use of it for any purpose he pleased, adding that the Marquis, his father, would make him compensation on his return to Spain.

Then, under pretext of transacting some business, he withdrew, and Christopher never saw him again. Notwithstanding all his inquiries concerning the stranger, he never succeeded in obtaining any information regarding him. No one, neither in Louvain nor Spain, had ever seen or known a young man corresponding to his description. As regards the sum of money, it was exactly the amount which the pious Christopher needed to defray expenses until the arrival of his letters, and this money was never afterwards claimed from his family.

He was, therefore, convinced that Heaven had worked a miracle in his favor, and had sent to his assistance one of those souls that he himself had relieved by his prayers and alms. He was confirmed in this opinion by Pope Clement VIII, to whom he related the incident when he went to Rome to receive the Bulls raising him to the Episcopate. This Pontiff, struck by the extraordinary circumstances of the case, advised him to make it known for the edification of the faithful; he looked upon it as a favor from Heaven, which proved how precious in the sight of God is charity towards the departed.

Such is the gratitude of the holy souls which have left this world, that they testily it even for favors bestowed upon them whilst they were still in this life. It is related in the Annals of the Friars Preachers that among those who went to receive the habit from the hands of Saint Dominic in 1221, there was a lawyer who had quitted his profession under extraordinary circumstances. He was united by ties of friendship to a young man of great piety, whom he charitably assisted during the sickness of which he died.

This was sufficient to move the deceased to procure for him the greatest of all benefits, that of conversion and vocation to a religious life. About thirty days after his death he appeared to the lawyer, and implored his assistance, because he was in Purgatory. "Are your sufferings intense?" he asked of his friend. "Alas!" replied the latter, "if the whole earth with its forests and mountains were on fire, it would not form a furnace such as the one into which I am plunged."

Seized with fear, his faith revived, and thinking only of his own soul, he asked, "In what state am I in the eyes of God?" "In a bad state," replied the deceased, "and in a dangerous profession." "What have I to do? What advice do you give me?" "Quit the perverse world in which you are engaged, and occupy yourself only with the affairs of your soul." The lawyer, following this counsel, gave all his goods to the poor and took the habit of Saint Dominic.

Let us see how a holy Religious of the Society of Jesus showed his gratitude, even after death, to the physician who attended him during his last illness. Francis Lacci, a Brother Coadjutor, died in the College of Naples in 1598. He was a man of God, full of charity, patience, and tender devotion towards the Blessed Virgin. Some time after his death. Dr. Verdiano entered the church of the College to assist at Mass before beginning his visits. It was the day on which were months previous. When, on leaving the church, he was about to take holy water, a Religious approached and asked him why the catafalque had been prepared, and whose was the service about to be celebrated. "It is that of King Philip II," he replied.

At the same time Verdiano, astonished that a Religious should ask such a question of a stranger, and not distinguishing the features of his interlocutor in the obscurity of the place where he stood, asked who he was. "I am," he answered, "Brother Lacci, whom you attended during my last illness." The doctor looked at him attentively, and recognized perfectly the features of Lacci. Stupefied with astonishment, he said, "But you died of that disease! Are you then suffering in Purgatory, and do you come to ask our suffrages?" "Blessed be God, I am no longer in pain nor sorrow. I need not your suffrages. I am in the joys of Paradise." "And King Philip, is he also already in Paradise?" "Yes, he is there, but placed as much below me as he was elevated above me upon earth. As for you. Dr. Verdiano, where do you propose to make your first visit today?"

Verdiano having replied that he was then going to the Patrician di Maio, who was dangerously ill, Lacci warned him to guard against a great danger which menaced him at the door of the house. In fact, the doctor found there a large stone so placed, that on being shaken, it would have fallen and mortally injured him.

This material circumstance seems to have been designed by Providence to prove to Verdiano that he had not been the sport of an illusion.

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

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


Chapter 50. Advantages - Prayers of the Souls for us - Suarez - Saint Bridget - Saint Catherine of Bologna - Venerable Vianney

We have just spoken of the gratitude of the holy souls. This they sometimes manifest, as we have seen, in a clearly visible manner, but most frequently they exercise it invisibly by their prayers. The souls pray for us not only when, after their deliverance, they are with God in Heaven, but even in their place of exile and in the midst of their sufferings. Although they cannot pray for themselves, yet, by their supplications, they obtain great grace for us. Such is the express doctrine of two eminent theologians, Bellarmine and Suarez.

"These souls are holy," says Suarez, "and dear to God. Charity urges them to love us, and they know, at least in a general way, to what dangers we are exposed, and what need we have of the Divine assistance. Why, then, would they not pray for their benefactors?" Why? But it will be answered because they know them not. In that dismal abode, in the midst of their torments, how can they know who are those that assist them by their suffrages?

To this objection it may be replied, the souls feel at least the alleviation which they receive and the assistance which is given them; this suffices, even should they be ignorant of the source whence it came, to call down the benedictions of Heaven upon their benefactors, whosoever they may be, and who are known to God.

But in reality do they not know from whom they receive assistance in their sufferings? Their ignorance of this is nowise proved, and we have strong reason to believe that no such ignorance exists. Would their angel guardian, who dwells there with them to give them all the consolation in his power, deprive them of this consoling knowledge? Is this knowledge not conformable to the doctrine of the Communion of Saints? Would the intercourse which exists between us and the Church Suffering not be the more perfect for its being reciprocal, and that the souls know their benefactors better?

This doctrine is confirmed by a great number of particular revelations, and by the practice of several holy persons. We have already said that Saint Bridget, in one of her ecstasies, heard several souls cry aloud, "Lord God all- powerful, reward a hundredfold those who assist us by their prayers, and who offer to You their good works, in order that we may enjoy the light of Your Divinity."

We read in the Life of Saint Catherine of Bologna that she had a most tender devotion towards the holy souls in Purgatory; that she prayed for them very frequently, and with the greatest fervor; that she recommended herself to them with the greatest confidence in her spiritual necessities, and advised others to do the same, saying, "When I wish to obtain any favor from our Lather in Heaven, I have recourse to the souls that are detained in Purgatory; I entreat them to present my request to the Divine Majesty in their own name, and I feel that I am heard through their intercession." A holy priest of our own day, the cause of whose beatification has been commenced in Rome, Venerable Vianney, Cure of Ars, said to an ecclesiastic who consulted him, "Oh! if it were but known how great is the power of the good souls in Purgatory with the Heart of God, and if we knew all the graces we can obtain through their intercession, they would not be so much forgotten. We must, therefore, pray much for them, that they may pray much for us."

These last words of Venerable Vianney indicate the true manner of having recourse to the souls in Purgatory; we must assist them, to obtain their prayers and the effects of their gratitude in return - We must pray much for them that they may pray much for us.

There is no question here of invoking them as we invoke the saints in Heaven. Such is not the spirit of the Church, which, before all else, prays for the departed, and assists them by her suffrages. But it is nowise contrary to the spirit of the Church nor to Christian piety to procure relief for the souls, with the intention of obtaining in return, through the assistance of their prayers, the favors which we desire. Thus
it is a laudable and pious act to offer a Mass for the departed when we are in need of any particular grace. If, when the holy souls are still in their sufferings, their prayers are so powerful, we may easily conceive that they will be much more efficacious when, being entirely purified, these souls stand before the throne of God.

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

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


Chapter 1. Fear and Confidence - The Mercy of God - Saint Lidwina and the Priest - Venerable Claude de la Colonnbiere

Chapter 51. Advantages - Gratitude of the Divine Spouse of Souls - Venerable Archangela Panigaroia and her Father, Gothard

If the souls are so grateful towards their benefactors, our Lord Jesus Christ, who loves those souls, who receives as done to Himself all the good which we procure for them, will bestow an abundant recompense, very often even in this life, and always in the next. He regards those who show mercy, and punishes those who forget to show it, towards the suffering souls.

Let us first see an example of chastisement. Venerable Archangela Panigaroia, a Dominican Religious and Prioress of the Monastery of Saint Martha in Milan, had extraordinary zeal for the relief of the souls in Purgatory. She prayed, and obtained prayers for all her deceased friends, and even for those unknown to her, but of whose death she had been notified. Her father, Gothard, whom she tenderly loved, was one of those Christians of the world who seldom thought of praying for the dead. He himself died, and, quite disconsolate, Archangeia understood that her dear father stood more in need of her prayers than of her tears. She therefore took the resolution of recommending him to God by special suffrages. But, strange to say, this resolution was scarcely ever carried into effect; this girl, so pious and devoted to her father, did very little for his soul. God permitted that, notwithstanding her holy resolutions, she continually forgot him, and interested herself in behalf of others.

Finally, an unexpected event explained this unwonted forgetfulness, and aroused her devotion in behalf of her father. On the Feast of All Souls she remained secluded in her cell, exclusively occupied in exercises of piety and penance for the relief of the poor souls. Suddenly her angel appeared to her, took her by the hand, and conducted her in spirit into Purgatory. Among the first souls which she saw, she recognized that of her father, plunged in a pond of icy water. Scarcely had Gothard seen his daughter than, coming towards her, he reproached her sorrowfully for having abandoned him in his sufferings, whilst she showed so much Charity towards others, whom she constantly relieved, and frequently delivered those who were strangers to her.

Archangela stood for some time confused by these reproaches, which she knew she had merited; soon, however, shedding a torrent of tears, she replied, "I will do, my dear father, all that you ask of me. May it please God to give ear to my supplications and speedily deliver you." Meanwhile she could not recover from her astonishment, nor understand how she could thus have forgotten her beloved father. Having taken her back, her angel told her that this forgetfulness had happened by a disposition of Divine Justice. "God," he said, "has permitted it in punishment for the little zeal which, during life, your father manifested for God, his own soul, and that of his neighbor. You saw how he was tormented and benumbed in a lake of ice; this was the chastisement of his tepidity in the service of God, and his indifference with regard to the salvation of souls. Your father was not an immoral man, it is true, but he showed little inclination for the acquirement of virtue and for the practice of those works of piety and charity to which the Church exhorts the faithful.

This is the reason why God permitted that he should be forgotten, even by you, who would have given him too much relief. This is the chastisement ordinarily inflicted by Divine Justice upon those who are lacking in fervor and charity. He permits that others should conduct themselves in their regard as they have acted towards God and towards their brethren." Moreover, this is the rule of Justice which our Saviour has established in the Gospel: With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again. (Matt. 7:2).

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

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


Chapter 52. Advantages - Charity towards the Holy Souls recompensed by Jesus Christ - Saint Catherine of Siena and Palmerine - Saint Magdalen de Pazzi and her Mother

God is more inclined to reward than to punish, and if He inflict a chastisement upon those who forget the souls so dear to His Heart, He shows Himself truly grateful towards those who assist Him in the person of His suffering spouses. In recompense He will one day say to them. Come ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom which is prepared for you. You have exercised mercy towards your necessitous and suffering brethren; Amen, I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these My least brethren, you did it to Me. (Matthew 25:40). Very often in this life Jesus rewards compassionate and charitable souls by the bestowal of many favors.

Saint Catherine of Siena by her charity had converted a sinner named Palmerine, who died and went to Purgatory. The saint gave herself no rest until she had delivered this soul. In recompense. Our Lord permitted her to appear to the saint, or rather our Saviour Himself showed her to His servant, as a glorious conquest of her Charity. Blessed Raymond thus gives the details: In the middle of the fourteenth century, when Saint Catherine edified her native city by all sorts of works of mercy, a woman named Palmerine, after having
been the object of her tenderest charity, conceived a secret aversion towards her benefactors, which even degenerated into implacable hatred. No longer able to see or listen to the saint, the ungrateful Palmerine, embittered against the servant of God, ceased not to blacken her reputation by the most atrocious calumnies. Catherine did all in her power to conciliate her, but in vain. Then, seeing that her kindness, her humility, her benefits served but to excite the fury of this unfortunate woman, she earnestly implored God to
vouchsafe Himself to move her obdurate heart.

God heard her prayer by striking Palmerine with a mortal malady; but this chastisement did not suffice to make her enter into herself. In return for all the tender care which the saint lavished upon her, the wretched woman loaded her with insults and drove her from her presence. Meanwhile, her end approached, and a priest was called to administer the last Sacraments. The sick person was unfit to receive them, on account of the hatred which she nourished, and which she refused to give up. On hearing this, and seeing that the unfortunate creature had already one foot in Hell, Catherine shed a torrent of tears and was inconsolable. For three days and three nights she ceased not to supplicate God on her behalf, adding fasting to prayer. "What! Lord," she said, "will You allow this soul to be lost on my account? I conjure You, grant me at any price her conversion and her salvation. Punish me for her sin, of which I am the occasion: it is not her, but me, the chastisement should strike. Lord, refuse me not the grace which I ask of You: I shall not leave You until I shall have obtained it. In the name of Your Goodness, of Your Mercy, I conjure You, most merciful Saviour, not to permit the soul of my sister to leave her body until it has been restored to Your grace."

Her prayer, adds her biographer, was so powerful that she prevented the sick woman from dying. Her agony lasted for three days and three nights, to the great astonishment of her nurses. Catherine during this time continued to intercede, and ended by gaining the victory. God could no longer resist, and worked a miracle of mercy. A ray of heavenly light penetrated the heart of the dying woman, showed her her fault, and nerved her to repentance. The saint, to whom God revealed this, hastened to her side. As soon as the sick person saw her, she gave her every possible mark of friendship and respect, accused herself aloud of her fault, received with piety the last Sacraments, and died in the grace of God. Notwithstanding the sincerity of her conversion, it was to be feared that a sinner who had barely escaped Hell would have to undergo a severe Purgatory. The charitable Catherine continued to do all in her power to hasten the moment when Palmerine would be admitted to the glory of Paradise.

So much Charity could not fail to meet its reward. "Our Lord," writes Blessed Raymond, "showed to His spouse that soul saved by her prayers. It was so brilliant that she told me she could find no words capable of expressing its beauty. It was not yet admitted to the glory of the beatific vision, but had that brightness which creation and the grace of Baptism imparts. Our Lord said to her, 'Behold, My daughter, this lost soul which you have found!' And He added, 'Does she not appear to you most beautiful and precious? Who would not
endure all sorts of suffering to save a creature so perfect and introduce it into eternal life? If I, who am the Supreme Beauty, from whom all beauty emanates, have been so far captivated by the beauty of souls as to descend upon earth and shed My Blood to redeem them; with how much greater reason should you not labor one for another, that such admirable creatures be not lost. If I have showed you this soul, it was that you should be all the more zealous in all that concerns the salvation of souls.

Saint Magdalen of Pazzi, so full of devotion for the dead, exhausted all the resources of Christian Charity on behalf of her mother, after the latter had departed this life. A fortnight after her death, Jesus, wishing to console His spouse, showed her the soul of her beloved parent. Magdalen saw her in Paradise, arrayed in dazzling splendor, and surrounded by saints, who appeared to take great interest in her. She heard the blessed soul give her three commands, which ever remained impressed upon her memory: "Take care, my daughter," she said, "to descend as low as possible in humility, to observe religious obedience, and to carry out with prudence all that it prescribes." Saying this, Magdalen saw her blessed mother vanish from sight, and she remained inundated with the sweetest consolation.

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

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


Chapter 53. Advantages - Charity towards the Dead Rewarded - Saint Thomas of Aquin, his Sister, and Brother Romano - The Archpriest Ponzoni and Don Alphonso Sanchez - Blessed Margaret Mary and Mother Greffier

The Angelic Doctor, Saint Thomas of Aquin, was likewise very devout towards the suffering souls, who appeared to him several times, and we know of them by the testimony of the illustrious Doctor himself.

He offered his prayers and sacrifices to God, particularly for the departed souls whom he had known or who were related to him. When he was Professor of Theology at the University of Paris he lost a sister, who died in Capua, at the convent of Saint Mary, of which she was Abbess. As soon as he heard of her decease, he recommended her soul to God with great fervor. Some days later she appeared to him, conjuring him to have pity on her, and to redouble his suffrages, because she suffered cruelly in the flames of the other life. Thomas hastened to offer for her all the satisfaction in his power, and solicited also the suffrages of several of his friends. He thus obtained the deliverance of his sister, who came herself to announce the glad tidings.

Some time after this, having been sent to Rome by his superiors, the soul of this sister appeared to him in all the glory of triumphant joy. She told him that his prayers had been heard, that she was freed from suffering, and was going to enjoy eternal repose in the bosom of God. Familiarized with these supernatural communications, the saint feared not to interrogate the apparition, and asked what had become of his two brothers, Arnold and Landolph, who had died some time previous. "Arnold is in Heaven," replied the soul, "and there enjoys a high degree of glory for having defended the Church and the Sovereign Pontiff against the aggressions of the Emperor Frederic. As to Landolph, he is still in Purgatory, where he suffers much, and is greatly in need of assistance. As regards yourself, my dear brother," she added, "a magnificent place awaits you in Paradise, in recompense for all you have done for the Church. Hasten to put the last stroke to the different works which you have undertaken, for you will soon join us."

History tells us that, in fact, he lived but a short time after this event. On another occasion, the same saint, being in prayer at the Church of Saint Dominic at Naples, saw approaching him Brother Romano, who had succeeded him at Paris in the chair of theology. The saint thought at first that he had just arrived from Paris, for he was ignorant of his death. He, therefore, arose, went to meet him, saluted him and inquired of him concerning his health and the motive of his journey. "I am no longer of this world," said the Religious
with a smile, "and by the mercy of God I am already in the enjoyment of eternal beatitude. I come by the command of God to encourage you in your labors." "Am I in the state of grace?" asked Thomas immediately. "Yes, dear brother, and your works are very agreeable to God." "And you, had you to suffer Purgatory?" "Yes, for fourteen days, on account of little infidelities which I had not sufficiently expiated on earth."

Then Thomas, whose mind was constantly occupied with questions of theology, profited by the opportunity to penetrate the mystery of the beatific vision; but he was answered with this verse of Psalm 47: Sicut audivimus, sic vidimus in civitate Dei nostri - "As we have learned by faith, we have seen with our eyes in the city of our God." Saying these words, the apparition vanished, leaving the Angelic Doctor inflamed with the desire of the Eternal Good.

More recently, in the sixteenth century, a favor of the same nature, but perhaps more wonderful, was granted to a zelator of the souls in Purgatory, an intimate friend of Saint Charles Borromeo. Venerable Gratian Ponzoni, Archpriest of Arona, interested himself in the cause of the poor suffering souls throughout his whole lifetime. During the pest which carried off so many victims in the diocese of Milan, Ponzoni, not content with administering the Sacraments to the plague stricken, hesitated not to become sexton, and to bury the dead bodies; for fear had paralyzed the courage of all, and no one would take upon themselves that terrible task.

With a zeal and charity truly apostolic, he had assisted a large number of the unfortunate victims in Arona in their last moments, and had interred them in the cemetery near his church of Saint Mary. One day, after the office of Vespers, as he was passing by the cemetery in company with Don Alphonso Sanchez, then governor of Arona, he stopped suddenly, struck with an extraordinary vision. Fearing some delusion, he turned towards Sanchez and said, "Sir, do you see the same spectacle which presents itself to my view?" "Yes," replied the governor, who had the same vision, "I see a procession of the dead, advancing from their graves towards the church; and I avow that until you spoke I could not believe my eyes." Assured of the reality of the apparition, the Archpriest added, "They are probably the recent victims of the pest, who wish to make known that they are in need of our prayers." He immediately caused the bells to be rung, and invited the parishioners to assemble on the following morning for a solemn service for the dead.

We see here two persons whose sound judgment guarded them against all danger of illusion, and who, both struck at the same time, seeing the same apparition, hesitate to give credence to it until they were convinced that their eyes saw the same phenomenon. There is not the least room for hallucination, and every sensible man must admit the reality of a supernatural occurrence, attested by such witnesses.

Nor can we call in question those apparitions based upon the testimony of a Saint Thomas of Aquin, as related above. We must also guard against too easily rejecting other facts of the same nature, from the moment they are attested by persons of recognized sanctity and truly worthy of belief. We must be prudent, no doubt, but ours must be a Christian prudence, equally removed from credulity and from that proud, conceited spirit with which, as we have remarked elsewhere, Jesus reproached His Apostles, "Noli esse incredulus, sed fidelis" Be not faithless, but believing. (John 20:27).

Monseigneur Languet, Bishop of Soissons, makes the same remark with reference to a circumstance which he relates in the Life of Blessed Margaret Alacoque. Madame Billet, wife of the doctor of the house - that is to say, of the convent of Paray - where the blessed sister resided, had Just died. The soul of the deceased appeared to the servant of God, asking her prayers, and charging her to warn her husband of two secret affairs that concerned his salvation. The holy sister gave an account of what had taken place to her Superior, Mother Greffier. The Superior ridiculed the vision, and the one who related it to her; she imposed silence upon
Margaret, forbidding her to say or do anything regarding what had been asked of her.

"The humble Religious obeyed with simplicity; and with the same simplicity she related to Mother Greffier the second solicitation which she received from the deceased some days later; but the Superior treated this with the same contempt. However, the following night she herself was aroused by such a horrible noise in her room that she thought she would die from fright. She called the sisters, and when assistance came, she was on the point of swooning away. When she somewhat recovered, she reproached herself with incredulity, and no longer delayed to acquaint the doctor with what had been revealed to Sister Margaret.

"The doctor recognized the warning as coming from God, and profited by it. As for Mother Greffier, she learned by experience that if distrust is ordinarily the wisest policy, it is sometimes wrong to carry it too far, especially when the glory of God and the good of our neighbor is concerned."

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

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


Chapter 54. Advantages - Salutary Thoughts - Make Satisfaction in this Life rather than in the Next - Saint Augustine and Saint Louis Bertrand - Brother Lourenco - Father Michel de la Fontaine

Besides the advantages which we have already considered. Charity towards the departed is very salutary to those who practice it, because it stimulates them to fervor in the service of God, and inspires the holiest thoughts. To think of the souls in Purgatory is to think of the sufferings of the other life; it is to call to mind that all sin demands expiation, either in this life or the next.

Now, who does not understand that it is better to make satisfaction here, since future chastisements are so terrible? A voice seems to come forth from Purgatory, repeating these words of the Imitation, "Better is it to purge away our sins and to cut off our vices now, than to keep them for purgation hereafter."

We call to mind, also, this other sentence, of which we read in the same chapter: "There, one hour of punishment will be more grievous than a hundred years of the most bitter penance here." Then, penetrated with salutary fear, we willingly endure the sufferings of the present life, and we say to God with Saint Augustine and Saint Louis Bertrand, Domine, hie ure, hie seca, hie non parcas, ut in aeternum parcas - "Lord, apply here iron and fire; spare me not in this life, in order that You may spare me in the next." Penetrated with these thoughts, the Christian regards the tribulations of the present life, and especially the sufferings of a painful malady, as a Purgatory upon earth which will dispense him from Purgatory after death.

On 6 January 1676 there died in Lisbon, at the age of sixty-nine years, the servant of God, Caspar Lourenco, Brother Coadjutor of the Society of Jesus, and porter of the professed house of that Institute. He was full of charity towards the poor and towards the souls in Purgatory. He knew not how to spare himself in the service of the unfortunate, and was marvellously ingenious in teaching them to bless God for their misery, which was to purchase Heaven for them. He himself was so penetrated with the happiness of suffering for Our Lord, that he crucified his flesh almost without measure, and added other austerities on the vigils of Communion days. At the age of seventy- eight, he would accept of no dispensation from the fasts and abstinences of the Church, and allowed no day to pass without taking the discipline at least twice. Even in his last illness, the Brother Infirmarian said that the approach of death did not make him divest himself of his hair shirt, so great was his desire to die upon the cross.

The sufferings of his agony, which were most cruel, might have taken the place of the most rigorous penances. When asked if he suffered much, I am undergoing my Purgatory before departing for Heaven," he replied with a joyous air. Brother Lourenco was born on the day of Epiphany; and Our Lord had revealed to him that this beautiful day was to be also that of his death. He designated the hour on the previous night; and when the Infirmarian visited him at daybreak, he said to him with a smile expressive of doubt, "Is it not today, brother, that you expect to go and enjoy the vision of God?" "Yes," he replied, "as soon as I shall have received the Body of my Saviour for the last time." In fact, he received Holy Communion and expired without struggle and without agony. There is, then, every reason to believe that he spoke with a supernatural knowledge of the truth when he said, "I am undergoing my Purgatory before departing for Heaven."

Another servant of God received from the Blessed Virgin herself the same assurance that his earthly suffering would take the place of Purgatory. I speak of Lather Michel de la Lontaine, who slept sweetly in the Lord on 11 February 1606, at Valencia, in Spain. He was one of the first missionaries who labored for the salvation of the people of Peru. His greatest care when instructing the new converts was to inspire them with a sovereign horror of sin, and to lead them to great devotion towards the Mother of God, by speaking of the virtues of that admirable Virgin, and teaching them to recite the beads in her honor.

Mary, on her part, did not refuse the favors asked of her. One day when, exhausted with fatigue, he lay prostrate in the dust, not having strength to rise, he was visited by her whom the Church styles with reason Comforter of the Afflicted. She reanimated his courage, saying to him, "Confidence , my son; your fatigues will take the place of Purgatory for you; bear your sufferings patiently, and on leaving this life your soul will be received into the abode of the blessed."

This vision was for Father de la Fontaine during life, but especially at the hour of his death, a source of abundant consolation. In gratitude for this favor, he each week practiced some particular penance. At the moment when he expired, a Religious of eminent virtue saw his soul take its flight to Heaven in company of the Blessed Virgin, the Prince of the Apostles, Saint John the Evangelist, and of Saint Ignatius, the founder of the Company of Jesus.

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

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


Chapter 55. Advantages - Salutary Instruction - Blessed Mary of the Angels - Saint Peter Claver and the Sick Negro - The Negro
and the Rosary

Besides the holy thoughts which devotion to the holy souls suggests, the latter sometimes contribute directly to the spiritual welfare of their benefactors. In the Life of Blessed Mary of the Angels, of the Order of Mount Carmel, it is said that it is almost beyond belief how frequent were the apparitions of the souls of Purgatory who came to implore her assistance, and afterwards to thank her for their deliverance. Very often they conversed with the blessed sister, giving her useful advice for herself or for her sisters, and revealing things related to the other world. "On the Wednesday within the Octave of the Assumption," she writes, "whilst saying the evening prayers, one of our good sisters appeared to me. She was clad in white, surrounded with glory and splendor, and so beautiful that I know of nothing here below to which I could compare her.

Fearing some illusion of the devil, I armed myself with the Sign of the Cross; but she smiled, and disappeared shortly after. I begged Our Lord not to permit me to be deceived by the demon. The following night the sister again appeared, and calling me by my name, said, 'I come on the part of God to let you know that I am in the enjoyment of eternal bliss. Tell our Mother Prioress that it is not the design of God to reveal to her the destiny that awaits her; tell her to place her confidence in Saint Joseph and in the souls in Purgatory.' Having said this, she disappeared."

Saint Peter Claver, Apostle of the Negroes of Carthagena, was aided by the souls in Purgatory in his work of the apostolate. He did not abandon the souls of his dear Negroes after their death; penances, prayers, Masses, indulgences, as far as depended upon himself, he applied to them, says Father Fleurian, his biographer. Thus it often happened that those poor afflicted souls, sure of his power with God, came to ask the assistance of his prayers.

The fastidiousness and incredulity of our century, says the same author, does not prevent us from relating some few additional facts. They may perhaps appear worthy of the raillery of freethinkers, but does it not suffice to know that God is the Master of these occurrences, and that they are, moreover, so well authenticated as to deserve a place in a history written for Christian readers?

A sick Negro, whom he had taken into his room and laid upon his own bed, having heard a noise as of loud moaning during the night, fear made him run to Father Claver, who was kneeling in prayer. "Oh, Father!" he cried, "what is that dreadful noise, which terrifies me and prevents me from sleeping?" "Return, my son," replied the holy man, "and go to sleep without fear." Then, having assisted him to get into bed, he opened the door of the chamber, said a few words, and immediately the moaning ceased.

Several other Negroes, being occupied in repairing a house at some distance from the city, one of them went out to cut wood upon a neighboring mountain. As he approached the forest he heard himself called by his name from the top of a tree. He raised his eyes in the direction whence the voice came, and not seeing anyone, was about to take to flight and join his companions, but he was stopped in a narrow path by a frightful specter, who discharged a shower of blows upon him with a whip furnished with pieces of red-hot iron, and saying, "Why have you not got your rosary? Carry it about you in future, and say it for the souls in Purgatory." 
The phantom then ordered him to ask of the mistress of the house for three gold pieces which were due to him, and which he was to take to Father Claver, that Masses might be offered for his intention, after which he disappeared.

In the meantime the noise of the blows and the cries of the Negro had brought his companions to the spot, where they found him more dead than alive, covered with the wounds he had received, and unable to utter a word. They carried him to the house, where the mistress acknowledged that in reality she owed the sum of money in question to a Negro who had died some time previous. Father Claver, on being informed of what had occurred, said the Masses which were asked of him, and gave a rosary to the Negro, who ever afterwards wore it, and never omitted to say it daily.

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

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


Chapter 56. Advantages - Salutary Instructions - Saint Magdalen de Pazzi and Sister Benedicta - Father Paul Hoffee - Venerable Father de la Colonnbiere - Father Louis Corbinelli

Saint Magadlen de Pazzi, in an apparition of a departed soul, received the most wholesome instruction on religious virtues. There was in her convent a sister named Mary Benedicta, who was distinguished for her piety, her obedience, and all other virtues which are the ornament of holy souls. She was so humble, says Father Cepari, and had such contempt for herself, that, without the guidance of her Superiors, she would have gone to extremes, with the sole view of acquiring the reputation of being a person without prudence and without judgment. She therefore said that she could not help feeling jealous of Saint Alexis, who found a means of living a hidden life, contemptible in the eyes of the world. She was so docile and prompt in obedience, that she ran like a little child at the least sign of the will of her Superiors, and the latter were obliged to use great circumspection in the orders which they gave her, lest she should go beyond their desires. In fact, she had gained such control over her passions and appetites, that it would be difficult to imagine a more perfect mortification.

This good sister died suddenly, having had but a few hours of sickness. The following morning, which was Saturday, when, during the Mass which was celebrated, the Religious were singing the Sanctus, Magdalen was rapt in ecstasy. During the rapture, God showed her this soul under the corporal form in the glory of Heaven. She was adorned with a gold star, which she had received in recompense for her ardent charity. All her fingers were covered with costly rings on account of her fidelity to all the rules, and the care she had taken to sanctify her most ordinary actions. Upon her head she wore a very rich crown, because she had always loved obedience and suffering for Jesus Christ. In fact, she surpassed in glory a great multitude of virgins, and she contemplated her Spouse Jesus with singular familiarity, because she had so loved humiliation, according to these words of our Saviour, He that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Such was the sublime lesson which the saint received in reward for her charity towards the departed.

The thought of Purgatory incites us to labor zealously, and to fly the least faults, in order to avoid the terrible expiations of the other life. Father Paul Hoffee, who died a holy death at Ingolstadt in the year 1608, made use of this thought for his own benefit and that of others. He never lost sight of Purgatory, nor ceased to relieve the poor souls who frequently appeared to him to solicit his suffrages. As he was
Superior of his brethren in religion, he often exhorted them, first to sanctify themselves, the better to be able afterwards to sanctify others, and never to neglect the smallest prescription of their rules; then he would add with great simplicity, "Otherwise I fear you will come, like several others have done, to ask my prayers that you may be delivered from Purgatory." In his last moments he was wholly occupied in loving colloquies with Our Lord, His Blessed Mother, and the Saints. He was sensibly consoled by a visit of a very holy soul, who had preceded him to Heaven but two or three days previous, and who now invited him to go and enjoy the eternal love of God. (Menology of the Society of Jesus, 17 December).

When we say that the thought of Purgatory makes us use all means to avoid it, it is evident that we have reason to fear that we shall go there. Now on what is this fear based? If we but reflect a little upon the sanctity required to enter Heaven, and the frailty of human nature, which is the source of so many faults, we easily understand that this fear is but too well founded. Moreover, do not the examples we have read above show us clearly that very often even the holiest souls have sometimes to undergo expiation in the other life?

Venerable Father Claude de la Colombiere died in the odor of sanctity at Paray, 15 February 1682, as Blessed Margaret Mary had predicted to him As soon as he had expired, a pious girl came to announce his death to Sister Margaret.

The holy Religious, without showing any disturbance or breaking forth into vain regrets, said simply to that person, "Go and pray to God for him, and cause prayers to be everywhere offered for the repose of his soul." The Father had died at five o'clock in the morning. That same evening she wrote a note to the same person in these terms:

"Cease to be afflicted; invoke him. Fear nothing. He is more powerful to aid us than ever." These words give us to understand that she had been supernaturally enlightened regarding the death of this holy man, and of the state of his soul in the other life.

Sister Margaret's peace and tranquility at the death of a director who had been useful to her was another sort of miracle. The blessed sister loved nothing except in God and for God; God held the place of all else in her heart, and consumed by the fire of His love all other attachment. The Superior was surprised at her perfect tranquility on the death of the holy missionary, and still more so that Margaret did not ask to do any extraordinary penance for the repose of his soul, as was her custom on the death of any one of her acquaintances in whom she was particularly interested. The Mother Superior asked the servant of God the reason of this, and she replied quite simply, "He is in no need of it; he is in a condition to pray for us, since he is exalted in Heaven by the Sacred Heart of our Divine Lord. Only to expiate some slight negligence in the practice of Divine Love," she added, "his soul was deprived of the vision of God from the time it left his body until the moment when his remains were consigned to the tomb."

Let us add one example more, that of Father Corbinelli. This holy person was not exempted from Purgatory. It is true he was not detained there, but he had to pass through the flames before being admitted into the presence of God.

Louis Corbinelli, of the Company of Jesus, died in the odor of sanctity at the professed house in Rome, in the year 1591, almost at the same time with Saint Aloysius Gonzaga. The tragic death of Henry II, King of France, gave him a disgust for the world and he decided to consecrate himself entirely to the service of God. In the year 1559 the marriage of the Princess Elizabeth was celebrated with great pomp in the city of Paris. Among other amusements, a tournament was organized, in which figured the flower of the French nobility and chivalry. The King himself appeared in the midst of his brilliant court. Among the spectators, gathered even from foreign lands, was young Louis Corbinelli, who had come from his native city, Florence, to assist at the festival. Corbinelli contemplated with admiration the glory of the French monarch, now at the zenith of his grandeur and prosperity, when suddenly he saw him fall, struck by a fatal blow aimed by an imprudent filter. The lance badly directed by Montgomery transpierced the King, who expired bathed in his blood.

In the twinkling of an eye all his glory vanished and the royal magnificence was covered with a shroud. This event made a salutary impression upon Corbinelli; seeing the vanity of human greatness thus exposed, he renounced the world and embraced a religious life in the Society of Jesus. His life was that of a saint, and his death filled with joy all those who were witnesses of it. It took place a few days before that of Saint Aloysius, who was then sick in the Roman College. The young saint announced to Cardinal Bellarmine that the soul of Father Corbinelli had entered into glory; and when the Cardinal asked him if it had not passed through Purgatory, "It passed through," he replied, "but it did not stay."

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

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


Chapter 57. Advantages - Stimulant to Fervor - Cautions to us - Probability of going to Purgatory - Means of Escaping it - Employment of those Means - Saint Catherine of Genoa

If holy Religious pass through Purgatory, although not detained there, have we not to fear that we shall not only pass through it, but also remain for a longer or shorter time? Can we live in a security that would be, to say the least, very imprudent? Our faith and our conscience tell us that our fear of Purgatory is well grounded. I go still further, dear reader, and say that with a little reflection you yourself must acknowledge that it is very probable, and almost certain, that you will go to Purgatory. Is it not true that on leaving
this earth your soul will enter into one of those three abodes pointed out to us by faith: Hell, Heaven or Purgatory? Will you go to Hell? It is not probable, because you have a horror of mortal sin, and for nothing in the world would you commit one, or keep it upon your conscience after having committed it. Will you go to Heaven? You answer immediately that you think yourself unworthy of such a favor. There remains, then, but Purgatory; and you must own that it is very probable, almost certain, that you will go into that place of expiation.

By setting this grave truth before your eyes, do not think, dear reader, that we wish to frighten you, or take from you all hope of entering Heaven without Purgatory. On the contrary, this hope must ever remain deeply impressed upon our hearts, for it is the spirit of Jesus Christ, who nowise desires that His disciples should stand in need of future expiation. He even instituted Sacraments and established all sorts of means to assist us to make full satisfaction in this world. But these means are too often neglected; and it is especially by a salutary fear that we are stimulated to make use of them.

Now, what are those means which we have to employ in order to avoid, or at least shorten, our Purgatory and mitigate its rigor? They are evidently those exercises and good works which most assist us to satisfy for our faults in this world and to find mercy before God, namely, the following: devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and fidelity in wearing her scapular; charity towards the living and the dead; mortification and obedience; a pious reception of the Sacraments, especially on the approach of death; confidence in the Divine Mercy; and, finally, the holy acceptation of death in union with the death of Jesus upon the cross.

These means are sufficiently powerful to preserve us from Purgatory, but we must make use of them. Now, to employ them seriously and with perseverance, one condition is necessary: it is to form a firm resolution of satisfying in this world rather than in the next. This resolution must be based upon faith, which teaches us how easy is satisfaction in this life, how terrible is Purgatory. Be at agreement with thy adversary betimes, says Jesus Christ, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest, perhaps, thy 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. (Matthew 5:25)

To be reconciled with our adversary in the way, signifies, in the mouth of Our Lord, to appease Divine Justice, and to make satisfaction on our way through life, before reaching that unchangeable end, that eternity where all penance is impossible, and where we shall have to submit to all the rigors of Justice. Is not this counsel of our Divine Saviour most wise?

Can we appear before the tribunal of God burdened with an enormous debt, which we might so easily have discharged by some works of penance, and which we shall then have to pay by years of torment? "He who purifies himself from his faults in the present life," says Saint Catherine of Genoa, "satisfies with a penny a debt of a thousand ducats; and he who waits until the other life to discharge his debts, consents to pay a thousand ducats for that which he might before have paid with a penny." We must, therefore, begin with the firm and efficacious resolution of making satisfaction in this world; that is the foundation stone. This foundation once laid, we must employ the means enumerated above.

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

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


Chapter 58. Means to Avoid Purgatory - Great Devotion to the Blessed Virgin - Father Jerome Carvaiho - Saint Bridget - The Scapular of Mount Carmel

A Servant of God sums up these means, and reduces them to two, saying, "Let us cleanse our souls by water and by fire"; that is to say, by the water of tears, and by the fire of charity and good works. In fact, we may classify them all under these two exercises, and this is conformable to Holy Scripture, where we see that souls are cleansed from their stains, and purified like gold in the crucible. But since we must seek above everything to be practical, let us follow the method we have indicated, and which has been practiced, with so much success, by the saints and by all fervent Christians.

In the first place, in order to obtain great purity of soul, and in consequence to have little reason to fear Purgatory, we must cherish a great devotion towards the Blessed Virgin Mary. This good Mother will so assist her dear children in cleansing their souls and in shortening their Purgatory, that they may live in the greatest confidence. She even desires that they should not trouble themselves on this subject, and that they should not allow themselves to be discouraged by excessive fear, as she herself deigned to declare to her
servant, Jerome Carvalho, of whom we have already spoken. "Have confidence, my son," she said to him. "I am the Mother of Mercy for my dear children in Purgatory, as well as for those still living upon earth." In the Revelations of Saint Bridget we read something similar: "I am," said the Blessed Virgin to her, "the Mother of all those who are in the place of expiation; my prayers mitigate the chastisements inflicted upon them for their faults." (Book 4, chap. 1).

Those who wear the holy scapular have a special right to the protection of Mary. The devotion of the holy scapular, unlike that of the Rosary, does not consist in prayer, but in the pious practice of wearing a sort of habit, which is as the livery of the Queen of Heaven. The scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, of which we here speak, traces its origin back to the thirteenth century, and was first preached by Blessed Simon Stock, fifth General of the Order of Mount Carmel.

This celebrated servant of Mary, born in Kent, England, in the year 1165, whilst yet young, retired into a solitary forest to apply himself to prayer and penance. He chose as his dwelling the hollow of a tree, to which he attached a crucifix and a picture of the Blessed Virgin, whom he honored as his Mother, and ceased not to invoke with the tenderest affection. For twelve years he entreated her to make known to him what he could do that would be most agreeable to her Divine Son, when the Queen of Heaven told him to enter the Order of Mount Carmel, which was particularly devoted to her service. Simon obeyed; and, under the protection of Mary, became an exemplary Religious and the ornament of the Order of Mount Carmel, of which he was elected Superior General in 1245.

One day - it was the 16th of July, 1251 - the Blessed Virgin appeared to him surrounded by a multitude of heavenly spirits, and, with a countenance radiant with joy, she presented to him a scapular of a brown color, saying, "Receive, my dear son, this scapular of thy Order; it is the badge of my Confraternity and the pledge of a privilege which I have obtained for thee and for thy brethren of Mount Carmel. Those who die devoutly clothed in this habit shall be preserved from eternal fire. It is the sign of salvation, a safeguard in peril, a pledge of peace and special protection until the end of time." The happy old man everywhere published the favor he had received, showing the scapular, healing the sick, and working other miracles in proof of his marvelous mission. Immediately, Edward I, king of England, Louis IX, king of France, and after their example almost all of the sovereigns of Europe, as also a great number of their subjects, received the same habit. From that time commences the celebrated Confraternity of the Scapular, which was soon afterwards canonically erected by the Holy See.

Not content with granting this first privilege, Mary made another promise in favor of the members of the Confraternity of the Scapular, by assuring them of a speedy deliverance from the sufferings of Purgatory. About fifty years after the death of Blessed Simon, the illustrious Pontiff, John XXII, whilst at prayer in the early morning, saw the Mother of God appear surrounded with light, and bearing the habit of Mount Carmel. Among other things she said to him, "If among the Religious or members of the Confraternity of Mount Carmel there are any who, on account of their faults, are condemned to Purgatory, I will descend into the midst of them like a tender Mother on the Saturday after their death; I will deliver them and conduct them to the holy mount of eternal life." These are the words which the Pontiff places in the lips of Mary in his celebrated Bull of 3rd March 1322, commonly called the Sabbatine Bull. He concludes in these words: "I therefore accept this holy indulgence; I ratify and confirm it upon earth, as Jesus Christ has graciously granted it in Heaven through the merits of the most Blessed Virgin." This privilege was afterwards confirmed by a great many Bulls and Decrees of the Sovereign Pontiffs.

Such is the devotion of the holy scapular. It is sanctioned by the practice of pious souls throughout the Christian world by the testimony of twenty-two Popes, by the writings of an incalculable number of pious authors, and by multiplied miracles during the past 600 years; so that, says the illustrious Benedict XIV, "he who dares call in question the validity of the devotion of the scapular or deny its privileges, would be a proud despiser of religion."