Friends of the Poor Souls...

Friends of the Poor Souls...

The commemoration of all the faithful departed is celebrated by the Church on 2 November, or, if this be a Sunday or a solemnity, on 3 November. The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy and all the Masses are to be of Requiem, except one of the current feast, where this is of obligation.
The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that the souls which, on departing from the body, are not perfectly cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for past transgressions, are debarred from the Beatific Vision, and that the faithful on earth can help them by prayers, almsdeeds and especially by the sacrifice of the Mass.

In the early days of Christianity the names of the departed brethren were entered in the diptychs. Later, in the sixth century, it was customary in Benedictine monasteries to hold a commemoration of the deceased members at Whitsuntide. In Spain there was such a day on Saturday before Sexagesima or before Pentecost, at the time of St. Isidore (d. 636). In Germany there existed (according to the testimony of Widukind, Abbot of Corvey, c. 980) a time-honoured ceremony of praying to the dead on 1 October. This was accepted and sanctified by the Church. St. Odilo of Cluny (d. 1048) ordered the commemoration of all the faithful departed to be held annually in the monasteries of his congregation. Thence it spread among the other congregations of the Benedictines and among the Carthusians.
Of the dioceses, Liège was the first to adopt it under Bishop Notger (d. 1008). It is then found in the martyrology of St. Protadius of Besançon (1053-66). Bishop Otricus (1120-25) introduced it into Milan for the 15 October. In Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, priests on this day say three Masses. A similar concession for the entire world was asked of Pope Leo XIII. He would not grant the favour but ordered a special Requiem on Sunday, 30 September, 1888.
In the Greek Rite this commemoration is held on the eve of Sexagesima Sunday, or on the eve of Pentecost. The Armenians celebrate the passover of the dead on the day after Easter.

The Story of St. Lutgarda and the Cistercian Abbot and Pope Innocent

In the Life of St. Lutgarda, written by her contemporary, Thomas de Cantempré, mention is made of a Religious who was otherwise fervent, but who for an excess of zeal was condemned to forty years of Purgatory.

This was an Abbot of the Cistercian Order, named Simon, who held St. Lutgarda in great veneration. The saint, on her part, willingly followed his advice, and in consequence a sort of spiritual friendship formed between them. But the Abbot was not as mild toward his subordinates as he was towards the saint.

Severe with himself, he was also severe in his administration, and carried his exactions in matters of discipline even to harshness, forgetting the lesson of the Divine Master, who teaches us to be meek and humble of heart.

Having died, and whilst St. Lutgarde was fervently praying and imposing penances upon herself for the repose of his soul, he appeared to her, and declared that he was condemned to forty years of Purgatory. Fortunately he had in Lutgarda a generous and powerful friend. She redoubled her prayers and austerities, and having received from God the assurance that the departed soul should soon be delivered, the charitable saint replied, "I will not cease to weep; I will not cease to importune your Mercy until I see
him freed from his pains."

Since I am mentioning St. Lutgarda, ought I to speak of the celebrated apparition of Pope Innocent. I acknowledge the perusal of this incident shocked me, and I would fain pass it over in silence.

I was reluctant to think that a Pope, and such a Pope, had been condemned to so long and terrible a Purgatory. We know that Innocent, who presided at the celebrated Council of Latern in 1215, was one of the greatest Pontiffs who ever filled the chair of St. Peter. His piety and zeal led him to accomplish great things for the Church of God and holy discipline.

 

How, then, admit that such a man was judged with so great severity at the Supreme Tribunal? How reconcile this revelation of St. Lutgarda with Divine Mercy? I wished, therefore, to treat it as an illusion, and sought for reasons in support of this idea. But I found, on the contrary, that the reality of this apparition is admitted by the gravest authors, and that it is not rejected by any single one. Moreover, the biographer, Thomas de Cantimpré, is very explicit, and at the same time very reserved. "Remark, reader," he writes at the end of his narrative, "that it was from the mouth of the pious Lutgarda herself that I heard of the faults revealed by the defunct, and which I omit here through respect for so great a Pope."

Aside from this, considering the event in itself, can we find any good reason, for calling it into question? Do we not know that God makes no exception of persons--that the Popes appear before His tribunal like the humblest of the faithful--that all the great and the lowly are equal before Him, and that each one
receives according to his works?

Do we not know that those who govern others have a great responsibility, and will have to render a severe account? "A most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule." It is the Holy Ghost that declares it. (Wisdom vi.6)

Now, Innocent reigned for eighteen years, and during most turbulent times; and, add the Bollandists, is it not written that the judgments of God are inscrutable, and often very different from the judgments of men? Judica tua abyssus multa. (Psalm xxxv.7)

The reality of this apparition cannot, then, be reasonably called into question. I see no reason for omitting it, since God does not reveal mysteries of this nature for any other purpose than that they should be made known for the edification of His Church.

Pope Innocent died July 16, 1216. The same day he appeared to St. Lutgarda in her monastery at Aywieres, in Brabant. Surprised to see a spectre enveloped in flames, she asked who he was and what he wanted.

"I am Pope Innocent," he replied. "Is it possible that you, our common Father, should be in such a state?" "It is but too true. I am expiating three faults which might have caused my eternal perdition. Thanks to the Blessed Virgin Mary, I have obtained pardon for them, but I have to make atonement. Alas!
It is terrible; and it will last for centuries if you do not come to my assistance. In the name of Mary, who has obtained for me the favor of appealing to you, help me."

With these words he disappeared. Lutgarda announced the Pope's death to her sisters, and together they betook themselves to prayer and penitential works in behalf of the august and venerated Pontiff, whose demise was communicated to them some weeks later from another source.

Taken from: Purgatory Explained Authored by: Father F.X. Schouppe, S.J.

St. Malachy and His Sister



St. Bernard highly praises St. Malachy for his devotion towards the souls in Purgatory. When he was a deacon, he loved to assist at the funerals of the poor, accompanying their remains to the cemetery with as much zeal as he ordinarily saw those unfortunate creatures neglected after their death. He had a sister, filled with the spirit of the world who thought her brother degraded himself and his family by associating with the poor. She understood neither Christian Charity nor the excellence of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. He told his sister that she had forgotten the teaching of Jesus and that she would one day repent of her thoughtless words.

His sister died while still young and went to render an account to the Sovereign Judge of the worldly life she had led. St. Malachy offered the Holy Sacrifice for her and prayed much for her. In time, having many others to pray for, he neglected his poor sister. She appeared to her brother during his sleep. He saw her standing in the middle of the area before the church, sad, clad in mourning, and entreating his compassion, complaining that for the last thirty days he had neglected her. He awoke suddenly and remembered in reality it was thirty days since he had celebrated Mass for his sister. On the following day he began anew to offer the Holy Sacrifice for her. Then she appeared to him at the door of the church, kneeling upon the threshold, and lamenting that she was not allowed to enter. He continued his suffrage's. Some days later he saw her enter the church and advance as far as the middle of the aisle, without being able to approach the altar. He saw it was necessary to persevere, so he continued to offer the Holy Sacrifice for the repose of her soul. Finally, after a few days he saw her near the altar, clad in magnificent attire, radiant with joy, and free from suffering.


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


The Story of St. Peter Claver & Two Women

St. Peter Claver, of the Company of Jesus, Apostle of the Negroes of Carthagena, knew of the Purgatory of two souls, who had led poor and humble lives upon earth; their sufferings were reduced to a few hours. We find the following account of it in the Life of this great servant of God.

He had persuaded a virtuous negress, named Angela, to take into her house another negress named Ursula, who had lost the use of her limbs and was covered with sores.

One day when he went to visit them, as he did from time to time, to hear their confessions and to carry them some little provisions, the charitable host told him with grief that Ursula was at the point of death."No, no," replied the Father, consoling her, "she has yet four days to live, and she will not die until Saturday."

When Saturday came, he said Mass for her intention, and went out to prepare her for death. After spending sometime in prayer, he said to the hostess with an air of confidence, "Be consoled, God loves Ursula; she will die to-day, but she will be only three hours in Purgatory. Let her remember me when she shall be with God, that she may pray for me, and for the one who until now had been a mother to her." She died at noon, and the fulfilment of one part of the prophecy gave great reason for belief in the accomplishment of the other.

Another day, having gone to hear the confession of a poor sick person whom he was accustomed to visit, he learned that she was dead. The parents were extremely afflicted, and he himself, who had not believed her to be so near her end, was inconsolable at the thought of not having been able to assist her in her last moments.

He knelt down to pray by the corpse, then suddenly rising, with a serene countenance he said, "Such a death is more worthy of our envy than our tears; this soul is condemned to Purgatory, but only for twenty-four hours. Let us endeavour to shorten this time by the fervour of our prayers."

Enough has been said on the duration of the pains. We see that they may be prolonged to an appalling degree; even the shortest, if we consider their severity, are long. Let us endeavour to shorten them for others and to mitigate them for ourselves, or better still to prevent them altogether.
Taken from: Purgatory Explained by: Father F.X. Schouppe, S.J.