Gary Paul H ‏

The Twelve Months Sanctified by Prayer: November, Month of the Souls in Purgatory by M. L'ABBE A. RICARD, D.S.G. Translated from the French. 1877 November 11 YOU DID IT TO ME. . Prelude. . Our Lord Himself invites us to in­tercede for the souls in Purgatory. Let us listen reverently to Him, and after spending a few minutes in lovingly considering His infinite goodness, let us meditate on one of the most powerful motives which could excite our devotion to the souls in Purgatory. . Meditation. . The motives on which we have already meditated must. if our soul is Christian and full of faith, have made a great impression. Today we shall meditate on another motive, which, if it leaves us cold and insensible, will show that we do not even deserve the name of Christian, and that we have not an atom of faith. . God, Whose majesty is immense, Whose goodness and liberality are infinite, God Whom we have so often offended, and Who has obliged us, in a thousand ways, to pay Him every homage, God, I say, has vouchsafed by an inconceivable prodigy to accept all the good which we do to man as if it was done to Himself. His Son has assured us of it when He said, "Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these, My least brethren, you did it to Me." It is as if He said : All the works of mercy which you have exercised towards My brethren have been as agreeable to Me as if you had done them to Me. I am not the less obliged for the help given to the soul of one of My brethren than if you had delivered it from Purgatory, and sent it to heaven. How then can we neglect anything which pleases the Son of God so much? Can we be influenced by a more powerful motive? . Resolution. . Remember sometimes that Our Lord considers as done to Himself the help which we give the souls in Purgatory. . Aspiration. . "You did it to Me." (Gospel according to St. Matthew xxv. 40.) . EXAMPLE: MARY OF THE ANGELS (Maria degli Angeli). . A very edifying life has been published of Mary of the Angels, a Carmelite beatified by his Holiness Pius IX. Here are some extracts from it: . "It is quite certain that this blessed soul pos­sessed an heroic charity and devotion to the souls in Purgatory, and two causes conspired to give her these sentiments. First, it was her love of God. Nothing is dearer to God than these souls which the flames of Purgatory cleanse from every stain, and Mary of the Angels did not forget this, and therefore as deep as was her love for her divine Master, so deep also was her desire of delivering those souls which she knew He loved so tenderly. Secondly, it was her charity towards her neighbour. A super­ natural light had shown her the sad condition of those souls, and the unspeakable torments which they suffer, and this knowledge had so excited her compassion in their favour that she left nothing undone to procure their deliverance. She spared neither prayers, fasting, nor penances, to attain this holy end, and she tried also to in­ spire the same feelings in her sisters and secular­ persons. . As there is no work holier or more beneficial to the souls in Purgatory than the sacrifice of the Mass, Mary of the Angels was careful to have it often offered up for the repose of their souls, and for this end she held out her hand to the rich, and occupied herself in pious labours. When she filled the office of prioress, she employed herself in working altar-linen and ornaments, which she sent to some priest or church, asking for sole payment that Masses should be celebrated for the holy souls; she inspired her sisters with the same generous feelings, and induced them to employ themselves in the same manner. During one of her priorships, as she was praying one night for the souls in Purgatory, she yielded to an impulse of fervour, and promised to have five Masses celebrated for their intention every month. . In the morning, she made known her promise to her assistants,. who remarked that her desire could not be accomplished, because of the extreme poverty of the house. God then came in a wonderful manner to the help of the generous prioress. During the day, a stranger came to seek her, and told her that it was his custom to have a great many Masses celebrated, and that he felt himself inspired to give her an alms, so that she could have five celebrated every month, leaving her also entire liberty with regard to the application of the holy sacrifice."

“By necessity, the Redeemer could not but associate (Italian, non poteva, per necessità di cose, non associare) his Mother in his work. For this reason we invoke her under the title of Coredemptrix. She gave us the Savior, she accompanied him in the work of Redemption as far as the Cross itself, sharing with him the sorrows of the agony and of the death in which Jesus consummated the Redemption of mankind” . November 30, 1933, Pius XI, papal allocution to the pilgrims of Vicenza, Italy.

"Even if Mary was not present at the creation of the material heavens, nevertheless she was present at the creation of the spiritual heavens – the Apostles; and although she was not present at the founding of the material earth, nevertheless she was present at the founding of the spiritual earth – the Church. For she alone co-operated in the mystery of the Incarnation; she alone co-operated in the mystery of the Passion, standing before the cross, and offering her Son for the salvation of the world." . St. Robert Bellarmine.