Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 54.

THE DUTY OF THE LIVING TOWARD THE SOULS IN PURGATORY. Part 2.

IV. We are bound to assist the souls in Purgatory on the title of kindred. Among those who prolong a weary existence in that dungeon, are many, who are united to us by the closest ties of flesh and blood, or of affinity. In that flame languish grandparents, parents, children, brothers, sisters, wives, and others, who were dearer to us than our right eye. Perhaps the sin for which they are tormented, may have been committed for our sake, or on our account. A father is tormented because he failed to discharge one of the first duties of a parent, in not correcting us ; or because he was over zealous in making temporal provision for us. A mother is tormented because she may not have trained her daughter to a strict sense of modesty; or may have a little encouraged her vanity. A son is punished, because he may not have paid that strict filial respect which was due to his parents; or, in the other extreme, may have obeyed them in things which were contrary to the divine law. A brother is punished, because he may have been the occasion of sin to a brother; or may have failed to correct him when he was wandering from the path of God. A wife is punished, because she had more at heart the interest of her husband, than that of her own soul, or of God. Others are tormented for other sins, committed on account of us, who are among the living. If we are bound on the title of common humanity, as we shall soon see, to assist those who are of the same nature as our selves ; how much more are we bound to assist those who are closely related to us ? Hence St. Augustine (Lib. de Cura pro mortuis, cap. 18, n. 22.) says : " More diligently, however, does each one do these things for his particular friends, that they may be done in like manner for him by his own." Then from the depth of the flame of Purgatory, there is perhaps crying out to you a father or mother, a brother or sister, a wife or some near and dear friend. The sin for which they are tormented may have been committed for your sake. You can easily offer for their liberation, the ransom, which is out of their own power. Will you be deaf and insensible to the sighs which they send forth from their bed of fire ? Will you be so ungrateful, as not to endeavour to free from these flames those whom you have delivered up to them ? Whilst you partake of the fruit of their industry, will you offer no share of it to them ? You would thus resemble those impious brothers, "that," as the prophet Amos (vi. 6.) says, "drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best ointments, and they are not concerned for the affliction of Joseph." Will you imitate those wicked sons of Jacob, who had no compassion for their brother, Joseph, whom they had cast into the pit ? If you act so toward the dead of your own kindred, the practice of the pagans would be enough to condemn you. Tertullian (Lib. de Corona militis.) tells us, that those pagans "performed the obsequies of dead relations with the greatest honour." The respect which they paid to their dead is calculated to condemn those Christians, who neglect to offer up a prayer, or per form any other pious work, for their dead relatives.

V. Finally, we are bound to assist the dead on the title of common humanity. They have the same nature in common with us. Therefore we should' display love for them. The writer in Ecclesiasticus (xiii. 19.)," ' says: "Every beast loveth its like: so also every man, him that is nearest to himself." They who are in Purgatory, and we, were formed out of the same clay, and by the same God. As they have the same earth for their mother, they have the same God for their father. They too were planted by the hand of God. Hence the prophet Malachias (ii. 10.) says : " Have we not all one father ? Hath not one God created us? Why then doth every one of us despise his brother ?" We are bound especially to assist our brethren when they are in those difficulties, in which it is easy for us to give them aid. The very saints in heaven, whose happiness is secure, do not forget us. They are solicitous for our happiness, and they continually offer their prayers to the throne of God, that we may arrive at the same haven of salvation, which they have reached. Why then should we not, in like manner, render aid to those other members of the Church, the suffering souls in Purgatory ? If the saints assist us, who are able to assist ourselves, why should we not come to the relief of those poor souls, who cannot in the least relieve themselves, or alleviate their sorrows ? He must be bereft of every feeling of humanity, who does not stir a hand to relieve those who are continually crying out to him, with a plaintive voice, in the words of the Psalmist, (Ps. xli. 2.) "When shall I come and appear before the face of God ? My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily : Where is thy God ?" Let us listen to the instruction of St. Bernard: (Serm. de Diversis, 42.) " We owe them (the dead) compassion and prayer on account of the partnership of a similar nature, that the just Father may take away their misery, and change scourges into benefits, and thus at length may record them for the blessed joys of the city." Again encouraging us to show mercy to the dead, he draws this inference : " It remains that we should have compassion for them, to whom we have been united by humanity." In other words, St. Bernard would have us to be persuaded, that as the same nature is common to us and the dead, we should have compassion for them, and relieve them by prayers and good works. In doing this, we would only follow the pious and provident advice of St. Paul (Heb. iiii. 3.) who addresses us in the following manner: " Remember them that are in bonds, as if you were bound with them." Let us bury deep in our heart the advice of the apostle. Let us give all the succour we can to the helpless dead, who are composed of the same nature, who are formed of the same clay, and who have the same Father, with us.

From the very cradle of the Church, assistance has been rendered to the dead. The apostle (II Tim. I. 18.) prayed for Onesiphorus who, according to many authorities, was dead at the time : " The Lord grant unto him to find mercy of the Lord in that day." It is stated in the Apostolical Constitutions,* that the Greek bishops, in performing the obsequies of the dead, prayed that God " may place them in the region of the just who rest in the bosom of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, with all those who from the beginning pleased God." Tertullian (Constit. Apost. Lib. 8, cap. -1o.)also says : " We make oblations for the dead on an annual day . . . Of these and other diciplines of this kind tradition is held out to thee as the author, custom as the confirmer, and faith the inspector." It is according to this universal and constant practice of the Church, that St. Ambrose offered up his fervent prayers for the souls of Theodosius, and Satyr ; and St. Augustine made continual remembrance of his pious mother, St. Monica. We should follow on the footsteps of those bishops and illustrious doctors, and continually offer our most fervent prayers to the throne of God for all the faithful departed, but especially for those who were our near relatives in the flesh.

And now I have finished the body of the work, which I had proposed to myself to do. Nothing remains, but an appendix, in which the divine authority of the books of Machabees is established. If this book may have strengthened the faith of any wavering soul on Purgatory, or may have induced any one to practise more devotion to the dead, I shall have been amply rewarded for the labour of writing it. I ask one request of the kind and gentle reader. It is this: that when I shall have departed this life, he may deign in his goodness to offer a prayer to God for my soul.

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 53.

THE DUTY OF THE LIVING TOWARD THE SOULS IN PURGATORY. Part 1.

WE have seen in a preceding chapter that we, while in this life, can assist the dead. We shall now see whether, or not, we ought to assist them.
That we who are members of the Church militant ought on many accounts to render aid to the dead is easily proved.

I. The first argument is drawn from justice toward ourselves. We ought in justice to ourselves to relieve those poor souls. This is shown by two reasons :—

1. The first is, that in assisting those who are our brethren we merit to obtain similar assistance for ourselves one day. Hence St. Augustine says : "Every one does these things for his particular friends, that they may be done in like manner for him by his own." The Lord will show mercy to as if we show mercy to the dead. This is the spirit which it is said in the Book of Ruth : (I. 8.) "The Lord deal mercifully with you, as you have dealt with the dead."

This is only according to what our divine Lord, Jesus Christ, says in the gospel of St. Mark: (iv. 21.) "In what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again." Those souls, that shall have been raised to glory by our prayers and other good works, will not forget their benefactors. They will not be unmindful of those who were the means of delivering them from affliction, and of hastening the day of their admission into the blessed kingdom of peace. If we be in distress; or worse, if we be in danger of straying away from God, they will cry aloud for us before His throne. They will say to the Most High, that, but for us, they should be still tormented with fire; and they will implore Him to have mercy on us, whether we be in this life or in Purgatory. Especially, if we be in danger of falling into sin, and losing our soul, they will exclaim with one voice, that but for us they should be this day tormented by fire. They will implore God to spare us. They will interpose between Him and us, as the people of Israel in ancient time interposed between king Saul and his son, Jonathan, to save the life of the latter : " Shall Jonathan then die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel" ? (I. Kings, xiv. 45.) Let us listen to the language of St. Bernard ; (Serm. 42, de Divers.) and, following his example, let us render all the assistance in our power to the helpless dead. Here are the remarkable and moving words of St. Bernard : " I shall rise therefore to assist them; I shall demand with deep mournful sounds, I shall implore with sighs, I shall intercede with prayers; that if by chance the Lord may so heed and judge, He may turn labour into rest, misery into glory, scourges into a crown." We should endeavour to imitate St. Bernard, and to render all the assistance we can to the suffering souls.

2. The second reason, to show that justice toward ourselves obliges us to assist them, is, that in assisting them we placate God, and render Him propitious to us. Whilst our masses, prayers, alms, and other pious works, will make satisfaction for the souls in Purgatory, they will be also a source of profit to ourselves. The satisfactions, that one makes for another, bring advantage to himself. Hence the angel Raphael, in his address to Tobias, (Tobias, xii, 12 & 14.) told him that, in reward of his good works toward his neighbour, the Lord had cured him: "When thou didst pray with tears, and didst bury the dead, and didst leave thy dinner, and hide the dead by day in thy house and bury them by night, I offered thy prayer to the Lord. . . . And now the Lord hath sent me to heal thee." Even a cup of cold water some times affords relief to our brethren. This is in truth a very trivial gift; and yet we have it from the sacred lips of Jesus Christ Himself, (Math. x. 42.) that the person, who gives it, "shall not lose his reward." Therefore the good works which we perform for the suffering souls, will be a well of grace and of merit to our selves.

II. We are bound to assist the .souls on the title of religion. They, like ourselves, have God for their father, Christ for their head, and the Church or their mother. They have the same rule of faith ; they hope for the same heaven; and they are clothed with the same robe of charity. Faith teaches us that the just who are today alive, the saints who reign with God in glory, and the souls who are suffering in Purgatory, form one Church, and one society-Hence, St. Augustine (Lib. 20, de Civit. Dei, cap. 9, n. 2) writes: "For neither are the souls of the pious dead separated from the Church which even now is the kingdom of Christ. Other wise neither should a remembrance of them be made at the altar of God." St. Chrysostom (Homil. 41, in cap. 15, Epist. I, ad Corinth.) also says: " Among martyrs, among confessors, among priests, we count the dead; for we are all one body, although some members may be more illustrious than others." Not only is it "a holy and a wholesome thought," but even it is meet and just, that they, who are members of one and the same society, should bear each other mutual aid. We ought then render to the dead that succour, which we should not think of denying to the living; especially when we know that, as St. Augustine (Enchir, cap. 110, n. 29.) observes, "it cannot be denied that the souls of the dead are relieved by the piety of the living." Let us exercise this piety in behalf of the faithful departed. Let us discharge the duty of justice to all, the dead as well as the living. Thus will we fulfil that sentence of sacred writ:f "A gift hath grace in the sight of all the living, and restrain not grace from the dead."

III We are bound to assist the suffering souls on the title of friendship and necessity. When our friends are in distress, we ought to come to their relief. For some sin, committed on our account, or in which we were participators, many of our friends are doubtless undergoing the dreadful ordeal of Purgatory. It may be, that it is the dearest friend we ever had—the boy who was our constant playmate at school; the young man who so often paced with us the halls of the college; or that other person in whose company we were so charmed to be—that is now languishing in the flames of Purgatory. That soul and mine were interwoven in friendship, as closely, as the soul of Jonathan was wedded in love to that of David : " The soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." (I. Kings, xviii, I.) The laws of friendship demand, that we should remember our friends, and assist them when we are able. Therefore it is said in Ecclesiasticus, (xxxvii,6,) "Forget not thy friend in thy mind, and be not unmindful of him in thy riches." But the obligation of assisting a friend is correlative to his necessity. The greater his need, the stricter is our obligation of coming to his relief Hence the Scripture, which is ever warning us of our duty, which, like a faithful sentinel, is always keeping watch over the morals of the people, again says: (Ecclesiasticus, xxii, 28, 20.) "Keep fidelity with a friend in his poverty ... In the time of his trouble continue faithful to him." Then, if we lament the departure of our friend, if we shed a tear over his grave, let us not forget the duty which friendship entails, but let us come to his assistance. Thus, if we weep for a dear one, whose like we shall never meet again, let us resolve with St. Ambrose: (Ecclesiasticus, xxii, 28, 20.) "I have loved him alive, and there fore I shall follow him continually to the region of the living; nor shall I desert him, until with weeping and prayers I will lead the man, whither his merits call him, unto the holy mountain, where there is eternal life." Let us follow the example of the holy Doctor, and render all the assistance in our power to our deceased friends. On whom should we have compassion, if not on those dear companions, whom the Church represents as, in their distress, crying out to us in the plaintive verse of Job: (xix. 21.)' Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of the Lord hath touched me?"

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 50.

ALL THE SUFFRAGES OF THE LIVING ARE NOT OF ADVANTAGE TO THE DEAD IN THE SAME MANNER, OR WITH THE SAME VIRTUE ; NOR ARE THEY OF ADVANTAGE TO ALL OF THEM.

1. Let us begin with the first clause of the proposition, which is, that our suffrages are not profit able to the dead in the same manner, or with the same virtue. Suffrages, whether for the living, or the dead, consist principally in the holy sacrifice, in prayers, and in alms. This is easily proved even from such a remote authority as St. Augustine. He says: (Serm, 172, de verbis Apost. n. 2.) "But there is no doubt that the dead are assisted By the prayers of holy Church, and the salutary sacrifice, and the alms which are bestowed on their souls, to the end that the Lord may deal " "more mercifully with them, than their sins deserved. For this, handed down from the Fathers, the universal Church observes." Thus, it is evident from St. Augustine, that there are three kinds of suffrages, sacrifice, prayers, and alms. But two of these, prayers and alms, do not operate on the dead, in the same manner, or with the same virtue, as sacrifice ; for the holy sacrifice in virtue of divine institution, operates, as theologians term it, ex opere operato, that is, necessarily, provided the due conditions are placed. This cannot be said of prayers, or alms.

These were not instituted by God, to operate in the same way, or with the same virtue, as the venerable Sacrifice of the Altar.

2. The truth of the second clause of the proposition—that the suffrages of the living are not of advantage to all the dead—is easily proved. Suffrages do not profit—do not remit pain, either for the blessed, or the damned. The blessed do not need our suffrages. They have no pain to remit. They have arrived at that happy abode, of which St. John wrote in the Apocalypse (vii. 17.) "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Neither can our suffrages be of advantage to the damned. Their pain is incapable of being remitted. They are beyond the reach of assistance, or even of consolation. The sentence of eternal damnation is written before their eyes. They " shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (Apocalypse, xx. 10.)

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 49.

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. PART 2

They further object, that the obligation of satisfying for sins, or, in other words, of disposing one's self to obtain the remission of them, is so personal, that it cannot be discharged by another. So, also, they add, the obligation of paying the temporal debt is so personal, that no other one can dis charge it.

In this objection, too, we deny that there is a parity of reasoning in the two cases which are put forward. The remission of sin in adults, cannot be had without a proportioned disposition in them; because such remission appertains to their intrinsic sanctification. This disposition, which is necessary for them, requires their own action. It is different where the remission of the temporal punishment alone is concerned. Since this remission does not render a person more holy, it can be obtained by extrinsic action, or by the payment made by one, and communicated to another.

Again, they press their objection, and say that, as the debt of punishment can be contracted only by one's own work, and not by the work of another, so, on the contrary, the payment of this debt can be made by one's self alone, and not by another.

We deny the conclusion. Because the debt can be contracted only by one's self, it does not follow, that another may not be able to pay it. Were this to follow—were one not able to pay another's debt; it would equally follow that Christ could not make satisfaction for us, which would be heretical. The guilt of temporal punishment is contracted only by actual sin, which cannot be communicated to another. On the other hand, the payment of this punishment is made by good works, which can be, and are, communicated to others.

They object further against us, that the punishment which is due to our sins, must be medicinal, that is, that it must tend to render us better, and to effect greater purity in us. If it is medicinal, they observe, that no man is cured by the medicine, which is applied to another, or rendered purer by his good works.

The first part of the objection, which asserts that the punishment due to sin must be medicinal, can be denied. Punishment is sometimes merely vindictive, as in the case of the souls in Purgatory. In their case it is only vindictive, since they cannot become better, or worse; they cannot advance in virtue, or fall into vice. To the second part of the objection, it may be answered, that no one is cured intrinsically by the medicine which is applied to, or taken by another. Still one can obtain pardon of his debt by the liberality of another, who pays it for him. The only two conditions necessary for this purpose are, that another should offer the required sum ; and that the creditor would accept his payment in discharge of the debt. Now this is no more than Christ did for us. He paid our debts, making atonement for our sins. He also granted us the great privilege and advantage of being assisted by our brethren, of having our debts paid by them, as well as their debts paid by us.

Our adversaries object still further, that the dead cannot be assisted by us, since we learn from the story of the rich man in St. Luke (xvi.) they cannot be assisted even by the saints.
The reader will find no difficulty in this objection, when he distinguishes between dead and dead. He will see immediately that the damned, such as that rich man who is described by St. Luke as buried in hell, are deprived of all succour. They are deprived of all communication with the Church, militant or triumphant, and can receive assistance neither from the faithful on earth, nor from the saints in heaven. The reader will as quickly see, that the souls suffering in Purgatory can be succoured. They retain communion with the Church, militant and triumph ant, and can be assisted by us and by the saints.

The reader may desire to learn whether the per son who makes satisfaction for another is thereby deprived of the fruit of this satisfaction, so as not to obtain the remission of his own debt or punishment.

Theologians in general, after St. Thomas, (xvi. +In 4, distinct 45, q 2. art. i, Quaest. 1.) answer this in the affirmative. They teach that one who makes satisfaction for another is deprived of the remission of his own punishment, which would correspond with such satisfaction ; and they very properly observe, that there is nothing absurd in this. As satisfaction is a work of finite value, when it is applied to another, and equivalent to his debt, it is exhausted in the payment of this. It is other wise if there be question, not of satisfaction, but of impetration. The latter may be equally of advantage to another, and to the person who impetrates. The reason of this is, that in impetration the chief thing, to which we are to attend, is the beneficence and liberality of God, and not the equality of the work, that is performed, to produce the effect. Observe, moreover, that there is nothing repugnant in making satisfaction for another, and acquiring merit for yourself at the same time. Satisfaction and merit are founded on two different principles. Satisfaction is founded on the penalty of a work, or on a work inasmuch as it is penal. Merit, on the other hand, is founded on the goodness of an act, that is, in its being good in itself, its circumstances, and the end for which it is performed. Suarez very well explains the difference between satisfaction and merit.

7. They object again, that it is better for one to make satisfaction for himself, than to make it through another. From this they conclude that we should not pray for the dead, lest we may lessen their reward.

The answer to this objection is, that it is better for us to make satisfaction for ourselves, than to make it through another, whilst we are in this life ; because by making it for ourselves we acquire, at the same time, an increase of grace and glory. But it is different when we come to speak of the souls in Purgatory. They cannot acquire an increase of grace or merit; and yet they are retarded from entering heaven. To hasten the time of their enjoyment of God, it is better for them to make satisfaction by another, than by themselves.

8. They object, that a man cannot enjoy the satisfactory works of another, any more than he can be punished for his sins. But one cannot be punished for the sins of another, for we read in Ezechiel (xviii, 20.) that " the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, and the father shall not bear the iniquity of the son." Hence, neither can one enjoy the satisfactory works of another.

We answer this, by denying that one can no more enjoy the satisfactory works of another, than he can be punished for his sins. Justice forbids to punish one for another's sins; but mercy may allow him to enjoy his goods. To punish one for the sins of another, in which he had no part, either by consent or imitation, is simply the height of injustice and cruelty. If one indeed participate, either by con sent, or imitation, in the sins of another, he is punished for them. It is to such participators in the crimes of others reference is made in the Book of Exodus,  where the Lord declares that He punishes children, unto the third and fourth generation, for the iniquity of their fathers. This is to be under stood with the reservation, when children imitate their parents. It is thus the passage in Exodus is understood by such Fathers, as Jerome, (In cap. 18. Ezechiel.)  Augustine,  Chrysostom, (Hom. 29, in Genes.) and Gregory. (Lib. 25, moral, c. 22.) As to one enjoying the goods of another, there is nothing absurd in this. That any one, who so wishes, may enjoy the goods of another who wishes him to do it, is no more than mercy and liberality. It is only reason able that one could enjoy the goods of another, with the consent of both. Now this consent is had in the present case. The souls in Purgatory long to be assisted, and we wish to assist them.

9. They yet advance against us, that we do not know where the dead, for whom we pray, are; and that it often happens, that those, whom we believe to be in Purgatory, are in heaven, or even in hell.
This objection has been anticipated by St. Augustine, ( Lib. de cura pro mortuis, cap.) and answered by him. As he observes, it is better that suffrages should be superabundant for those who do not need them, than that those, who really need them, should be deprived of them.

In the distribution of alms, we sometimes have to give them to people who are not deserving objects of charity. Is it not better to give alms to a feigned beggar, than to deny them to one who is truly poor? Abstracting from this, the alms are meritorious to the donor, though the recipient of them may have feigned charity ; for a good work is meritorious to the person who does it, though it may be of no benefit to the person for whom it is done.

10. The objections of our adversaries are not yet exhausted. The dead, they say, can receive no assistance from their own prayers. Therefore, they conclude, they cannot receive it from ours.

There is no parity in the two cases. In fact there is a disparity between them. The disparity consists in this, that the dead, inasmuch as they have passed the term of merit, cannot satisfy for themselves, be cause they cannot, by any action of their own apply to themselves the satisfactions of Christ. The living are, so far, more fortunate. They can, by means of penal works, apply the satisfactions of Christ to themselves, and to others. Thus, though the dead cannot be assisted by their own prayers they can by the prayers of the living.

11. They press the objection in this manner. The sentence pronounced by the Supreme Judge on the dead, cannot be corrected. Therefore our prayers cannot profit the dead.
The answer is supplied with the remark, that the sentence, which is pronounced by Jesus Christ on the dead, is commensurate with their good works whilst alive; but that this sentence, however, is pronounced with the reservation, that it can be mitigated by the suffrages of the living. It is not unusual with God to pronounce sentence under condition. Thus, He doomed Ninive to destruction at the lapse of forty days. The prophet Jonas on the part of God preached to the people of the great city: "Yet forty days, and Ninive shall be destroyed." (Jonas, iii, 4.) Still this sentence was conditional. It was pronounced on condition that the people of Ninive would not do penance. But listening to the voice of the prophet, they did penance in fasting and sackcloth, and thus averted their doom.

12. Finally, they object, that, if the suffering souls be relieved by sacrifice, it can scarcely happen, taking into account the great number of Masses that are celebrated throughout the Church, that Purgatory should not be evacuated daily.

Though a great number of Masses are offered up daily, it does not follow there-from that Purgatory should be evacuated. In the first place, I would say, there is not more than a certain proportion of the Masses, that are said, offered for the dead. Secondly, I would add, that though all the Masses, celebrated every day, were offered for them, it would not still follow, that Purgatory should be evacuated at once, or daily. The value of the holy sacrifice of the Mass, according to the most probable, and the more received opinion, is finite. God accepts the sacrifice for the souls in Purgatory according to His own will—according to the rule laid down by Him—which is, that Purgatory should not be thus vacated at once. Moreover, it was the will of Jesus Christ, that the sacrifice should be frequented and often repeated. For this reason, He would restrict its effect. Hence, notwithstanding the great number of Masses that are offered for the dead, Purgatory is by no means vacated, and some souls may be, and doubtless are, detained there for a very long time.

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 46.

THE WAY TO RENDER ASSISTANCE TO THE FAITHFUL DEPARTED.

1. WE now turn attention to the way in which we can render assistance to the souls in Purgatory. From what we have written before this, it is abundantly proved that they themselves can pay the debt due of them, by passing through the fearful ordeal of most intense fire. We have seen that this fire is sharp beyond comprehension. But we also, as we shall soon see, can help to pay their debt—can lighten their pain and shorten their imprisonment—-by communicating to them certain actions or sufferings. This communication to them of our actions or sufferings, as Suarez (Tomo 4, in 3 p., D. Thomæ, disp. 48.) observes, is called suffrage. St. Thomas (In 4, dist. 45.) tells us that by suffrage is understood some assistance rendered by one of the faithful to another, to obtain for him the remission of temporal punishment, or something of this kind. Other theologians agree with St. Thomas and Suarez.

2. There are three kinds of suffrage : 1st, the holy Sacrifice of the Mass; 2ndly, prayer; and 3rdly, all penal and satisfactory works, such as fasting, alms, pious pilgrimages, and the like. Observe that prayer, "though it too is satisfactory, is distinguished from other satisfactory works. The reason of the distinction is, that prayer is of assistance to the faithful departed in two ways. First, inasmuch as it is a laborious and penal work. In this sense it comes under the class of satisfactory works. Secondly, prayer assists the dead, inasmuch as it is impetratory, that is, beseeching, or containing an entreaty. In this latter sense it resembles the prayers of the saints in heaven for us and the souls in Purgatory. These prayers of the saints are not satisfactory. Neither are ours, in as far as they are impetratory.
Indulgences, which are applicable and advantageous to the dead, belong to the third class of suffrages. Such indulgences are nothing else than an application to the dead of the penal and satisfactory works of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the blessed Virgin Mary, and of the Saints. 'These penal and satisfactory works go to form what is called the Treasure of the Church. The Roman Pontiff, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, as the supreme dispenser of this treasure, unlocks it, and applies the just named penal and satisfactory works to the dead. Thus he is said to grant indulgences to the dead by way of suffrage, but not by way of absolution. He cannot absolve the dead from their pains or debts, as he absolves the living; for the dead, having been with drawn from his jurisdiction, and placed under that of God alone, are not subject to him, as the living are.

3. That the suffrages, which are applicable and useful to the dead, are of three kinds, is easily shown from the Fathers. St. Chrysostom (Homil 69, ad popul.) writes ; " It is not rashly this has been sanctioned by the Apostles, that in the dreadful mysteries there should be made a commemoration of the dead, for they know that much utility comes there-from to them." In this passage " he recommends the sacred mysteries of the altar, or the holy sacrifice of the Mass, as a suffrage for the dead. In another place (Homil. 41, in i, ad. Corinth.) he recommends prayers and alms for them, after this manner : " Let a dead man be assisted, not by tears, but by prayers, supplications, and alms.
St. Augustine  (Serm. 32, de. verbis apostoli.) says: " There is no doubt that the dead are assisted by the prayers of holy Church, and the salutary sacrifice, and alms.'' It is thus in his own language that St. Augustine names for us the three modes of assisting the dead—the holy sacrifice of the Mass, prayer, and alms.
St. Ambrose (Lib. 2, Epist. 8, ad Faustinum) speaking on sacrifice and prayers for the dead, thus addresses Faustinus on the occasion of the death of his sister : " I think that she is not so much to be deplored, as to be followed by prayers, nor to be saddened by thy tears, but her soul is to be recommended to the Lord by prayers —. It is in this strong and emphatic language the great Archbishop of Milan recommends prayer as a suffrage for the dead. He is equally clear in recommending alms for them. He exhorts (Lib. 2., de fide Resurrectionis.) the parents of Satyr, who had died, to transmit the portion of the inheritance that fell to their dead children, to their souls, by giving it in alms to the poor.
We arc furnished by Bede (Lib. 5, Historiæ, cap 13.) with the testimony of an angel, which shows that the holy sacrifice of the Mass, prayer, alms and fasting, are a suffrage for the It is thus recorded: "The prayers of the, living, and alms, and fastings, and most of all the celebration of Masses, assist many, to the end that they may be liberated before the day of judgment."

4. Though departed souls are said to have often appeared to the living, and to have requested them to make restitution for them of the goods which, while alive, they either forgot, or were unable to restore, it should not be inferred there-from, that the restitution of another man's goods is of advantage to the dead, or constitutes a fourth class of suffrages. Furthermore, though what St. Bridget (Lib. 6, revelationum, cap. 66.) says of a soul having been tormented until restitution was made, would seem to make restitution a suffrage for the dead, we cannot admit this. If restitution be made, it is of no advantage to the dead. If it be not made, this is no obstacle to their entrance into heaven. This opinion was held by Soto, and has been adopted by other theologians. It surely seems to be according to reason. The soul is not punished for what is done by others after it in this life. It is only punished for the faults itself committed while it was here. Either the dead person committed sin, or did not, in not making restitution. If he did not commit sin, it was either because he was unable to make restitution, or because he believed, bona fide, that what belonged to another, was his own. In either alternative he did not commit sin, and, as a consequence, should not be punished. If, however, he did commit a venial sin in not making restitution, he shall be punished in Purgatory for his own negligence, and not for that of another. When he is sufficiently punished, when he has paid the debt due of him, be it venial sin or the temporal punishment due to mortal sin, he will be admitted into heaven whether, or not, restitution is made on earth. It is now simply out of his power to make restitution, and his happiness ought not to depend on the will of one on earth, unless we wish to say that he should remain for ever in Purgatory, if his heir neglects to make restitution. Hence, if the heir on earth neglects to make restitution, he commits sin, but his negligence does not hurt the soul in Purgatory. On the other hand, if the heir makes restitution, it is of no advantage to the soul, for restitution is no satisfaction for sin. Satisfaction is some good work, which is penal. This does not apply to restitution ; for though it is penal to give away what belongs to yourself, it is not penal to restore what belongs to another.

As far as regards the objection drawn from the apparitions that are said to have taken place, it may be answered that the souls who appeared asked for restitution as an alms, but not as restitution in the strict and proper sense of the word. It is of no service to the soul, if restitution, properly so called, be made; because then it is not a penal work, but merely giving to another what belongs to him. Still, if restitution be made as an alms, that is, if one who is not bound to do so, restores a thing, this sort of restitution is of service to the soul, for it is a kind of alms, and therefore satisfactory.

Some theologians, however, following Lessius, (Num. 36.) think that if restitution be made through love of justice, it is meritorious, and consequently of advantage to the dead by way of deprecation. They say that every good work can, by way of deprecation, be offered up for the relief or advantage of others. Moreover, they say that such restitution—because sometimes penal and meritorious—can, as a suffrage, assist the dead. It may furthermore be said that God may make the refreshment or liberation of a suffering soul depend on the prayers which a creditor or others may offer up for it. Therefore, what St. Bridget says, that souls are tormented until restitution is made of what is unjustly taken away, is not entirely so strange, and may, in part, be true. Bellarmine is afraid to admit this, lest it should be thought that the soul may be tormented for ever if restitution were not made. He may be answered, however, by saying, that God will not suffer that restitution, which may be necessary for the liberation of the soul, to be deferred for ever.

5. Theologians say that an offering of oil, candles, and similar things, made for the worship of God, forms a suffrage for the dead. St. Thomas,(Suppl. q. 71, a. 9, ad 6.) speaking of such offerings, says that they assist the dead " inasmuch as they are a species of alms, for they are given for the service of the Church, or even for the use of the faithful."

6. Suppose a man has made provision to have suffrages offered for his soul after death, shall it suffer detriment if they are neglected ? The answer to this question is, that his soul will surely receive the fruit of his good disposition, of the pious intention he had in making provision for his release from affliction after death. However, he shall receive no further fruit from these suffrages. He shall not receive the fruit that belongs to the suffrage itself, or inasmuch as it is a work that is per formed, and is termed by theologians ex opere operato. Neither shall he receive that fruit which is called ex opere operantis, that is, the fruit of the suffrage, in asmuch as this is the work of the person who per forms it. Hence executors, and others who stand in a similar position, commit sin, if they defer too long the execution of the charitable dispositions of a will. Sylvius ( Suppl. q. 71, ad 6.) says: ''From which it is plain, that it would not be lawful for executors to delay the distribution of alms, unless perhaps for a short time, and in order that the affairs of the deceased may be sold for more, and so there may be more alms to be distributed."

7. Another interesting question is, whether suffrage offered for many persons, is of as much advantage to each of them as it would be to one, if it were offered for him alone. Suppose you offer suffrage for ten persons, does each of them gain the same advantage as if you offered it solely for himself? Before answering this question, we must make a distinction between those suffrages which consist in any good and meritorious works, different from sacrifice, and those which consist in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.

Regarding the first class of suffrages—those which consist in meritorious works, different from sacrifice —most theologians teach that, considered as to the value they possess in virtue of that charity which unites the different members of the Church, they, though offered for many, are equally advantageous to each, as if they were offered for him alone. In this opinion these theologians only follow St. Thomas, (Suppl, q. 71, art. 13.) who says that such suffrages, " if considered according to what they are worth in virtue of charity uniting the members of the Church, when made for many, are as profitable to each as if they were made for one alone; because charity is not lessened, though its effect may be divided between many; nay, rather it is more increased." But if we look at these suffrages, according to the value they possess as satisfactory works, which one performs and intends for the dead, theologians teach that they are more profitable to one person, if offered for him alone, than they would be to each, if offered for many persons. On this point, too, they are in accord with St. Thomas, (Lodem loco.) who writes : "But if the value of suffrages be considered inasmuch as they are some satisfactions, translated unto the dead by the intention of the person who makes them, then the suffrage, which is made particularly for some one, is worth more to him than that which is made in common for him and many others." We have a confirmation of this teaching in the condemnation of one (N 19, Vide Tom. 12, Concil; p: 46.) of the propositions of Wycliffe, which asserted that " special prayers applied to one person by prelates or religious, are of no more profit to him than general ones, other things being equal." This proposition has been condemned by the Church ; and, therefore, we must hold that special prayers, offered for a person solely, are more profitable to him than general ones, or those offered for him along with others.

As to the suffrages of the second class—those which consist in the venerable and holy sacrifice of the Mass—there is a great difference of opinion whether they are as profitable to a person when offered for him along with others, as when offered solely for himself. Suppose the holy sacrifice to be offered for four souls, is that effect, which would be given to one, divided between the four ? Thus, if one soul would receive from the sacrifice the remission of four years of Purgatory, are these four years divided between four souls for whom it is offered, so that each would receive the fourth part of its effect, or the remission of one year of Purgatory?
Cardinal Cajetan, and other theologians, hold that the Mass is as profitable to each of many persons as it would be to one, if offered for him alone. They were led so to think by reason of what is called the extensive infinity of the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Some of those theologians who follow this opinion, admit that in practice the opposite opinion should be followed. We may instance Collet, who says: " In practice we must act as if the effect of the sacrifice, divided between many, will be less for each; because in those things which depend on the sole will of God not sufficiently manifested to us, and which among doctors are not improbably disputed on one side and the other, that part is to be held which is both safer, and contains no danger."

The better founded, and better received opinion, however, would seem to be the one which holds that the holy sacrifice is not as profitable for each person, when offered for a number, as it is for one, when offered solely for him. De Lugo, (Disp. xix., sect. xii.) who follows this opinion, says : " The more common, and the truer opinion simply denies this infinity in the sacrifice of the Mass." Thus he holds that the holy sacrifice is not as beneficial to each of a number for whom it is offered, as if offered solely for one. Cardinal Bellarmine, (De Missa, cap, iv.) Suarez, (Disp. 79, sect. 12.) and the great body of theologians, hold this opinion.
Bellarmine lays down this proposition: " The value of the sacrifice of the Mass is finite." He immediately subjoins : " This is the common opinion of theologians, and is proved most clearly from the usage of the Church." Among the arguments which De Lugo puts forward to sustain it are the following.

Unless this opinion were true, it would be vain to offer Mass for one dead person in particular, when, as the opposite opinion would have it, he should receive no more advantage from it, than if it were offered for all the dead together, aye, and for all the living along with them. Again if we were to admit the opposite opinion, it would follow that a priest, who receives a stipend from several persons to offer Mass for them, could satisfy his obligation by offering one Mass for all. But no theologian could admit this. Moreover the Mass, in so far as it is offered up by Jesus Christ, is neither meritorious nor satisfactory in itself, since He no longer merits, or satisfies. It has the power of satisfying for our sins—of taking away our debt, only inasmuch as it has annexed to it the past satisfactions of Christ, which it applies to us, or to the dead. The annexation of the past satisfactions of Christ to the Mass, and the application of them to us, or the dead, ought not to take place, so as to have an infinite value. It was only congruous that the virtue of the holy Mass should be limited, because it was the will of Christ that it should be frequented, -and often repeated. If the value of it were infinite, it would not be so frequented, or so often offered up. In this supposition it would be unnecessary, and useless to institute chaplaincies and foundations to have Masses offered for the dead.

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 45.

THE DURATION OF PURGATORY.

Two extreme errors have been put forth regarding the length of time that Purgatory lasts. The sponsors of each error, respectively, were Origen and Luther, who could lose no occasion of indulging his usual appetite for novelty.

The first error is that of Origen, who asserted that the pains of Purgatory are to last even after the Resurrection. Here is his opinion, given in his own words : (Homil. 14, in Lucam.) " I think that even after the resurrection from the dead we may need a baptism, ("Sacramento.") washing, and purging us, for no one can rise again without filth."

This opinion of Origen is contrary to the teaching of Jesus Christ on the circumstances of the General Judgment. Our Lord (Math. 25.) speaks only of two orders or classes of men—the blessed and the reprobate— who are to be judged. There is mention made of no other class. Hence, St. Augustine (Lib. 21, de Civit. Dei. cap. 16.) says : " Let it be believed that there are to be no purgatorial pains, unless before that last and dreadful judgment." It will not avail to say that the soul and body sinned together, and on this account should be purified together. It will not avail, I repeat, to say this, be cause the wicked soul, separated from the body, is at present punished in hell: "I am tormented in this flame;" (Luke, xvi. 24.) whilst the just soul is enjoying the delights of heaven: "This day thou shalt be with me in paradise." (Luke, xxiii. 43.)" It is but meet that the soul by itself should be punished, because the soul is the efficient cause of sin. It is in the will alone that sin is formally found. It is in it alone that sin is said to be committed; for sin is the act of a free will. When the man dies, the sin alone and intact, if the justice of God be not satisfied before then, is found in his will. Through the will it adheres, not to his corpse, but to his soul. As it is in the soul it is found, it is there, and not in his body, it should be punished.

In the other extreme, Luther restricted the duration of Purgatory entirely too much. He pretended that all the relics of sin are washed away by the pains of death in those who die in faith. According to this innovation, there should be no Purgatory, except death.

Amongst the relics of sin, in their fullest sense, must be understood the debt of temporal punishment for mortal sin that has been forgiven, and for venial sin. It is for these Purgatory exists. These relics of sin are sometimes certainly wiped out in the pangs of death ; sometimes, certainly not; and sometimes, most probably, in part. Let us see the reason for each clause of this assertion.

1. The relics of sin are sometimes certainly wiped out by death. Martyrdom, which is called the baptism of blood, certainly washes away all relics of sin. It is for this reason that the Church never prays for martyrs. It is in the same spirit we are to understand St. Augustine when he says : (Serm. 17, de Verbis Apostoli.) "It is an injury to pray for a martyr, to whose prayers we should rather be recommended." St. Cyprian (Lib. 4, Epist. 2.) clearly says, that all sins are cleansed by martyrdom. He does not speak of mortal sins; because in the same place he says that martyrdom is of no avail without charity. This shows that he now speaks of mortal sin. He does not speak in reference to mortal sin in the first instance, when he says that all sins are cleansed by suffering or martyrdom. In saying that martyrdom, without charity, is of no avail to wipe out mortal sin, St. Cyprian is only following the doctrine laid down by St. Paul to the Corinthians.( i Cor. xiii.)

2. The relics of sin are sometimes certainly not taken away by death. The pains of death cannot purify those who die against their will; or without the use of reason, such as persons asleep or out of their mind ; or who are carried off by some sudden accident. If such persons were purified from the relics of sin, this should be caused either by death itself, or by some voluntary act concurrent with it. But neither could be the cause of their purification. Death itself could not cause it, because death, in itself, is natural to man, at least after the fall of our first parents. It awaits the good as well as the bad, man as well as beast. But, by what must of necessity come, and is natural to us, we cannot pay those debts which we voluntarily contracted and owe to the justice of God. Hence, if we be purified by death, our purification must be the result of some voluntary act which we perform at that time. However, there is no question at all at present of any voluntary act, but of death itself. The question is not whether a voluntary act, such as of love or sorrow, performed by those who are dying, obliterates the relics of sin, but whether death itself does so. A further proof that the relics of sin are sometimes not effaced by death is that we often see good and virtuous men to suffer the most bitter death, while men of indifferent, or even of bad habits, die with less pain. The contrary, of necessity, should be the case, if the relics of sin were to be effaced by death. Furthermore, it may be added that death sometimes comes without any sense of pain, as in the case of those who are struck down by some sudden accident. In such a circumstance death would cause no pain, and consequently could not serve as an atonement to God.

3. It is most probable that the relics of sin are sometimes partly taken away by death. There are many who bear death, with the pains that attend it, in a true Christian spirit, as a penalty due to their sins. Though we can never know whether their patience is equivalent to the atonement they owe to the justice of God, yet, doubtless, it pays a part of their indebtedness to Him.

Dominicus Soto advanced another opinion, which has found little favour among theologians. He thought (In 4, dist. 16, q. 3, art. 2.) that no one is detained in Purgatory as long as ten years. He was led so to think for two reasons. The first was, that by suffering some pains for a short time in this life, we can be delivered from all pain. But we can get rid of pain more quickly in the other life, where pain can be made in finitely more intense than in this life. The second reason that led him into this opinion was, that in the other life pain can be made most intense without killing the soul. Pain is of long duration here, be cause it could not be made very intense without killing us. It is quite different in Purgatory, where pain can be most intense without killing the soul, because this is immortal. It was likely then, thought Soto, that God, who desires to translate the soul to glory, would cleanse it in a very short time by most intense pain.

Against his first reason it can be said, that from the pains of this, we can draw no conclusion as to the pains of the other life. Whilst this is a time of mercy, the other is a time of justice.

Against his second reason it may be answered, that God can, if He wishes, make compensation for longer suffering by more intense pain. This is entirely in His power, if He so wills it. But He does not so will. God could reduce Purgatory to one hour, by inflicting most intense torture on the soul. But no one believes that He reduces Purgatory to so short a space.

The practice of the Church is opposed to the opinion of Soto. The Church has been accustomed to celebrate anniversary Masses for the souls of the faithful, even though they may have been gone out of this life for centuries before. If she believed that souls are not punished for ten years, she would not offer up Masses for those who, for long ages be fore, had departed this life. Then the practice of the Church is clearly against the opinion of Soto. So much so, that Pope Alexander VII.  condemned the following proposition;(Num. 43 ; Annuum legatum pro anima relictum non durat plus quam per decem annos.) "An annual bequest left for a soul does not last more than for ten years." As we cannot know, without revelation, that the soul does not still, and for ages to come, need the Mass, the obligation of offering it continues.

Moreover, visions of saints, such as are found in Ven. Bede, Denis the Carthusian, and others, are opposed to this opinion. Bede (Lib. 5, Historiæ, cap. 13.) writes that in one vision the pains of Purgatory were seen, and at the same time it was said that all the souls there are to be saved on the day of judgment, though some of them may be freed before that, if assisted by the alms and prayers of the living, and especially by the holy sacrifice of the Mass. There is here a clear indication that some souls are to be detained in Purgatory until the day of judgment.

Though we cannot know how long Purgatory lasts, it is very much to be feared that many souls are tormented there for a long time. The holy Fathers were of this opinion.

'St. Augustine (L. 6, Contra Julianum, n. 12, 22 and 30.) seems to think that Adam was for some thousands of years in suffering, and that he was liberated from it only " when Christ, having died for us, descended, not by necessity, but by power, to the places of the dead, and loosed the sorrows of hell." This great doctor, twenty years after the death of his holy mother, not only himself prayed for her, but even recommended her to the future readers of his book of Confessions (Lib. 9, C. 13, n. 4.) in this manner: "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 may remember at thy altar thy handmaid Monica, with Patricius, formerly her husband. . . . 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 by my prayers." Twenty years after the death of a sainted mother, her son, likewise a saint, along with being a luminary in the Church, thought it advisable to re commend her soul to the future readers of his book. St. Cyprian is of a similar sentiment. ( (Epist. 59, ad Antonianum.) ) He encourages the faithful to endure martyrdom with courage and constancy, and in so doing gives us as his opinion that Purgatory lasts for a long time. He says: "It is one thing to arrive at glory, and another thing to be thrown into prison, and not to get out of it until one pays the last farthing. It is one thing to receive immediately the reward of faith and virtue, and another thing to be cleansed by being tormented by a long pain for sins, and to be purged long by fire." St. Cyprian, then, would teach us that there is a long pain in Purgatory, and that the souls in it long endure fire.
St. Cæsar, of Aries, (Serm. 104, n. 4.) also writes: " Since it is written of the day of judgment that one day shall be as if a thousand years, and a thousand years as if one day, how does each one know whether for days, or months, or perhaps also even years, he may be about to pass through that fire ? "

Finally, those visions, to which we have awhile ago referred, would indicate that souls are often punished for a very long time in Purgatory. In fact some of them intimate that many souls, and perhaps I ought to say the greater number, are punished till the last judgment. Personally I should not prefer this latter opinion ; nor have I seen it defended by any theologians. It is certain, however, that we cannot know for what period, from this till the day of judgment, the soul is detained in captivity. It would be rashness on our part to attempt to deter mine the term of its suffering. Hence Bellarmine concludes : (De Purg. lib. 2, cap. ix.) " The thing is most uncertain, and cannot be defined, unless rashly."

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 44.

CHAPTER XVIII. THE GRAVITY OF THE PAINS OF PURGATORY.

ST. THOMAS (In 4, dist. 20, quæst. i, art. 2.) teaches two things with regard to the gravity of these pains. He teaches, first, that the pain of loss, which the souls in Purgatory feel, is the greatest of all the pains that are suffered either in Purgatory, or in this life. He teaches, secondly, that the slightest pain of Purgatory is greater than the greatest pain of this life.

Black chasubles (such as this one) are used during Funeral Masses, All Souls' Day, and other Masses for the dead in the Extraordinary Form (Traditional Latin Mass), but it is still permitted in the Ordinary Form (Novus Ordo Missae)

He proves the first assertion, in substance, thus. As the possession of a good, that we desire, causes joy, so the absence of it causes grief. But the souls in Purgatory desire the greatest of all goods, the summum bonum, God ; and their desire to possess Him is intense. Their intellect clearly sees how delightful it is to possess God; and they have a natural appetite, increased by ardent charity and most intense love, to be refreshed and replenished with His vision. The soul not being now oppressed by the weight of the body, or influenced by sensible delights, tends to God with all its powers, and sighs to be united to Him. Picture to yourself a man famished with hunger and thirst, who should find himself in a dining-hall, where there was a table furnished with most palatable meats and rarest wines, which he could not touch, though he knew all these dainties had been prepared for himself. The grief of such a man is light, compared to the grief of the soul after death when it is deprived of the enjoyment of God.
The reason St. Thomas assigns, in proof of his second assertion, that the slightest pain of Purgatory is severer than the greatest pain of this life, is, that in Purgatory the soul feels the pain of loss, which is the greatest of all pains. Thus the slightest pain in Purgatory is associated with the pain of loss, and for this reason is greater than any pain, be it ever so severe, of this life.

St. Bonaventure, on the other hand, entirely differs from St. Thomas. In the first place, St. Bonaventure (In 4, dist. 20, art. I, quæst. 2.) teaches that the pain of loss, in the case of the souls in Purgatory, is not greater than every other punishment which is found, whether there, or in this life. In the second place he teaches that the pains of Purgatory are greater than the pains of this life. But he speaks in this sense, that the greatest pain there is severer than the greatest pain here; though there is some pain there that is lighter than some pain here.
After giving the opinions of SS. Thomas and Bonaventure, Bellarmine gives his adhesion to the latter in these words: "Which opinion pleases me." We may safely adopt this opinion. It seems to be preferable to the other, and more followed by theologians. According to it we may lay down the following proposition :—

I. The pain of loss is not, in sharpness or severity, the greatest of the pains of Purgatory.

Before proving this, we may observe that the words sharpness or severity are employed to distinguish between the pain of loss in severity, and in appreciation. Though this pain is not the greatest in severity, it is the greatest in appreciation. Viewing all things in their proper light, and weighing them in the balance of God, those holy souls appreciate the want of the beatific vision beyond every other evil. They weep more for this want, than for any other evil or affliction that could consist with it They would endure every punishment and enjoy God, rather than endure the privation of His blessed vision, Lessius says that we have an instance of this in the lives of holy persons, who, while on this earth, were so inflamed by charity, that they appreciated their exile from God as the greatest punishment. In the same way, the loss of God is to the souls in Purgatory the greatest evil or punishment in appreciation. With this observation, we shall now proceed to prove that the pain of loss is not the greatest, in severity, of the pains of Purgatory.

1. If the pain of loss is the greatest pain in hell, (Lessius (num. 20) denies that the pain of loss is the greatest of the pains of hell; but the example, which he gives to prove that, of the impious, who would never feel grief at being deprived of the vision of God if they were left for ever in the enjoyment of the goods and delights of the present life, is not appropriate.) the reason of this is that it is inseparably connected with most certain desperation, which deprives the soul of all hope and consolation. It is of this pain of loss St. Chrysostom (Homil. 21. in Matth.) speaks, when he says that a thousand hells are nothing in comparison with the bereavement of the Divine presence. " If thou shalt," he says, (Homil. 49, ad Pop.): " have spoken of a thousand hells, thou shalt speak of nothing like that pain." St. Augustine says (In Enchirid. cap. 112.) that the smallest pain of loss, if it be eternal, is greater than all the pains of this life. The pain of loss is the greatest of the afflictions of the damned, because they understand very well that their summum bonum consists in the enjoyment of the beatific vision. Though they do not love God on account of Himself, they are constrained to most ardently love His vision for their own sake. But it is quite a different thing, when we come to speak of the pain of loss in Purgatory. Though the absence of the chief good, God, begets of itself the greatest sadness in the souls, this sadness is very much mitigated by the fixed and certain hope of enjoying Him in the future. This hope, which continually shoots its rays across the breasts of these poor souls, brings consolation and joy to them. Their consolation and joy are rendered greater by the pleasure they feel in knowing that they fulfil the Divine will. The nearer they approach to the term of their exile, the greater becomes their joy. There fore it is that those Fathers, such as SS. Gregory, Augustine, Anselm, and Bernard, and Ven. Bede, who say that the pains of Purgatory are the greatest of all pains, speak expressly of the pain of fire, but not of the pain of loss, unless inasmuch as this is connected with desperation in hell.

2. Were the pain of loss in Purgatory the greatest of all pains, it would follow from this that the ancient Fathers, while in Limbo, suffered the greatest of all pains, for they were deprived there of the vision of God. But so far is this from being true, that in the Gospel of St. Luke (xvi. 25. ) we find Abraham telling the rich man that Lazarus, who was then in Limbo, enjoyed peace : " But now he is comforted, and thou art tormented." Hence St. Gregory (Lib. 13, Moral, cap. 22.) says, that the Fathers suffered no punishment, but enjoyed ample rest. Hence, too, St. Augustine (Epist. 164, alias 99.) denies that the words of St. Peter, speaking of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, in the Acts of the Apostles :(xi. 24.) "Having loosed the sorrows of hell," can be understood of the Fathers in Limbo. The reason why he denied this was, that Christ found those Fathers, not in pain or affliction, but in the enjoyment of rest.

II. The greatest pain of Purgatory is severer than the greatest pain of the present life, no matter how great this may be.

1. The Fathers constantly teach that the pains of Purgatory are the greatest—so violent and atrocious that the greatest pains of this life cannot be compared to them. The torments borne by the martyrs for the faith were beyond measure great. It is a great torment to be stretched on the rack, to be impaled, or to be consumed by fire. But, according to the mind of the Fathers, such torments are light when compared to the torments and afflictions of Purgatory.
St. Gregory (In Psalm 3, poenitentialem.) speaks thus of the fire of Purgatory : " I consider that transitory fire to be more intolerable than every present tribulation."
St. Augustine (In Psalm 37.) says : " Although we may be saved by fire, that fire, however, shall be greater than whatever man can suffer in this life." Again he says (Lib. de Civit. Dei, cap. 10.) of the souls in Purgatory: "They are tormented in wonderful, but true ways."
St. Cæsar, of Aries, also holds that the pains of Purgatory are greater than any that can be suffered in this life. He writes his sentiment in the following terms: ( Serm. 104, n. 4,) " But some one will say it is no matter to me what delay I have, if, however, I come to eternal life. Let no one say this, dearest brethren, because that purgatorial fire is sharper than whatever pains can be devised, or seen, or felt in this world."
Ven. Bede (On 3rd Penitential Psalm. ) holds that no torments, to which martyrs, or robbers, were ever subjected, could compare with the pains which the poor souls in Purgatory endure. And St. Anselm (In i Corinth. 3.) is of the same opinion.
St. Bernard, in like manner, holds (Serm. de obitu Humberti.) that the pains of Purgatory are sharper than the greatest pains of this life. He also, (Serm. 6, in Purificat. B. Mariæ, n. 5.) in speaking of the flames of Purgatory, makes use of the following serious language, which is so full of import and admonition to us : " And, indeed, whether we wish it or not, we complete the days that are given to us to purge our selves. But woe to us if the days be completed, and the purging by no means completed; so that afterwards it may be necessary for us to be purged by that fire, than which nothing more penal, nothing more ardent or more furious can be devised in this life."

2. Reason itself would persuade us that the pain of Purgatory, as far as it is a pain of the sense, is sharper than any pain of this life. Three things concur to cause pain : the power (or capacity for it), the object to cause it, and the union of both.
As to the power, a rational one, such as the soul, is more susceptible of pain than an animal one. The intellect of a rational being is, so to speak, the fountain, whilst his senses are, as it were, the stream through which he apprehends pain. Then, when the soul is freed from the body and its senses, pain pierces it more immediately and more sharply. The same can be said of the will. The appetite of the will for pain, is the fountain, whilst the inferior appetite may be said to be the stream. When the naked soul itself is exposed to flames, the torment becomes the greater. In the present state is is principally the body that is tormented. It is only through the body that pain passes to the soul.
The second thing that concurs to cause pain is the object. In the case of which we treat this object is fire. If the fire of Purgatory be true and real fire, as we have proved it to be, it must be most ardent and fierce, since it is an instrument with which Divine Justice wreaks vengeance.

The third thing that concurs to cause pain is, the union of the power or capacity of suffering, with the object or instrument of punishment. Now, the union of the soul with the fire in Purgatory is the greatest, and the most intimate. There, the fire immediately penetrates the soul itself. It does not reach or touch it through contact with the body, as fire reaches or touches the soul here, where all things are corporeal.

3. All those revelations, which are found in Ven. Bede, (Lib. 3 and 5, Historiæ.) Denis the Carthusian, the Life of St. Bridget, and that of St. Christina, would lead us to conclude that the pains of Purgatory are far greater than the greatest pains of this life.

III. There are pains in Purgatory that are not so severe as the greatest pains of this life.

1. There are two points on which theologians do not agree. First, they do not agree as to whether all the souls are tormented, at the same time, by fire. Secondly, they do not agree as to whether their pain is equally great from the beginning to the end of their term. The sounder opinion would seem to be that which holds that the pain gets lighter or more remiss in the course of time on account of the intensity and duration of their torments, and the prayers and suffrages of the living. Though it is not entirely certain, still it is far more probable, that the flame does not touch all, and that it does not always punish in the same degree those whom it touches. This would be only according to the judgement of God, who even in His anger exhibits mercy. From this opinion it would follow, that there are pains in Purgatory which are not so severe as the greatest pains of this life. As the term of purgation for each one approaches, his pain must be very light; so light that it cannot be lighter. On the other hand, we know, that the pains of this life are often most intense; so intense that they could be made immeasurably less. This opinion is held by Lessius, (V. 22.) and other theologians. Saurez, (Disp. 46, sect. 4, n. 8. ) however, dissents from them as far as regards the diminution of pain.

2. That the pain of Purgatory is lessened by degrees is seen also from the vision of Orithalmus. He, as we read in Ven. Bede, (Lib. 5, cap. 13.) beheld thousands of souls clad in white apparel, who dwelt in a most delightful place, and chanted the praises of God. He looked upon the place as another paradise. Still these souls had not yet made in full the expiation due of them. Wherever this place was, whether under or on the earth, it belonged to Purgatory. We should recall to mind the opinion of St. Thomas according to which, though the ordinary place of Purgatory is under the earth, some souls may undergo their purgation elsewhere. Some theologians also think that though souls are punished in the beginning in the ordinary place of Purgatory, they may be afterwards punished in higher places, or on -the earth. A further vision, to show that the pain of Purgatory is gradually lessened, is found in St. Bernard's Life of our own St. Malachy, Archbishop of Armagh, one of the brightest of the many stars that have shone in the firmament of the Irish Church. As St. Malachy was praying for his departed sister, she appeared to him three times. The first time she appeared to him outside the church in a black garment. The second time she appeared inside the door of the church in a brownish garment. The third time she appeared to him, with other saints, at the altar, and in a white garment. St. Malachy understood this vision to imply that the pains of his sister were being gradually lessened, until at length she arrived at the happy end of her purgation.

3. Many other visions,or revelations, can be brought forward to imply that there are some pains in Purgatory which are lighter than the greatest pains of this life. From some of these revelations it is seen that some souls endure such light pains that they would seem to suffer nothing, or almost nothing. Of this class are those found in the writings of Bede,(Lib. 5, Historiæ, cap. 13.) who were clad in white garments, and were seen in bright and pleasant places.

4. Though the Fathers never failed to proclaim the intensity of the pain of Purgatory, they always looked upon it as certain that this pain was in proportion to the number and gravity of a person's sins. The mind of the Fathers is accurately represented by the words of St. Caesar, (Serm. 252.) who writes: "As much as iniquity shall have done foolishly, so much shall discreet fire show cruelty. As much as guilt shall demand, so much a certain discipline of rational flame shall claim to itself from man." St. Caesar also calls the fire of Purgatory an arbitrating fire. ("Ignis arbiter.") We must read his words to imply, that the severity of the fire shall be in proportion to the debt for which the soul is accountable to God. But some debts are so small as to demand very little punishment. There are some idle words which are so slightly offensive to God that it would be highly unreasonable to suppose that He, in His justice, not to speak of His mercy, would inflict such severe punishments for them as have been inflicted on the martyrs by a Nero, a Domitian, or a Caracalla.

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 43.

THE NATURE OF THE PAINS OF PURGATORY PART 2

3. In the Book of Wisdom (xi. 17.) it is said : " By what things a man sinneth, by the same also he is tormented." Men are accustomed to commit sin through the inordinate desire of sensible delights or objects. But as men are accustomed to abandon God for sensible delights or objects, so should they be punished by sensible things. Hence we may in fer that the fire of Purgatory, by which souls are punished for their sins, is sensible or corporeal.

4. We discover from the Gospel of St. Matthew (xxv. 41.) that the bodies of the damned shall be tormented by fire after the general judgement. Christ shall then address the wicked : " Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." There can be question here only of corporeal fire; for the bodies of the wicked can be touched by no other fire. But the fire by which the bodies of the wicked shall be punished after the general judgement, is the very same by which their souls are at present punished. This is beyond doubt; because after saying: " Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire," Jesus Christ immediately adds in St. Matthew : " which was prepared for the devil and his angels" Then the fire, by which the bodies of the damned shall be tormented after judgement, is the same by which their souls, as well as the devils, are at present tormented. If the fire of hell be corporeal, why may we not suppose that the fire of Purgatory is likewise corporeal ? The one, as well as the other, is created to punish sin. Why should we not conclude, then, that one, as well as the other, is corporeal ? The argument is strengthened when we take into account the general opinion of theologians, who hold that the fire in Purgatory is corporeal, and the opinion of St. Thomas, who asserts that it is the same fire which torments the damned and the souls in Purgatory. Surely, then, it is not stretching the argument unduly, to infer that the fire of Purgatory is likewise corporeal.

II. It is true that we in this life cannot know how corporeal fire can act on an incorporeal and spiritual substance, such as the soul is. Even St. Augustine (Lib. 21. de Civitate Dei, cap. 10.) had to confess that he did not understand this, when he said that the soul is tormented by fire in wonderful, but true, ways. St. Gregory (Lib. 4, Dialog., cap. 29.) also says that the soul suffers invisible pain from visible fire He calls it invisible pain, because it is hidden to us. It is no objection to its existence that it is hidden to us; for there are many things, even on this earth, that we cannot see or understand. Nature is teeming with truths or realities, that are mysteries to us.

To go no farther, we have an instance of this in our selves. Man is the union of the soul, an incorporeal and spiritual substance, with the human body, which is mere matter. The soul not only gives life to the body, but even rejoices and suffers with it. It is a mystery to us, how this union of soul and body takes place; but we know very well that such a union exists. Neither do we know how the soul rejoices and suffers with the body; and yet it is beyond all doubt—it is quite certain—that it does rejoice and suffer with it. Bear in mind that the soul and body have nothing in common between them. There are not two substances in nature, not even fire and water, so opposite. Who can tell how the soul gives life to the body, or why there is such harmony and sympathy between them, since their nature is so opposite, and their inclinations are so different? Who can understand how it happens that the soul feels the sufferings of the body, and is affected by it ? As a spirit can be, and is, united to flesh and suffers with, and from it, so can a spirit be united to fire and suffer from it; though we cannot understand how either union occurs, or how one suffers from the other.

III. It is uncertain whether the souls in Purgatory are tormented by the demons, or not. On this point theologians divide into two opposite opinions. One opinion, with St. Thomas,(In 4, dist, 20, arctic 5.) holds the negative. Those scholastics who are of this opinion—that the souls are not tortured by demons—are influenced by the following reasons:—
First, those souls overcame the devil in their last conflict with him, and went out of this life bearing the palm of victory over him. It would not become the Divine Justice to give him in future any power over them, or to allow them to endure affliction at his will. It would be unfitting to have those souls be troubled or tortured by the very enemy, whom they conquered.

Secondly, the devil tempts and harasses perfect souls in this life for the sole reason of leading them to the path of sin. So long as they are here, he has this wicked hope of drawing them away from God, and leading them astray. But after they depart hence he can have no such hope, for he knows very well that they are then confirmed in grace and can sin no more. He can, therefore, no longer have any inducement to harass them.

Thirdly, not only would the devil have no motive to harass those in Purgatory, but he would have a strong motive to refrain from so doing. The more he would afflict and torment them, the more should he hasten their liberation from punishment, and their translation to the joys of heaven. Then it would seem scarce credible that those holy souls are afflicted by the agency of the demons.

There is another opinion, however, which says that those souls are punished by the demons. This opinion is embraced by St. Bernard and others. St. Bernard gives his name to it in this sentence : (Serm. 42 de Diversis.) " I shall go into this region, and I shall see this great vision, after what manner the pious Father may leave his children, who are to be glorified, in the hand of the tempter not for slaughter, but for purging," &c. Further weight is given to this opinion by many revelations, such as those found in Denis the Carthusian; (Lib. de Quatuor Novissimis ; Lib. i. Vitae beati Bernardi.) and the remarkable and interesting ones of our own Irish saint, Fursey, which are found in Venerable Bede (Lib. 3, Hist. Angl., cap. 19.) and other writers, and are detailed at full length in that valuable and researching work, "The Lives of the Irish Saints," by the Rev. John O'Hanlon.(Part 4, January 16, page 248, & c.) They who hold this second opinion quote also, as favourable to it, the Liturgies of the Church. In the Offertory of the several Masses for the dead, the Church thus prays for the souls in Purgatory: "Deliver them from the mouth of the lion." In fine, the sponsors of this opinion say it is congruous that these souls should be afflicted by the demons. It is only meet that they who yielded to the enticements of the devil, and so were partly overcome by him, should in the other life suffer punishment at his hands, and be also in part overcome by him.

It is not easy to judge which of these two opinions is correct. If, on the one hand, we should be inclined to favour the first, because it may not seem likely that God would permit those, who die in His grace", to be any longer troubled by the devil, or in anyway subject to his power; on the other hand, we should bear in mind that it would not be unreasonable to suppose that the demons, or some of them, would be in Purgatory, and would discharge the cruel, but to them gratifying, office of torturing the poor souls. Thus, whether these are tormented or not by the demons, must remain a matter of doubt to us whilst in this life. Hence Bellarmine (De Purg. Lib. 3, cap 13.) concluded: "Therefore, let this too remain among the secrets which shall be disclosed to us in their own time."

Purgatory, By The Rev. M. Canty, P.P., Part 42.

THE NATURE OF THE PAINS OF PURGATORY PART 1.

THE next question we have to turn attention to is, of what kind are the pains of Purgatory? At the outset we may say that there are some things certain, and some things uncertain, regarding them. Let us separate the certain from the uncertain.

In the first place it is certain, as we have before now seen, that neither despair, nor the fear of damnation, constitutes any of the pains of Purgatory. The souls in that place are troubled by no sentiment, of despair, and no dread of hell.

In the second place it is certain that these souls suffer the pain of loss, which consists in the deprivation of the Divine vision. The soul is deprived of the vision of God. It is a great pain to it, that on account of  its sins it is deprived of the enjoyment of. Him, to whom it ardently longs to be united.

In the third place, it is certain that, in addition to the pain of loss, the soul also suffers another pain, which theologians call the pain of sense. This pain proceeds, not from the bereavement of the beatific vision, but from another cause. Because the soul while in this life, in committing sin, turns away from God, and turns to a creature, or the object or motive for which it sins, it is but just that it should be afterwards afflicted, not alone by the bereavement of God, but even by some created object.

In the fourth place it is certain, from the words of St. Paul (I. Corinth, iii. 15.) : " He shall be saved, yet so as by fire; " and of Jesus Christ Himself in the Gospel (Matt. xxv. 41.) : "Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire; " that in Purgatory, as well as in hell, there is the pain of fire, whether we are to take that fire literally or metaphorically, and whether we connect it with the pain of sense or with the pain of loss. Not alone in the Scripture, but even in the works of the Fathers, the pain of Purgatory is called a fire. So far we have seen what is certain. Let us now turn attention to things that are not absolutely certain, or that have formed matter of dispute.

I. It is most probable, or at least more probable, that the fire of Purgatory is corporeal. That is, it is a fire in the true and proper sense of the word, and of the same species as our fire.

This has been never defined by the Church, and consequently is not a matter of Catholic faith. The Greeks openly professed in the Council of Florence that they did not believe there was fire in Purgatory. Still the Council defined, in the last session, that there was a Purgatory, without making any mention of the fire. This notwithstanding, we should hold that there is fire in Purgatory. Dens says : (Tract, de quatuor Novissimis. ) "It is the opinion, constant and to be retained, of the Latins, that in Purgatory there is a material fire, similar to the infernal fire: hence the Church asks for the souls of the faithful not only a place of light and peace, but also of refreshment, verily against the great heat of the fire." Mangeart, (Tome 2, page 241.) while denying it to be of faith that there is a corporeal or material fire in Purgatory, defends it to be proximate to faith. Bellarmine uses milder language, and only says that it is " most probable." Lessius says (II. 18, page 827.) that the reason why Bellarmine does not use stronger language is, " because the Greeks in the Council of Florence, the last session, although confessing that they had always believed in Purgatory and prayer for the dead, nevertheless say they doubt whether they may be tormented with corporeal fire, or darkness only, or any other way, which opinion of theirs the Council tolerates."

I. The first proof of the existence of fire in Purgatory is found in the consent of theologians and scholastics. These, ancient as well as modern, have more commonly held that there is punishment by fire in Purgatory. Their opinion, as Bellarmine says, " cannot but rashly be contemned." It is extremely rash to run counter to it. This would be like opposing or contemning the general opinion of lawyers on a point of law.

Dupin, a writer of the beginning of the last century, well known for his inroads on Catholic doctrine, entirely misinterpreted the sense of St. Augustine, when he asserted that this holy doctor (Lib. de Octo Dulcitii Quaestionibus, q. i, n, 12 ; and Lib 21, de Liv. Dei, cap. 9, n. 2.) left it an open question to every one to believe that the souls in Purgatory, as well as those in hell, suffer from fire. After having discussed at great length the fire by which souls are tormented in the other life, St. Augustine sums up (Lib. 21, do Liv. Dei, cap. 9, n. 2. ) thus: "Let each one choose whichever of the two that pleases him, whether he may consider also that the worm of conscience extends to the body properly, or to the mind, the term being transferred from corporeal to incorporeal things . . provided, however, we in no way believe that those bodies are about to be such that they may be affected by no pains from fire" From this we easily infer that St. Augustine, no matter what sense Dupin may attribute to him, taught that there is a punishment by fire in the other world.

St. Bonaventure (Part 7 Breviloquii, cap. 2.) says ; "The purgatorial fire is a corporal fire, by which only the spirits of the just, who in this life did not perform penance and worthy satisfaction, are afflicted."

Cardinal Hugo (Super Matth. cap. 3. ) speaks of the fire of Purgatory, and defines it thus : "The fire of Purgatory is, where shall be purged, what is not here purged."

Richard of St. Victor (Part I. de Judiciaria potestate.) says of it: " The purgatorial fire "is that by which the rust of sin is consumed in those who are to be saved."

St. Vincent Ferrar (Part I. Serm. 2 Dom. Lex.)  depicts it in the following strong language: " Purgatory is a house full of fire which by Divine virtue torments the souls more than if they were in a burning furnace."

2. The doctrine by far the more common among the Fathers, holds that the fire of Purgatory is corporeal. That this doctrine is common among them, the reader will be able to judge after a few quotations from their works.

Origen, speaking of one who has not perfectly satisfied the justice of God for his sins, and thus dies without being fully purged, writes: (Homil. 13 in Jerem.) " He is a sinner who needs the baptism of fire, who is cleansed by burning, that whatever he may have of wood, hay, and stubble, fire may consume" According to Origen, those souls that owe something to the justice of God at death must be purified by fire in the other life.

St. Augustine (In Psalm xxxi. 13.) writes: “Because it is said: He shall be saved, That fire is contemned. . . . How ever, that fire shall be more severe, than whatever man can suffer in this life." In another part of his works (De Civit. Dei.lib. 21, cap. 10.) he expresses himself in the same sense.

St. Gregory the Great (Lib. 4, Dialog., cap. 30.) says : " It must be believed that there is a purgatorial fire before judgment for some light faults." More than this, he expressly says (Cap. 29. ) that the fire, by which souls are punished in the other life, is corporeal. It is true that it is said in another part (Lib. 15, cap. 14 moralium) of his works that the fire of hell is incorporeal. But this is evidently the fault of the copyists, who wrote incorporeal, for corporeal. The fault clearly lies with the copyists, for St. Gregory immediately after says that those in hell burn corporally.

St. Cyprian (Epist. 59, ad Autonianum. ) writes: "It is one thing to be purged long by fire, another thing to have purged all sins."

St. Jerome also writes (In Psalm xxxvi. n. 26.) "Woe to me if my work shall have burned. . . . We shall be saved by faith, thus, however, saved as if by fire ; and if we be not consumed, still we shall be burnt''

The above quoted Fathers teach us that there is fire in Purgatory. They use the word fire in the literal sense as denoting corporeal fire. St. Gregory, in speaking of it, calls it corporeal fire, and even proves it to be such. He says : (Cap. 29 p. 417.) "If the devil and his angels, although they be incorporeal, are to be tormented with corporeal fire, what wonder is it if souls, even before they recover the bodies, can feel corporeal torments ? " Then St. Thomas, according to his custom, reasoned logically when he said : (In 4, dist. 21, q. I, art.) "It is the same fire which torments the damned in hell, and which purges the just in Purgatory." Not only the punishment of hell, but also that of Purgatory is called fire in Scripture and Tradition. The inspired Word and the writings of the Fathers constantly speak of the fire of Purgatory. It is a rule of interpretation laid down by St. Augustine, followed by Biblicists and theologians, and universally adopted, that Scripture and Tradition are to be received in their proper and literal sense, unless something absurd follows therefrom. But there is : nothing absurd to follow, if we understand the fire of Purgatory in its literal and obvious sense.