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Show SOULS IN PURGATORY. Today where the Catholic ritual is observed, the altars are clothed in mourning, masses are offered up and prayers said for the souls of the faithful departed. The church is moved with compassion for those ' unglorificd spirits, who, though they passed away from this earthly scene in the charity of God, are still indebted to his justice for venial faults unabsolved or penance unfulfilled, and consequently con-sequently are detained in that prison beyond the portals of death, of which the Savior said with solemn sol-emn adjuration, "Amen, I say to thee, thou sha'lt not go from thence, till thou pay the last farthing." farth-ing." (Matt, v., 2G.) When we repeat in the Apostles Apos-tles Creed, "I believe in the Holy Catholic church" we mean the Church Militant that i9, those still in the flesh the Church Triumphant the saints in heaven and the Church Suffering those in purgatory purga-tory all three constituting by unity of life in the mystic . body of Christ, the one, holy, . Catholic church, considered in relation to the warfare of her children on earth, the glories of her victorious heroes he-roes in heaven, and the purgatorial pains through which many of her faithful children are passing, who fell beside the standard of the cross, breathing loyalty to God and his church in their death struggle, strug-gle, but are not yet sufficiently purified for admission admis-sion to the Holy of Holies, of which it is said "There shall not enter into it anything defiled." When Our 'Blessed Lord had consummated the work of redemption in the last agonies of his crucifixion cru-cifixion whereby he made atonement superabundantly superabun-dantly to his father for the "sins, offenses and negligences" neg-ligences" of all men, both the living and the dead, his first thoughts were directed toward the suffering suffer-ing souls in purgatory. To them he hastened to announce the accomplishment of their redemption and impart to them, as the fathers and the doctors doc-tors of the church teach us, the first fruits of his purchased grace by a plenary indulgence and a promise of participation in his triumph. It was then : He captive lead captivity, lie robbed the grave of victory And took the sting from death. So it had been predicted by the Prophet Zach-ary, Zach-ary, apostrophizing the Messiah many ages before. "Thou also, by the blood of thy testament, wilt send forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein there is no water." He came, says St. Peter, and "preached to those spirits who were in prison, who in times past had been incredulous, when they waited for the patience of God in the days of Xoe." The spirits visited by Christ in prison were but a type of the many millions of believers who die in every age without having fully satisfied God's justice jus-tice for their sins by works of penance. Men may contrive to .forget their sinful past, relying overmuch over-much on the rectitude of their later life. But it is written, "there are just men, and wise men, and their works are in the hands of God: and yet man kucweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred." hat-red." (Ecli., ix., 1.) Xo Catholic then, who has friends or relatives in the1 church suffering, should forget to have masses offered up or prayers said for the repose of their souls. Sacrifice for the dead was most acceptable ac-ceptable to God under -the ancient dispensations. The testimony of sacred scripture is most explicit cn.this subject. It is related in terms of praise that Judas, the brave commander of the army of Israel, mad-? a collection among his soldiers for sacrifices to be offered for the sins of their slain compan-ioi.s. compan-ioi.s. "It is therefore," adds the sacred writer, holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins." (II. .Mncch., xiii.) If this spiritual efficacy belonged .o Siicr'ries that have been abolished because of their iir.peifections, much more does it belong to the sac-rilu- of the mass, "the better testament" offered by cur priests for the living and the dead. |