FOURTEENTH DAY
HE
WHO GIVES SUFFRAGES TO THE SOULS IN PURGATORY GIVES PLEASURE
TO
JESUS IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT.
In the institution of the most holy Sacrament, Jesus has, as it were,
emptied the treasury of His immense love towards men. He wished us to feed on
His body and on His blood, that we might partake of His Divine nature, and have
sure token of the glory He has prepared for us in heaven. He wishes also that
this should he frequently repeated in memory of Him in the sacrifice. But he
who devotes himself with great zeal to giving suffrages to the souls in
purgatory seconds these Divine intentions by hastening for them the enjoyment
of that glory which He has prepared for them at the price of His blood. From
this, any one may infer how much pleasure the sacrifice of Himself, offered by
His priests for their benefit at the holy altar, gives to Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament. With reason, therefore, the Angelic Doctor thus comments upon the
words of Leviticus: “I have given to you the blood, that is to say, the sacrifice
of the body and the blood of Christ, in order that you may have upon my altar
an expiation, to wit, for the souls that are in purgatory." If, then, the
divine Sacrament is so pleasing to God, and so beneficial to the souls, why are
we so often loath both to receive it and to offer it?
Ejaculation
O, by this wondrous Sacrament, To suffering souls allow, From mercy's
shores upon their flames Some cooling gale to blow.
De profundis
Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice. Let thy ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it. For with thee
there is merciful forgiveness: and by reason of thy law, I have waited for
thee, O Lord. My soul hath relied on his word: My soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord. Because
with the Lord there is mercy: and with him plentiful redemption. And he shall
redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
The Eucharistic Heart of Jesus adored by Sts. Thomas Aquinas and
Marguerite-Marie Alacoque
St. Thomas of Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, will be the protector of this
day, who has supplied us with so many lights and encouragements, in regard to
the souls in purgatory, by his angelic doctrine, who was so devout also to the
most holy Sacrament, as appears by the office and Mass of Corpus Christi, which
were composed by him, and who, in his mercy, was so devoted to the good of the
souls in purgatory, and set free many of them, particularly his sister, from
such cruel torments. (P. Jo. P. Maffeius in vita, &c.)
Example
That the communion of the living is useful as a suffrage for the dead,
it is not my intention to prove here with arguments; it is expressly affirmed
by Suarez, along with others. It is enough for me to set forth the necessity of
making a good communion, in order to do good to one's self or the souls in
purgatory. The following example will make my meaning clear. The venerable
Ludovico Blosio, a great master of spiritual life, and of equal learning,
relates that a devout servant of God, whom he was well acquainted with and
loved, had it granted him to see a departed soul all surrounded with flames,
and he gave him to understand that he was deprived of the beatific vision of
God for having received the Saviour under the sacramental species without being
duly prepared; and that he lay immersed in burning flames for having come with
culpable tepidity to the Eucharistic table. “I therefore beseech you, my
dearest friend, for the sake of the love that was between us, to communicate
once as a suffrage for me, but with devout preparation and great fervour of
spirit; for so I hope for certain to be freed from these cruel pains, well
deserved for my tepidity towards the Eucharist." The other readily
corresponded to so pious a request; and, in fact, after the communion received
with the required dispositions, this soul appeared to him again, mantled with
glorious light, mounting with joyous flight to see the King of glory revealed
face to face. Have you heard how to communicate for the suffrage of the souls
in purgatory as well as for your own spiritual profit? Well, then, avail
yourself of the opportunities of doing so. (Bios, in Mon. Spirit, cap vi.)
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