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Let us consider the foundation of this charity, then
how it can be exercised, and thirdly, what are its
fruits. What is the foundation of this charity? St.
Thomas announces the principle: "All the faithful in
the state of grace are united with one another by
charity. They are all members of one sole body, that
is, of the Church. Now in an organism each member is
aided by all others. Thus every Christian is aided by
the merits of all other Christians." [484] Without
doubt, he adds, Jesus Christ alone, as the head of
humanity, can merit by title of strict justice. But
every just soul can aid its neighbor, by the merit of
congruity. [485] Hence we can aid the souls in
purgatory, since they also belong to the body of
Christ.
Charity loves God, loves all who are now children of
God, and all who are called to be His children. But
the suffering souls are children of God and will be
His children forever. The Blessed Trinity dwells in
them, Jesus lives in them intimately. And whereas we
love them all, we have special duties to the souls of
our dead relatives.
The poor souls can do nothing for themselves. They
can no longer merit or give satisfaction or receive
the sacraments or gain indulgences. They can only
accept and offer their own suffering of satispassion.
Hence they have a special right to be aided by
others. The foundress of the Helpers of the Poor
Souls, while still a child, said to her friends: "If
one of us were in a fiery prison and we could deliver
him by a word, would we not say that word quickly?
The poor souls are in a fiery prison, and our good
God, to open that prison, asks only a prayer from us.
[486] Can we refuse this prayer?"
Little by little this same child reached the
following intuition: "Deliverance from purgatory
means the greater glory of God. We must give Him
these souls whom He is calling." Some years later the
Cure of Ars said of this young girl: "She will found
an order for the souls in purgatory. It is God who
has given her the idea of such sublime devotion. This
order will have rapid extension in the Church." [487]
Father Faber [488] remarks that work for the
suffering souls is sure of success. As they cannot be
lost, our work for them must bear fruit. To obtain
for these souls the greatest of all gifts, God seen
face to face, will, at the same time, increase the
accidental joy of our Lord, of His blessed Mother,
and of the saints.
How Shall We Exercise This
Charity
We exercise this charity by praying for the dead,
that is, by offering our merits, our prayers, our
satisfactions, our deeds of almsgiving, by gaining
indulgences, and above all by offering Holy Mass for
their repose.
The Church herself gives us the example. During each
Mass she prays for them in the Memento of the Dead.
Further, she opens her treasures, the merits of
Christ and of the saints, in the form of indulgences
applicable to the poor souls.
Indulgences, says St. Thomas, [489] offer chief value
to him who accomplishes the good work. But they have
a secondary value, for those for whom this work is
done. Nothing hinders the Church from applying
indulgences to the souls in purgatory.
Can suffrages offered for one soul be profitable also
for others? The answer runs thus: [490] By intention,
they have a special value for the one. But, by reason
of charity which cannot exclude anyone, they are more
profitable to those who have the greater charity and
are thus better disposed to receive greater
consolation. Thus, as regards Holy Mass, we
distinguish the special fruit, granted to the soul
for whom the Mass is said, from the general fruit, in
which all the faithful, however numerous,
participate, each in the measure of his own
disposition.
St. Thomas asks a second question: [491] Are
suffrages offered for many souls together more
profitable than if they were offered for one? His
answer runs thus: By reason of the charity which
inspires them, these suffrages are just as profitable
for many as if they were offered for one. One Mass
gives joy to ten thousand souls in purgatory as if
they were but one. Nevertheless these same suffrages,
considered as satisfaction, are more useful to those
to whom they are applied singly.
This at least was the thought of St. Thomas, when, as
a young priest, he wrote his commentary on the Fourth
Book of Sentences. [492] But at the end of his life
when he was composing the Summa, [493] he says
regarding the sacrifice of the Mass: "Although one
sacrifice of Mass is in itself sufficient to satisfy
for all suffering, nevertheless its value, both for
those for whom it is offered and for those who offer,
is measured by their devotion. This measure of
devotion depends, in the case of the poor souls, on
the dispositions they had at the moment of death."
Here the only limit assigned to the satisfactory
power of the Mass is the devotion of those who offer
and of those for whom it is offered. Thus it is
generally admitted that the parochial Mass in a large
parish is just as profitable to each member,
according to his devotion, as it would be for each
member of a small parish.
The great Thomistic commentators, [494] Cajetan, John
of St. Thomas, Gonet, the Carmelites of Salamanca,
insist on the infinite value of the Mass, by reason
of the victim offered, of the chief priest who
offers. One Mass said for many persons can be just as
profitable to each, according to the measure of his
devotion, as if it were offered for one alone. The
sun illuminates ten thousand people as easily as if
they were but one person.
The effect of a universal cause is limited only by
the capacity of its subjects to receive the influence
of that cause.
Thus that Mass on All Souls Day, which is said for
all the souls in purgatory, has special value for
forgotten souls, for whom no one now offers a special
Mass. [495]
Fruits of This Charity
Each soul in purgatory is, as it were, a spiritual
universe gravitating toward God. We can accelerate
the process. Mass celebrated for these dear ones,
indulgences gained for them, increase likewise our
own store of merit. Perseverance, too, is necessary.
Many believe too easily in the prompt deliverance of
their dear ones, and after a period, say of a month,
no longer pray for them.
We can aid the poor souls, not only by offering
prayers, but by other acts of virtue: by almsgiving,
by accepting a cross. Let us remember particularly
the souls most abandoned, who are sometimes the most
holy.
God is pleased to reward our least service. And these
souls, too, will not fail to aid us by their own
gratitude in heaven. Even before their deliverance
they pray for all benefactors. They have charity,
which indeed excludes no one but which imposes on
them a special duty toward those friends. Their
prayers are efficacious even if they do not know in
detail our condition, just as our prayers for them
are efficacious though we do not know their
condition. [496]
May we also pray to the poor souls? The liturgy does
not pray to them. But we are not forbidden to pray to
them, though we must give preference to prayer for
them. Here is a sentence from St. Thomas: "The souls
in purgatory are not in the state of praying, but in
the state of being prayed for." [497]
Certain fervent Christians offer, in favor of the
souls in purgatory, all their acts of satisfaction,
including those to be made for them after death. This
act is called the heroic act. It should not be made
lightly, but only after serious reflection. St. Louis
Marie de Montfort urges this act as devotion to the
Blessed Virgin. Her wisdom will perform this task
much better than we can. This act is not a vow. But
it may better be made first for a year or so, before
it is made for life. Charity to the suffering souls
leads us into the mystery of the communion of saints:
Christ, the head of men and of angels, head of the
Church militant, suffering, and triumphant. Each
member shares in the merits of Christ and of all His
members. The Church is not a mere visible,
hierarchical society, but also the mystical body of
the Savior.
The Church is the kingdom of God announced in the
Gospel, the kingdom where charity reigns as queen,
which makes of all the faithful and of all the
blessed one true family of which God is the Father.
Thus are realized the words of the Savior: "I am the
vine; you are the branches." Thus is realized His
desire "that they be one, as Thou, Father, and I are
one." The mystical body is a favorite doctrine of St.
Paul, who is followed by early Fathers, by St.
Augustine, and by the medieval doctors.
From the triune God, through Christ, the life of
grace descends, like a spiritual river, upon the
souls on earth, in purgatory, and in heaven, and then
returns to God under the form of adoration,
supplication,
reparation, thanksgiving.
The parable of the Good Samaritan may serve as
summary. He is moved by the misery of his neighbor,
and reacts in the most efficacious manner. Hence he,
too, merits the mercy of God. "Blessed are the
merciful for they shall obtain mercy." [498]
Genuine compassion will never cease to pour in oil
and wine: prayer, patience, Holy Mass, the Way of the
Cross. Mercy on the poor souls will bring us also the
crowning mercy of a holy death.
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| 484. |
V Sent., dist. 25, q. 2, a. l; Supplementum, q.
71, a. l. |
| 485. |
This merit of congruity is founded not on justice
but on charity. God by reason of our charity grants
relief to those whom we love. Ia IIae, q.114, a.6. |
| 486. |
La Reverende Mere Marie de Providence, p. 7. |
| 487. |
Ibid., p. 14. |
| 488. |
All for Jesus, chap. 9. |
| 489. |
Supplementum, q. 71, a. 10. |
| 480. |
Ibid., q. 72. |
| 491. |
IV Sent., dist. 45, q. 2, a. 4; Supplementum, q.
71, a. 13. |
| 492. |
Ibid., dist. 45, q. 2, a. 4. |
| 493. |
IIIa, q. 79, a. 5. |
| 494. |
Ibid. |
| 495. |
Likewise the pope often asks that priests
celebrate
Mass to pay those debts, very numerous, which have
been
established by legacies and foundations, of which
after
a revolution there remains no trace. |
| 496. |
Hugon, Vol. IV, de novissimis, p. 828. |
| 497. |
IIa IIae, q. 83, a. 11 ad 3; Cf. Dict. theol.
cath., "Purgatoire," cols. 1315-18. |
| 498. |
Matt. 5:7. |
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