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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." [483] 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. [484] 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. [485] 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." [486]
Father Faber [487] 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, [488] 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: [489] 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: [490] 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. [491] But at the end of his life
when he was composing the Summa, [492] 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, [493] 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. [494]
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. [495]
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." [496]
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." [497]
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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