Charity for the Suffering Souls

THE Omnipotent Word of God, which in the beginning called forth from nothing this magnificent universe, which even penetrated the tomb and compelled death to deliver up its victims; this divine Word which on the Day of Judgment will echo from the rising of the sun to the going-down thereof and summon the dead of all nations to receive retribution: this Divine and Omnipotent Word is even now heard by the dead proclaiming to them pardon and deliverance from the pains of Purgatory. “Amen, amen, I say unto you, that the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” (John 5:25).


To move this Omnipotent Word to grant pardon and deliverance to the Suffering Souls in consideration of the suffrages of the faithful on earth—such is the object of the following treatises. They are to induce the reader to hasten by his prayer the blessed hour when his brethren and sisters in Purgatory shall hear the summons of the Son of God, “Go forth from your torments; go forth, your punishment is remitted. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”


It is, alas, undeniably true that the great majority of men are but little interested in the Suffering Souls who so ardently desire help. Some neglect this duty because they are infidels. They deny the existence of Purgatory, and consequently they do not believe that the faithful can aid the souls confined in it. Besides the infidels, who judge all things religious according to their own limited views, those also deny the middle state, who are separated from the communion of the Catholic Church. Others neglect to assist the Suffering Souls because they have no true conception of this duty, nor of the great advantages to be gained by performing this work of charity. Those separated from the Church do not help the Poor Souls because they do not believe in Purgatory; and many negligent Catholics, despite their belief in this doctrine, do not aid the Suffering Souls because they consider it too inconvenient to do so.


The disbelief in the existence of Purgatory and the neglect of prayer for the captive souls detained in it are both very harmful. Disbelief is in conflict with the doctrine of the Catholic Church, which from the earliest ages has taught the existence of a middle state and the efficacy of prayer for the dead; neglect of this prayer is contrary to the general duty of charity, which obliges us to come to the aid of our fellowman when and wherever we can. How ungrateful of us and how detrimental to the Suffering Souls, if we Catholics refuse them this Christian charity either because we are ignorant of it or do not sufficiently esteem it! In order to remedy as far as possible this hurtful disregard of duty, we have collected in this volume the most important and instructive points concerning the doctrine of Purgatory. The sources from which these points have been gathered are Holy Scripture, tradition, the decrees of the Church, the writings of the Holy Fathers, the unanimous assent of all nations, and even the writings of non-Catholics. The means by which we can aid the Suffering Souls are extensively treated, especially the expiatory value of Holy Mass; various popular questions are explained at length; the motives for practicing the devotion to the Suffering Souls and the gratitude of these souls towards their benefactors are comprehensively discussed—all this with a view to enkindle our zeal for this charitable work.