Too happy are the servants of this most kind mother, since not only
in this world they are aided by her, but also in purgatory
they are assisted and consoled by her protection.
in this world they are aided by her, but also in purgatory
they are assisted and consoled by her protection.
Too happy are the servants of this most kind mother, since not only in this world they are aided by her, but also in purgatory they are assisted and consoled by her protection.
For succor being there more needed, because
they are in torment and cannot help themselves, so much the more does
this mother of mercy strive to help them.
EXAMPLE:
Father Eusebius Nierembergh relates that there lived in the city of
Aragona a girl, named Alexandra who, being noble and very beautiful, was
greatly loved by two young men.
Through jealousy, they one day fought and
killed each other. Their enraged relatives, in return, killed the poor
young girl, as the cause of so much trouble, cut off her head, and threw
her into a well.
A few days after, St. Dominic was passing
through that place, and, inspired by the Lord, approached the well, and
said: “Alexandra, come forth,” and immediately the head of the deceased
came forth, placed itself on the edge of the well, and prayed St.
Dominic to hear its confession. The saint heard its confession, and also
gave it communion, in presence of a great concourse of persons who had
assembled to witness the miracle.
Then, St. Dominic ordered her to speak and tell why she had received that grace.
Alexandra answered, that when she was
beheaded, she was in a state of mortal sin, but that the most holy Mary,
on account of the rosary, which she was in the habit of reciting, had
preserved her in life. Two days the head retained its life upon the edge
of the well, in the presence of all, and then the soul went to
purgatory.
But fifteen days after, the soul of
Alexandra appeared to St. Dominic, beautiful and radiant as a star, and
told him, that one of the principal sources of relief to the souls in
purgatory is the rosary which is recited for them; and that, as soon as
they arrive in paradise, they pray for those who apply to them these
powerful prayers.
Having said this, St. Dominic saw that happy soul ascending in triumph to the kingdom of the blessed.
Oh Queen of heaven and of earth, oh mother of the Lord of the world, oh Mary, creature most great, most exalted, most amiable, it is true that many on the earth do not love thee and do not know thee; but there are innumerable angels and
saints in heaven who love and praise thee continually. On this earth, too, how many souls burn with love of thee, and live enamored of thy goodness.
Ah, if I, too, might love thee, my most
lovely Lady! Oh, that I might always be engaged in serving thee, in
praising thee, in honoring thee, and in striving to awaken love of thee
in others.
A God hath been enamored of thee, who, by
thy beauty, if I may so speak, hast drawn him from the bosom of the
eternal Father, to come upon the earth and become man and thy Son; and
I, a miserable worm, shall I not be enamored of thee?
Yes, my most sweet mother, I also will love thee, love thee much, and do all in my power to make thee loved by others.
Accept, then, oh Mary, the desire I have to
love thee, and help me to fulfill it: I know that thy lovers are
regarded with much favor by thy God. Next to his own glory, he desires
nothing more than thy glory, in seeing thee honored and loved by all.
From thee, oh Lady, I await all my
blessings. Thou must obtain the pardon of all my sins, thou must obtain
for me perseverance, succor in death, deliverance from purgatory, in a
word, thou must conduct me to paradise.
All this thy lovers hope from thee, and
they are not deceived. This I also hope, who love thee with all my
heart, and above all things next to God.
St. Bernardine of Sienna says, that in that prison of souls who are spouses of Jesus Christ, Mary has a certain dominion and plenitude of power to relieve them, as well as deliver them from their pains. And, in the first place, as to relieving them, the same saint, applying the words of Ecclesiasticus: I have walked in the waves of the sea: adds, visiting and relieving the necessities and sufferings of my servants, who are my children.
St. Bernardine says, that the pains of
purgatory are called waves, because they are transitory, unlike the
pains of hell, which never end: and they are called waves of the sea,
because they are very bitter pains. The servants of Mary tormented by
those pains are often visited and succored by her.
See, then, how important it is, says
Novarino, to be a servant of this good Lady; for she never forgets such
when they are suffering in those flames. And although Mary succors all
the souls in purgatory, yet she always obtains more indulgences and
alleviations for those who have been especially devoted to her.
This divine mother, in her revelations to
St. Bridget, said: I am the mother of all the souls in purgatory; and
all the sufferings which they merit for the sins committed in life are
every hour, while they remain there, alleviated in some measure by my
prayers.
This kind mother sometimes condescends even
to enter into that holy prison, to visit and console these her
afflicted children. I have penetrated into the bottom of the deep: as we
read in Ecclesiasticus;* and St. Bonaventure, applying these words,
adds: I have penetrated the depth of this abyss, that is, of purgatory,
to relieve by my presence those holy souls.
Oh, how kind and beneficent is the holy
Virgin to those who are suffering in purgatory! says St. Vincent Ferrer;
through her they receive continual consolation and refreshment.
And what other consolation have they in
their sufferings than Mary, and the help of this mother of mercy? St.
Bridget one day heard Jesus saying to his mother: Thou art my mother,
thou art the mother of mercy, thou art the consoler of those who are in
purgatory.
And the blessed Virgin herself said to St.
Bridget, that as a poor sick person, suffering and deserted on his bed,
feels himself refreshed by some word of consolation, so those souls feel
themselves consoled in hearing only her name.
The name alone of Mary, a name of hope and
salvation, which these beloved children often invoke in that prison, is
for them a great comfort.
But, then, says Novarino, the loving
mother, on hearing herself invoked by them, adds her prayers to God, by
which these souls receive comfort, and find their burning pains cooled
as if by dew from heaven.
But not only does Mary console and succor
her servants in purgatory; she also releases them from this prison, and
delivers them by her intercession.
From the day of her glorious assumption, in
which that prison is said to have been emptied, as Gerson writes; and
Novarino confirms this by saying, that many weighty authors relate that
Mary, when about to [be assumed] to paradise, asked this favor of her
Son, that she might take with her all the souls that were then in
purgatory; from that time, says Gerson, the blessed Virgin has possessed
the privilege of freeing her servants from those pains.
And this also is positively asserted by St.
Bernardine, who says that the blessed Virgin has the power of
delivering souls from purgatory by her prayers and the application of
her merits, especially if they have been devoted to her.
And Novarino says the same thing, believing that by the merits of
Mary, not only the torments of these souls are assuaged, but also
abridged, the time of their purgation being shortened by her
intercession: and for this it is enough that she presents herself to
pray for them.
St. Peter Damian relates, that a certain
lady, named Marozia, after death, appeared to her god mother, and told
her that on the day [feast day] of the Assumption of Mary she had been
released by her from purgatory, with a multitude of souls exceeding in
number the whole population of Rome.
St. Denis the Carthusian relates, that on
the festivals of the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Mary
descends into purgatory, accompanied by troops of angels, and releases
many souls from their torments. And Novarino believes that the same
thing happens on every solemn festival of the holy Virgin.
Every one has heard of the promise made by
Mary to Pope John, to whom she appeared, and ordered him to make known
to all those who should wear the sacred scapular of Carmel, that on the
Saturday after their death they should be released from purgatory.
And this was proclaimed by the same
pontiff, as Father Crasset relates, in a bull which he published. It was
also confirmed by Alexander V., Clement VIL, Pius V., Gregory XIII. ,
and Paul V., who, in 1612, in a bull said: “That Christians may piously
believe that the blessed Virgin will aid by her continual intercession,
by her merits and special protection, after death, and principally on
Saturday, which is a day consecrated by the Church to the blessed
Virgin, the souls of the members of the confraternity of holy Mary of
Mount Carmel, who shall have departed this life in the state of grace,
worn the scapular, observing chastity according to their state of life,
recited the office of the Virgin, and if they have not been able to
recite it, shall have observed the fasts of the Church, abstaining from
flesh meat on Wednesdays, except on Christmas-day.
And in the solemn office of the feast of
holy Mary of Mount Carmel, we read that it is piously believed, that the
holy Virgin, with a mother’s love, consoles the members of the
confraternity of Mount Carmel in purgatory, and by her intercession
conducts them to their heavenly country.”
Why should we not also hope for the same
graces and favors, if we are devoted to this good mother? And if with
more special love we serve her, why cannot we hope to obtain the grace
of going immediately after death to paradise, without entering into
purgatory? as we read that the holy Virgin said to the blessed Godfrey,
through brother Abondo, in these words: “Go and tell brother Godfrey to
advance in virtue, for thus he will be a child of my Son, and mine also;
and when his soul quits the body, I will not permit it to go to
purgatory, but I will take it and present it to my Son.”
And if we would assist the holy souls in
purgatory, let us endeavor to remember them in all our prayers to the
blessed Virgin, applying to them especially the holy rosary, which
procures for them great relief.
“Stories
of Mary” are taken from the Glories of Mary, translated from the Italian
of St. Alphonsus Liguori; New Revised Edition, P.J. Kennedy & Sons.
Copyright 1888 by P.J. Kennedy
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