A Sunday Thought to Start the Week Off Right
November is dedicated to the Holy Souls. This past week we celebrated All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day. Mass on All Saints was well attended in our church. All Souls was a different matter. You'd never know there was anything special about the day. Daily Mass attendees showed up as they normally do. The priest, dressed in white vestments, made a gallant effort to talk about the Holy Souls during his sermon. And that was that.
What a far cry from All Souls' day when I was growing up! The priest wore black. Because priests were given the privilege of saying three Masses on this special day, Mass would proceed on the main altar, as well as the side altar to accommodate those extra Masses. (They don't even have such a thing as a "side altar" in many "modern" churches.) The atmosphere was especially solemn; Mass was well attended. We were all there to pray fervently for our deceased loved ones and all the Holy Souls. Indeed, we were all acutely aware of the Church Suffering and their need for the prayers and sacrifices of us, the Church Militant.
Things were quite different then.
For those of you who weren't blessed with the experience of All Souls' Day in its full solemnity, or who haven't been catechized such that the Holy Souls in Purgatory remain in your thoughts daily, and for those of us who simply need some refreshing about the reality of Purgatory and the plight of the Holy Souls, we turn today to St. Francis de Sales. His words set the story straight.
“We may draw from the thought of Purgatory more consolation than apprehension. The greater part of those who dread Purgatory so much think more of their own interests than of the interests of God’s glory; this proceeds from the fact that they think only of the sufferings without considering the peace and happiness which are there enjoyed by the holy souls. It is true that the torments are so great that the most acute sufferings of this life bear no comparison to them; but the interior satisfaction which is there enjoyed is such that no prosperity nor contentment upon earth can equal it.
“The souls are in continual union with God. They are perfectly resigned to His will, or rather their will is so transformed into that of God that they cannot will but what God wills; so that if Paradise were to be opened to them, they would precipitate themselves into Hell rather than appear before God with the stains with which they see themselves disfigured. They purify themselves willingly and lovingly, because such is the Divine good pleasure. They wish to be there in the state wherein God pleases, and as long as it shall please Him. They cannot sin, nor can they experience the least movement of impatience, nor commit the slightest imperfection. They love God more than they love themselves, and more than all things else; they love Him with a perfect, pure, and disinterested love. They are consoled by angels. They are assured of their eternal salvation, and filled with a hope that can never be disappointed in its expectations. Their bitterest anguish is soothed by a certain profound peace. It is a species of Hell as regards the suffering; it is a Paradise as regards the delight infused into their hearts by charity – Charity, stronger than death and more powerful than Hell; Charity, whose lamps are all fire and flame. Happy state! More desirable than appalling, since its flames are flames of love and charity.”
Suffering mixed with firm understanding and an unshakable hope that Heaven will be theirs someday! Consoling words for those of us whose loved ones have left us. Something to contemplate as we face the inevitable day when we meet Our Savior. True food for the soul during this month of the Holy Souls.
Remember the Holy Souls every day, most especially during this month of November.
Happy Sunday!
What a far cry from All Souls' day when I was growing up! The priest wore black. Because priests were given the privilege of saying three Masses on this special day, Mass would proceed on the main altar, as well as the side altar to accommodate those extra Masses. (They don't even have such a thing as a "side altar" in many "modern" churches.) The atmosphere was especially solemn; Mass was well attended. We were all there to pray fervently for our deceased loved ones and all the Holy Souls. Indeed, we were all acutely aware of the Church Suffering and their need for the prayers and sacrifices of us, the Church Militant.
Things were quite different then.
For those of you who weren't blessed with the experience of All Souls' Day in its full solemnity, or who haven't been catechized such that the Holy Souls in Purgatory remain in your thoughts daily, and for those of us who simply need some refreshing about the reality of Purgatory and the plight of the Holy Souls, we turn today to St. Francis de Sales. His words set the story straight.
“We may draw from the thought of Purgatory more consolation than apprehension. The greater part of those who dread Purgatory so much think more of their own interests than of the interests of God’s glory; this proceeds from the fact that they think only of the sufferings without considering the peace and happiness which are there enjoyed by the holy souls. It is true that the torments are so great that the most acute sufferings of this life bear no comparison to them; but the interior satisfaction which is there enjoyed is such that no prosperity nor contentment upon earth can equal it.
“The souls are in continual union with God. They are perfectly resigned to His will, or rather their will is so transformed into that of God that they cannot will but what God wills; so that if Paradise were to be opened to them, they would precipitate themselves into Hell rather than appear before God with the stains with which they see themselves disfigured. They purify themselves willingly and lovingly, because such is the Divine good pleasure. They wish to be there in the state wherein God pleases, and as long as it shall please Him. They cannot sin, nor can they experience the least movement of impatience, nor commit the slightest imperfection. They love God more than they love themselves, and more than all things else; they love Him with a perfect, pure, and disinterested love. They are consoled by angels. They are assured of their eternal salvation, and filled with a hope that can never be disappointed in its expectations. Their bitterest anguish is soothed by a certain profound peace. It is a species of Hell as regards the suffering; it is a Paradise as regards the delight infused into their hearts by charity – Charity, stronger than death and more powerful than Hell; Charity, whose lamps are all fire and flame. Happy state! More desirable than appalling, since its flames are flames of love and charity.”
Suffering mixed with firm understanding and an unshakable hope that Heaven will be theirs someday! Consoling words for those of us whose loved ones have left us. Something to contemplate as we face the inevitable day when we meet Our Savior. True food for the soul during this month of the Holy Souls.
Remember the Holy Souls every day, most especially during this month of November.
Happy Sunday!
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