Thought for the Day – 2 Novemer – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Purgatory”
“The clear testimony of the New Testament may also be invoked in support of this teaching. Jesus refers to sins which cannot be forgiven, either in this life or in the next, (Cf Mt 12:31-32) from which, the Fathers deduce that there are sins, namely those of a venial nature, which can be forgiven after death.
St Paul, moreover, speaks of imperfections which will be expiated and purged by fire after death (Cf 1 Cor 3:10-15). Obviously, this cannot take place in Hell but, only in Purgatory. It would be impossible to cite here, all the testamoies of the Fathers and of theological writers. No-one, can deny, that they exist, however, for they combine to build up a tradition which the Council of Trent (Sess XXV) gathered together, when proclaiming the existence of Purgatory and the obligation of the faithful to pray for the dead, who are expiating their sins there.
This is a very consoling Doctrine. It is comforting to know that one day, we shall find a way of purifying ourselves of all trace of sin and imperfection and that, meanwhile, we can be spiritually united with our departed loved ones and can help them by our prayers.”
Quote/s of the Day – 2 November – All Souls Day – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory”
“Remember, when you leave this earth, you can take nothing with you, which you have received, only that, which you have given.”
St Francis of Assisi (c 1181–1226)
“This death … has already levelled his bow to strike me. Is it not prudent to prevent its stroke, by dying now to the world, that at my death, I may live to God?”
St Francis Borgia (1510-1572)
“It seems to me, my daughters, that everything passes so quickly that we should be thinking more, about how to die, than how to live!”
St Teresa of Jesus of Avila (1515-1582) Doctor of the Church
“The powers of hell will assail the dying Christian but his Angel Guardian will come to console him. His Patrons and St Michael, who has been appointed by God to defend his faithful servants, in their last combat with the devils, will come to his aid.”
St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
“It is not Death that will come to fetch me, it is the good God. Death is no phantom, no horrible specter, as presented in pictures. In the catechism it is stated, that death is the separation of soul and body, that is all! Well, I am not afraid of a separation which will unite me to the good God forever.”
St Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (1873 – 1897)
Prayer for a Holy Death By St Alphonsus de Liguori (1696-1787) Most Zealous Doctor
My beloved Jesus, I will not refuse the cross, as the Cyrenian did; I accept it, I embrace it. I accept, in particular, the death Thou hast destined for me, with all the pains which may accompany it; I unite it to Thy Death, I offer it to Thee Thou hast died for love of me; I will die for love of Thee and to please Thee. Help me by Thy grace. I love Thee, Jesus, my love; I repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always and then do with me what Thou will. Amen
One Minute Reflection – 2 November – All Souls Day – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory” – 1 Corinthian 15:51-57, John 5:25-29 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Do not wonder at this, for the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear the Voice of the Son of God. And they who have done good, shall come forth unto the resurrection of life but they who have done evil, until the resurrection of judgement.” – John 5:28-29
REFLECTION – “Let them weep who lack all hope of resurrection; it is not the will of God that takes it away from them but the inflexibility of what they believe. There has to be a difference between the servants of Christ and the pagans. This is what it is – they mourn for those close to them, whom they think to be dead forever; they see no end to their weeping, reach no rest for their grief …, whereas, for us, death is not the end of our existence but the end of our life. Since our existence is restored by a condition that is better, therefore, the coming of death sweeps away all our tears.…
How much greater is our comfort, who believe that our good deeds are the promise, of better rewards after death. As for the pagans, they have their consolation, in thinking that death is a rest from all our trials. Since they think their dead are denied the enjoyment of life, they also think them, to be deprived of every faculty of sense and freed from the pain of the hard and continual sorrows, we bear in this life. We, on the other hand, just as we should have a more elevated spirit because of the reward we expect, so, we should also better bear our pains because of this consolation. … Our dead have been sent on, not far from us but before us – they, whom death will not take but whom, eternity will receive!” – St Ambrose (340-397) Father and Doctor of the Church (On the death of his brother, I, 70-71).
PRAYER – O God, Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant to the souls of Thy servants and handmaids, the remission of all their sins, that they may obtain, by our loving prayer,s the forgiveness which they have always desired. Who lives and reigns with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 2 November – All Souls Day – “The Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory”
The De Profundis Psalm 129
A prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God. The Sixth Penitential Psalm.
Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities: Lord, who shall stand it. For with Thee there is merciful forgiveness and because of Thy law, I have waited for Thee, O Lord. My soul hath waited on His word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord. From the morning watch, even until night, let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy and with Him plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all its iniquities.
(Eternal rest or “Requiem aeternam”) Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And may perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
(Indulgence of 100 Days)
*Psalm 129 in Douay Rheims
Pope Clement XII. was the first who, in order to move the piety of Christians to pray for the souls in Purgatory, granted, by a Brief of 4 August 1736, Coelestes Ecclesiae thesauros – i. The Indulgence of 100 days to all the faithful, everytime that, at the sound of the bell, at the first hour after the evening Ave Maria, they say devoutly, on their knees the psalm De profundis, with a Requiem aAternamat the end of, it. (The evening Ave Maria in Rome varies with the season; it is commonly taken as 6 o’clock.) ii. A Plenary Indulgence to those who perform this pious exercise, for a year, at the hour appointed, once in the year, on any one day, after Confession and Communion. Those who do not know by heart the De Profundis, may gain these Indulgences by saying, in the way already mentioned for the De profundis, one Pater Noster and one Ave Maria, with the Requiem Aeternam. Observe also, that the aforesaid Clement XII. declared, on 12 December 1736, that these Indulgences might be gained by saying the De Profundis etc, as above, although, according to the custom of a particular Church or place, the “signal for the dead,” as it is called, be given by the sound of the bell either before, or after one hour after the evening Ave Maria. Pope Pius VI., by a Rescript of 18 March 1781, granted the above-named Indulgences to all the faithful, who should chance to dwell in any place where no bell for the dead is sounded and who, shall say the De Profundis or Pater Noster, as aforesaid, about the time specified above.
Saint of the Day – 2 November – Blessed Margaret of Lorraine OSC (1463-1521) Duchess of Alençon, Mother, Widow, Nun of the Poor Clares, Apostle of the sick, the poor and those suffering under unjust feudal lords. Born in 1463 as Marguerite de Lorraine-Vaudemont in Vaudemont Castle, Lorraine, France and died on 2 November 1521 at Argentan, Brittany, France of natural causes. Also known as – Margaret Lotarynska, Marguerite de Lorraine-Vaudemont, Margarita, Margherita, Marguerite. Margaret was Beatified on 10 March 1921 by Pope Benedict XV (cultus confirmed).
Blessed Margaret of Lorraine was born of the ancient noble family of the Dukes of Lorraine. Her earnest efforts to lead a virtuous life attracted attention very early in her life. After the death of her husband, Duke Rene of Alençon, she assumed the government of the Duchy. In this, she was guided solely by Catholic principles and by means of prudent economy, she managed to save a significant amount of materials which she used to render aid to the poor and the needy. She took particular pleasure in nursing the sick and the lepers. She built Churches, Convents and hospitals everywhere.
The subject matter taught in the schools and the instruction of the people were objects of particular solicitude to her. Hard-hearted landlords and selfish officials were dealt with by her, with the greatest severity.
Still, she remained very humble and spent a great part of her day in meditating on the sufferings of Christ and in performing works of penance.
In later years, after she had turned the government over to her son, she was invested with the habit of the Third Order. And when that no longer satisfied her desire for perfection, she entered the Convent of the Poor Clares at Alençon, which she herself had founded. Blessed Margaret aspired to perfection as a child, a woman, a ruler, a widow and finally as a religious and she succeeded in achieving her goal.
Every Christian is obliged to strive for perfection. It is not without reason that Our Lord says: “Be you, therefore, perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5,48).
This obligation does not require the impossible of us. Everyone can love his neighbour, do good and overcome himself. We must, above all, bear in mind that perfection does not consist in external practices but rather, in the disposition of our heart. The motive must be the love of God. All for the love of God!
Blessed Margaret of Lorraine died a saintly death at the Convent at Alençon in the year 1521. Pope Benedict XV approved her veneration.
In 1792 the body of Blessed Margaret was exhumed and found incorrupt. Inside the casket was found a small reliquary which contained her heart.
During the French Revolution a group of Jacobins disinterred the saint’s body to profane it, later placing it in a common grave. Only the bones and the saint’s heart remain and are now at the Monastery of Clarisses at Alençon
All Souls Day – The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed: Commemoration of the faithful departed in Purgatory. Abbot Odilo of Cluny instituted it in the Monasteries of his congregation in 998, other religious orders took up the observance and it was adopted by various Diocese and gradually by the whole Church. The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy on this day and Pope Benedict XV granted to all Priests, the privilege of saying three Masses of requiem – • one for the souls in Purgatory • one for the intention of the Holy Father • one for the Priest’s intentions If the feast should fall on Sunday it is kept on 3 November. Patronage: Monselice, Italy HERE: https://anastpaul.com/2018/11/02/commemoration-of-all-souls-day-2-november/ AND: https://anastpaul.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/the-commemoration-of-all-the-holy-souls-in-purgatory-2-november/
St Ambrose of Agaune St Ambrose of Agaune St Amicus of Fonte Avellana St Amicus of Rambone St Baya of Scotland St Domninus of Grenoble St Erc of Slane St Eustochium of Tarsus St George of Vienne Bl John Bodey St Jorandus of Kergrist St Justus of Trieste St Marcian of Chalcis Blessed Margaret of Lorraine OSC (1463-1521)Duchess of Alençon, Mother, Widow, Nun of the Poor Clares St Mateo López y López St Maura of Scotland St Theodotus of Laodicea
Martyrs of Isfahan – 5+ Saints: Acindynus, Pegasius and Anempodistus were Persian priests who were imprisoned, tortured, interrogated and Martyred in the persecutions of king Sapor II of Persia; he considered any Christian to be a Roman spy and anti-Persian.
Martyrs of Sebaste – 10 Saints: A group of ten soldiers in the imperial Roman army of Emperor Licinius Licinianus who were executed together for refusing to burn incense as a sacrifice to the emperor. The only details that have survived are five of their names – Agapius, Cartherius, Eudoxius, Styriacus and Tobias. They were burned at the stake in 315 in Sebaste (in modern Turkey).
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