The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1875-10-31
NEW ORLEANS, SUNDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 81, 1878.

placing it among his choicest jewels.
Faber says there are two views of purgatory
prevailing among Christians, Indicative of the
peculiar tone of the mind of those who have
embraced them.
One is, that it is place of sensible torture,
where the least pain is greater than all the
pairs Of earth put together-an intolerable
prison house, fnll of waiing aud horror
visited by angels. indeed, but only the in
strumepts of Gods awful Justice. The spirit
of this view is horror of offending Almighty
God, abitual tremblin before his jud gments,
and a great desire for bodily austerites.
The second view does not deny any of these
teatn res, but it gives more promi nence to other
considerations. The spirit Of this view is
love, an extreme desire that God should not be
offended, and yearning for the interests of
Jesus 1t is not much question of selfish
consideration with the soul, as of Gods will
and glory. Its sweet prison, It's holy sepnl-
chre, is in the adorable will of the Heavenly
Father, aud there it abides the term of its
puriiication with the most perfect conteutment
and the most unntterable love-
In short, this second view il that Of st. Ca
tEaUine OF Genoa, which comes home TO our
hearts, read her treatise with joyful
conN ctinn--Givirj. new conceptions of that
This treatise - rot the production of human
vanity ST. CatHarine only wrute by the ex-
PRESS w!sh Of Ter spiritual director, who
fathc:n-r her gents and know her familiarity
with the secrets of the Most II igh. 1t is. in
the estimation Of judges Of the highest autho-
rlty, one OF the -, st aston shng and admirabia
productions o. Mystical theology, Gays NJ dc
RnseiArre. A.,ei It has beef approved Of by the
Holy See and Ivy the Sacred Congregation OF
Rites.
II was one of the favorite books of ST. Francis
de Sales, with whose spirit it is greatly in
harmony, and he calls the authoress u seraph.
And Faber styles her The Great Doctress Of
Purgatory."
st. Catharine was contemporary with Chris
topher Columbus, Icing born q few years later
in the same city. And she was Tie grand niece
of Pope Innocent ", who first gav', authorI-
tatively, the name of PurG Itorv t" the Inter
mediate State. and who was, like her, of the
noble house of the Ficschi.
The French author 50 often quoted says:
"There are many expressions in this work to
| which a forced meaning is not TO I've gwen
st. CathaVine represents a soul as strictly
united 10 God rs 10 can he without being all
| solbcd in the divinity. Bat she does not ami.
! hilate individuality. She does not teach Pan
! theism. She only Expresses the doctrine Of
st. Paul, In i>o ririmu8, It mor,m"r, ct samus ::
| In him we live, and we move, and we are.
| How she makes US long for that nnionr and
welcome all that hastcns it! We would join
| with all our earth-w0rn heart in that - liturgy
| of hallOwCd pain " o World!' we cry with
Faber-"O weary, clamorous, sinful world
! who would not break away, if he could like
an urcaged dove, from thy perilous tolls and
unsafe pilgrimage, and fly with joy to the
| lowest pace in that most pure, most safe
most holy land of suffering and of siuless
! lover
(Iector yerpacaa, who first published the
works of g. C,,horin, of ce,oo wrote the
"oiA' u o. c"'n"',ho ~ "enoH' "'U'0 'He
following preface to her treatise on r"Fsa
| 4Tho sor1 of c,tho-;,o s,i,l o1od IN III,
nesh vas oU nInngeJ in the f"rnacn of Gods
ardent love which consumed and nuriffed her
| from evrrv imneTfection So that nj the end of
ber life she vv5s titted r. mass at once into the
nTesance of CT the onIv oLiect NJ her affec
lion. This intcTior fire. InRis her comprehend
| tbat tho souls in Inrga+orv are niaceI there IA
10 orritioJ fo,1 10 S~St orJ S+nin Of tLe sine
C.bich +bev Had NOT eIm;atad on earth SwaI-
| Iou.eS ~, :, 80 Ti1inn arJ nrrTing fire shc
oo"iasnpcd !" =; tIo LII nf 90 treiH6;ci1, IN ali
%isi io,eo Trrn,'rE+ IN bar che creorIv nnder.
stood wbat mist he the state Of the sonIs in