The Irish standard., 1911-12-02

shall have to render a hundredfold,
even to the very last farthing, in the
purgatorial places for the things we
now neglect" In the thirteenth CEN
fury Saint Thomas taught that 'it is
the same kind Of fire that excruciates
the damned i'll hell and the just in
Purgatory q Dist. Quaes 22). And
again he says: (Supp. Quaes 2, Art. y
that "the pain of sense and the pain
OF loss in Purgatory exceed all the
I sufferings of this life" Such is the
! testimony of the Fathers and Doctors
o. the Church throughout all the ages
of Christianity regarding Purgatory
and prayers for the dead. There never
was a moment in the life of the
Church when she did not pray for the
souls of her departed children. Never
did she let a day pass by without ex-
horting the living to offer up prayers
and sacrifices for the repose of the
suffering souls as may be seen from
her liturgies. Liturgy is the embodi-
meat of the Church's belief, 1t rem
ders visible to eyes of the body, what
faith makes visible to the eyes of the
soul. Faith and liturgy are intimate
ly united, hence If we wish to know
what the Church believes and teaches
we may always safely turn to her
liturgy, the mirror of her soul
Innocent l. writing about the Latin
liturgy in the beginning of the fifth
century says: ut has come down to
us from the Prince of the Apostles"
In it we pray for the dead as follows:
BE mindful 0 Lord of thy servants
and landmarks. N. to these and
to all that rest in Christ grant we be-
seech Thee a place Of refreshment,
light and peace" In the Greek Cath
Ole liturgy the following prayer is
said: I'VE offer (this sacrif1ce) to
| Thee also for the repose and deliver
ance Of the soul of Thy servant. N.
| that 1t may be admitted into the lum-
nous abode where there is neither
pain nor sorrow and that thou may'st
give 1t rest o Lord, our God where
shines the beauty of Thy face"
In the Ethiopian liturgy we find the
| following prayer Have pity, o my
God; on the souls of thy servants and
landmarks who have been nourished
with Thy body and blood and who
have gone to sleep in death in Thy
faith.' In the Apostolic Constitutions
the following counsel is given: AS
semhle together in the cemeteries
there read the Scriptures, sing the
( psalms for the martyrs, for the
saints, for your brothers who died in
the Lord, and then offer the Euchar-
( ist." There are other Catholic litur-
giles but we do not deem 1t necessary
tc quote them for they are substanti-
ally the same as the ones already adj
duced. they are all pregnant with
charity for the suffering souls. How
ever to show how conspicuously iso-
! i''eSA AolSSlduIS are Ill Their QGnluI
of Purgatory we will give some Of the
prayers for the dead which are found
In the schismatic liturgies Of the East.
In the liturgy of the Malabar Mes
torians wo read: LET us be mindful
OF our fathers, our brothers, of all the
faithful who have gone out of this
world In the orthodox faith: let us he
seech the Lord to pardon them their
sins and transgressions. and to make
them worthy to partake Of the joys
of heaven In the company Of the saints
who conformed themselves to the will
Of God" The Chaldean HISTORIANS
ask God to receive the oblaton they
offer for all those who weep, for the
sick for those who suffer oppression
calamities and misery, and for all
those whom death has separated from
them The Capts. also in unmistak-
able words give expression to their
faith In Purgatory when they say: 80
Lord! be mindful OF all those who
have gone to sleep and whose days
are finished In the priesthood. as well
as Of those of every order of laics
Deign. 0 Lord. to give rest to Their
souls In the bosom Of Abraham, Isaac
and Jacob; lead them into tho para
disc of delights where the glory of to
blessed Shines" The Greek schism 1T
les have been using the liturgy OF
Saints Basil and Chrysostom for more
than eleven hundred years. The
prayer they recite for the dead Is the
Same as that said by the Greek Cath
olics which we have already quoted
The doctrine Of Purgatory as given
ii the Russian catechsm Is most
Catholic. and is expressed in terms
not unlike those of the Council OF
Trent. Therein we read: 1.-THE souls
after death cannot obtain salvation