The Irish standard., 1911-12-09

lnScripLiOnS, llldl. ue duCieutS
recognized three different states oil the
soul after death. The first was state
OF happiness which the souls of the
SAINTS enjoyed eternaly in heaven;
the second was state of suffering to
which the souls of the wicked were
eternally condemned in hell; the third
or middle state, was for those souls
who did not deserve eternal punish
ment, yet they were indebted to the
divine justice" Plato in his Gorgias,
distinguishes between the dead. first
the just who enjoy eternal happiness;
secondly, the wicked who suffer eter-
nal torments, and thirdly, the unfortu-
nate whose sins are healable yet they
are punished so that they may become
better" This is in perfect accord with
the Jewish and Christian concept of
Purgatory.
Virgil, TOO, though not so accurately
as Plato, describes three different
states after death. In his Aeneid,
Book VI, he says: "Sone souls are
suspended In the air and remain ex-
posed to the winds, others are cast to
the bottom of a vast lake, there to
wash away their crimes while others
are purified by fire. We all have to
pass through some probation after
which we are admitted into the vast
Elysian fields where we shall remain,
and when time shall have run its
course, our souls shall have regained
the purity Of their celestial origin, and
the simplicity of their being" The
Zend books teach that those who die
before they have been entirely puri-
fled, must suffer torments In another
life, and that the duration of these
torrents is more or less long accord
ing to the gravity of their crimes, and
that publications prescribed for the
living may be profitably offered for
the dead.
The Pagans of Tibet India, China
and Japan all offer sacrifices for their
dead, fact which proves that they
believe they can still succor them, and
that the souls of their departed
friends stand in need of their assist
ance. What is this II it is not belief
in a middle state? And thus we see
that Pagans, Jews and Christians are
one in their belief in the doctrine of
3, Purgatory, and that the saying Of
Judas Machabeus: 1T Is a holy and
a wholesome thought to pray for the
dead that they may be loosed from
their sins" has been incorporated into
the religious convictions Of every ma
ton on which the sun of heaven
shines.
And now what can Professionals op-
pose to such a constant and universal
belief. belief to which men Of every
color and Of every other religious per-
suasion have subscribed? doctrine to
which the human race has given its
Placet and its lmprimatur7 We an
swer, nothing but bitter and ground
less feelings, the legitimate offspring
Catholic Church. To them, with
Shakespeare, we say:
"Why do you keep alone, Of sorriest
fancies your companions making?"
When once we are convinced that the
soul survives the destruction of the
body, there is nothing more natural
than to offer up silent prayer for
the souls Of our departed friends. This
accounts for the universal custom of
praying for the dead, for no nation
ever existed that did not believe in
the immortality of the soul. Far then
from being true that Christians appro-
priated this practice from the Pagans
it is more probably, If not evident. that
the Pagans themselves learned it
from primitive tradition given by
heaven to some God-fearing people,
and that 1t is nothing less than a heav-
en-born duty implanted in the hearts
of men by the hand of God Himself.
There is one thing certain. and it Is,
that even those whose principles preju-
dice them against such a holy and
laudable practice very often, uncon-
sciously, find themselves uttering a
prayer, which nature drags from their
very bosoms, for the repose Of the
souls of their loved ones. And it is
well that it is thus, for charity, which
Is the very soul of religion, would
dwindle away and disappear from the
4 earth were those who lie beneath the
sod forgotten.
The practice of praying for the dead
/. recalls the tenderest "reminiscences of
friends; it inspires us with hope and
love, and keeps alive the memory of
those, who, though separated from us,
are still one with us in the member
I shin of the Church of Christ 1t as