The Catholic times. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1951-current, 1959-11-27
Why not be
o. rich soul?
JOSEPH BREIG-

AS every American Catholic knows - even If he
knows little else about his religion this IS the
month of the poor souls" And if you are a typical
Catholic American, at some time in this month you
have said to some one, or to yourself:
Well, if make ii to pUrgafory, I'll be satisfied"
The statement is so common among us as 10 De
nearly tiresome. Everybody accepts 1t; or at least
nobody challenges it. And yet it is an unthlnking say
ing, filled with psychological and theological pitfalls.
For one thing, you will emphatically not be salts.
fled if you make it to p%urgatory. AS long as you are
there, you will be more profoundly dissatisfied to
put it mildly - than you have ever been In your lie,
or have even imagined you could be.
In the dim spiritual light in which we live in this
world, absorbed in dlstractlng activities and material
things, we miss the direct company of God only
vaguely. Some of us think about Him so little that we
think we hardly miss Him at all.
OTHERS, HOWEVER, will tell you that a day
without Mass and Communion seems empty. That is
one reason they are in church each morning, even at
the cost of considerable effort. s.
These people have a kind of faint ~foretaste of
Heaven. They feel in some small measure the burning
longing for God which in the souls in p%urgatory, freed
form earthly concerns, is at white heat. q
We in America = and perhaps Catholics gener-
ally around the world = are keenly conscious of the
poor souls That is why we arrange for so many
requiem Masses for the repose of their souls and
so few Masses simply to thank and praise God.
CONVERSELY, it seems to me that we are not
nearly conscious enough of the power of the Mass
and the sacraments for our own perfection here on
al 4ANo6 tN0 46@SN4h SoASS 10 W GJ w
satisfied with attaining p%urgatory. :
But this is a mistake. It sets our spiritual sights
too low, and | think tends to encourage a kind of
sloth. No Catholic should aim at p~urgatory; every
Catholic should aim at Heaven Heaven the instant
of death.
Once you select that for your objective, your atti-
tude changes. Mediocrity in the spiritual life no longer
is your measure of excellence. You begin to cast about
for means by which you can 60 up higher. .
Appreciation for the power of the Mass, the sacra-
ments, the sacramentals and the devotions of the
Church grows in you. The keys to the kingdom of
Heaven, given to Peter, mean much more to you
than formerly.
GRADUALLY you realize that the Church pos:
sesses those keys, and has the power, with your CO.
operation, to Sanctify you in such fashion that it is not
impossible, but perfectly possible, for you to be a
saint.
More and more you come to understand that
Christ, with an infinite desire, wants you to attain
sanctity and to come into His presence the moment
your work on earth is done. You see Him as friend,
not as severe judge.
His love for you which is a boundless love,
huge, gigantic, overwhelming begins to be felt by
you. And you start to return it. You live in love of
goodness, not in fear of sin. A tremendous change
takes place in you.
You are then on the right track; you are heading
for theedestiny God decreed for you - and died to
help you achieve. And as a practical step, why not
study up on the power of the sacrament we call Ex-
IRENE Unction - the sacrament some of the saints
described in the words, "the amounting unto glory"