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Impotence of the Demon: St. Saturninus, having been sent by the Pope St. Fabian into Gaul, together with St. Denis, in order to plant the faith there, established his see at Toulouse, and thence directed his efforts into the adjacent regions. The number of the Christians had already become considerable. The holy missionary was accustomed to pass every day near the foot of the Capitol, which contained a temple famous for its oracles. Now, as the latter had become mute, the pagans attributed this to the presence of the Christians, and especially to that of the bishop; they therefore dragged him to the Capitol in order to force him to adore their gods, or else to restore speech to the oracles. "Your gods," said Saturninus to them, "are only demons, and how can you expect that I shall adore them that dread me, and whom my mere presence reduces to silence?" At this reply the people became enraged beyond measure; Saturninus was horrible maltreated; he was trans-pierced with a lance, and then tied to the tail of an untamed bull, that tore him to pieces. This occurred about the year 250 of the Christian era.

Moral reflection: The spirit of darkness is only to be feared by those who yield consent to his suggestions. "Resist the devil," says St. James, "And he will fly from you." (James iv. 7.) Source: Pictorial half hours with the saints. Transl de Auguste Francois Lecanu (1865)

Holy Church, our good and tender mother, most ardently desires that her children be admitted to the beatific vision of God, and incessantly offers pious supplication during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Divine Office, to obtain mercy for the suffering souls, thereby teaching us to think of them frequently; for to the end of time there shall be souls in the flames of Purgatory in need of assistance and fervent prayers, which we should never fail to offer in their behalf. The ways of God are often inscrutable, and His designs concerning the holy souls are unknown to us. Hence there may be among their number some who have a just claim on our assistance, although a long time may have passed away since the close of their earthly career. Should the souls of our own beloved dead no longer be in need of our suffrages, they will be bestowed upon others, who are deserving of our mercy as well; thus, our prayer, our labor of love, will not be less salutary and meritorious, and indeed, life is not too long for us to practice this genuine charity to the end.

Prayer: We beseech Thee O Lord, grant us the grace to persevere in our charity towards the souls in Purgatory; deign to look with eyes of mercy upon these penitent souls; deliver them from their sufferings, and open to them the portals of Heaven. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Priests in Purgatory: My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden, in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns, in the Way to Calvary, in Thy Crucifixion and Death, have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory, especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them. I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me, the priests my heart has never forgotten, and for those that I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory. Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls who suffer for inconstancy in the service of God.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (Three times)

Practice: Examine how you have kept your good resolutions, particularly in what manner you have performed your devotions and works of charity for the suffering souls.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907

The first Thanksgiving. St. Augustine, FL. September 8, 1565

"May it please your Grace; beloved brethren — It is a gratifying sign of the Christian character of the spirit of our country that once in the year its Chief Executive invites the citizens of the republic to turn aside for awhile from their worldly occupations and interests and cares, in order that congregating in their various houses of worship they may return thanks to the Giver of all good gifts. It is a sad day for any land when the name of God is erased from its laws and unmentioned in its statutes. At the suggestion of the civil authority and the invitation of the spiritual authority to which we owe allegiance, we come together under the beautiful arches of this glorious temple of God, to lift our hearts in grateful thanksgiving in union with the celebrant of the Holy Mass as he chants in the preface of the sacrifice, Gratias agimus Domino Deo Nostro, "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God"; to which we respond a fervent Dignum et justum est, "It is meet and just." And for what shall the hymn of Te Deum ascend today? What shall be the measure of our gratitude? For everything we are and do and have; for life and action and possession are alike all God's, and by His munificence we are what we are, and we have what we possess. But this day has a special significance. It is a state day, and to observe it in its intended purpose we need but observe the motives which prompted its establishment. It was that, as a nation, we might turn with hearts filled with gratitude to the God who gives us temporal prosperity.

The Church in her great hymn of praise, the Gloria in Excelsis, takes the lofty and sublime motive for thanksgiving from the Glory of God Himself, and she sings, gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. In all conditions of her existence, whether rain or sunshine, in prosperity, in adversity alike she says, "So that God has greater glory the rest matters not," propter magnam gloriam tuam. Day after day, in persecution and trial as in exaltation and triumph, the same chorus goes up to heaven, Gratias agimus tibi propter magnam gloriam tuam. All else may change; kingdoms may rise and fall; nations may be born, flourish for a day, then totter and die; her sons may suffer; her Bishops be exiled; her visible Head be captive; but her faith flinches not; her voice wavers not; still she thinks of only God's Eternal Glory! So alike, Leo imprisoned, and Hildebrand triumphant, lead the grand universal song of thanksgiving, that all adown the centuries has echoed unceasingly from that blessed night when the Angels sang it above the stable of Bethlehem, when God came down to men. This is the sublimest motive for gratitude; this the loftiest motive for thanksgiving. Thus the Church, because she is superhuman, because she lifts her head into the very heaven of heavens, and gazes with clearest vision into the Eternity of God, even while her feet tread upon the lowly earth, passes over the consideration of the gifts to the sublime contemplation of the Giver; forgets, with a sublime oblivion, the land flowing with milk and honey, the vines laden with the bursting grapes, the stores filled with the ripened grain, the fat kine lowing upon the hills, and the children of men with the gleam of plenty in their eyes, to remember only that which touches all, yet is over all," the Greater Glory of God!"
 Sermons and Addresses of His Eminence William Cardinal O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston 1922

"With what measure you mete, it shall be measured to you again." (Matt. VII. 2. ) It will be readily seen that these words of the Divine Savior are applicable also to the assistance we should render the souls departed. The learned Cardinal Cajetan says: "Those who in this life forget the departed, will hereafter, in my opinion, be deprived in Purgatory of all participation in good works and devout prayers, though ever so many be offered for them by others; for Divine Justice is wont in this manner to punish their cruelty and hardness of heart." Hence, he who shows no mercy towards the suffering souls, and remains  cold and indifferent to their pains, will even though his souls may have escaped eternal damnation, languish in the flames of Purgatory without relief and consolation and look in vain for friends and intercessors. And the faithful who do not forget the suffering souls completely, but seldom think of them, will not be deprived of friends and intercessors entirely, but will derive very little help and comfort, and their complaints will be answered by the words of St. Paul: "He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap sparingly." (2 Cor. IX. 6).

Prayer: O God, whose goodness and mercy are infinite, have pity on the souls of those, who on account of their want of charity are undeserving of Thy bounty, and accept our fervent prayers in reparation for their faults, that they may not suffer without consolation. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Priests in Purgatory: My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden, in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns, in the Way to Calvary, in Thy Crucifixion and Death, have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory, especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them. I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me, the priests my heart has never forgotten, and for those that I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory. Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls who suffer for their want of charity.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (Three times)

Practice: Bear patiently the ingratitude of others, and offer it for the souls in Purgatory.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907

"O Mary! Conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee."

"It is true, that the day of triumph announced by the venerated Montfort, appears far distant; one might says that the kingdom of God on earth is more compromised than ever. The wicked make unexampled efforts to demolish the social edifice; they are numerous, powerful and possessed of incalculable resources. But for the Church, when all seems lost, then is her triumph at hand. God sometimes permits the malice of men to exceed all bounds, that His power may be the more manifest when the moment of their defeat arrives.

All the united efforts of the Church's enemies in the course of ages, all their errors, hatred and violence directed against her, the Spouse of Christ, are now concentrated in what is termed the Revolution - that is, anti-Christianity reduced to a system and propagated throughout the world, it is Satan usurping the place of Jesus Christ.

But He who has conquered the world, and put to flight the prince of the world, will not permit Himself to be dethroned. He will reign, and even now, before our eyes, is His kingdom being prepared, by the mediation of the Immaculate Mary, of whom the promise was made that she should crush the serpent's head, and to whom alone belongs the privilege of destroying all heresies arising upon earth." The miraculous medal : its origin, history, circulation, results by M. Aladel C.M.

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." ( Matth. V. 7)
Theologians assert that those who bestow mercy upon the suffering souls shall themselves find great relief and assistance in Purgatory. They consider active charity toward the holy souls a mark of predestination to eternal happiness. It is true, says St. Thomas of Aquin, that he who satisfies for the suffering souls does not satisfy for himself. But it is also true, adds the saint, that he deserves more than the remission of pain, namely, eternal life. Here it is that God by the mouth of the Royal Prophet, expresses Himself: "Blessed is he that undertandeth concerning the needy and the poor: the Lord will deliver him in the evil day." (Ps. XI, 1). The assistance of the holy souls is also experienced in temporal wants in favor of their benefactors. Bishop Colmar of Mayence writes: "These destitute, suffering souls do not wait until they enter Heaven to show their gratitude towards their benefactors; whilst they still languish in Purgatory they pray without ceasing for the welfare of the soul and body, obtain for them recovery from disease, assistance in poverty, help in necessities, counsel and protection on journeys and in danger, preservation on journeys and in danger, preservation and increase of their temporal goods, aid them in the salvation of their souls, and, above all, come to their relief in the agonies of death and before the judgment seat of God."

Prayer: We beseech Thee O Lord, graciously to hear the humble and fervent prayers we offer for the souls in Purgatory, and grant that the charity we extend towards our suffering brothers and sisters, may, by their supplications obtain for us protection and help. Through Christ our Lord. Amen

Prayer for Priests in Purgatory: My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden, in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns, in the Way to Calvary, in Thy Crucifixion and Death, have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory, especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them. I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me, the priests my heart has never forgotten, and for those that I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory. Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for souls who are suffering in Purgatory for their want of gratitude.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)

Practice: In spiritual and temporal wants, have recourse to the Holy Souls.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907

"According to St. Paul, the Apostle, the honor and glory of God should be the principal motive of all our actions: "Whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do; do all things for the glory of God." (1 Cor. X. 31.) "The glorification of God ought to be our especial aim in our works, most particularly in our acts of charity for the dead; and justly so, for, by delivering these holy souls, we lead them to Heaven, where alone God is perfectly known, loved and glorified.

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"A NOBLE virgin of Alexandria; who in her youthful years sought satisfaction in the study of virtue, and in improving her mind in Christian learning. She became so inflamed with a zeal for truth, that meeting the emperor Maximinus II. she reproached him with injustice and cruelty, for persecuting the innocent Christians. By her reasoning she also triumphed over an assembly of the most acute philosophers; and persuaded them to sacrifice their lives for Christ, though they had undertaken, by the emperor's order, to reason her out of her faith. Upon which, Maximinus being enraged, and finding that no reasons or flatteries could prevail, commanded her to be scourged, to be kept in prison without friends or food, and to have her body torn on a wheel. Her constancy overcoming these torments, she was at length beheaded, and so finished a glorious martyrdom, in the year 302. In this saint, all virgins and other Christians have a lesson to condemn their reading of plays and romances, and all their usual vanities, which only dissipate and weaken their minds; and to encourage them to a better study, whereby they may come to the knowledge of God and themselves, and discover those ways, which lead to happiness.

How can we pretend to be disciples of Christ except by following him? And do we follow Christ, when we greedily seek what he renounced, admire what he despised, and love what he hated? Do we, when we walk in all the ways of pride, self-love and the world, follow him, who teaches the contempt of the world and of ourselves? His ways are not our ways: we go on in our own, and say that we follow his. But is this the imitation or following of Christ? It is what the world calls so; but till we take another method, in seeking to be humble, meek and patient, to do the will of God, and refer all to his glory, we may bear the name of Christians, but we cannot, in spirit and truth, be disciples of Christ." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother

"The prayers and works of Charity which we bestow on the suffering souls in Purgatory, not only increase our spiritual merit, they also call forth the gratitude of the holy ransomed souls; for, when these dear souls are, by our endeavors, admitted to the vision of God, they cease not to prove the warmth of their thankfulness and love by imploring for us the help of which we are so much in need in the manifold dangers and great troubles of life. How can the faithful departed who are loved by God so tenderly, and predestined to glory, fail to pray, not indeed for themselves, but for their benefactors who still live in this vale of tears. Not only will they speedily pay their debt of gratitude to those who befriend them, but our dear Lord Himself, whose greater honor and glory we have promoted by our devotion to the holy souls, will readily assist them to requite the services rendered them by the faithful upon earth. St. Alphonsus of Liguori says: "He who assists these distressed souls, so tenderly loved by God, may confidently hope for his salvation; for, when such a soul obtains deliverance through his prayers and good works, it incessantly prays for this salvation, and God will deny nothing to such a soul."

Prayer: We beseech Thee, O Lord, vouchsafe to hear the suffering souls, who supplicate Thee for their benefactors, that we, in union with these holy souls, for whom we offer fervent prayers upon earth, may praise Thy mercies forever, Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Priests in Purgatory: My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden, in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns, in the Way to Calvary, in Thy Crucifixion and Death, have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory, especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them. I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me, the priests my heart has never forgotten, and for those that I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory. Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls who suffer for their faults against charity.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)

Practice: Bestow charity upon others without expecting gratitude.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907