"On the last day of his life, November 10, 1608, Saint Andrew rose to say Mass. He was eighty-eight years old, and so weak he could scarcely reach the altar. He began the Judica me, Deus, the opening prayer, but fell forward, the victim of apoplexy. Laid on a straw mattress, his whole frame was convulsed in agony, while the ancient fiend, in visible form, advanced as though to seize his soul. Then, while the onlookers prayed and wept, he invoked Our Lady, and his Guardian Angel seized the monster and dragged it out of the room. A calm and holy smile settled on the features of the dying Saint and, as he gazed with a grateful countenance on the image of Mary, his holy soul winged its way to God.

Reflection: Saint Andrew, who suffered so terrible an agony, is invoked as special protector from an unprovided and sudden death. Ask this holy priest to be with you in your last hour, and bring Jesus and Mary to your aid." Sanctoral

"This saint was a fit instrument of the Holy Ghost, in directing others in the paths of perfect virtue, because dead to himself, and a man of prayer. He never  spoke of himself, never thought of his own actions except of his weaknesses, which he had always before his eyes in the most profound sense of his own nothingness, baseness, total insufficiency, and weakness. Those who talk often of themselves, discover that they are deeply infected with the disease of the devil, which is pride, or with the poison of vanity, its eldest daughter.They have no other reward to expect, but what they now receive, the empty breath of sinners. Even this incense is only affected hypocrisy. For men, by that base passion which they betray, become justly contemptible and odious to those very persons whose vain applause they seem to court." The Catholic Year by Fr. John Gother

St. Teresa advises all persons to shun such directors, as pernicious to souls both by the contagion of self-conceit and vain-glory which they spread, and by banishing the Holy Ghost with his light and blessing; for nothing is more contrary to him than a spirit of vanity and pride. The most perfect disinterestedness, contempt of the world, self-denial,  obedience, and charity, are no less essential ingredients of a  Christian, and especially an ecclesiastical spirit, than meekness and humility."
Rev. Fr. Alban Butler The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints Vol 11 1821 

Prayer
O most glorious saint, whom God has made our protector against apoplexy; Seeing that thou thyself didst die of that disease, we earnestly pray thee to preserve us from an evil so dangerous and so common.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

The Raccolta The lives of the fathers, martyrs, and other principal saints 1878

"The Church has given no decision regarding the word "fire" in relation to Purgatory; but, according to Theologians and Doctors of the Church, we are to understand a material fire. Concerning this, Bishop Colmar of Mayence, a great friend of the holy souls, writes: "Besides being deprived of the vision of God, the souls in Purgatory must endure the torture of a fire, the effects of which are so much more painful because it is an instrument in the avenging hand of God"; a fire, as St. Augustine says, in comparison to which our material fire is as nothing; a fire that entirely penetrates the soul, in whatever manner this may be accomplished.

How, and to what extent this is done, we know not, but may draw our conclusion from similar instances. St. Gregory the Great says: "As the fallen angels, although pure spirits, are tormented by the material fire of Hell, so may a similar fire torture the souls of the departed in Purgatory." The justice of God can punish a spirit by means of a material substance as well as He can in His omnipotence give life to a body by the agency of a spirit. According to the holy Fathers, the fire of Purgatory does not differ from the fire of Hell, except in point of duration. "It is the same fire," says St. Thomas, "that torments the reprobates in Hell, and the just in Purgatory. The least pain in Purgatory," he adds, "surpasses the greatest sufferings of this life." Nothing but eternal duration makes the fire of Hell more forcible than that of Purgatory."

Prayer: Refresh, O Lord, the suffering souls in Purgatory, with the dew of Thy grace, that their pains may be relieved, and, in Thy mercy, hasten the moment of their deliverance, that they may meet Thee in Heaven where no fire but that of Thy holy love shall consume them. 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 all the souls in Purgatory, particularly for those who are forgotten by their relatives.

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

Practice: Endeavor to spread the devotion for the holy souls in Purgatory as much as possible.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

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

"The souls in Purgatory have entered into the realm of Divine Justice. The penance and satisfaction due for their faults must be made, either by the pain of Purgatory itself, or by the suffrages of the faithful, consisting in prayer, good works and the spiritual treasure of indulgences bestowed upon them; for the suffering souls can no longer merit and are entirely unable to assist themselves. A sick man and a beggar have a tongue to ask for help, and the very sight of their misery will move others to compassion. The suffering souls, however, have no resource but that of patience, resignation and hope. To all their moans there is but one answer, "the night hath come, in which no man can work."

Hence in their extreme desolation and distress, they incessantly cry out to us for relief and assistance. But since they cannot do this in a manner perceptible to us, holy Church does it for them by instituting many touching devotions in their behalf. Can we, then, be cold and heartless towards these souls? "A hard heart will fare evil at the last." Be not, then, indifferent to your own interests."

Prayer: Have mercy, O Lord, upon the suffering souls in Purgatory, in their helplessness and desolation. Comfort them by the prayers and petitions of the just in Heaven and upon earth; shorten the time of their suffering, and reward them with joys eternal. 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 most forsaken and helpless souls.

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

Practice: Deny yourself a little comfort, or some special consolation, and offer it for the most forsaken souls in Purgatory

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

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

St. Elisabeth de la Sainte Trinite

The Spiritual Doctrine of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity by Father Philipon

Prayer to the Trinity

O my God, Trinity whom I adore, help me to become utterly forgetful of myself so that I may establish myself in you, as changeless and calm as though my soul were already in eternity. Let nothing disturb my peace nor draw me forth from you, O my unchanging God, but at every moment may I penetrate more deeply into the depths of your mystery. Give peace to my soul; make it your heaven, your cherished dwelling-place and the place of your repose. Let me never leave you there alone, but keep me there, wholly attentive, wholly alert in my faith, wholly adoring and fully given up to your creative action.  

O my beloved Christ, crucified for love, I long to be the bride of your heart. I long to cover you with glory, to love you even unto death! Yet I sense my powerlessness and beg you to clothe me with yourself. Identify my soul with all the movements of your soul, submerge me, overwhelm me, substitute yourself for me, so that my life may become a reflection of your life. Come into me as Adorer, as Redeemer and as Saviour.  

O Eternal Word, utterance of my God, I want to spend my life listening to you, to become totally teachable so that I might learn all from you. Through all darkness, all emptiness, all powerlessness, I want to keep my eyes fixed on you and to remain under your great light. O my Beloved Star, so fascinate me that I may never be able to leave your radiance.

O Consuming Fire, Spirit of Love, overshadow me so that the Word may be, as it were incarnate again in my soul. May I be for him a new humanity in which he can renew all his mystery.

And you, O Father, bend down towards your poor little creature. Cover her with your shadow, see in her only your beloved son in whom you are well pleased.

O my `Three’, my All, my Beatitude, infinite Solitude, Immensity in which I lose myself, I surrender myself to you as your prey. Immerse yourself in me so that I may be immersed in you until I go to contemplate in your light the abyss of your splendour!

St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, pray for us!

14. We adore Thee, most loving Shepherd, pattern of true charity! And to make reparation for the designs of revenge, conceived in defiance of Thy divine prohibitions, we offer up to Thee the patience and prayers of the Martyrs in favor of their persecutors. Eternal praise and thanksgiving be to the Most Holy and Most Divine Sacrament.

O Queen of heaven and earth, hope of mankind, who adores thy Divine Son incessantly! We entreat thee, that, since we have the honor to be of the number of thy children, thou would interest thyself in our behalf and make satisfaction for us, and in our name, to our Eternal Judge, by rendering to Him the duties which we ourselves are incapable of performing. Amen

CAPG

"The soul departed, before the judgment set of God, is enlightened with a perfect knowledge of the purity and sanctity of her Divine Judge, clearly perceiving the stains with which she is sullied, and her extreme unworthiness of union with God, the thought that I have offended God who is eternal beauty and perfection; I am not yet worthy to appear before the face of the Lord, who is infinitely holy, not worthy to take possession of my dwelling place in Heaven, is the greatest sorrow of the suffering souls. Much more clearly than during their earthly lives do these holy souls comprehend the perfections of God and love Him above all things; therefore, the thought of having offended Him is a piercing sorrow which surpasses all their other sufferings. 

St. Ambrose tells us, there is no greater agony than remorse of conscience caused by sin. There are examples on record of men who died from the effects of this vehement sorrow. yet how much more intense must be the contrition of the suffering souls, who fully understand the great malice of sin! We know by our own experience that the depth of sorrow for having offended a person is equal to the love we bear him. The holy souls in Purgatory, being inflamed with a perfect love of God, their perfect contrition for sin is their greatest sorrow."

Payer: O God, Father of grace and mercy, graciously regard the deep sorrow of the suffering souls in Purgatory. Deign to accept their love and grant them remission of their punishment, that, united with Thee, they may praise Thy goodness 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 those who while on earth, loved God most ardently.

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

Practice: Try to make an act of perfect contrition for your sins.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

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

"The spiritual suffering, or the pain of loss, is the greatest pain of Purgatory, according to the Fathers of the Church. No one can comprehend the great suffering of a soul departed, which, in all its ardent desire for the highest and only good, sees itself ever repulsed as an object of God's avenging justice.

St. Alphonsus writes: " Far greater than the pain of sense in Purgatory is that pain which the holy souls must endure in being deprived of the vision of God. Because these souls are inflamed, not only with natural, but with a supernatural love of God, they are so vehemently attracted to union with their highest good, that in being repulsed through their own fault, they experience so violent a pain that it would kill them instantly if death were possible to them." "Therefore," says St. Chrysostom, "this pain of being deprived of God is far greater pain for them than the pain of the senses. The fire of Hell increased a thousand times would not cause them such great suffering as does this pain of the loss of God."

Prayer: O God! Father of Mercies, grant the ardent desire of the souls in Purgatory who yearn to behold Thee. Send down to them Thy holy angel with the joyful tidings that the moment of their deliverance has come, that their exile is ended; and bless them with perfect union with Thee 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 are punished for their forgetfulness of the holy presence of God during their life.

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

Practice: Try to remember at all times the holy presence of God.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

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

"The sufferings of Purgatory are twofold: the pain of loss, and the torture of the senses; both in proportion to temporal punishment unremitted. Having committed sin, the soul has turned away from God, thus increasing the pain of loss, or according to our ideas, God departs from that soul and deprives her of His beatific vision. By sin, the souls has been attached to creatures, making improper use of them, displeasing to God, hence the severe punishment, consisting in the pain of the senses. God permits that those who have abandoned their Creator, and bestowed their affections upon creatures, are chastised, by the same, for we read in the Book of Wisdom: "By what things a man sinneth, by the same also is he tormented." (Wis. XI.17)

God has not revealed, nor has the Church ever taught in what manner or to what extent the souls in Purgatory suffer, but it is the opinion of the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church that what St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, (1, III. 15.) "But he himself shall be saved: yet so as by fire," must he taken in a literal sens, which is accepted also by St. Thomas Aquinas .

Prayer: O Lord, by Thine infinite love and clemency, graciously grant to the suffering souls in Purgatory remittance of their punishment. Receive them into Thy eternal glory, that blessed by Thy beatific vision, they may praise and adore Thee forever and ever. 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 of those who have suffered the longest time in Purgatory.

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

Practice: Do not let human respect prevent you from performing a duty.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

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

" The judgments of God are very different from the judgments of men. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways My ways,:" saith the Lord. "For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are My ways exalted above your ways, and My thoughts above your thoughts." (Is. LV. 8-9) Though the judgments of God are severe, they are ever just. "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required." (Luke XII. 48) And St. Gregory the Great says: "Where grace has been augmented, there, also, the account has been increased." From those souls, upon whom God has bestowed great and special graces, He demands a faithful co-operation, and the least infidelity to such grace is punished with extreme severity: the purgation or cleansing of these favored souls must be perfect in proportion to the high degree of glory to which they are to be exalted. in reference to prayer for the suffering souls, who are in Purgatory for venial sins and imperfections, we must observe that, though their time of suffering is comparatively short, and their punishment less rigorous, their pain and agony is more intense, owing to their yearning desire of perfect union with God. They are in utmost need of our fervent prayers, and will show their gratitude by their petitions for us before the throne of God, according to the speedy assistance we have given them during our earthly lives."

Prayer: Inflame within us, O Lord, the fire of Thy Divine Love, that all our inordinate desires may be consumed here upon earth, thus rendering our prayers for the suffering souls in Purgatory more acceptable to Thee and beneficial to them. Though 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 of those who have suffered for the longest time in Purgatory.

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

Practice: Do not let human respect prevent you from performing a duty. 

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

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

" For more than eighty years Milan had been without a resident archbishop, and left to the government of a single Vicar, but too often a man of lax discipline, who have but a small portion of his time to the administration of the diocese. All this neglect, added to revolutions, wars, and other calamities of the times, had reduced the vineyard of the Lord to a deplorable condition. Not only was it barren of fruit, but the rank weeds of sin flourished in profusion for the chastisement of the wickedness of men. Ecclesiastical jurisdiction was almost entirely neglected, and in certain points was never exercised. (...) The lives and manners of the clergy were as scandalous as can be conceived, and gave the worst example, for their way of living was altogether worldly, and more sensual by far than that of laymen. They wore the secular dress, carried arms publicly, and lived for the most part in open and habitual concubinage, absenting themselves from their benefices, and neglecting all things appertaining to the service of God. The churches and sacred things were in consequence in a neglected and disgraceful state. So great was the ignorance of many who had cure of souls, that they did not know even the sacramental form of confession, nor that there were such things as reserved cases and censures. In some parts of the diocese ignorance had reached such a pitch that priests having cure of souls never went to confession, believing that they were not bound to do so, because they confessed others. Many other lamentable abuses were seen in the lives of the clergy, whose office was thus rendered contemptible, and little short of hateful, in the eyes of the laity, so that it had become a common saying, "If you want to go to hell, become a priest."

Even the regulars were not exempt from these disorders. From the bad lives of both the secular and regular clergy, there sprang up among the people countless errors , corruptions, and heresies. Numbers having entirely lost all knowledge of God, abandoned, as a natural consequence, the observance of His holy law. The sacraments, especially Confession and Communion, were very lightly esteemed. Many persons neglected them for ten and fifteen years, or even longer. There were to be found men of ripe age who had never made a confession, and who did not even know the meaning of it; whilst those persons who desired to keep up an appearance of Christianity, approached the sacraments once a year from custom rather than true devotion. A very small number were indeed yet to be found, both among clergy and people, who were assiduous in attending the sacred mysteries, whose Christian lives shone out in contrast to those of the majority around them. So much ignorance of the things of God prevailed, especially among the poor, that they had no knowledge of the foundations and principles of the Catholic faith, and were unable to say the Lord's Prayer or the Hail Mary. They did not know the Articles of the Faith or the Precepts of the Church, and could scarcely make the sign of the cross. Holy days were profaned by plays, dances, games, banquetings, and other disorders, as also by servile works, and public fairs and markets. It was as if Festivals had been ordained for the express purpose of multiplying occasions of offending God. Holy places were treated with the utmost irreverence. The business of the markets was carried on in the churches even during the time of the Divine Offices. Men laughed and talked loudly in the assembly of the faithful, walking up and down, as though it were a public lounge. Worse still, in some parts of the diocese banquets and balls were held in the churches; while, at other times, they were used without any scruple for threshing grain, and other profane purposes. Religion was brought so low that men, in a state of semi-intoxication, would actually mock priests by feigning a wish to go to confession. They would even show themselves in the church with masks on, and, under pretense of making their offering, would seize upon the offerings of others. The majority altogether disregarded the observance of fasting days, especially during Lent, when not only milk food, but even flesh meat, was eaten openly and without scruple; and the bacchanalian orgies of the carnival were prolonged for several days of the holy season, during which public feasts, dances, and disorders without number were carried on. The public scandals of adultery and of habitual concubinage were of continual occurrence, together with thousands of others vices and corruptions too numerous to mention. In like manner there was a neglect of discipline and strict observance in convents, the nuns allowing themselves the greatest liberty, coming in and going out at their pleasure, and admitting seculars freely, there being no observance of enclosure. It were needless and distressing to dwell at any length upon the public entertainments, profane dances, and such like disorders of these convents, together with grievous and deplorable scandals which resulted therefrom.

Such was the miserable condition of the Church of Milan before God blessed it with the presence of St. Charles. Often would the saint weep bitterly when on his visits to his diocese he witnessed with his own eyes these miseries. It was not, however, to be wondered at that weeds had overrun the vineyard, which had been so long deprived of a careful husbandman. Prelates and pastors may take warning from the sufferings entailed on their flocks by non-residence. Strict, indeed, will be the account they will have to render to God of all the souls whom their neglect has buried in hell."

Source: The life of st. Charles Borromeo by  Fr. Giovanni Pietro Giussano

Prayer to Saint Charles Borromeo:
O Glorious St. Charles! The father of the clergy, and the perfect model of holy prelates! Thou art that good pastor, who, like thy divine Master, didst give up thy life for thy flock, if not by death, at least by the numerous sacrifices of thy painful mission. Thy sanctified life on earth was a spur to the most fervent, thy exemplary penance was a reproach to the slothful, and thy indefatigable zeal was the support of the Church.

St. Charles, Father and Guide of the Clergy, pray for us
St. Charles, the light and support of the Church, pray for us