each of our good works, performed in the state of grace, ordinarily possesses a triple value in the sight of God.
I. The work is meritorious, that is to say, it increases our merit; it gives us right to a new degree of glory in Heaven.
2. It is impetratory (impetrate, obtain), that is to say, that, like a prayer, it has the virtue of obtaining some grace from God.
3. It is satisfactory, that is to say, that as having, as it were, a pecuniary value, it can satisfy Divine Justice and pay our debts of temporal punishment before God.
The merit is inalienable, and remains the property of the person who performs the action. On the contrary, the impetratory and satisfactory value can benefit others, in virtue of the communion of saints. This understood, let us put this practical question — What are suffrages by which, according to the doctrine of the Church, we may aid the souls in Purgatory?
To this question we answer: They consist of prayers, alms, fasts, and penances of any kind, indulgences, and above all, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. All the works performed in the state of grace Jesus Christ allows us to offer to the Divine Majesty for the relief of our brethren in Purgatory, and God applies them to those souls according to His Justice and Mercy. By this admirable arrangement, whilst protecting the rights of His Justice, our Heavenly Father multiplies the effects of His Mercy, which is thus exercised at the same time in favour of the Church Suffering and of the Church Militant. The merciful assistance which He allows us to give to our suffering brethren is of excellent profit to ourselves. It is a work not only advantageous to the departed, but also holy and salutary for the living. Sancta et salubris est cogitatio pro defunctis exorare.
We read in the Revelations of St. Gertrude [1] that a
- ↑ Legatus Div. Pietatis, lib. v. c. 5.
