with the greatest fervour; that she recommended herself to them with the greatest confidence in her spiritual necessities, and advised others to do the same, saying, " When I wish to obtain any favour from our Father in Heaven, I have recourse to the souls that are detained in Purgatory; I entreat them to present my request to the Divine Majesty in their own name, and I feel that I am heard through their intercession." A holy priest of our own day, the cause of whose beatification has been commenced in Rome, Venerable Vianney, Cure' of Ars, said to an ecclesiastic who consulted him, " Oh! if it were but known how great is the power of the good souls in Purgatory with the Heart of God, and if we knew all the graces we can obtain through their intercession, they would not be so much forgotten. We must, therefore, pray much for them, that they may pray much for us."
These last words of Venerable Vianney indicate the true manner of having recourse to the souls in Purgatory; we must assist them, to obtain their prayers and the effects of their gratitude in return— We must pray much for them that they may pray much for us.
There is no question here of invoking them as we invoke the saints in Heaven. Such is not the spirit of the Church, which, before all else, prays for the departed, and assists them by her suffrages. But it is nowise contrary to the spirit of the Church nor to Christian piety to procure relief for the souls, with the intention of obtaining in return, through the assistance of their prayers, the favours which we desire. Thus it is a laudable and pious act to offer a Mass for the departed when we are in need of any particular grace. If, when the holy souls are still in their sufferings, their prayers are so powerful, we may easily conceive that they will be much more efficacious when, being entirely purified, these souls stand before the throne of God.
