The book, The Month of the Holy Souls, presents daily considerations for the month of November in the form of meditations and practical examples. The example for today is as follows.

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EXAMPLE

Nothing is more calculated to convince us of the malice of venial sin than the well-authenticated accounts of the apparitions of a great many souls, who have revealed how rigorously God has punished them for faults which they considered as only very slight.

Some have been condemned to Purgatory for having talked without necessity in church, as is related by St. Cesarius of a little girl, seven years old. Others, like the sister of St. Peter Damien, for having listened to a profane song. A noble Roman lady, named Catharine, died, of whom St. Monica entertained so high an opinion that, when she lived, she used often to recommend her son, St. Augustine, to her pious prayers. Nevertheless, the soul of the departed appeared to the holy Bishop, St. Martin, and said: “I am burning in the expiatory flames for having two or three times washed my face through vanity.” St. Severin passed some years in Purgatory, on account of certain faults of negligence in saying the Divine Office. A child, nine years of age, was condemned for not having paid for or restored some trifling things he had taken. The father of a family remained five hundred years in the fire of Purgatory for neglecting the education of his children; and how many others are there who have been punished equally?

Oh, let us, then, understand, by the light of the dread fire of Purgatory, how great an evil it is to commit venial sin! Alas! instead of weeping over it, we commit it without scruple, by way of amusement. Happy those souls who, at the hour of death, can say, like St. Paul: ‘I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus in my body.” (Gal. vi. 17.)

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This anecdote comes from Month of the Souls in Purgatory by Abbé Berlioux, originally published in English in the year 1886. This book contains meditations and an example story for each day of the month. In an effort to preserve short inspiring stories from our Catholic past, every day for the month of November you can find the example story for the day published on the website under people/stories.

The same author also published similar books for the months of March (St. Joseph), May (Our Lady), and June (Sacred Heart). We are planning to post the stories for these months in the future, as well as re-publish a collection of these four books as a set, so be sure to check back in a few months.