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

It is related in the Book of Daniel, that Darius, King of Persia, had passed a law, which, if broken, condemned the offender to be devoured by lions. The Prophet Daniel, who adored the one true God, being unable to observe the pagan law, was accused of not obeying the royal command. The king loved Daniel and was grieved to hear that he was accused of a crime that condemned him to be thrown into the lions’ den; but, before letting him go, he said to him: “Daniel, servant of God, fear not. What I cannot do without injury to my justice, I feel confident that the God you adore will do for you, and that He in his mercy will deliver you.”

And so it came to pass. God watched miraculously over Daniel. He first closed the jaws of the lions, who instead of being his executioners, became his guardians, and then He sent an angel with food for him to eat. This Scriptural narration is an emblem of what happens to the souls in Purgatory. God, when He sees them stained with sin and in debt to his Divine Justice, is unable to admit them into his kingdom; He is obliged to condemn them to the prison of expiation, and He says to them: “Go, but go with confidence; for what I myself am unable to do on account of my justice, another God will do for you, a God whom I myself have assigned to you. and who will be the minister of my mercies.” And who is this God? No other than yourself, Christian soul. You are constituted the God of Purgatory, the same as Moses was placed as God over Egypt, and it is for you to relieve and deliver these poor prisoners; it is for you to take them the spiritual food which they so impatiently expect. Oh, is not this a noble and holy mission?

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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.