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
The venerable Blosius, well known as a great authority on spiritual matters, and a man remarkable for wisdom, relates that a devout servant of God, with whom he was intimately acquainted, was visited by a soul in Purgatory, who made known to him all the torments it was suffering, in punishment for having received Holy Communion with lukewarmness, and but little preparation. On this account, it was condemned by Divine Justice to the torment of a consuming fire.
“I entreat you,” said the soul, “you who were my intimate and faithful friend, and who ought still to be the same, I entreat you to receive Communion in my name, with all the love and fervor you possibly can, and I feel confident that this fervent Communion will suffice for my deliverance, and atone for the tepidity I was guilty of.”
The friend hastened to hear Mass, and communicate devoutly for the repose of his unhappy friend. Having made his act of thanksgiving, the soul appeared again, surrounded by dazzling brightness, and, with gratitude said: “May you be blessed, kindest of friends, your Communion has delivered my soul, and I am going to see my adorable Master face to face.”
This example should remind us of the advice of St. Bonaventure: “Let charity induce you to communicate often and devoutly, for there is nothing which is more efficacious for the eternal repose of the dead.”
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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.