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
In the year 1874 a celebrated Jewish musician was converted by hearing a sermon on the Holy Eucharist, and, after receiving baptism, he resolved to forsake the world and enter a very strict Religious Order. Every day he passed several hours in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, and in his prayers he prayed fervently for the conversion of his mother, towards whom he felt the most tender affection. The much-desired conversion was however not obtained, and his mother died, adhering obstinately to her Jewish errors.
Overwhelmed with anguish, the good son prostrated himself before the Tabernacle, and giving vent to his grief, exclaimed: ‘‘I owe all to Thee, O Lord, it is true ; but, at the same time, is there anything that I have refused to Thee?—my youth, my worldly hopes, my success in life, my family joys, the rest I had earned, all these I sacrificed the moment I heard Thy voice, and I would even have given my blood, hadst Thou required it. And Thou, O Lord, Thou the eternal goodness, who hast promised to reward a hundredfold, Thou hast refused me the soul of my mother! O God, I shall sink under this martyrdom, and murmurs rise unbidden to my lips.”
Suddenly a mysterious voice was heard: “Man of little faith, thy mother is saved!”
“My mother saved ! O God, it is not possible!”
“Yes, she is saved; know that thy prayer prevailed with Me; I received all those thou didst address to Me for thy mother, and in her last hour I was mindful of them. At the moment of her death I presented Myself to her, she saw Me and exclaimed: ‘My Lord and my God!’ Have courage, thy mother has escaped damnation, and thy fervent prayers will soon deliver her soul from the prison of Purgatory.”
The Rev. Father Herman, for it was he, learnt soon after from a second apparition, that his mother was in heaven. Oh! let us pray much for our deceased relatives.
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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.