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
Chaganus, having put to flight the army of Mauritius, exacted from the Emperor a large sum of money for the ransom of the many prisoners he had made. Mauritius refused. The conqueror then asked a less heavy sum, but this was likewise refused. Having reduced the amount of the required ransom to a mere nominal sum, without still being able to obtain it, the irritated barbarian gave orders to behead all the soldiers of the imperial army who were then in his power. But, what was the consequence?
A few days after, Mauritius had a frightful vision. He found himself cited before the tribunal of God, and he saw a vast multitude of slaves in heavy chains. These unhappy wretches in dreadful words cried for vengeance on him.
The Sovereign Judge, in an angry tone, said to Mauritius: ‘‘Which would you prefer—to be punished in this world or in the next?”
”Lord,” replied the terrified Emperor, “I prefer to be chastised in this world.”
‘‘In punishment, then, of your cruelty to these poor soldiers, whose lives you would not spare when you could have done it at so slight a cost, one of your soldiers shall take from you your crown, your reputation, and your life, and all your family shall share in your fall.”
A few days after, the army mutinied and proclaimed Phocas emperor. Mauritius tried to escape in a small boat, but it was in vain. The adherents of Phocas seized him, loaded him with chains, and the unhappy father had the grief to see his five sons massacred before his eyes, and he himself died an ignominious death.
Christian soul, who hearest this fact of history, reflect that it is no longer a question of poor soldiers, but of your own brethren, of your dear relatives, who are the suffering prisoners of Divine Justice. God, who is all-merciful, asks you for this ransom, a prayer, a communion, an alms, a tear, and will you be so hard-hearted, so unfeeling as to refuse?
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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.