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 of a person well known for her devotion to the souls in Purgatory, and the relief of whom had been the object of her life, that when dying, the devil, fearing to lose her, assaulted her violently, surrounding her by all the powers of hell. The dying woman had struggled long and painfully, when suddenly she saw a crowd of unknown, but very beautiful persons enter the room, who putting the devils to flight, came near the bed, and spoke words of encouragement and heavenly consolation.
Transported with joy she asked: “Who are you who do me so much good?”
“We are,” replied her benefactors, “the inhabitants of heaven, who have, by means of the suffrages you offered for us, been admitted into eternal happiness, and through gratitude we come in our turn to help you to cross the threshold of eternity, to deliver you from your anguish, and introduce you to the joys of the Holy City.”
At these words a smile lit up the face of the dying woman, her eyes closed, and she slept in the peace of the Lord. When her soul appeared before the Sovereign Judge, it was surrounded by as many advocates and protectors as she had delivered souls from Purgatory, and, with them, she entered triumphantly the realms of bliss. Oh, that one day the same happiness may be ours!
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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.