The third day of November in the book, The Month of the Holy Souls, focuses on the existence of Purgatory. The story it gives for this day is from the Old Testament:

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EXAMPLE

Judas Machabeus had been appointed by the Lord to defend Israel, the law, Jerusalem, and its temple, and, after gaining a great victory and putting to flight the enemies of God and his country, the first act of this brave and pious warrior was to kneel in thanksgiving to the God of Armies, Rising afterwards, he saw around him the bodies of his soldiers who had been slain in the victorious battle, and, penetrated with a holy respect for the mortal remains of these valiant men, Judas had them taken for burial to the sepulchres of their fathers. Then, being mindful of the souls of these martyrs to religion and their country, he collected alms and sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem to obtain a sacrifice for the sins of those who had died, for he wisely and piously thought of the resurrection, knowing that a great reward was reserved for those who died for the cause of God and religion.

This is what occurred on a battle-field in Palestine, more than two thousand years ago and, in confirmation of this practice—under the old law of praying for the dead—the inspired Word of God tells us that, “It is, therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Mach, xii. 46). It is clear, then, that Judas Machabeus believed in Purgatory, and that the Holy Spirit confirmed the belief. Alas! where, in these days, shall we find Generals capable of imitating so pious an example!

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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.