The fifth day of November in the book, The Month of the Holy Souls, focuses on the existence of Purgatory. It presents the following vivid words for our consideration.

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EXAMPLE

A few years ago, in a town in France, a fire broke out in the basement floor of a house. It was during the night, and several people were sleeping in the upper rooms, but so soundly that they did not wake till the fire gained the floor beneath where they slept. Escape was then impossible; the bystanders were powerless to help and could only watch the frantic efforts of the victims and hear the despairing cries of “Save, oh, save us!” Meanwhile the flames reached the roof, which fell in, burying the unfortunate inmates.

Heartrending as was the scene, there is yet another still more sad and painful, which we little heed. The souls of our friends and relatives are being devoured by fire, and by what fire?—by a fire enkindled by the wrath of God. You can save them by your tears and the merits of Jesus Christ. Oh, have pity on them; save them, Jesus, have mercy on them!

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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.