Chapter 9: Happy death of another religious— Our Lord specially rewards her charity to others— Purgatory in sickness — How our Lord purified a dying religious — Efficacy of prayers for the departed — Of Masses for the dead— .Reward of fervour when suffering

Another religious died soon after, who from her infancy had been specially devoted to the Mother of God. After she had received the last Sacraments, and when she ap peared almost dead, she gave singular edification to the religious by the affection and compunction with which she kissed the wounds of a crucifix which was presented to her, addressing it in the tenderest words. After pouring forth the most ardent and fervent ejaculations for pardon of her sins, for the protection of her Spouse in her last moments, and for the assistance of the Blessed Virgin, the Angels, and Saints, her strength failed, and she passed, as in a quiet sleep, to her eternal reward. As the community were reciting the usual prayers for the repose of her soul, our Lord appeared to a religious with the deceased in His arms, saying to her, caressingly, " Do you know Me, My child ? " Then she who was favoured with this vision prayed that our Lord would specially reward that soul for her humble and efficacious charity in having served her on many occasions, and for having been specially earnest in doing service to those religious who were most holy and devoted to God, in order that she might share in their merits and graces. Our Lord therefore presented His deified Heart to her, saying : " Drink freely from Me a reward for all which thou didst when on earth for My elect."

On the following day, at Mass, the soul appeared as if seated in our Lord's bosom, and His Blessed Mother ap peared to rejoice this soul by a communication of her merits. This was specially the case while the community recited the Psalter for her, with the Ave Maria; so that at each word the Mother of our Lord appeared to make presents to this soul, who received them to increase her merit before God. While they prayed thus, the religious desired much to know what faults the deceased had com mitted, from which it had been necessary to purify her before her death ; and she prayed God to make this known to her. As her prayer was the result of a Divine inspiration, and not of an idle curiosity, it was heard ; and our Lord replied: "She took some complacence in her own judg ment ; but I purified her from this, by causing her to die before the community had finished the prayers which they were offering for her. This troubled her much, because she feared it would prove an obstacle to her happiness, by depriving her of the assistance which she hoped to derive from the prayers of others."

To this the religious replied : " Lord, could she not b.ave been purified from this by the sentiments of com punction which she had in imploring pardon for all her sins at the last moment of her life?" Our Lord replied : " This general contrition was not sufficient, because she still had some confidence in her own judgment, and was not perfectly docile to those who instructed her; and therefore it was necessary that she should be purified by this suffering." He added : " She also needed purifica tion, for having sometimes neglected the grace of confes sion ; but My goodness remitted this fault to her for the sake of some persons whom I honour with My friendship, and of others who had charge of her, and for the pain and mortification I caused her by obliging her to confess, against her inclination, on the day of her death ; and then I pardoned her all the omissions she had been guilty of in this matter."

At the Mass, when they sung at the offertory Hostias ac preces our Lord elevated His right hand, and shed forth from it a marvellous light, which illuminated the whole heaven, but especially this soul, which was in the bosom of our Lord. Then the Saints approached, each according to their rank, and placed their merits as an offer ing on the breast of Jesus, to supply for the deficiencies of this soul. The religious knew that they acted thus be cause, when that soul was on earth, she had been accus tomed to pray that the Saints would give this assistance to the souls of the deceased. The Saints then testified their affection for her by endeavouring to increase her happiness, and the virgins caressed her specially, as having, in common with them, the excellent grace of virginity.

On another occasion, when the religious prayed for this soul, with few but ardent words, it appeared to her that all her words were engraven on the bosom of Jesus, and formed there so many little windows, which opened into the Heart of Jesus. Then she heard our Lord say to this soul : " Look through heaven, and see if there is any grace in the Saints which you would desire to have, and draw it from My Heart through these little openings." The religious knew, further, that each prayer which waa

*From tbo Offertory, Missa Defu. : "We offer to Thee, O Lord •acrifices and prayers : do Thou receive them in behalf of those soulg vhom we commemorate," &c.

made devoutly for her produced the same effect. At the elevation of the Host, our Lord appeared to present His sacred Body to this soul, under the form of a spotless lamb ; having embraced it devoutly, she became entirely changed in this embrace, because she obtained new joys, and a more clear knowledge of the Divinity. Then the religious begged her to pray for those who were under her guidance, and she replied : "I will pray for them, but I can desire nothing except what I see to be conformable to the will of my beloved Lord." The religious replied : "Is it not advantageous to them to hope in your prayers ? " She answered : " It will avail them much for our Lord to be hold their earnest desire for our intercession." " But," continued the religious, " can you not pray especially for your special friends, if they have not asked your prayers V She replied : " Our Lord, of His infinite charity, grants them particular favours for our sake." " Since this is the case, pray specially for the priest who communicates for you." The soul answered : " He will afford me a double advantage ; because, as the Lord receives it from him and returns it to me, so will He return to him what I have gained thereby; as gold appears to greater advan tage when contrasted with colours." *

" From what you say," continued the religious, " it would appear that it is more salutary to celebrate Mass for the dead than for any other intention 1 " She replied : "When this is done through charity, it is of more avail than if the mass were said merely as a sacerdotal duty." " And how know you all these things 1 " inquired the religious, " since you appeared to know so little when on earth 1 " The soul replied : " I know it from the Source of which St. Augustine speaks. When God looks into the soul, it learns all things."*

Once, as the religious beheld this soul clothed with a scarlet robe, and in a high degree of glory, she inquired of our Lord how she had merited such favours. He replied : " I have done for her what I promised through you, by clothing her with My Passion to reward her for an occa sion on which her heart was greatly depressed, and yet she did not exempt herself from the ordinary duties of the order; and although she had to do more than her .strength allowed, she did not complain much of it." He added : " And for the weakness and exhaustion which she suffered in her sickness, I have caused her to be accom panied by the princes of My kingdom, who make her find a special satisfaction in the glory which she enjoys ; and I have recompensed her so abundantly for what she endured, that she desires to have suffered a hundred times more."

The religious also beheld many souls kneeling before her to testify their gratitude for their deliverance from purgatory, through the prayers which had been offered for her, and which she had not needed. She inquired if the community would obtain any advantage from this j and they replied : " It is certainly very advantageous to you, for our Lord will pour fortli grace on you for each." In another Mass, which was not for the dead, the religious inquired of this soul what fruit she could obtain thereby, as it was not for the dead. The soul replied : " And what share has a queen in the possession of the king her lord1? Know that I am so closely united to the King my Lord and my beloved Spouse, that I share in all Hia goods, as a queen is admitted to the table of the king ; for which, may the King of kings be eternally praised and glorified !"