Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Eighth Day.
Instructed by holy and exalted prophets, the people of Israel, from the earliest times, made sacrifices and offerings for the dead, and thereby clearly showed their belief in purgatory. The records of all the past centuries referring to the subject clearly show that not the smallest doubt can be entertained on this point. When the star of the Jewish civilization began to fade, the heroic line of the Machabees gathered all their force once more together, in order to inaugurate a new epoch of power and glory. In the description of their noble and heroic actions we come across the unmistakable proof of their universal tradition and belief. Judas, the mighty hero, having lost a great number of soldiers in battle, did not confine himself to merely giving them an honorable burial. He commanded a collection to be made, and sent the sum to Jerusalem for a sacrifice to be offered for the fallen heroes. [pg 445] Holy Scripture concludes the narrative with the words: “It is therefore a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins”—that is from all temporal punishment due to those sins. This thought is justly called holy, because it springs from a holy source, that of faith and charity. It is called wholesome, in the first place to the poor souls themselves, because it comforts and encourages them in their sufferings, in the next place to those who pray for them, because they increase their own merits thereby, and gain new, faithful friends in heaven.
Prayer.
Release, O Lord, etc., etc.
Ninth Day.
The Holy Scriptures imply, in the narration of the action of the great leader Judas, the existence of purgatory, or some such place of purification in the next world, where the souls of the departed can be assisted by our prayers and sacrifices, and be cleansed from their sins. Certainly it would have been impossible, in such heavy time of war, to gather from the people such large sums of money, or to all at once introduce an innovation in religious practice of that kind, if this belief in purgatory had not been long and firmly implanted in their hearts. All the passages from the Old Testament clearly prove the truth of the Catholic doctrine, which teaches us that there exists a place for the purification of such souls as die in a state of grace, but have not yet fully expiated all their sins; and that those souls [pg 446] can be delivered by the prayers and good works of the faithful. The son of Sirach bears witness to the same when he says: “A gift hath grace in the sight of all the living, and restrain not grace from the dead,” which means that we should pay our dead the last respects and offer up sacrifices for them. This passage supports the general belief of the Jews, that we can assist the departed by good works. The Jews even now believe in the existence of some place of purification, and are in the habit of praying for their dead. The Jewish belief in purgatory rested on a very firm foundation.