The practice of the Month of the Souls in Purgatory is spreading more and more. It bids fair to become as popular as that of the Month of Mary. Its origin is very ancient, and, under a different form, we find it among the Jewish people, long before the Christian era. The proof of this we find in religious journals of our period, and especially in the Opinion die Midi, a French paper. Some years ago, the Abbe Serre, director of an Archconfraternity for the relief of the souls in Purgatory, established at Nimes, thus expressed himself in the above-mentioned journal:
"Under the ancient law the Month of the Dead was one of the most general and one of the most usual forms of prayer for the deceased; indeed, devotion towards the dead appears to be one of the most remarkable rites among the Jews. It was decreed after the death of the patriarch Jacob that his sons should mourn him for thirty days. It was the same on the death of the high-priest Aaron, and of his brother Moses; mourning for thirty days was renewed, and the people of Israel believed that they could not better testify their gratitude to these two great men than by offering to God supplications for their souls during a whole month.
"This pious practice of praying for the departed during an entire, uninterrupted month became so deeply rooted among the chosen people that Scripture assures us mourning is only complete when the deceased has been sorrowed over during thirty days. 'This period,' says the historian Josephus, 'has been recognized by all the Doctors as just and proper to weep over the loss of those dear to us.' So the Catholic Church, which, from Apostolic times, has shown so much solicitude for her deceased children, never ceasing to pray for them, has also specially encouraged mourning for one month as the strongest expression and the most vivid attribute of the compassion the survivors have for those who are no more. From this comes the holy rite called the Month of the Dead, to which liturgical authors give mystical interpretations. Saint Gregory rendered it more important by adding to it the celebration of thirty Masses on thirty consecutive days, and Innocent XI. enriched it with indulgences. Classed by the monks of Cluny among their pious exercises, it was adopted by the faithful during many centuries and recommended by Benedict XIII.
"Benedict XII wished to see it revived in its first vigor for the advantage of the livinor as well as for that of the dead. Laws were not wanting on this subject. In the Council of Bavaria it was agreed that on the death of one of the bishops or abbots of the province each of the survivors should say thirty Masses, and that the bishops or abbots should do the same for each dead priest or monk. In the Synod of Chelsit they prescribed the recitation of certain prayers, during a month, to aid more promptly the entry of the departed into the kingdom of happiness; and in the capitularies of the kings of France it was ordained that fasting and offerings should be made during thirty days for the intention of friends and relations of the departed.
"Encouraged by so great a testimony, the piety of the faithful has always, although in various ways, consecrated a month to the memor}^ of those who were dear to them. Tlius, the clergy of Metz practised it for their bishop, Cleodulphe, by offering Masses, penances, prayers, and alms for him during thirty days; the holy abbot, Peter of Clugny, recommended all the priors of his Order to do the same for his mother, Raingarde. Charlemagne displayed his imperial magnificence in founding a Chapter of Canons, who recited thirty psalters each year and celebrated as many Masses for the repose and peace of his well-beloved son, Rotard; and the Most Serene Infanta, Isabella Clara Eugenia, besides the celebration of four thousand Masses, caused public and private prayers to be offered, during thirty consecutive days, for the soul of her deceased husband, the Archduke Albert. Saint Louis Bertrand gave himself up to rigorous penances and very fervent prayers, during the same space of a month, for the intention of one of his religious brothers whom he had the consolation of seeing ascend to heaven on the thirtieth day. Saint Peter Damian narrates that in a certain monastery the Divine Sacrifice was daily offered, during an entire month, for the benefit of each monk at his decease; the wliole community being obliged to assist thereat. At the abbey of Fulda, during the same space of time, the deceased is considered present in the refectory, and his portion of food is given each day to the poor for the good of his soul. Saint Norbert wished that in his Order of Premonstrants this double practice of devotion for the dead should be observed; and with the Friars Preachers, who are so charitable towards the dead, the rule of the great patriarch. Saint Dominic, ordered that for each brother or sister taken away by death there should be recited, during thirty days, one hundred Pater nosters by the lay brothers and by the sisters, and that the priests should say thirty Masses."
We read some time ago, in Le Alonde, a French newspaper, the following:
"The pious practice of the Month of November for the Souls in Purgatory is spreading in the various dioceses of this kingdom. Last November it was established in many of the parishes, to the great satisfaction of zealous priests eager for its foundation, and to the great benefit of many of the faithful who joined in the devotion. Its method is analogous to that of the exercises for the Month of Mary. So great have been its fruits in the parishes where it lias been introduced, that many other priests have resolved to establish it in their parishes next November, and there is reason to believe that it will shortly become a devotion common to all the churches of the kingdom of Naples.
"God, Who desires so much that the children of the Church Militant should aid the souls in Purgatory, will, without doubt, bestow generous blessings out of the treasures of His goodness on the pastors and on the faithful who co-operate in extending this work of mercy; and the suffering souls, faithful as well as just, powerful as well as beloved of the Lord, who, in other respects, liave so much the right to our aid, will return a hundred for one to those who assist them."
La Verite, a French journal, adds: "It is with great joy and sincere consolation that the propagators of the work so well known under the title of Month of November for the Souls in Purgatory see from day to day the realization of their dearest hopes.
"The pious practice of the Month of the Dead, already adopted in many Catholic churches, promises to assume still larger proportions this year."
Finally, the Rosier de Afarie another French paper, thus expresses itself: "By a special dispensation of Divine Providence, the Month of the Souls in Purgatory appears destined to become as general and as popular as the Month of Mary. We are almost certain it w^ill be so for us, because, to our own knowledge, in man}^ dioceses of France, this beautiful and touching devotion has assumed, within a few years, an extent that is truly prodigious, and we are happy to say that it is spreading more and more every day, thanks chiefly to the sahitary influence of several new associations or confraternities devoted to the dead, and to a number of woi'ks which pious writers have recently publislied on this devotion, all tending to lead hearts to the practice of good works and virtue."
We will indicate briefly how the Month of the Souls in Purgatory is practised:
1. As is generally known, many persons perform pious exercises in private during the month of November, specially consecrated to devotion towards the dead.
2. In some congregations and religious communities, both of men and of women, the exercises are ordinarily performed in common.
3. In others they content themselves with reading the daily meditation in the evening, each one doing what charity may suggest to him for the holy souls.
4. In numerous parishes where the zealous pastor is careful, each year, to recall to mind the opening of the Month of the Souls in Purgatory, nearly all the faithful make it at home, during the evening; not always, however, in the month of November, because in the country, at that time, the men liave heavy work which requires rest at an early hour; but in the month of December, when the entire family is reunited. Then, after supper, each member takes his place around the rustic hearth, and while all are silently at work a child reads aloud the special reading for the day, after which he recites the Rosary for the intention of the souls in Purgatory, and all respond without interrupting their work. In this way the last hours of the day are doubly well spent.
5. Elsewhere the pastor assembles his parishioners at church in the evening, to read them the daily meditation and to give them the necessary explanations more or less long; then he recites with them the chaplet or other prayers for the dead, and the service ends by the singing of a canticle on Purgatory.
6. In many schools, at the end of the class, the above-mentioned reading is made to the children, always followed by some short prayers in behalf of the faithful departed. The children are delighted with this exercise, and hasten to repeat to their parents whatever they may remember of the reading. The examples, above all, make a deep impression on them.
A more simple and more practical method than the preceding would consist in reading, each morning of November, at the beginning or end of Mass, or, better still, at the Gospel, for five minutes, some pages of a book both doctrinal and practical on Purgatory. This method can be adopted everyw^here. A simple wish expressed by the bishops would suffice to render universal this manner of practising the devotion of the Month of the Dead.
To make use of and to increase the circulation of this book is then one of the strongest proofs of kind remembrance, of tender charity, and of salutary assistance which we can give to our dead. Is is not then desirable that persons devoted to their deceased friends should introduce the custom of distributing it to their relations and friends as a souvenir of the deceased on the day of or that following the burial, or at the time of a funeral service? This alms will attain its end in a direct and lasting manner.
- text taken from Month of the Dead by Father Celestin Cloquet, translated by a Sister of Mercy, with the Imprimatur of Archbishop Michael Augustine Corrigan, Archdiocese of New York, 18 October 1886