A short treatise on prayer; the great means of obtaiining from God eternal salvation, and all the graces of which we stand in need

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S* ALPHONSUS MARIA DE LIGUORI BIsHOP AND CONFESSOR

C anenined by Par: VIL. 16% Nay. 1830.

CHAPTER I. On the Necessity of Prayer

Tue Pelagians erroneously asserted that Prayer is not necessary to obtain salvation. Pelagius, the impious author of that heretical sect maintained, that the damnation of the reprobate should be exclusively attributed to the negligence to acquire a knowledge of the truths necessary to be believed. ‘He,’ says St. Augustine, ‘discussed every subject except Prayer,’ and prayer, as that holy father taught, in conformity with the doctrine of St. James, is the only means of obtaining the science of the saints. ‘If any of you,’ says the apostle, ‘ want wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all abundantly, and upbraideth not.’—S¢. James, i. 5.

The holy scriptures clearly point out the necessity of Prayer for salvation. ‘ We ought,’ says the Redeemer, ‘ always to pray, and not to faint.’—Lwuke, xviii. 1. ‘ Watch ye and pray that ye enter not into temptation.’— Matt. xxvi. 41. * Ask, and it shall be given unto you.’— Matt. vii.7. The generality of theologians say, that the words, * We ought,’ ‘ Watch ye,’ * Ask,’ denote a rigid precept, and the strict necessity of of prayer. Wickliffe, erroneously maintaining that every good work is a prayer, asserted that these passages were to be understood not of Prayer, but of the necessity of good works. But the doctrine of Wickliffe has been expressly condemned by the church. Hence, the learned Lessius - says, that, ‘The necessity of Prayer for adults cannot be denied without an error against faith; because it is clear from the scriptures, that Prayer is the only means by which the helps necessary for salvation can be obtained.’—Less. de Just. lib. 2. c. 87. Dub. 3. n. 9. The necessity of Prayer is indeed evident; for, without the aid of divine grace, we cannot perform any good work, ‘° Without me,’ says our Lord,

‘you can do nothing.’—John, xv. 5. St. Augustine observes, that Jesus Christ does not say, without me you can consummate nothing ; but, without me you can do nothing; giving us thereby to understand, that, without his assistance, we cannot even begin a good work. St. Paul teaches, that so far from being of ourselves capable of exciting a desire, we cannot even have a thought of doing good; ‘ Not that we are sufficient to think any thing of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God.’—2 Cor. iii. 5. The same doctrine is inculcated in numberless other parts of scripture: ‘ God who worketh all in all.’—1 Cor. xii. 6. ‘I will cause you to. walk in my commandments, and to keep my judgments, and do them.’— Ezec. xxxvi. 27. Hence, St. Leo asserts that *‘ Man does no good which God does not assist him to do.’—S. Leo, in Con. Auris, Canon 20. And the Council of Trent says, ‘If any one shall assert that without the preventing inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and his assistance, man can believe, hope, love, or repent as he ought in order to obtain the grace of justification, let him be anathema.’—Sess. 6. Can. 3.

The author of the imperfect work (speaking of the brute creation) says, that for their protection, the Almighty has provided some of them with swiftness, some with claws, and others with wings, but man he has made so, that God himself should be his strength.—Auctor op. imperf. Hom. 18. Thus, God having determined that whatsoever man has or can have, should come from divine grace alone, man is utterly incapable of saving his soul by his own powers. God, in his ordinary providence, according to Gennadius, gives the assistance of his grace, to those only who pray for it: ‘ We believe,’ he says, ‘ that no one advances towards salvation, but by God’s invitation, that no one though invited works out his salvation, but by God’s assistance, and that he alone who prays merits aid from God.’ —Gennad. lib. de Eccl. Dogm. inter opera, S. Augus. Since, then, it is certain, on the one hand, that without succour from above we can do nothing, and, on the other, that that sucéour is ordinarily given to. him only who prays, is it not, evident that prayer is absolutely necessary for salvation? St. Augustine admits that some graces, such as the grace of vocation to the faith, and to repentance, are given without our co-operation, but he asserts, that other graces, and especially the gift of perseverance, are granted only to humble and fervent supplication. ‘ God bestows some favours without prayer, such as the beginning of faith; others, such as perseverance, he has prepared for those only who pray.’—S. Aug. lib. de persev. cap. 5. Hence the greater number of theologians, after St. Basil, St. Chrysostom, St. Clement of Alexandria, St. Augustine, and other fathers, maintain, that Prayer is necessary, not only because it is commanded, but also because, in the ordinary dispensations of Providence, without recommending himself to God, and imploring the graces necessary for salvation, no adult can be saved.

‘To enter heaven,’ says St. Thomas, ‘continual prayer is necessary after baptism; for although all sins are remitted by that sacrament, there still remains concupiscence to assail us from within, and the world and the devil to attack us from without:’ (S. Thomas, p. 3, q. 89, a 5.) and to gain eternal life we must not only fight but conquer. ‘For he also that striveth,’ says the apostle, ‘for the mastery, is not crowned except he strive lawfully.’—2 Tim. ii. 5. But without the divine assistance, which can be obtained only by prayer, we shall not be able to resist the assaults of so many powerful enemies. Hence, without prayer, our salvation is impossible.

That prayer is the only ordinary means of obtaining the gifts of God, the angelic doctor teaches more clearly in another part of his works, (St. Thomas, 2. 2. g. 83., a. 2.) where he says, that all the graces which God had prepared for us from eternity will be granted only to prayer. St. Gregory says, that ‘ by prayer men deserve to receive what God from eternity ordained to bestow upon them.’—S. Greg. hb. 1, dial, cap.8. ‘ Prayer,’ says St. Thomas, ‘ is necessary, not to make our wants known to almighty God, but to convince us of our obligation to recur to his mercy for succour, and thus to make us acknowledge him to be the author of all our works.” (loco cit.) And, as God has ordained the sowing of the seeds of the earth, and _ the planting of the vine, as indispensable means of providing corporal nourishment, so it is his will that we should be able to obtain by prayer only, the graces necessary for the support of spiritual life, and for eternal salvation. ‘ Ask,’ he says ‘and it shall be given unto you; seek and you shall find.’— Matt. vii. 7.

In a word, we are but poor mendicants, who have nothing but the alms, which God in his mercy chooses to give us. ‘ But I am,’ says the Psalmist, ‘a beggar and poor.’— Psalm, xxxix, 18. The Lord, says St. Augustine, desires to pour his graces upon us, but not unless we pray: ‘God wishes to give, but he gives only to him who asks.’ S. dug. in Ps. 100. * * Ask,’ says Jesus . Christ, ‘and it shall be given :’ ‘ Whosoever then,’ says St. Teresa, ‘does not seek, shall not receive.’ As moisture is necessary to preserve life in plants, and to. support their vegetation, ‘so,’ says St. Chrysostom, ‘ prayer is necessary for the salvation of ‘our souls,’ The same saint, in another place observes, that ‘as the soul animates the body, so prayer sustains the life of the soul.’ ‘As the body,’ he says, ‘ cannot live without the soul, so the soul without prayer is dead and fetid.’—S. Chrysostom, tom. 1. hom. 67. He says, that the soul without qrayer, sends forth a bad odour before God, because he who neglects to recommend himself to the divine proteetion, soon begins to put on the corruption of sin. Prayer is also called the nourishment of the soul, because, says St. Augustine, as the body cannot be supported without food, so the life of the soul cannot be preserved without prayer. ‘ As the flesh,’ says the holy doctor, ‘derives its nutriment from food, so the soul is nourished by prayer.’ -All these similes employed by the. fathers, shew that they considered prayer absolutely necessary for the attainment of salvation.

Besides, prayer is the most necessary weapon of defence against the attacks of our enemies; he that does not wield it, says St. Thomas, is lost. ‘The holy doctor did not hesitate to assert, that Adam fell, because when tempted, he did not call for aid from above. ‘ He sinned, becuuse he had not recourse to the divine assistance.’ St. Gelasius made a similar assertion with regard to the fall of the rebel angels: ‘6 Receiving the grace of God in vain, they could not persevere, because they did not pray.’ —Epis. 5. ad Ep. in Piceno. con. Pelag. St. Charles Borromeo, in one of his pastoral letters, (Act. Eccl. Med. pag. 1005, ) observes, that among all the means of salvation recommended by Jesus Christ in his gospel, prayer has obtained the first place. By prayer he wished the true religion to be distinguished from the religion of all false sects; for he has in a special manner, called his church the house of prayer. ‘ My house. shall be called the house of prayer,’

— Matt. xxi. 18. St. Charles concludes this letter, by saying, that to prayer may be traced ‘the beginning, the progress, and the perfeetion of all virtues.’ Thus, in the darkness, miseries, and dangers by which we are surrounded, we can have no ground of hope but in raising our eyes to God, and imploring by humble prayer, his merciful protection. ‘ But as we know not what to do, (said king Josaphat,) we can only turn our eyes to thee.’—2 Par.xx.12. Holy David not having any other means of escaping the devouring grasp of his enemies, than continually to beseech the Lord to deliver him from their snares, constantly poured forth his supplications for divine aid. ‘ My eyes,’ said he, ‘are ever towards the Lord; for he shall pluck my feet out of the snare. Look thou upon me, and have mercy on me ; for I am alone and poor.’—Psalm xxiv. 15, 16. And again, ‘I cried unto thee, ‘save me, that I may keep thy command- ‘ments.’—Psalm exviii. 146. As if he said, turn your eyes, O Lord, towards me; have mercy upon me and save me, for of myself

A TREATISE ON PRAYER. A

I can do nothing, and except you, there is no one who can deliver me.

And how, after the weakness and infirmity entailed upon us by the sin of Adam, could we resist the violent assaults of our enemies, and observe the law of God, if God had not instituted such a means as prayer, of obtaining sufficient light and grace to fulfil the divine commands? Luther blasphemously asserted, that the fall of Adam rendered the observance of the divine law impossible. Jansenius maintained, that even the just, with the graces which they actually have, cannot observe all the commandments of God. If he had stopped there, his proposition, might admit of a favourable explanation; but he proceeded farther, and affirmed that the just have not the grace by which they can render the observance of all the divine precepts possible, and therefore his doctrine has been justly condemned. St. Augustine says, that though there are some of the divine precepts, which man, on account of his weakness, cannot fulfil by the aid of the strength which he actually possesses, or of the graces which are given to all, still he can easily obtain by prayer, the assistance necessary for their observance. ‘God,’ he says, ‘does not command im-' possibilities, but by commanding, he admonishes you to do what you can, and to ask what you cannot do, and he assists you that you may be able to do it.’—S. Aug. de Nat. & gra. c. 44.n. 50. This celebrated passage has been adopted by the Council of Trent, and the doctrine therein contained confirmed, as a dogma of faith, Sess. 6. c. 11. Immediately after the preceding words, the holy Doctor asks, how man can do what is impossible to him? and he answers, that by prayer we obtain from God a remedy for our weakness, and strength to do that which of ourselves we could not accomplish.

We cannot, continues the saint, imagine that God has imposed upon us a law, the fulfilment of which is above our strength; and therefore by making us feel that we are unable to observe his precepts, he admonishes us to do what is easy by the aid of his ordinary grace, and by prayer to obtain additional help to perform what is difficult. ‘ By our faith, which teaches that God cannot command impossibilities, we are admonished what we ought to do in things that are easy, and what to ask in things that are difficult.’—S. Aug. de. Nat. & gra. cap. 69. n. 83. But why, you will ask, has God imposed some precepts, the fulfilment of which is not within our power? that we, replies the saint, may be careful to procure, by prayer, assistance to perform what of ourselves we cannot achieve. ‘He gives some commands with which we cannot comply, to teach us what we ought to ask from - him.’—Jbid. cap. 16. n. 3. Again, he says, ‘the law is given, that grace may be sought; grace is given, that the law may be fulfilled”—S. Aug. in Psal. 502. Without grace, the observance of the law is impossible, and God has given the law to teach us the necessity of constantly imploring the graces necessary for its fulfilment. In another place the holy doctor says, ‘The ‘law is good, if we make good use of it. How are we to make a good use of it? By.

acknowledging our own infirmity, and seeking health through the divine assistance.’— S. Aug. ser. 13. de verb. Apos. c. 3. St. Augustine therefore teaches that, by means of the law, the fulfilment of which isimpossible to us, we ought to learn our inability to observe its precepts, and that feeling our ownimpotence, we ought toseek continually by humble prayer strength from God to heal our weakness. Such also is the doctrine of St. Bernard; ‘Who are we,’ he says, ‘or what is our strength, that we should be able to resist so many temptations? God certainly wished that we, seeing that we are deficient, and that out of him there is no assistance for us, should, with all humility, have recourse to his mercy.—S. Ber. serm. 5. de Quad. The Almighty is aware how much the necessity of prayer contributes tothe exercise of humility, and of confidence in his goodness. Hence he often permits us to be assailed by enemies more powerful than we are, that having recourse to his mercy, we may obtain by prayer strength to repel their attacks. It ought to be particularly remembered, that no one can overcome the temptations of the flesh, without invoking the divine assistance when he is tempted: This frightful enemy, by its attacks, covers the soul with darkness, banishes the remembrance of all her meditations and good resolutions, makes her disregard the truths of faith, and extinguishes almost all fear of the divine vengeance. The power of the flesh is strengthened by our natural inclinations, which drag us with the greatest violence to the indulgence of carnal pleasures. St.Gregory of Nyssa says, that our only defence-against this temptation is prayer. ‘Prayer,’ he says, ‘is the safeguard of chastity.’ Solomon. said, ‘ And I knew that I could not otherwise be continent except God gave it: I went to the Lord and besought him.’—Wisd. viii. 21. Chastity is a virtue which we are unable to practise without the divine assistance, which God gives to those only who. ask. it from him. But whosoever prays, will infallibly obtain it. St. Thomas observes, that we ought not to say that it is impossible to preserve chastity, or to observe any of the divine precepts;

because, although we cannot by our own strength fulfil the law, yet we can do it by the help of divine grace. ‘ It must,’ he says, ‘be said that what we can do by the divine assistance is not at all impossible to us,’—S. Thomas. 1. 2. q. 109. a. 4. ad. 2. Do not say that it appears unjust to command a lame man to walk erect: no, says St. Augustine, such a command is very useful to him, when, by proper exertions, he can obtain a cure for his lameness; and if through sloth he continues lame, he is deserving of censure. It .

is very expedient to command a lame man ‘to walk erect, that when he perceives his own inability he may seek a remedy to heal the lameness of sin.’——S. Aug. de. Perf. just. cap. 3.

In fine, he that does not pray as he ought, cannot lead a christian life. ‘He,’ says St. Augustin, ‘knows how to live well who knows how to pray well.’ St. Francis of Assysium says, that without prayer no fruit can be expected fromthesoul. Sinners, then, who say they have not strength to resist temptations, are inexcusable. If, says St.

James, you have not sufficient strength, why do you not ask it ? ‘ you have it not, because you ask it not.’—S¢. James, iv.2. He admits that we are too weak to repel the attacks of our enemies. But it is certain that God is faithful, as the apostle says, and does not permit us to be tempted beyond our strength. ‘God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with the temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.”—1 Cor. x. 13. He will, says Primasius, expounding these words, enable you by the protection of his grace to sustain the temptation. Weare weak, but God is strong; by seeking his aid we obtain a participation of his power, and with his strength, according to the apostle, we can do all things: ‘I can do all things in him who strengtheneth me.’—Phil. iv. 13. Hence, says St. Chrysostom, he that falls is without excuse; had he continued to pray, he would not have yielded to the enemy.—St. Chrysostom, Serm. de Moysi.

Here we may enquire if the intercession of the saints is necessary to obtain the divine assistance. Thatit is lawful and useful to invoke the saints as intercessors, to ask for us, through the merits of Jesus Christ, the graces which our sins render us unworthy to obtain, has been defined by the council of Trent. The invocation of the saints was very unjustly censured by the impious Calvin. It is lawful and profitable after the example of the prophet Barach, and St. Paul, to ask their aid while living, and to beg of them to assist us by their prayers: ‘And pray ye for us to the Lord our God.’—Bar. i. 18. § Brethren pray for us.’— 1 Thess. v. 25. God himself commanded the friends of Job to beg the prayers of that holy man, that through his merits they might obtain favour ; ‘Go,’ said he, ‘to my servant Job; and my servant Job shall pray for you: his face I will accept.’—Job, xlii. 8. If then, it is lawful to recommend ourselves to the prayers of the living, why should it not be permitted to invoke the intercession of the saints, who behold God face to face in heaven, As a king may be honoured in his servants, as well as in his own person, so the veneration of the saints does not detract from, but adds to, the reverence due to God. It is for this reason, that St. Thomas recommends the practice of seeking the intercession of many of the saints: ‘ Because,’ he says, ‘sometimes a favour is obtained by the prayers of many, which would not be granted to the prayers of one.’ S. Thom. in. 4. Sent. Dis. 45. q. 8. a. 2. ad. 2. You will perhaps say that it is useless to invoke the saints, who, without being invoked, intercede for all that are worthy of their prayers. St. Thomas answers, that he who is. unworthy of their intercession; is rendered worthy, by devoutly praying to them.— Loc. cit. ad. 5.

The utility of invoking the prayers of the souls in purgatory is controverted. Some, resting on the authority of Saint Thomas, maintain, that they, requiring to be purified by sufferings, cannot pray for us. Being, he says, ina state of purgation and of suffering, they are inferior to us, and therefore not in a state to pray for us, but rather B2 in a condition in which they stand in need of our prayers. However, Bellarmine, Silvius, Gotti, and others, affirm, with great probability, that we should piously believe that, to preserve a charitable communion of reciprocal prayers between them and us, God makes known to them our prayers. We ought not toinfer, that, because they are not in a state of prayer, they cannot intercede for us; for not to be in a state of prayer, and to be unable to pray, are different things. They indeed, as St. Thomas says, are not in a state of prayer, because being in a state of suffering, they are inferior to us, and stand in great need of our prayers. However, being the friends of God, they are capable of praying in our behalf. If atender parent, in punishment of some fault, incarcerate a beloved son, cannot the son, though unable to obtain his own release, intereede for others, and may he not confidently expect that an affectionate father will readily grant his request ? So likewise the state of these blessed souls, whom God tenderly loves, and whom he

A ere te

A TREATISE ON PRAYER. 3l has confirmed in grace, does not render them incapable of making intercession for us. The church abstains from invoking their prayers because their: state: does not afford them any means of knowing that we beg their aid. But it is piously believed that God communicates our wishes te them, and they, being full of charity, surely will not neglect to present our supplications before the throne of God. When Saint Catherine of Bologna stood in need of any grace, she had recourse to the souls in purgatory, and her prayers were immediately heard; she declared, that through these holy souls, many favours were granted to her, which she had sought through the intercession of the saints, and had not obtained. Here I may be allowed to make a digression in favour of these suffering saints. If we desire the aid of: their intercession, it is right that we endeavour to procure a mitigation of their pains by our prayers and goor works, I only say it is right to assist them by our prayers, but to pray for them ought to be regarded as a christian duty ;

for charity obliges us to relieve the wants of our neighbour, when we can do it without great inconvenience. Now it is certain that among our neighbours are to be numbered the souls in purgatory, who, though no longer in this life, share in the communion of saints, and are therefore to be reckoned among our neighbours. The souls of the faithful departed, says St. Augustine, are not separated from the church.—S. Aug. lib. 20. de Civ. Dei. cap. 9. St. Thomas asserts, that ‘the charity which is the bond of union amongst the members of the church, extends not only to the living, but also to those who die in the Lord.’ Hence, because the souls in purgatory are our neighbours, we ought, according to our ability, to alleviate their pains; and because their necessity exceeds that of the living members of the church, it would appear that we are bound by a stricter obligation to contribute to their relief, .

Now, what are the necessities of these holy prisoners? It is certain that their pains are exceedingly intense. ‘ The fiery torments,’ says St. Augustine, (S. Aug. in, Ps. 37.) ‘which they endure, far surpass the most excruciating tortures that man can suffer in this life.’ St. ‘Phomas says, ‘the damned are tormented, and the elect purified, by the same fire”— S. Thom. in. 4. Sent. Dist. 2. The -pain, then, of sense, suffered’ by the souls’ in purgatory, equals, but the pain of loss, or the privation of God’s glory far exceeds, that of the damned. For, being inflamed by a natural and supernatural love of God’s perfections, they are drawn to him with such violence, that the consideration of being separated from him by their, own faults, excites sufficient pain to produce, if possible, instant death. St. Chrysostom declares that the pain of loss, or the privation of God, is infinitely more excruciating than the pain of sense. ‘A thousand infernal fires united together would not cause so much pain as the sole pain of loss.’ Hence the spouses of Jesus Christ detained in purgatory, would rather undergo all other torments, than suffer their longed for union with God to be delayed for a single moment. St. Thomas says, that the pains of purgatory exceed any pains of this life.— S. Thom. in. 4. Sent. Dis. 21. q. 1. a.1. g. 3. Dionysius the Carthusian relates, that a certain man raised from the dead by St. Jerome, declared to St. Cyril of Jerusalem, that in comparison of the least pain suffered in purgatory, all the torments endured in this world are delights; and that, if a man experienced these pains, rather than undergo the smallest of them, he would submit to all the miseries the human race will suffer till the day of judgment.—Diony. Char. Noviss. l. 4. p. 3. a. 19. Hence St. Cyril says, that the pains of purgatory and of hell are equally acute; that they differ only in point of duration. The sufferings, then, of these holy souls are excessive; they are incapable of relieving themselves; holy Job says, they are ‘in chains, and bound with the cords of poverty.” Job, xxxvi. 8. These holy queens are des~ tined to a kingdom, but they are not allowed to take possession of it, till after the term of their purgation. Their chains cannot be Yoosened until the divine justice is satisfied to the full. Even the theologians who assert that the souls in purgatory can obtain some relief by their own prayers, admit that they cannot merit a full remission of their punishment. A Cistercian monk who was in purgatory, said to the Sacristan of his monastery, ‘ Assist me, I beseech you, by your prayers, for of myself I can obtain nothing.—Jstor. dell. Ord. Cist. This is conformable to the doctrine of St. Bonaventure: ‘The poverty,’ he says, ‘of a beggar renders him unable to pay his debts.’ S. Bona. Serm. de Morte. And such is the indigence of these suffering souls, that they have no means of making satisfaction to God’s justice.

It is of faith that we can assist them by our suffrages, and particularly by the prayers recommended and used by the church for their deliverance. For my part, I cannot conceive how a christian can be excused from siz, who makes no effort to relieve them, even by his prayers. Let us then endeavour to assist them, if not from a sense of duty, at least from the consideration of the satisfaction it will afford Jesus Christ, to see us seeking to release from prison, his own beloved spouses, and to ebtain their admission into his kingdom; or from a consideration of the treasure of merits we will acquire by practising so great an act of charity towards these blessed souls. Remember that they are exceedingly grateful ; ‘they know the great benefit we confer upon them, when by our prayers we procure a mitigation.of their pains, and an anticipation of their admission to glory; and as soon as they take possession of God’s kingdom, they will.assuredly not neglect to pray for us. If the Lord promises mercy to those who shew mercy, (‘ Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.’—St. Matt. v. 7.) surely he that endeavours to alleviate the sufferings pf souls so grievously afflicted, and sq deas to-God, must have strong grounds tg hope for salvation. Jonathan, after having saved the Hebrews from ruin by the victory he obtained over their enemies, was condemned to death: for having violated the command of his father, by tasting a little honey; but the people went to Saul and said to him: ‘ Shall Jonathan then die, who hath wrought this great salvation in Israel ?

This must not be: As the Lord liveth, there shall not one hair of his head fall to the ground. So the people delivered Jonathan that he should not die.’—1 Kings, xiv. 45. In like manner we may expect that, if any one among us obtain by his prayers, the liberation of a soul from Purgatory, and her admission into Paradise, that soul will appear in his behalf before the face of God, saying, Lord do not suffer to be lost the man who has freed me from pain and agony. And if Saul spared the life of Jonathan at the request of the people, surely God will not refuse eternal salvation to a Christian, for whose immortal happiness are offered the supplications of a soul which is the spouse of Jesus Christ. Besides, St. Augustine says, that they who in this life contribute most to the relief of the faithful departed, will, during their own purgatory, by the dis- C pensation of Providence,. receive the greatest succour from the prayers of the church militant. I may here observe that it affords very great comfort to the souls in Purgatory to hear mass for their repose, and during that holy sacrifice to recommend them to God through the merits of the passion of Jesus Christ, saying, ‘Eternal Father, I offer you this sacrifice of the body and blood of Jesus Christ, along with all the pains which he suffered in his life and death ; and through the merits of his passion, I recommend to you all the souls in Purgatory, and especially N. N.’ ' It is an act of very great charity to pray, at the same time, for the souls who are in their last agony.