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In this momentous question, the justice of God, that grand and peculiar attribute of the Deity, is deeply involved. It is repeated in various parts of the sacred oracles, that God will render to every one according to his works; and indeed this notion is dictated by the first principles of reason and religion. This clearly implies, that there exists a diversity of merit which God will treat with unerring justice; and on examining the state of those who are removed from the present stage of existence, we may safely rank three separate classes of persons. The first class consists of those who have preserved their baptismal innocence inviolate, as infants and others who, by a constant and unremitted co-operation with divine grace, have on all occasions persevered in the friendship of God; as also of those who have sealed the faith with their blood, or of the martyrs of penance, who have atoned for their misdeeds. The second class contains those who live with little regard for God and eternity; who freely indulge in the gratification of their passions, and who make no preparation for a future life. Of the professed unbeliever, and of him who trades in iniquity, I say nothing. The third class comprises such as have true faith, working by charity in Jesus Christ; it includes those who love God and make a provision for eternity, but who are habitually guilty of a variety of vénial offences; whose souls exhibit

an infinite number of stains, which disqualify them for the society of the angels; and who, in very many instances, may be conceived to depart life in this state. Now what is to become of such as leave this world in this situation; of those, for instance, who are hurried out of life by sudden death, without having time to call for mercy? Will the God of all sanctity, who cannot endure iniquity, admit such persons instantly to his eternal kingdom, and place them with the first class of the faithful here described? That is utterly impossible, for we learn, that nothing defiled can enter the kingdom of heaven1. Will the God of all justice discard them from his presence for ever, and place them with the sinner and unbeliever? That is incompatible with the justice of him who will render to every man according to his works. What then remains to be done with respect to these good though imperfect individuals, but to confine them to the prison of purgatory, till their stains are washed away, and they are prepared for a purer abode? Of this confinement our Redeemer appears to speak, when he says, Verily I say to thee, thou shalt not depart thence till thou hast paid the last farthing. St. Jerom, the great expounder of the sacred oracles, understands the passage in this sense. His words deserve to be cited: "The meaning

1 Rev. xxi 27.

Matt. v. 26.

1

is, thou shalt not go out of prison till thou hast atoned for thy smaller sins."-" Hoc est, quod dicit, non egredieris de carcere, donec etiam minuta peccata persolvas1."

Our Redeemer, speaking of the sin against the Holy Ghost, makes a declaration which places the existence of a middle state, or a state of temporary purgation, beyond the smallest doubt. For he says of this enormous crime, that it shall not be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come. From these words we justly and inevitably infer, that some sins are forgiven in the next world; for it is clearly impossible that the eternal wisdom of the Father should have uttered any unmeaning declaration, or have added a significant clause to a sentence, without designing to convey any notion whatever. Hence St. Augustine justly remarks on this passage: "It could not be asserted with truth, that some sins would not be pardoned neither in this world nor in the world to come, unless there were some to which pardon would be granted, if not in this world, at least in the world to come." Pardon of sin is therefore granted in the next life; but to whom?-to those confined to the prison of hell? Out of hell there can be no redemption. To those who are before the throne of God? that is surely unnecessary. The pardon bestowed

2 Matt. xi. 32.

1 St. Hier. ad 5 Matt. sup. hunc loc.
3 St. Aug. de Civitat. Dei, lib. xxi. 24,

in another world can therefore reach those souls only, whose smaller stains, sins and imperfections, are to be obliterated, and whose debts are to be cancelled, before they can be admitted to the pure sight and possession of God.

But that not a shadow of doubt may remain on the mind of the reader, on the subject of purgatory, I beg him to direct his attention to the practice of praying for the dead, which, at every period of time, has prevailed in the church. If the dead are to be prayed for, they must be in a situation in which benefit can be extended to them, and that cannot be in heaven, where such a resource would be unnecessary; nor can it be in hell, where it would be of no avail. The direct, the inevitable, and the only consequence of this practice, therefore, is, that a place of purgation, or a middle state, called purgatory, was always admitted, in which the souls of those confined in that prison could derive assistance from the suffrages of their surviving friends.

If the catechist doubts, for one moment, of the existence of this practice of praying for the dead, he, on examination, will be overpowered with authorities of every description, which ascertain the custom. The fact of Judas Maccabeus ordering prayers for the dead, and the marked commendation bestowed on the practice, stand on record'. If it be objected, that this 12 Maccab. xii. 43 et seq.

work is not genuine Scripture, the reply is obvious, that the Catholic church throughout the world regards it as such; and that no Protestant can deem it otherwise than a grave and authentic portion of history, where the facts related are to be received with implicit credit. Let the reader hear what St. Augustine says on this subject1: "In the books of the Maccabees, we read that sacrifice was offered for the dead; but if no traces were found in the ancient Scriptures, the practice of the universal church ought to possess no inconsiderable weight on the subject; where, among the prayers of the priest, which are poured forth to the Lord God at his altar, the recommendation of the dead holds a place." The authority of the great St. Augustine, on the prevalence of any practice in the church, ought to be deemed decisive by any rational inquirer2. St. Cyril, of Jerusalem, who flourished in the bright period of Christianity, bears ample testimony to the same observance, and to the benefit derived from it by the faithful departed. To adduce farther authorities would be an unnecessary attempt to prove what cannot be denied; and what Protestant writers have ad

1 De Curâ pro Mort. c. 1.

2 See also the same holy father, Serm. de verbis Apost. 172, olim 32.

› Catec. Myst. v. p. 328, edit. Don Touttée.

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