... St. Caesarius of Aries
writes: "A person," says he, "may say, I am not much concerned how long
I remain in Purgatory, provided I may come to eternal life. Let no one
reason thus. Purgatory fire will be more dreadful than whatever
torments can be seen, imagined, or endured in this world. And how does
any one know whether he will stay days, months, or years? He who is
afraid now to put his finger into the fire, does he not fear lest he be
then all buried in torments for a long time.... The Church approves
perpetual anniversaries for the dead; for some souls may be detained in
pains to the end of the world, though after the day of judgment no
third state can exist.... If we have lost any dear friends in Christ,
while we confide in His mercy, and rejoice in their passage from the
region of death to that of life, light, and eternal joy, we have reason
to fear some lesser stains may retard their bliss. In this uncertainty
let us earnestly recommend them to the divine clemency.... Perhaps, the
souls of some dear friends may be suffering on our account; perhaps,
for their fondness for us, or for sins of which we were the occasion,
by scandal, provocation, or otherwise, in which case motives not only
of charity, but of justice, call upon us to endeavor to procure them
all the relief in our power.
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