THE SUFFERING SOULS.
BY E. M. V. BULGER.
It is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead.--II Mac. xii.
46.
In some quiet hour at the close of day,
When your work is finished and laid away,
Think of the suffering souls, and pray.
Think of that prison of anguish and pain,
Where even the souls of the Saints remain,
Till cleansed by fire from the slightest stain.
Think of the souls who were dear to you
When this life held them; still be true,
And pray for them now; it is all you can do.
Think of the souls who are lonely there,
With no one, perchance, to offer a prayer
That God may have pity on them and spare.
Think of the souls that have longest lain
In that place of exile and of pain,
Suffering still for some uncleansed stain.
Think of the souls who, perchance, may be
On the very threshold of liberty--
One "_Ave Maria_" may set them free!
Oh, then, at the close of each passing day,
When your work is finished and folded away,
Think of the suffering souls, and pray!
Think of their prison, so dark and dim,
Think of their longing to be with Him
Whose praises are sung by the cherubim!
As you tell the beads of your Rosary,
Ask God's sweet Mother their mother to be;
Her immaculate hands hold Heaven's key.
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