[Saint Catherine of Genoa – XV-XVI Century AD; born: Genoa, Republic of Genoa/ died: Genoa, Republic of Genoa; Aged 62-63; mystic, known for her work among the sick and the poor]
CARDINAL GIBBONS ON PURGATORY.
I have already spoken of the devotion of the ancient Jewish Church to the souls of the departed. But perhaps you arc not aware that the Jews retain to this day, in their Litany, the pious practice of praying for the dead.
Yet such in reality is the case.
Amid all their wanderings and vicissitudes of life, though dismembered and dispersed, like sheep without a shepherd, over the surface of the globe, the children of Israel have never forgotten or neglected the sacred duty of praying for their deceased brethren.
Unwilling to make this assertion without the strongest evidence, I procured from a Jewish convert an authorized Prayer-book of the Hebrew Church, from which I extract the following formula of prayers which are prescribed for funerals : " Departed brother ! mayest thou find open the gates of heaven, and see the city of peace and the dwellings of safety, and meet the ministering angels hastening joyfully towards thee! And may the High Priest stand to receive thee, and go thou to the end, rest in peace, and rise again into life ! May the repose established in the celestial abode ... be the lot, dwelling, and the resting place of the soul of our deceased brother (whom the spirit of the Lord may guide into Paradise), who departed from this work, according to the will of God, the Lord of heaven and earth. May the Supreme King of Kings, through His infinite mercy, hide him under the shadow of His wings. May He raise him at the end of his days, and cause him to drink of the stream of His delights!"
Image: Unknown author ~ probably Gabriele Dell'Otto - Dante's Divine Comedy