Page:Complete ascetical works of St Alphonsus v6.djvu/49

Rh ing in the sleep of peace, and to grant them a place of refreshment, light, and peace, through the merits of Jesus Christ. When the charity of the souls that depart from this life is not sufficient to purify them, the fire of purgatory will supply this defect. Yet the charity of the Saviour supplies it best by means of the Eucharistic sacrifice, which procures for these holy souls great mitigation of their sufferings, and often deliverance from their torments. The Council of Trent says: "The souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar." And it adds that this is a tradition of the Apostles. St. Augustine exhorts us to offer the sacrifice for all the dead, in case the souls that we recommend cannot receive our help.

Nobis quoque peccatoribus, etc. ("And to us sinners," etc.). Here the Church prays for sinners, in order that God may vouchsafe, in his mercy, to permit them to enter the society of the saints; and she asks this grace through the merits of Jesus Christ. She then adds:

Per quem hæc omnia semper bona creas, etc. ("By whom, O Lord, Thou dost always create," etc.). By the Word Thou hast created this bread and wine, and now, by the same Word, Thou hast sanctified (sanctificas) them by reserving them for the sacrifice. Thou hast quickened them (vivificas) by changing them into the body and the blood of Jesus Christ; Thou hast blessed (benedicis) them and transformed them into a source of benediction for the Church of Christ; and, finally, Thou hast given us all these good things (et præstas nobis) by distributing them to the faithful in Holy Communion. And all these favors the Church asks through the merits of Jesus Christ: Per ipsum, that is, through him; cum ipso, in