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 Oais,. XII.] ,SOATO,. 399 For several ages before and after the sitting of the Council of Trent the clergy contented themselves with what they could extort from rich and poor individuals; but it was reserved for later times to devise a plan by which the poor might act as a body, by raising contributions on , small scale of a penny a week, in order to enrich the priests, by pur- chasing the release of souls believed to be in purgatory. This is done by the formation of pu,'gator societies. In a pamphlet published by Rev. James Carlile, of Dublin, in 1815, there is contained the consti- tution of such a society formed in Dublin, in 1813, and copied in M'Gavin's Protestant, vol. i, chap. 77, page 546, edition of 1833, Hart- ford. Our readers have read of various pennt a week societies for dif- ferent purposes, such as relieving the poor, educating their children, and circulating the Scriptures, but perhaps few have heard of purgatorian societies, for the purpose of raising money to relieve themselves and tHends from purgatory when they go there. "PmtOATOltIAr SOClSTI', istituted d'ul' 1, 1813, m*d Aw/d in t. Jms' a Chapel. �' In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. "' It iz tlrefore a helot and wAolesome ttumgt to prmff for tl dead, tkat t, ma, be loosed from tksir sins,' Maccabees xii, 46. "The members who compose the society of the office for the dead commenced on the above day, at the said place, adopting the spirit and meaning of the above sacred text, and wishing, in conformity to the divine precepts of the holy Catholic Church, to extend their charitable views beyond the grave, by relieving, as far as in them lies, the suffer- ing souls in purgatory, and inviting all tender-hearted Catholics, who have a feeling sensibility of the duty they owe their departed parents, relations, and friends, who probably may stand more in need of their commiseration at present than at any period of their lifetime, to assist in the charitable and pious purpose of shortening the duration of their mafferings by the most easy means imaginable, have agreed to and adopted the following rule :m "Ru/ 1. That the aft'airs of this institution shall be regulated by the ,roperiot, rectors, and six of the members, who compose the office fr the dead, who ihall attend on every Wednesday night, at half-past eight o'clock, throughout the year, at the above-named place, or any other place which may be hereafter appointed, and there, with attention and devotion, recite he office for the dead, agreeable to the intention that shall then be mentioned. "Ru/ 2. That every well-disposed Catholic wishing to contribute to lhe relief of the suffering souls in purgatory shall pay one penny per week, which shall be appropriated to the procuring of masse to be 'olfered up for the repose of the mls of the deceased parents, relations, and friends, of all the sqb.wibers to the institution in particular, and the faithful dt  in genera!. "Ru 3. the first Monday of every month a mass will be offered up in e path c  . Jas,  ten o'clk, for t s- dm d 1 weffe  e sucfim of  ie. "Re 4. t e sor, cm, d coc, H nfin  ce    , at e e of ch me - 1 ' Google Digitized by

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