such desire. He was in Purgatory, but he would rather return thither immediately and endure its pains, than expose himself to damnation in this terrestrial life. He entreated the saint only to beg of God to shorten the time of his sufferings, that he might the sooner enter the abode of the blessed. After that, accompanied by the Bishop and a vast multitude, Peter returned to his grave, laid himself down, his body fell to pieces, and his bones resumed the same state in which they had first been found. We have reason to believe that the saint soon obtained the deliverance of his soul.
That which is the most remarkable in this example, and which should most attract our attention, is that a soul from Purgatory, after having experienced the most excruciating torments, prefers that state of suffering to the life of this world; and the reason which he gives for this preference is, that in this mortal life we are exposed to the danger of being lost and incurring eternal damnation.
CHAPTER IV.
Consolations of Souls — St. Catherine de Ricci and the Soul of a Prince.
Let us relate another example of the interior consolations and mysterious contentment which the souls experience in the midst of the most excruciating sufferings we find it in the Life of St. Catherine de Ricci,[1] a Religious of the Order of St. Dominic, who died in the convent of Prato, February 2, 1590. This servant of God cherished so great a devotion towards the souls in Purgatory that she suffered
- ↑ Feb. 13.
