This beautiful passage of St. Augustine shows us the opinion of this great Doctor on the subject of suffrages for the departed, and it makes us see clearly that the greatest of all suffrages is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
CHAPTER XI
Assistance rendered to the Souls — Holy Mass — Jubilee of Leo XIII. — Solemn Commemoration of the Dead on the Last Sunday in September.
We have witnessed the holy enthusiasm with which the Church celebrated the Sacerdotal Jubilee of her venerated Head, Pope Leo XIII. The faithful from all parts of the world went to Rome, either in person or in heart, to offer their homage and gifts at the feet of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. The entire Church Militant rejoiced in the midst of her long trials.
The Church Triumphant in Heaven shared in this rejoicing by the canonisation and beatification of a large number of her glorious members. Was it not fitting that the Church Suffering should also participate therein?
Could our dear brethren in Purgatory be forgotten? Should not those souls so dear to the heart of Jesus also experience the happy effects of that glorious feast?
Leo XIII. understood this. Always guided by the Holy Spirit, when acting as Supreme Pastor, the Pope, by an Encyclical Letter, dated April i, 1888, decreed that, throughout the entire Christian world, there should be a solemn 'Commemoration of the Dead on the last Sunday of the month of September. Calling to mind with what admirable love the Church Militant has manifested her joy,
