St. Alphonsus Liguori taught that it is a lawful and useful thing to invoke the saints. He wrote, “If it is lawful to recommend ourselves to the living, how can it be unlawful to invoke the saints who in heaven enjoy God face to face? This is not derogatory to the honour due to God, but it is doubling it; for it is honouring the king not only in his person but in his servants.
“Therefore, says St. Thomas Aquinas, it is good to have recourse to many saints, ‘because by the prayers of many we can sometimes obtain that which we cannot by the prayers of one.’”
St. Thomas explained the necessity of having recourse to the intercession of the saints: “According to Dionysius, the order which God has instituted for his creatures requires that things which are remote may be brought to God by means of things which are nearer to him. Hence, as the saints in heaven are nearest of all to him, the order of his law requires that we who ‘remaining in the body are absent from the Lord,’ should be brought to him by means of the saints.”
Regarding whether there is any use in recommending oneself to the souls in purgatory, St. Alphonsus wrote, “The souls in purgatory, being beloved by God, and confirmed in grace, have absolutely no impediment to prevent them from praying for us. Still the Church does not invoke them, or implore their intercession, because ordinarily they have no cognisance of our prayers. But we may piously believe that God makes our prayers known to them; and then they, full of charity as they are, most assuredly do not omit to pray for us. St. Catharine of Bologna, whenever she desired any favor, had recourse to the souls in purgatory, and was immediately heard. She even testified that by the intercession of the souls in purgatory she had obtained many graces which she had not been able to obtain by the intercession of the saints.”
St. Alphonsus considered praying for the souls in purgatory a Christian duty. He wrote, “Charity obliges us to succor our neighbor when he requires our aid, and we can help him without grievous inconvenience. Now it is certain that amongst our neighbors are to be reckoned the souls in purgatory, who, although no longer living in this world, yet have not left the communion of saints … and as their necessities are greater than those of our other neighbours, for this reason our duty to succor them seems also to be greater.”
The necessities of the holy souls are great. Having passed through the gate of death, they can no longer gain merit or pray for their own relief. The great doctors of the Church described the immense suffering of purgatory. St. Augustine said, “That fire will be more painful than anything that man can suffer in this life.” St. Thomas Aquinas said, “The pain of purgatory must exceed all pain of this life.” St. Cyril of Alexandria said that “it would be preferable to suffer all the possible torments of earth until the Judgment Day than to pass one day in purgatory.”
A soul from purgatory told Father Stanislaus Chocosca: “All the fires on earth compared to that of purgatory are like a refreshing breeze.” When Padre Pio was asked how the fire on earth compares with that of purgatory, he said, “They compare as fresh and boiling water.”
St. Alphonsus wrote, “Those souls are so poor, that they have no means of making satisfaction. On the other hand, since it is certain, and even of faith, that by our suffrages, and chiefly by our prayers, as particularly recommended and practised by the Church, we can relieve those holy souls, I do not know how to excuse that man from sin who neglects to give them some assistance, at least by his prayers.”
We can greatly help the souls in purgatory to enter heaven. Holy Mass is the most important prayer we have to offer up for them. We can also offer our Rosary, prayers, work, and sufferings for them. “Holy souls in purgatory, rest in peace and pray for us!”
祈禱團結靈魂
聖亞豐索教導说，祈求聖人是合法和有用的。他寫道『如果把自己托付於在世的人是合法的，那麽祈求在天堂上享見天主的聖人，怎會是不合法則呢？這並不是對天主應得的光榮有所貶抑，卻是倍增，因為光榮一位君王，不單是要光榮他本人，也可以藉著光榮他的僕人。所以，聖多瑪斯說，真好，能夠有這麽多的聖人作資源，「因為有時候多人的祈禱能獲得一人祈禱所不能獲得的。」』
聖多瑪斯解釋為什麽聖人代禱是需要的：『根據 狄約尼削天主為祂的受造物創定的規律是，距離遠的，可人由近的帶到天主裡去。由此因為在天堂聖人們是最為接近，按次序的要求，我們世人「處於肉身内是遠離天主的」便應由聖人們代為轉達。』
至於是否可以請煉獄靈魂代禱，聖亞豐索寫道：『煉獄靈魂，是天主喜愛的靈魂，且確實是得蒙天主寵愛的，他們為我們祈禱肯定是沒有任何的障礙。可是教會仍然沒有托付或請求他們為我們祈禱，因為一般來說，他們並不察覺我們的禱告。但是我們卻可以熱心地相信天主會讓他們知道我們的祈禱；而充滿愛心的他們，一定不會忽略為我們祈禱。波羅納的聖加大肋納，無論她需求什麼的恩惠，在煉獄中都有資源可尋，並能立刻到位。她甚至能夠證實她從煉獄靈魂代禱得到很多的恩典，是從其他聖人們代禱所不能得獲的。』
聖亞豐索認為為煉獄靈魂祈禱是基督徒的責任。他寫道：『愛心迫使我們，當鄰人有需要的時候去幫助他們，在沒有嚴重的不便下，我們幫助他們。現在在我們的鄰人中，要幫忙的是煉獄中的靈魂，他們雖然不再活在這世上，但沒有離開諸聖通功的團體…同時，因為他們的所需是急於其他的鄰人，因此幫助他們的責任更為重大。』
聖靈魂的需求是重大的，經過了死亡，他們已不能為自己的解脫作祈禱和立功勞。教會的聖師們也有形容煉獄沉痛之苦。聖奧斯定說：『這火比人類在這一生中遭受的任何痛苦都更加痛苦。』 聖多瑪斯說：『煉獄的痛苦必須超過這一生的所有痛苦。』 亞歷山大的聖啓祿說：『寧願受上世上一切可能的折磨至世界末日，也不願耽在煉獄一天。』
一個煉獄靈魂告訴一位神父說：『世界上一切的火與煉獄的火比較像一道清風。』當聖畢奧神父被問及世上的火和煉獄的作比較時，他說：『比較是清涼和沸騰的水。』
聖亞豐索寫道：『那些靈魂是十分可憐，他們沒有任何辦法作賠補。在另一方面，肯定的，甚至是信仰，由我們為煉靈的代禱—-主要是我們的祈禱，(一如由教會所建議和實踐的)—-我們能夠救助這些聖靈魂。我不知道怎樣去為一個忽略給煉靈幫助的人去辯解，他最低限度能以祈禱幫助。』
我們能夠為煉獄靈魂進入天堂作很大的幫忙。為彌撒聖祭是最重要的祈禱。我們也能夠為他們奉上玫瑰經，祈禱，工作和痛苦。『煉獄諸靈魂，息止安所，為我等祈！』
