Read me or rue it. Purgatory.

[martin]

          APPROVAL OF HIS EMINENCE THE CARDINAL PATRIARCH OF LISBON
                              Cardinal's Palace, Lisbon March 4, 1936

We approve and recommend with all our heart the beautiful little book Read Me or
Rue It by E. D. M. [These initials used by Fr. O'Sullivan stand for Engant de Marie, that is, "Child of Mary" Ed.]
Although small, it is destined to do great good among Catholics, many of whom are incredibly ignorant of the great doctrine of Purgatory. As a consequence, they do little or nothing to avoid it themselves and little to help the Poor Souls who are suffering there so intensely, waiting for the Masses and prayers which should be offered for them.
It is our earnest desire that every Catholic should read this little book and spread it about as widely as possible.

                                                        FOREWORD

                                                  "READ ME OR RUE IT"

This title is somewhat startling. Yet, Dear Reader, if you peruse this little book, you will see for yourself how well deserved it is. The book tells us how to save ourselves and how to save others from untold suffering. Some books are good and may be read with profit. Others are better and should be read without fail. There are, however, books of such sterling worth by reason of the counsels they suggest, the conviction they carry with them, the urge to action they give us that it
would be sheer folly not to read them.

Read Me or Rue It belongs to this class. It is for your best interest, Dear Friend, to read it and reread it, to ponder well and deeply on its contents. You will never regret it; rather, great and poignant will be your regret if you fail to study its few but pregnant pages.

HELP, HELP, THEY SUFFER SO MUCH!

I. We can never understand too clearly that every alms, small or great, which we
give to the poor we give to God. He accepts it and rewards it as given to Himself. Therefore, all we do for the Holy Souls, God accepts as done to Himself. It is as if we had relieved or released Him
from Purgatory. What a thought! How He will repay us!
II. As there is no hunger, no thirst, no poverty, no need, no pain, no suffering to compare with what the Souls in Purgatory endure, so there is no alms more deserving, none more pleasing to God, none more meritorious for us than the alms, the prayers, the Masses we give to the Holy Souls.
III. It is very possible that some of our own nearest and dearest ones are still suffering the excruciating pains of Purgatory and calling on us piteously for help and relief. Is it not dreadful that we are so hardened as not to think more about them, that we are so cruel as to deliberately forget them!
For the dear Christ's sake, let us do all, but all, we can for them. Every Catholic ought to join the Association of the Holy Souls.

                                              PURGATORY
"Have pity on me, have pity on me, at least you my friends, because the hand of
the Lord hath touched me. " (Job 19:21).
This is the touching prayer that the Poor Souls in Purgatory address to their friends on Earth, begging, imploring their help, in accents of the deepest anguish. Alas, many are deaf to their prayers! It is incomprehensible how some Catholics, even those who are otherwise devout,
shamefully neglect the souls in Purgatory. It would almost seem that they do not believe in Purgatory. Certain it is that their ideas on the subject are very hazy. Days and weeks and months pass without their having a Mass said for the Holy Souls! Seldom, too, do they hear Mass for them, seldom do they pray for them, seldom do they think of them! Whilst they are enjoying the fullness of health and happiness, busy with their work, engrossed with their amusements, the Poor Souls are suffering unutterable agonies on their beds of flame. What is the cause of this awful callousness? Ignorance: gross, inexplicable ignorance.

People do not realize what Purgatory is. They have no conception of its dreadful pains, and they have no idea of the long years that souls are detained in these awful fires. As a result, they take little or no care to avoid Purgatory themselves, and worse still, they cruelly neglect the Poor Souls who are already there and who depend entirely on them for help.
Dear Reader, peruse this little book with care and you will bless the day that it fell
into your hands.

I read this book about a year ago and it made me use much of my savings to help the poor souls by having Masses offered for them. Nothing else in the world seemed more important than this after reading it.
Unfortunately, as time goes by it's been so easy to forget the impact of this little book and drift back into forgetfulness of their great need but having found the book again on the Saints Books list, I re-read it yesterday and again it has been another wake up call.

The forward which I copied and pasted above, will give a sense of the importance of this book for every catholic to read. Like His Eminence the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon said, it's a must read and the title of the book says it all.

[Brigid]

Have you read the book on purgatory by St. Gertrude? Is it a worthwhile read (considering, as the Cardinal of Lisbon wrote, that -

some books are good and may be read with profit. Others are better and should be read without fail. There are, however, books of such sterling worth by reason of the counsels they suggest, the conviction they carry with them, the urge to action they give us that it
would be sheer folly not to read them.

?

[Shin]

I was just looking at this book up here Martin -- Thinking we should redo the style to match the St. Philomena book, as well as convert it to more formats!

I've been devoted to the holy souls since practically day one and I bought Fr. F.X. Schouppe's book on Purgatory! One of those 'can't do withouts' definitely!

It was just St. Christina the Astonish's day, she such a great example of penance.. ! 

[martin]

I was just looking at this book up here Martin -- Thinking we should redo the style to match the St. Philomena book, as well as convert it to more formats!

After the job you did on the saint Philomena book I think that's a great idea. Fr. Paul O'Sullivan really does speak from the heart and to the heart.

I've been devoted to the holy souls since practically day one and I bought Fr. F.X. Schouppe's book on Purgatory! One of those 'can't do withouts' definitely!

That's a book I will have to read.. It's important to keep being reminded of certain truths and keep them alive in our hearts. I find myself returning again and again to certain books that made a big impact on my life and each time there's always something new that sticks.

I must look up St Christina the Astonish  

[Shin]

Astonishing! I am not checking my typing up here very well! 

Yes, that book by Schouppe was a life changer just like Read me or Rue it! 

[Shin]

How do you like the new formatting Martin?

I especially like the PDF.  

These are the sorts of books that are just plain treasure to spread around!

I must remember to do some readings from Fr. F.X. Schouppe's book for discussion too.

[Shin]

Ah, and I caught one little formatting correction to make to it now after posting that. That's how I find them! 

[martin]

The formatting is excellent Shin.  I find the RTF handy too as I can put it straight on to Microsoft Reader without converting.

Maybe in a few years time we'll be able to print them out in book form straight from the computer LOL.
Reading from the monitor has to be done with moderation for us older folks. hehe  

[Shin]

The formatting is excellent Shin.  I find the RTF handy too as I can put it straight on to Microsoft Reader without converting.

Maybe in a few years time we'll be able to print them out in book form straight from the computer LOL.
Reading from the monitor has to be done with moderation for us older folks. hehe  

I would really love that kind of print on demand.. I used to want my own little printing press..

Print on demand is actually very possible in ways it wasn't before nowadays.. but still expensive.. I'd love to be say, making zillions of Fr. Paul O'Sullivan, O.P., E.D.M. booklets and distributing them..

Our Lady of the Rosary Library's little tracts and pamphlets is something special along those lines.. they helped me a good deal as I was starting out in the Faith..

Why is it so little is done that way? I do not know.. It seems as if there's no instinct for spreading the Faith via books and writings.. That billionaire who started that troubled university.. if he had simply spent it on translating and spreading the saints' instead.. I wonder what fruit would have come of it..

[martin]

I often marvel at the ways of the Lord.
He always seems to choose the humblest of ways to spread the faith.
A little book casually picked up and read. A little novena prayer picked up that dropped from granddads pocket; these the Lord can use to fan the little spark of faith.

Despite today's technology where access to information is at the finger tips, the saints -some of whom lived in near solitude- have become household names and even the things that took place in private between the Lord and them somehow became known to everyone.

The Lord doesn't really need technology, all He needs is a few faithful people. 

[Shin]

Yes Martin.. It's really touching to think of.. thank you..

Yes this is His way..