My Life In Prayer 31 Day Purgatorian Novena TWELFTH DAY. --GRAND DISPLAY IS OF NO VALUE TO THE HOLY SOULS.

TWELFTH DAY. --GRAND DISPLAY IS OF NO VALUE TO THE HOLY SOULS.

In regard to pompous displays for the departed, St. Augustine says, "Costly funerals and expensive displays may afford the living some consolation, but are of no benefit to the departed." He adds, however, "Let care be bestowed upon funerals and the erection of monuments; for Holy writ reckons these among good works. Let all perform these last services for their departed, and there by relieve their own sorrow; but let them show greater zeal, care, and generosity in succoring the souls of the departed by Masses, prayers, and alms, and thus give evidence not only of a temporal, but also a spiritual love for those who are departed in body only, but not in spirit. According to a rule of the Church, flowers should be used at funerals of children only; circumstances may at times justify a deviation from this rule, but, at all events, it is unpardonable if the expense connected with this display deprives the soul of the departed of any spiritual assistance.