Release, O Lord, etc., etc. Thirtieth Day. All the great servants of God had a great devotion to the souls in purgatory, as we have seen. But as Our Lady is Queen of the heavenly host, we cannot better conclude the treatment of the month than by giving the last consideration to her. Mary loves the poor souls in purgatory, because she has gone through a fire of tribulation—not in punishment for her sins, for she had none—but that she might have more compassion for us, and be more fully entitled to the name by which she is so well known, “Comforter of the afflicted.” For this reason her life was a sea of sorrow; for this reason she endured tribulation, poverty, exile, and persecution. For this reason she suffered tortures of mind and soul, in the three days’ loss of her Child, and in the more tragic separation on the cross. All these sufferings were a real purgatory to her. Let us therefore venerate Mary, and beg of her even now, while we still sojourn in this valley of tears, to daily increase our ardor and give us perseverance in good works, to obtain for us a happy death. But the best means to obtain this grace is to imitate the love of the Blessed Virgin for the poor souls. Let us try and be zealous in the cause of the poor souls, and often have recourse to this Mother of mercy for the same purpose. In the recitation of the holy Rosary we have a spiritual bunch of roses, which we can often offer to her for the faithful departed. Let us scatter these spiritual roses plentifully over the graves of our departed parents and friends. Mary, the Mother of poor souls, will find them fragrant, and not only accept our offering but also protect and guard us when our turn comes to die. Prayer. Release, O Lord, etc., etc. Mass for the Souls in Purgatory. Before Mass. O merciful Lord, we offer Thee the precious blood of the spotless Lamb, in behalf of the suffering souls in purgatory, whose sole desire is to see and glorify Thee in heaven. Open to them, O Lord, the infinite treasures of Thy merits; apply to them the fruits of Thy Passion and death, and through the adorable sacrifice of the Mass, release them from the debt due to Thy sovereign justice. Amen. Confiteor. We confess our sins, O merciful God, in humility and sorrow of heart, and we acknowledge that in Thy sight no one living is justified. Woe to us, if Thou judge us according to Thy justice. To appease Thy anger, O Lord, we recur to the unbloody sacrifice of Him Who was nailed to the cross for our salvation, and who ceases not to intercede for us in heaven. O God of all clemency! forgive us our sins, we entreat Thee, and forgive also the sins committed by our deceased brethren, in the days of their mortal pilgrimage. Let Thy mercy prevail over Thy justice, and let the voice of the blood of Jesus plead more loudly for pardon than the voice of our iniquities cries for vengeance. Amen. Introit.