souls. He did it all through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whom he called the "Merciful Protectress of the Souls in Purgatory." On another occasion, Fr. Stanislaus made a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Studzianna, and while there, he fell gravely ill. After Confession and Holy Mass, he felt he was losing his senses and asked to be taken to a monastic cell. While appearing half dead, he fell into an ecstasy - once again, experiencing the suffering of the souls in Purgatory. The residents of the monastery came to his cell to see how he was doing, and he appeared dead to them. They actually began to make his funeral arrangements! After some time, Fr. Stanislaus came out of his ecstasy. He then received a blessing from his spiritual director and went straight to the church to deliver a heartfelt sermon on devotion for the Holy Souls. He later told his confreres that the Blessed Mother had come to him and asked him to return to life, so that he might continue to help the dead. The contemporaries of Fr. Stanislaus recalled how locking himself in his cell to pray became habitual for him. There, falling into ecstasy, he would descend into Purgatory. At such moments, he felt intensely the suffering of the Holy Souls, and it was noted he could be heard saying, "O Clementissime Deus, auge mihi Dolores, et ipsis poenas minue," meaning, "O God of infinite mercy, give me more suffering and diminish their punishment." Article from “They Suffer Unbearably”: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/they-suffer-unbearably Image of Saint Stanislaus: https://padrimariani.org/en/founder/ Our Duty of Mercy Image from: https://www.thedivinemercy.org/articles/our-duty-mercy damnation. Father Stanislaus, moved with pity, immediately gathered everyone in the monastery and had them pray together with him for this poor soul. They believed it was the soul of King John III Sobieski, who had just died in Warsaw. Saint Stanislaus imposed this duty on his Congregation, encouraging all his confreres to offer everything they do for the Holy Souls. In 1692, he wrote in his testament that whoever would perform this heroic act of love and mercy would be doubly rewarded by God and that whoever supported his "little Order" in this work would also receive this double reward. Consequently, we should all be greatly encouraged to remember these Holy Souls in our prayers and daily sufferings, offering them all for their benefit - especially those of our friends and family members who may be there. Also, never forget to pray for those souls who are forgotten and have no one to pray for them. Our Eternal Father will reward us for this tremendous act of Christian kindness. Finally, never forget what St. Stanislaus said about showing mercy to these souls in need - offering prayers for the Holy Souls in Purgatory is one of the greatest acts of mercy. They also affectionately recalled how once, though following utter poverty, Fr. Stanislaus found that he had a gold Hungarian coin. He asked one of his confreres to take it to the local parish and ask all the priests in residence to celebrate a Holy Mass for the Holy Souls. He was rewarded for this devotion by sometimes being allowed to see some of the suffering souls wn they visited his cell. On one occasion, he saw a soul in his cell who had been judeged harshly for his sins, and this soul was trembling with fear of eternal damnation
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