We do pray for the souls of the departed, especially on their death anniversary and All Souls Day. Have you ever thought of lost souls? They are the spirits of dead people who are not in heaven. It is important to pray for lost souls. Along with the prayer for your deceased loved ones, you can add those souls into your prayer. The Catholic Church has a Saint for the lost souls. We have a patron saint for lost items, Saint Anthony. He is the same Saint who intercedes for lost souls.
Once, Archbishop William Goh said:
“Saint Anthony is seen to be the patron for lost items only because he, like Jesus, came for
the lost souls. He was consumed with the desire to save souls. So more than just turning to
him in prayer when we lose our things, we should first and foremost turn to him to save our souls and those lost souls.
Finding lost souls is far more important than finding our lost things. If we are to have a true devotion to St Anthony, we must also seek to find the lost souls and not just our lost things.
What can we learn from this great saint in finding lost souls?
1. If we are to find lost souls, we must first lose ourselves in Him.
2. We need people who inspire us to offer our lives for the salvation of others.
3. He must have heard the Lord saying to His disciples, “The harvest is rich but the laborers
are few, so ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers to his harvest.”
How, then, can we bring in the lost souls for Christ?
A) Our lives must be one of praise to God. We must sing praises to God not only with our
lips but with our lives.
B) He was a man who was clear about the gospel of what is right and wrong. He was firmly
established in the gospel.
C) He was a man who was sincere in reaching out to the sinners and heretics.
D) He preached in the power of the Spirit.
E) He surrendered his life and mission into the hands of God, believing that God knows what is best. He did not impose his plans on God.
Truly, God was faithful to Saint Anthony and the Church made him a patron for lost things
because he lost himself in God.”
Today, as we celebrate All Souls Day, we should pray to Saint Anthony to intercede to save
the lost souls. We too have the duty to live a better spiritual life for saving those souls. Let us surrender ourselves to God’s will, and let us not feel bitter in our sufferings. Offer up your difficult times to the glory of God and dedicate them to the salvation of lost souls.