The Church gives us seven spiritual works of mercy as a means of loving our neighbor, and serving their spiritual needs. Most of these are found in paragraph 2447 of the Catechism. One of these is praying for the both the living and the dead (2 Maccabees 12:46). I think we are pretty good about praying for the living – friends and family who are facing various challenges or sicknesses. But the dead also need our prayers! And the month of November is dedicated to reminding us of this fact, due to it being the month of All Soul’s Day (November 2nd).
Purgatory is the state of souls who have passed from this life, “are indeed assured of their eternal salvation” (CCC 1030), but are in need of purification before entering the joy of heaven.
We refer to the souls in purgatory as the “poor souls,” because they are not able to help themselves – they depend on our prayers! We can offer Masses that we attend for these poor souls, or we can offer various sacrifices and days of fasting, or we can offer our holy hours spent in the adoration chapel. All of these can help a soul in purgatory reach their heavenly reward. An especially pious practice in November is to visit a cemetery and say prayers at the grave of a loved one. Once your prayers release a poor soul from purgatory into the joys of heaven, that soul will be able to pray for you in return! It’s a win-win. I encourage you all to write the name of any loved ones who have passed into the Book of Remembrance in the Gathering Space.
Eternal rest, grant unto him/her O Lord
and let perpetual light shine upon him/her.
May he/she rest in peace. Amen.
May his/her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
Amen.
Fr. Matt Davied
courtesy: www.magdalenwichita.com