- All Souls Day on 2
November is a traditional day when
Catholics seek to alleviate the suffering
of souls in Purgatory by prayer. This one
day of the year is set aside for us to
act especially on behalf of those who
cannot help themselves. How many
Catholics remember to say prayers or
offer Masses on this special day?
Many of us, I believe, do
little for our departed friends. We forget that
now they have no free will and cannot help
themselves. They must rely on the prayers of the
living for a speedy exit from Purgatory. If we
cannot remember them on All Souls Day, when do we
remember them?
Our Lady at Medjugorje asks
us, through the visionaries, to pray for the
souls in Purgatory. She reminds us that they are
powerless to help themselves.
Saint Gertrude was told by
Our Lord that the following prayer would release
1000 souls from Purgatory each time it is said.
The prayer was extended to include living sinners
as well:
"Eternal Father, I
offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine
Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today, for all the Holy
Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for
sinners in the universal church, those in my own
home and within my family. Amen."
Associations exist that help
us remember the Holy Souls. These communities let
us become members so that we can be part of a
world-wide movement offering a continuous novena
of Masses or prayers for the Holy Souls. These
organised systems, I believe, help us meet our
obligation to our departed friends. Check the
links below for joining up details.
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