I love this time of year when the evenings draw in and the path are full of gold and bronze and ruby of the fallen leaves. Most of all I love it because I can feel the Holy Souls draw close to the warmth of our hearts as we pray for them. My two favourite prayers are for sinners who are furthest away from God (and most in danger of Hell) and the Holy Souls who are deepest in Purgatory, the level that borders on Hell. The ones who will probably remain there until the End of the World. Of course I don't suppose there is much chance of getting those so deep dwon out by my prayers alone, but at least I can visit them with my prayers and give them some consolation in the darkness. I believe people who pray for the Holy Souls habitually draw them like moths to a candle in a Dark Night. That they cluster around us , as though they seek warmth from the freezing cold. In either case the Church teaches us that it is not only a Charity but a Duty to pray for them, so we must. But, like all the duties the Church imposes on us , it is a great joy.
Can the saints in heaven pray for the Holy Souls? It is a thought that came into my head yesterday at Mass.
https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/saints-prayers-for-souls-in-purgatory-4416 Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university. Q: The Church is often called the communion of saints, the militant Church, the purgative Church and the Church triumphant. We living here on earth are urged to pray for the souls in purgatory to help them purify themselves from their sins in order to enjoy the beatific vision. My question is: Do also the saints in heaven pray for the souls in purgatory as we ourselves do? — S.B., San Gwann, Malta A: The question is more theological than liturgical and very speculative theology at that, but is also very intriguing. The crux of the question revolves around the way that the saints in heaven can know the realities that occur on earth and in purgatory. In general most theologians hold that once a person enters into the realm of the beatific vision, they do not have universal access to our thoughts or to earthly reality. Any knowledge they gain is received directly from God, and God most certainly makes them aware of requests for their intercession in a way that we can only imagine but never fully grasp while remaining here below. Therefore I believe we can confidently affirm that the saints intercede for the souls in purgatory in those cases when someone on earth requests that saint's intercession for a particular soul. The Church itself invokes the saints in this way, albeit in a universal manner, during the rite of final commendation at the graveside at the prayer of the faithful: "V. Saints of God come to his/her aid! Come to meet him/her angels of the Lord!" "R. Receive his/her soul and present him/her to God the Most High." If the Church proposes a prayer to implore that the saints come to the aid of the dead, then it clearly believes this aid is possible. From a theological standpoint it is very difficult to be able to affirm that saints intercede, on their own initiative, so to speak, for the souls in purgatory without some form of earthly intercession. It does not mean it does not happen; it is just that we have no way of knowing. It is also possible that in a general way the saint's participation in the heavenly liturgy continually glorifying God is also of benefit to the souls in purgatory, but once more we are ignorant of the precise manner in which this might come about. As the poet Thomas Grey said: "Where ignorance is bliss, 'Tis folly to be wise." If we were sure that the saints of heaven were independently praying for the souls in purgatory, perhaps many would defer the act of spiritual charity of praying for the deceased to the saint's powerful intercession. The blessing of ignorance obliges us to continue exercising this intercession on our own, in the hope that others will do likewise for us when we are gone. * * * Follow-up: Saints' Prayers for Souls in Purgatory [4-15-2008] In the wake of our theological musings on the saints' praying for souls in purgatory (see April 1), a couple of readers asked for further reflections. One asked: "If a person on earth needs prayers, does he himself need to request these prayers from a soul in purgatory, or can a soul in purgatory pray for that person without the request?" Usually we refer to purgatory as a passive state, and we pray for the souls in purgatory and usually never think of the souls in purgatory praying for us (see Catechism, Nos. 1030-1032). However, while there is little or nothing in Church tradition regarding this point, I believe that it cannot be totally excluded. If someone requests the prayers of a deceased person who happens to be in purgatory, God might well make that person aware of this request. Thus, in a way that is analogous to the spiritual good we inevitably do to ourselves whenever we pray for others here on earth, performing the act of love of praying for others could quite well form part of the process of purgation for our lack of perfect love during our lives. It is harder to affirm with any certainty that these souls can do so out of their own initiative. However, if someone, while still alive, promises to pray for another after death it is likely that God, who inspired the original promise, will find a way to allow its fulfillment even if the person spends some time in purgatory. A Toronto reader inquired: "Perhaps the pious tradition of patron saints indicates that the saints can take some initiative in intercession, at least in their 'patronages.'" I would say that this could be true only in part because patronages do not stem from the initiative of the saints but from the initiative of those, whether individuals, groups or the universal Church, who invoke their patronage. In this way a patronage is a kind of stable or permanent request for the saints' mediation in a particular field or for a specific category. Just as God makes saints aware of individual requests for their intercession, he will make them aware of these more general and stable invocations for their mediation.
I notice Maria Simna says that our angel guardian is a big help to us in Purgatory intervening for us. This seems logical as if he were close to us in the this world he would help us in the next. She mentions four biggies in helping the Holy Souls. Our Blessed Lady. St Michael the Arcangel. St Joseph. The Guardian Angels.
I am glad Padraig created a thread for the Holy Souls. I was going to say that 'I do not know if Saints can pray for the Holy Souls but most importantly we can pray for them and then, once we have prayed for them, they can pray for us. I do believe it has been said that their prayers for us are very efficacious; however, they are completely powerless to help themselves.' This has been answered and superceded by what Padraig posted above. On the question of duration or time in Purgatory I have often wondered about that. I was thinking that the time in Purgatory must be in a different dimension to the time on earth. Let's do a little thought experiment: just say that a person dies and requires a thousand years in Purgatory to be purified. However, the person dies just a year before the end of the world and the Coming of the Son of man. Obviously the two time dimensions cannot be the same in order for the Divine Justice to be fulfilled in respect of that soul. However, a counter argument to this is to say that God may have decreed that any soul who dies destined for Purgatory will have suffered suffient chastisement on earth to expiate for the portion of their sins which cannot be atoned for in Purgatory. Who can say what God's decrees and Judgement's are? Perhaps these are unproductive musings but I think the Mysteries of God are always interesting while instilling a cetain Holy fear at the same time.
Matthew 20:1-16 The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard 20 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denariusa]">[a] for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”
Indeed, this could be another scenario. I had not thought of that. An earthling might complain that such a soul has had to spend a thousand years in purgatory, this one 400 years and this one 40 years. Then these last souls skip in without too long in Purgatory at all. As the Psalmist says: "O how inscrutable are your decrees O Lord!". Perhaps Job chapter 38 is relevant to my musings also. "Who is this, obscuring my intentions with his ignorant words? ... Where were you when I laid the earth's foundations? Tell me since you are so well informed! Have you ever in your life given orders to the morning or sent the dawn to its post, to grasp the earth by its edges and shake the wicked out of it?"
Yes MY mom used to pray for the most forgotten souls in purgatory. How wonderful it will be to meet the souls.
I have a wonderful book called 'A Month with our Friends the Souls in Purgatory'. Some of you may have it also. It was written by Father Berlioux in 1880. All the prayers and readings in the Book conform to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, the Church's dogmatic constitution Lumen Gentium (49 to 100) and the CCC (1030 to 1032, 1471, 1472). The book starts with a reminder that a Plenary Indulgence (one per day) can be gained for a Holy Soul in Purgatory by your spending at least one half hour before Christ exposed in the Most Blessed Sacrament. You must say 2 prayers for the Holy Father's intentions. You must be aware of and ask for the indulgence. The usual conditions apply: 1. One must have a Confession within 8 days and be in a state of grace. 2. One must receive Holy Communion on the day of the indulgence (I am not sure if this has been relaxed to 8 days?). Prayers for the Holy Souls The book acknowledges that a sincere cry from the heart may hold more value in the eyes of God than a long prayer. A (partial) indulgence is attached to each of the following ejaculatory prayers: - My Lord and My God. - Dear Heart of Mary, be my salvation. - Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. - Blessed be the Holy Trinity. - O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee. - Jesus and Mary, bless us. - Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and soul. - Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my final hour. - Jesus, Mary and Joseph, grant that I may live and die in peace with you. - Merciful Jesus, grant them eternal rest. - Praised and adored be the Most Blessed Sacrament. Longer Prayers Come Holy Spirit, come through the powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Your beloved spouse. (Say 3 times) Lord Jesus, have mercy on the souls detained in Purgatory. It was for their salvation that You took on our human nature and suffered a most painful death. Have mercy on their burning desire to see You, have mercy on their tears of repentence. Through the merits of Your Passion remit the sentence they incurred by their sins. Dear loving Jesus, may Your Precious Blood descend on those dear souls. May it shorten their time of atonenent and may they soon be called to eternal happiness in Your presence. Amen De Profundis (Psalm 130) I place my trust in the Lord, I am certain of His Word. Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord, Lord hear my voice! O let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading. If You, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive? But with You is found forgiveness: For this I revere You. My soul is waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for daybreak. Let the watchman count on daybreak and Israel on the Lord. Israel indeed will He redeem from all its iniquity. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit ... Prayer to Mary for the Holy Souls O Mary, may the souls who suffer cruel torments in Purgatory, Purified by the ardour of the flames, Be the object of your compassion. O Mary, Open Spring which cleanses our faults, Reconciler of sinners, reach out to those who pray to you And implore your assistance in Purgatory! O Mary, intercede for our deceased. They patiently await the end of their suffering, When they will see you and taste eternal joys! O Mary, Model of the Just, Guide of the Faithful, Salvation of those who hope in you, Help us to pray ardently for the souls of the deceased And touch the Sacred Heart of your Divine Son! O Mary, by the merits you have gained, Give the dead true life, obtain Mercy for them And be the way which leads to your Son Jesus and to Eternal Rest. Amen. O Salutaris Hostia O Holy Victim for our salvation. You are perfect humanity, true Divinity, The source and origin of our salvation. Have Mercy on the deceased. You, our Redeemer, O Jesus. You erase our sins and you forgive us. Have Mercy on the the deceased. Touched by our prayers, sweet Jesus, And by the supplications of all the faithful, Receive our prayers and have Mercy on the deceased. O Jesus, we beg you to grant eternal rest to those who have died in Your Grace. May Your eternal and blessed light shine upon them. Amen
I like to imagine that they will be among the very first to meet us in heaven. Better still if we hit Purgatory, as I suppose most of us will, they will be the very first to grant us aid. We might be ungrateful here on Earth but the Holy Souls will never ever forget to repay a debt which they will do many times over. It used to be that Catholic Merchants used to get masses said for Holy Souls so that they could repay them in their day to day activities. While this may not have been the best motive there is no doubt it would have worked.
People may be a little frightened by the Holy Souls, but they are only Saints that have not entered Heaven yet. My mother used to tell us children not to be afraid of ghosts, it is some people down here on Earth that should make us afraid, not ghosts.
St Catherine of Genoa's accounts of Purgatory makes for ,very , very,very grim reading indeed. I had to literally close the book on it after a short period. But this book is quoted over and over again by all who write on Purgatory as the big deal, so you have to dip your toe in. Bu it would scare you more than half to death.
I find a nice way to look at Purgatory as an extension of the Purifications and Sufferings of Earth. It puts it in context. Part of the ongoing Spiritual Ascent and Learning Process. Only in Purgatory we are not so foot loose and fancy free. A kind of Prison or emergency brake. A full stop to the nonsense, if you will. No more running away from things. Nose to the grindstone. It reminds me of young people who entered the Monastery sometimes and left very hurriedly after a couple of days or weeks. Why did they leave so fast? Well no TV, no Radio, no smart phones, no internet. An almost total silence, a very sparse diet. No drink , no chit chat getting up at 3:15 am going to bed at 8:30 pm , the list goes on and on. After a little while it looked like a bomb had gone off inside their heads. Then they ran away as quickly as their feet could take them. It occurs to me Purgatory is a lot like that only there is nowhere to run too. I think a Prison or a very, very Austere monastery is a good comparison. But there is no running away... Another really great book:
I was out in the fields one day with a young man in the middle of the Winter with a very good young man who was going on to be a priest with Passionists. We were putting in a Fence for the Monastery Farm. He had not spoken for a while , but then he shouted out at the top of of his voice, 'I can't stand it anymore! Let me out of here!' The last I saw of him he was running into the distance. That kinda reminds me of what Purgatory must be like. ..but without the running away. Last thing at night we used to sing the, 'Salve Regina' before bed. I try to do this at the minute at evening time at the Grotto of Our Lady nearby. I am sure I sound horrible.
Today is the feast of St. Gertrude. As you may know, she had a strong devotion and mystical experience to pray for the holy souls in purgatory. I’ve copied in her prayer below which Jesus told her would release 1000 souls every time it is devoutly prayed. Some do it on their Rosary beads….. just think one rosary = 50,000 souls! If we get just 20 of us here to do this, we help 1 million souls! I also included link to additional prayers of St. Gertrude. PRAYER TO FREE 1000 SOULS FROM PURGATORY: PROMISE PRAYER A Prayer Which Would Release 1,000 Souls From Purgatory Each Time It Is Said: Our Lord told St. Gertrude the Great that the following prayer would release 1,000 Souls from Purgatory each time it is said. The prayer was later 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." http://www.catholictradition.org/Gertrude/sg-text1.htm
