Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. The Church commemorates all her faithful children who have departed from this life, but have not yet attained the joys of heaven. St.Paul warns us that we must not be ignorant concerning the dead, nor sorrowful, “even as others who have no hope … For the Lord Himself shall come down from heaven … and the dead who are in Christ shall rise.”

The Church has always taught us to pray for those who have gone into eternity. Even in the Old Testament prayers and alms were offered for the souls of the dead by those who thought “well and religiously concerning the resurrection.” It was believed that “they who had fallen asleep with godliness had great grace laid up for them” and that “it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” We know that a defiled soul cannot enter into heaven.

November is the month of Holy Souls in Purgatory, those faithful Christians who have died and gone before us but who still must atone for their sins. The time they spend in Purgatory cleanses them so that they may enter Heaven free from all effects of sin. Praying for the dead, especially for those we have known, is a requirement of Christian charity. Our own prayers and sacrifices can be offered up to relieve their suffering.

How long will a soul stay in Purgatory?

Purgatory is not eternal. Its duration varies according to the sentence pronounced at each particular judgment. It may be prolonged for centuries in the case of the more guilty souls, or of those who, being excluded from the Catholic communion, are deprived of the suffrages of the Church, although by the divine mercy they have escaped hell. But the end of the world, which will be also the end of time, will close for ever the place of temporary expiation.

God will know how to reconcile His justice and His goodness in the purification of the last members of the human race, and to supply by the intensity of the expiatory suffering what may be wanting in duration. But, whereas a favourable sentence at the particular judgment admits of eternal beatitude being suspended and postponed, and leaves the bodies of the elect to the same fate as those of the reprobate; at the universal judgment, every sentence, whether for heaven or for hell, will be absolute, and will be executed immediately and completely.

How can we help the souls in Purgatory?

Having entered into the night “wherein no man can work,” the Suffering Church cannot ripen to its final blessedness by any efforts of its own, but only through the help of others—through the intercessory prayers and sacrifices (suffragia) of those living members of the Body of Christ who being still in this world are able in the grace of Christ to perform expiatory works.

The Church has from the earliest times faithfully guarded the words of Scripture that it is a holy and a wholesome thing to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins. [2 Macab. 12, 43] The suppliant cry of her liturgy: “Eternal rest give to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them,” can be heard already in the Acts of the martyrdom of SS. Perpetua and Felicitas (A.D. 203) and is represented in numerous sepulchral inscriptions of the most ancient period, while theologians and Fathers of the Church, beginning with Tertullian, have supplied its substantial proof.

The Catholic is jealous to expiate and suffer for the “poor souls,” especially by offering the Eucharistic Sacrifice, wherein Christ’s infinite expiation on the Cross is sacramentally represented, and stimulating and joining itself with the expiatory works of the faithful, passes to the Church Suffering according to the measure determined by God’s wisdom and mercy.

How to obtain indulgence?

By the practice of Indulgences, the Church places at the charitable disposal of the faithful the inexhaustible treasure accumulated, from age to age, by the superabundant satisfactions of the saints, added to those of the martyrs, and united to those of our Blessed Lady and the infinite residue of our Lord’s sufferings. These remissions of punishment she grants to the living by her own direct power; but she nearly always approves of and permits their application to the dead by way of suffrage, that is to say, in the manner in which, as we have seen, each of the faithful may offer to God who accepts it, for another, the suffrage or succour of his own satisfactions.

A partial indulgence can be obtained by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed, even if the prayer is only mental. One can gain a plenary indulgence visiting a cemetery each day between November 1 and November 8. These indulgences are applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory.

A plenary indulgence, again applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is also granted when the faithful piously visit a church or a public oratory on November 2. In visiting the church or oratory, it is required, that one Our Father and the Creed be recited.

A partial indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, can be obtained when the Eternal Rest (Requiem aeternam) is prayed. This is a good prayer to recite especially during the month of November: Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

O Lord, who art ever merciful and bounteous with Thy gifts, look down upon the suffering souls in purgatory. Remember not their offenses and negligences, but be mindful of Thy loving mercy, which is from all eternity. Cleanse them of their sins and fulfill their ardent desires that they may be made worthy to behold Thee face to face in Thy glory. May they soon be united with Thee and hear those blessed words which will call them to their heavenly home: “Come, blessed of My Father, take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

Want to know more about Purgatory?

Biblical Evidence for Purgatory – 25 Bible Passages

The Purgatory – Part 01

The Purgatory – Part 02

The Purgatory – Part 03

The Purgatory – Part 04

Mother Mary, Purgatory and The Bible

Hear the following talk from Apologetics about Mary and Purgatory.

Mary and the Bible – Purgatory and the Bible

Mother Mary

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom He loved standing near, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”

Then He said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. – John 19:26-27

Called in the Gospels “the mother of Jesus”, Mary is acclaimed by Elizabeth, at the prompting of the Spirit and even before the birth of her son, as “the mother of my Lord”.

In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her Son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father’s eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity.  Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly “Mother of God” (Theotokos) – CCC #495

Perpetual Virginity – Brothers & Sisters of Jesus

Prayers for the departed souls is as important as oxygen for the living.

Anyone of us could die suddenly and find ourselves stranded on the lost continent of purgatory. Scripture tells us that our lives are like a flower of the field, like grass which flowers in the morning and grows dry and withers in the evening. Our Lady of Medjugorje also reminds us of the quickness of the passage of life; “Everything is passing, little children; only God is not passing.”

Pope John Paul II defined purgatory like this: “Every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected. Purification must be complete, and indeed this precisely what is meant by the Church’s teaching on purgatory.” To achieve this we must pray. We have this tremendous energy in us and prayer gets us in touch with that energy.

Prayer unleashes souls from purgatory through the Mass, the highest form of prayer.

In Rome there is a Church called the Church of the Suffering Souls. In that Church there is a small museum with relics from souls who touched objects and scorched them to show the purifying spiritual fires (and to indicate the desperate need for our Masses to move them on to Heaven). Every relic has a story. Every story has the same theme. Purgatory exists, and they were in desperate need of Masses. Once the soul leaves the body all merits ceases. For the poor souls their work does not count. It is penal labor – a wearing out of one’s self without any effect. Their efforts obtain nothing. It flows, yet dries up as a river in the sand. Such is the life of the poor souls in purgatory.

At wakes do we hear the need to pray for the souls of our loved ones? We must remember that our faith requires our prayers to help our loved ones join the house of the Lord. Very few of us have souls free from defects — but with our prayers we can create a soul without blemish. Pope Benedict XVI stated that “if we did not have the doctrine of purgatory we would need to invent it!”

Do we have time for our departed loved ones? Do we have time to help our friends reach high places before the throne of God? You can help them. They are poor you are rich. The can do nothing for themselves; you can do everything for them. They can no longer assist at holy Mass and cleanse themselves in the Blood of Christ; you can offer the holy sacrifice and Christ’s Precious Blood for them. They can no longer eat the Bread of Life; you can receive it for them in Holy Communion. They can no longer perform good works or pay their debt by giving alms; you can do it for them! They can no longer draw from graces of the church you can apply your indulgences to them. Your prayers descend to them like refreshing dew and speed them home to Heaven.

Even though the holy souls can do nothing for themselves, they can do much for us once they enter the gate of heaven. Oh, how we need that prayer in the dangers and troubles of this life; and how we shall long for their prayers when we may have to languish in purgatory.

Our Lady of Medjugorje told visionary Mirjana that in Purgatory there are several levels. The more you pray on earth, the higher your level in purgatory will be. The lowest level is closest to hell where the suffering is the most intense. The highest level is closest to Heaven and there the sufferings are the least.

Goto Prayer for Souls in Purgatory

– – – written by Susan Tassone