Did you know that Catholics are supposed to pray in a special way for the deceased throughout the whole month of November and not just on All Souls Day, Nov. 2?
Traditionally in November, as the liturgical year comes to a close and the natural world reflects the process of death, the Church remembers particularly what is traditionally referred to as the “Church suffering,” or “penitent” or, sometimes, “expectant,” – otherwise known as the souls in purgatory. Although Nov. 2 has come and gone, this practice of praying for the dead continues throughout November. This beautiful tradition should be encouraged because the souls in purgatory cannot pray for themselves.
The Church has always taught that our chance for redemption and our final, eternal trajectory is completed on this earth. At the moment of our death, our eternal destination will be decided, either straight to heaven or hell, or purgatory followed by heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) tells us that “Death is the end of man’s earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan, and to decide his ultimate destiny” (No. 1013). This means that the moment of death is the moment of decision; there is nothing more one can do for the state of one’s own soul.
There is, however, help to be gained through the intercession of souls still on earth: “From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the dead, and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (No. 1032).
The souls who die in a less than perfect state of grace, but still in a state of grace, must spend time in purgatory, where they are purified so that they can be in the presence of God in heaven. We have no idea what is meant by “time” in purgatory, but prayer is never wasted. Even if the soul for which someone is praying has already progressed into heaven, the prayers will likely help another soul in need. What if our prayers could get the soul of a loved one to heaven sooner? Don’t we want that for them? And what about the people who had little or no family and friends when they died? Who is praying for them?
Have your ever noticed during a Catholic funeral how often the priest refers to the deceased as “our brother” or “our sister”? These personal references are a reminder of two important facts: that we are connected as family by virtue of our baptism, which has made us all adopted sons and daughters of God. Clearly, we have a responsibility to each other. This is the whole purpose of a funeral Mass, just as it is the whole purpose of a baptism taking place in front of the whole congregation – the community of faith gathered together to acknowledge their shared responsibility for either the newly baptized member or the recently deceased. We are called to help each other get to heaven.
St. Padre Pio believed that it was essential to pray for the deceased as often as possible, saying often “let’s empty purgatory.” My sister recently sent to our family a “purgatory box” that is modelled after St. Padre Pio’s constant prayer for the souls in purgatory. In the box are numbered tiles that correspond to a list that contains various sins that are keeping souls in purgatory, including souls who complained, souls who were jealous, souls farthest from heaven, souls who were ungrateful, etc. The idea is to put the box in a throughway of the house (or friary in Pade Pio’s case) and for residents to take a tile every time the box is passed and say the following prayer for that soul: “Eternal rest grant unto 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.”
Along with this simple practice of saying a short prayer for souls, one could arrange to have Masses celebrated for a particular soul, offer prayers at a grave, or even fulfill all the conditions for a plenary or partial indulgence, which erases all or part of the temporal punishment of purgatory.
Don’t let November pass by without helping to empty purgatory.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, six children, and her mom. She can be reached at [email protected].