Bestow Mercy to Revitalize the Communion of Saints.
“It was a holy and pious thought. Therefore, he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin”
(2 Macc. 12:45)
November 2nd is the commemoration of All Souls Day. The previous day we celebrated All Saints Day, celebrating those who are already in heaven. The next day starts the octave of praying for those who passed the test and are on the way. Saints in heaven, holy souls in purgatory, and we faithful on earth united by the communion of saints.
Traditionally, Catholics spent eight days visiting cemeteries, praying for their relatives, friends, and unknown deceased, obtain indulgences for them, helping them reach their final, glorious destination. In the old days, cemeteries would be lit by thousands of candles, burned to memorize those who came before us, and according to tradition to give them some relief in their suffering. Today at the gate to the graveyard we often find signs discouraging, or forbidding people from putting torches, or lights on the premises, because they are making cleaning and maintenance more difficult.
In today’s “busy” society few people think about previous generations, and even fewer pray for them. As a result, the communion between those in heaven, purgatory and the living is shrinking. With Neopaganism rapidly progressing we are outmatched by evil forces. It is necessary to rejuvenate our union with those in heaven and the souls in purgatory. The poor souls in purgatory cannot help themselves, but they will pray for those who aid them, and because they are still suffering they have a special place in God’s loving and merciful heart, making them a powerful ally. Our Lady, Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary ask Bl. Anne Catherine Emmerich: “Instruct your penitents to pray fervently for the poor souls in purgatory, for they in gratitude will pray for them in return. Prayer for these poor souls is most agreeable to God, as it admits them to His presence sooner.”
(Prophecies Part 3, On the Existence of Purgatory, section 1)
Our Lord in Luke 16:9 instructs us: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” He is encouraging us to give away God’s mercy to the souls in purgatory. Every catholic in a state of grace, being free from all attachment to sin, led by the Spirit of God (spirit of love and mercy) gains the status of child and heir of God. We gain the right to administrate God’s mercy through indulgences.
“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.” (Romans 8:14-17)
First, a half-hour of reading the bible, a half-hour of adoration, or reciting 5 decades of the Rosary without interruption in a church, family, religious community or pious association. Then receiving Holy Communion, Confession, and offering up a prayer for the Pope’s intentions, while being free from all attachment to sin. Then add a plea to our Heavenly Father to receive an indulgence within.
“And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)
It is not a big sacrifice if we compare it with the suffering of souls in purgatory, and the happiness we bring to them, and it is enough to free 1 soul from purgatory, and thereby gain the best friend, ally, and advocate we could ever have. Our friends in heaven will cheer for us, pray for us, while souls still in purgatory will do whatever they can to help and protect us in our journey, and at the hour of death they will stand along with our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary as our advocates.
“For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light.” (Luke 16:8)
It is in our own interest to extend those eight days of the octave of All Souls to the entire year, praying for them every day, offering partial and plenary indulgences on their behalf at every mass we attend and, at the foot of our Lord’s Cross, pleading for mercy on them and on us.