A Sunday Thought About the Holy Souls in Purgatory
Reminder: November is dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Our prayers and sacrifices for their sake is in order. Now that we're into the second week of November, leaving All Souls Day in our wake, with the excitement and joy of Thanksgiving right around the corner, it's easy for the Church Suffering to take a back seat. Please don't let that happen. Keep them front and center in some special way this month.
My wife and I performed two acts this past week each of which may have gained plenary indulgences. One involved visiting a cemetery each day from November 1st through November 8th. It's the first time we did this together. With the rest of November before us, we have no special actions planned, but daily specials prayers for those we know who have died would be a kind of baseline, with, I hope, other special sacrifices thrown.
(In a world where there's much chatter about "making a difference," have you ever noticed that simply "making a difference" doesn't necessarily add up to something good? After all Hitler "made a difference." So if making a difference drives you each day in your work, keep that in mind and strive to make a difference for the Good. But whether you're caught up int the "making a difference" game, remember that prayer and sacrifice for the Holy Souls makes a difference for the good of those suffering right now as they await the day when they will finally be fully cleansed and fit to see God in the Face in Heaven.)
I'll leave you with this holy Catholic prayer that the Church traditionally said at all Requiem Masses, and still does in the Extraordinary Rite, the Dies Irae. When I was an altar boy and served at Holy Mass, it was always sung. It is, sadly, no longer included in the Novus Ordo Mass for Christian Burial. If you're not familiar with it, take a few moments to listen to it sung in Gregorian chant as it was and is sung in the Extraordinary Rite. If you are familiar with it, you may enjoy this version. Either way, remember the Holy Souls. It is here performed by the monks of the Abbey of Notre Dame.
My wife and I performed two acts this past week each of which may have gained plenary indulgences. One involved visiting a cemetery each day from November 1st through November 8th. It's the first time we did this together. With the rest of November before us, we have no special actions planned, but daily specials prayers for those we know who have died would be a kind of baseline, with, I hope, other special sacrifices thrown.
(In a world where there's much chatter about "making a difference," have you ever noticed that simply "making a difference" doesn't necessarily add up to something good? After all Hitler "made a difference." So if making a difference drives you each day in your work, keep that in mind and strive to make a difference for the Good. But whether you're caught up int the "making a difference" game, remember that prayer and sacrifice for the Holy Souls makes a difference for the good of those suffering right now as they await the day when they will finally be fully cleansed and fit to see God in the Face in Heaven.)
I'll leave you with this holy Catholic prayer that the Church traditionally said at all Requiem Masses, and still does in the Extraordinary Rite, the Dies Irae. When I was an altar boy and served at Holy Mass, it was always sung. It is, sadly, no longer included in the Novus Ordo Mass for Christian Burial. If you're not familiar with it, take a few moments to listen to it sung in Gregorian chant as it was and is sung in the Extraordinary Rite. If you are familiar with it, you may enjoy this version. Either way, remember the Holy Souls. It is here performed by the monks of the Abbey of Notre Dame.
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