Encouragement From Father Willie To Make Time For The Holy Souls During Our Busy Work Day

We can make time for the Holy Souls in Purgatory during our busy work day today.

Yes, it may seem a stretch. After all, if it's hard to be recollected in God's Presence during a busy work day, how do we add on to what frequently is a failed effort? 

But add on we must. 

Consider: Don't we think about our loved ones during the work day? No, not all the time, but from time to time of course. Perhaps we communicate with our wives, even our children, at times, for special reasons. 

For example, if you get a text or, more emphatically, a call from your wife in the midst of a busy stretch, do you ignore it?

And if we can attend to our loved ones, we surely know that we can at times turn our minds and hearts to God, right? Whether we succeed at this on any given day is another matter. But we surely know we can.

But the Holy Souls? They're not even in this world. They've passed on to their eternal reward. We don't totally ignore them, of course. We pray for them, perhaps as part of our fixed daily prayers. And then there's All Souls Day, devoted to them.

Scant at best, isn't it, especially if we consider those loved ones who may be amongst those Holy Souls? And some of us who are older likely have an extensive roster of loved ones who may be right now enduring the suffering cleansing of their souls before they can enter the eternal joy of Heaven.

Don't these deserve more than scant attention and devotion?

If we're not sure about all this, if we think it's asking a bit much to manifest our concern for the Holy Souls even during the work day, perhaps these words from dear Father Willie will give us pause for consideration.

His deep Catholic sensibility here will provide us an example of just why and how we should be thinking and acting in this matter. Remember he's in the trenches with his "boys" during World War I. And if he can see through to the spiritual welfare of the Holy Souls in the midst of his work during wartime, surely we all can as well!  

(Note that he is writing anonymously as "Nemo.") 

Dear Sir — One is often struck, on glancing over the papers, at the numerous appeals made to provide ‘comforts for our troops,’ but no one ever seems to think that the souls of those who have fallen in battle may possibly be in need of much greater comfort than the bodies of their comrades who survive.

With all the spiritual help now at their disposal, even in the very firing line, we may be fairly confident that few, if any, of our Catholic men are unprepared to meet Almighty God. That does not mean they are fit for Heaven. God’s justice must be fully satisfied, and the debt of forgiven sin fully atoned for in Purgatory. Hence I venture to appeal to the great charity of your readers to provide ‘comforts for our dead soldiers’ by having Masses offered for their souls. Remembrance of our dead and gratitude are virtues dear to every Irish heart. Our brave lads have suffered and fought and died for us. They have nobly given their lives for God and country. It is now our turn to make some slight sacrifice, so that they may soon enter into the joy of eternal rest. — Very faithfully yours, NEMO.

COMMENT: This letter appeared in the Irish Catholic on May 26, 1917.