Lord, give thine angels every day
command to guard us on our way,
and bib them every evening keep
There watch around us while we sleep.
-John Mason Neal
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November 2nd - All Souls Day
Commemoration of the Faithful Departed
The Church teaches us that the souls of the just who have left this world
with traces of venial sin remain for a time in a place of expiation, where
they suffer whatever punishment may be due to their offenses. Even if
pardon
has been obtained for our sins, satisfaction must be made to God, our
Creator, in this world or in the next; for His sanctity has been, as it
were, insulted by the self-will of one of His ignoble creatures. The more
noble the person offended, the more serious the offense, even according to
human laws. It is a dogma of our faith that the suffering souls are
relieved
by the intercession of the Saints in heaven and by the prayers of the
faithful upon earth. To pray for the dead is therefore an act of charity
and
of piety, certainly obligatory for a Christian who professes to have
charity
in his heart. We read in Holy Scripture: "It is a holy and wholesome
thought
to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins." (II
Maccabees 12:46)
When towards the close of the tenth century, Our Lord inspired Saint
Odilo,
Abbot of Cluny, to establish in his Benedictine Order a general
commemoration of all the faithful departed, the practice was soon
afterwards
adopted by the entire Western Church and has been continued unceasingly to
our day. Let us always bear in mind the departed who have died in the love
of God, and offer up our prayers and sacrifices to help expiate for them.
By
showing this mercy to the suffering souls in purgatory, we gain for
ourselves very devoted friends, who will in their turn pray for us. We
shall
then be entitled to be treated with mercy at our departure from this
world,
and to share more abundantly in the suffrages of the Church, continually
offered for all who have fallen asleep in Christ.
Reflection: When we offer satisfaction to God in this life for our
offenses,
there is merit attached to our penances. There is no longer any merit in
purgatory; others must provide. Let us reflect well that if we do not
ourselves repair our sins and faults, we place our burden on others; is
that
what we want?
Source: Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints, a compilation based on
Butler's Lives of the Saints and other sources by John Gilmary Shea
(Benziger Brothers: New York, 1894).
Quote:
Better to be reproved by the grammarians than not understood by the
people.
-St Augustine
Bible Quote
And answering, he said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard
and seen: the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are made clean, the
deaf
hear, the dead rise again, to the poor the gospel is preached: And blessed
is he whosoever shall not be scandalized in me. (Luke 7:22-23)
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THE HEROIC ACT IN FAVOR OF THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
O MY GOD! for Your greater glory, and to imitate as closely as possible
the
generous Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer, and also to testify my devotion to
the
Blessed Virgin, my Mother, who is also the Mother of the Souls in
Purgatory,
I place in her hands all my satisfactory works, as well as the fruit of
all
those which may be offered for my intention after my death, that she may
apply them to the Souls in Purgatory according to her wisdom and good
pleasure. Amen.
This Heroic Act of Charity is the completely unselfish offering to God of
all the satisfactory value of one's prayers and good works -- plus the
value
of any that might be offered for one after one's death -- for the benefit
of
the Souls in Purgatory, rather than for oneself. The "satisfactory value"
of
a good work is its value with regard to making up for our sins and
reducing
our stay in Purgatory. However, the "meritorious value" of our good works
is
inalienable, i.e., our merits, which give us a right to an increase of
glory
in Heaven, cannot be applied to anyone else. Moreover, a person who has
made
the Heroic Act may still pray for himself, friends and other intentions.
The Heroic Act is revocable at will and is not a vow. Its actual
ratification depends on the will of God. By making this act with purity of
intention, one is relying upon the mercy of God and the prayers of the
Communion of Saints to assist his soul after death. The Heroic Act was
approved and encouraged by Pope Benedict XIII [1724-1730].
According to the Raccolta of 1932: The faithful who make the Heroic Act in
favor of the Souls detained in Purgatory, may gain an indulgence." At the
time this was a plenary indulgence with special conditions attached , such
as attending Mass, receiving Holy Communion in supplication for the Holy
Souls, etc.
His Holiness, Leo XIII, Jan. 17, 1888, granted to the faithful who shall
perform some pious practice for the relief of the Souls in Purgatory,
every
day during the whole month of November, whether in public or in private,
an
indulgence of seven years and as many quarantines on each day of the
month;
a plenary indulgence, once during the same month, on any day of the month,
on the usual conditions: confession and communion, and a visit to a church
or public oratory, and there praying for the intention of the Sovereign
Pontiff.
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