The souls of the just are
in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch
them. Wisdom 3:1
Every November the Church asks us to turn our
attention to praying for our daily departed friends and family members who have
gone before us. Often, during All Souls Day Masses, or at Funeral Masses, one
of the readings is from Wisdom, chapter 3. We hear the familiar phrase, “The souls of the
just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” We have the hope
that all of us, when it's time to go home to the Lord, will enter purgatory, a
time of purification, before we can enter the glory of heaven. Once we are in
purgatory, we rely on the prayers of others to help us reach our final
destination: heaven.
With
that in mind it’s important for us to remember that it’s our Christian duty to
pray for all our dearly departed family members who have gone before us. They
need our prayers to help them in their journey to heaven. So, it’s important to
have masses said for them on either the anniversary of their death or on the
anniversary of their birthday. Further we can pray a rosary for the repose of
their souls. Also, in the Liturgy of the Hours, there is the “Office of the
Dead” which we can use to pray for our loved ones who have left us behind. It
doesn’t matter how long our loved ones have been gone: it’s important to
constantly pray for the repose of their souls.
Furthermore, in addition to November 2nd
being All Souls Day on the General Calendar, there is the Carmelite All Souls
Day on November 15th. It is on this day we remember our dearly
departed Carmelite brothers and sisters in the First, Second and Third Order
that are now in purgatory. Let us remember all those Carmelites that have gone
before us.
Following is the prayer to be used on the Carmelite
All Souls Day: Lord, you are the glory of all those who serve you. Look
lovingly on our departed brothers and sisters, united in following Christ and
his Mother by the waters of baptism and the bonds of Carmel. In your mercy
grant them everlasting sight of you their Creator and Redeemer. We ask this
through our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy
Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
May the Souls of the dearly departed, through the
mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteWe also can hope that if we have pleased GOD & have been sufficiently purified during our lives on earth that we might be able to go straight to heaven & not have to spend time in purgatory or that we will only have to be in purgatory for a very short time! I suspect & hope that my Mom went "straight up" & that my Dad & other relatives have made it to heaven by now. But, of course, I don't know for sure & there is no way to find out.
I confess that most of the time I don't think too much about praying for those who have died. I am grateful that at every Mass during the Eucharistic Prayer there is an opportunity to pray for "those who have gone before us", so at every Mass (usually on Saturdays at 4:30PM Mass & Sundays at noon Mass) I pray for my parents, aunts, uncles & other people in my life who have died.
It's great that you pray for them, but I would encourage to have masses said for those who you love and have since passed on. Since you're not sure whether or not they're in heaven is a good reason to have masses said for them each year.
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