Dear Readers,

I am behind in sharing this information with you by five days. My deepest apologies. God has been aware of my desire for the month of November’s mission and he is giving me the strength to endure through the blocks that have been placed in my path.

Yet, ONCE AGAIN, God is always successful in overcoming all blocks sent our way. GOOD will always overcome evil. God has blessed me and my family, allowing the intercession of the Blessed Mother, St. Joseph, St. Michael, along with all the angels, saints, Holy Souls, and the strong prayer warriors on earth to hold us up in prayer to God. Allowing me to continue on the path of Jesus, a little more bruised, a little more bloodied, yet helping me to fulfill my mission that God has so graciously placed in my path, and did it in BLACK AND WHITE (which is how…..I frequently beg him to show me what to do, when I am no longer sure which path is the correct one).

If you can hang in there with me, I will explain how this Novena for the Holy Souls works. Then we’ll play catch up with the days missed, and then stay on path for the rest of November. All of the information I will be writing about, is from Susan Tassone’s book – Thirty Day Devotions for the Holy Souls.

pg. 19 – St. Francis DeSales says, “We do not often enough remember our dead, our faithful departed.” Thus, Holy Mother Church, like a good mother, consecrates the whole month of November to the memory of the dead. This pious practice of praying through an entire month for the dead takes rise from the earliest ages of the Church and was preached with zeal by all the great Church Fathers and Doctors.

pg. 20 – How consoling that our golden links of prayer still unite us to those who “fall asleep in the Lord,” and that we still can speak to them and pray for them!

pg. 20 – Embrace this devotion and spread it widely. God is never outdone in generosity!

pg. 26 – For anyone unfamiliar with a thirty-day “novena” it is recommended that you begin each day with the following prayer and then reflect on the passage for that day. Integrate the message of the individual reflections into some aspect of your daily life.

Prayer of Blessed James Alberione  (to be said daily) – pg. 27

Blessed Souls, YOU are suffering and asking suffrage from me; I am in great danger and need, and I await aid and protection from you. So for this (month or year) I will offer all my prayers and especially all my good works for you. And you in turn remember my needs; deliver me from the dangers I face, and in particular, obtain for me this grace (mention petition). And let the first of you to enter heaven not cease to plead for me before the Divine Mercy until I, too, arrive there. May the Sacred Heart bless this agreement. Amen

Day One – Praying for the Dead - pg. 29

“Speaking among themselves, they said, “This all happened because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his terror and anguish and heard his pleadings, but we wouldn’t listen.” Genesis 42:21  

I will be using the Scripture Verses from my Bible called: “The Catholic Living Bible”.  Susan Tassone, in her book, uses the Scripture citations from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV) – pg. 12

(For me, personally, when I am given a verse to read I tend to read the entire chapter. #1 to help give me a better understanding of what I am reading. #2 I feel this will help me to one day read the entire Bible, not just bits and pieces. You are not required to read from any Bible, the verses are right there for you. I am an individual who enjoys reading further, just to see what other “tidbits” I may find out!).

pg. 30 – 31   As The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:

The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent.  The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire….This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: 2 Maccabees 12:41-46 (I’ve added to this reading. In Susan’s book the Scriptural citation is to: 2 Maccabees 12:45)

2 Maccabees 12:41-46 ……(41) Then they all blessed the just judgment of the Lord, who reveals things that are hidden. (42) They began to pray asking the Lord that the sin which had been committed might be forgotten. But the heroic Judas Maccabeus exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, since they saw with their own eyes what had happened to those who died because of their sins. (43) Taking up a collection, he sent twelve thousand drachmas of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead. In so doing he acted well and honorably concerning the resurrection. (44) For if Judas Maccabeus had not expected that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. (45) But Judas Maccabeus was considering that those who had died in holiness had great grace stored up for them. (46) It is therefore, a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.

From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences (Nov 1st – 8th, the Plenary Indulgence for the Holy Soul), and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead. {Catechism of the Catholic Church 1030 – 1032}.

Do all in your power to relieve and liberate these blessed souls. Remember the Holy Souls year-round. One traditional belief is that most souls are released on Christmas Day, not on All Souls’ Day.  By remembering the Holy Souls in your daily prayers during the summer months, you are giving them “Christmas in July”. Pray the Stations of the Cross for the Holy Souls, especially during Lent. Do this novena for Holy Souls prior to Our Lord’s feast days and major Marian feast days. Offer Holy Mass for them once a month. The Holy Souls never rest. They suffer day and night.

What becomes of all the merit of those Masses, and other suffrages, that are offered for souls which are not in purgatory? No prayer is ever wasted. Our Lord applies them to the souls as He sees fit.

pg. 32 – Graciously Hear, O God, the fervent prayers we offer Thee for the suffering souls in purgatory, who, not having satisfied Thy justice, confide in Thine infinite mercy and our intercessions. Extend unto them Thy consolations, and redeem them, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

pg. 33 – “I will without delay, immediately, come to the relief fo the suffering souls in purgatory; with sobs and sighs I will invoke the Lord; with tears I will entreat Him; I will be their advocate by my prayers; I will especially offer up for them, or have offered for them, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the prayers of the Rosary, in order that the Lord, with the eyes of His unspeakable mercy, may look down upon them, changing their desolation into comfort, their misery into joy, and their pains into everlasting glory and bliss.” – St. Bernard

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This is the end of Day One Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

From me: don’t forget to “offer up” for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, happy and sad. Some Holy Souls only need ONE “offering up”, be it a happy offer, sad/painful offer, or even a prayer, to be released into heaven.

Do not forget to ask for the intercession of the Holy Souls for whatever you need, especially praying for the Holy Souls that have lived through what you are experiencing at this time. Remember to also thank the Holy Souls, most of all REMEMBER TO THANK, PRAISE and GLORIFY OUR LORD for His MERCY allowing this grace to be open to us, and to the Holy Souls.

Pray for the Holy Souls who have NO ONE to pray for them. Either because the family name has died out, or the family “assumed” their family member is not in need of prayers because “they went straight to heaven”. Or, due to their religious beliefs that there is no purgatory. Don’t forget to pray for ALL deceased priests, popes, brothers, nuns, deacons, ALL religious (including religious lay people) who have no one praying for them.

It is not up to us to judge who made it straight to heaven, who went to purgatory, and who went to hell. It is OUR JOB to pray and “offer up”. Only God knows our souls, our lives, and our intentions.

Pray, pray and pray…..”offer up”, “offer up”, and “offer up”……….we never know how the littlest thing we do will help another or make a difference in their life, or even change their life. God is good to us, merciful and loves us……so much………he keeps on knocking…….make this the time to answer that door!

All praise and glory to you, Our Lord Jesus Christ!

Michele

First let me explain how to gain a Plenary Indulgence and how this Plenary Indulgence is for the Holy Souls in Purgatory from Nov 1st – 8th.

An Indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due to be suffered for sins that have already been forgiven. In granting Indulgences, the Church, as minister of the Redemption, authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the Saints. The temporal punishment due for forgiven sins must be suffered either on earth on in Purgatory. A Partial Indulgence remits part of the temporal punishment due; a Plenary Indulgence remits all the temporal punishment due. Indulgences can always be offered for the Poor Souls in Purgatory, rather than for ourselves. However, Indulgences offered for the Poor Souls are efficacious by way of suffrage, that is depending on God’s decision, since the Church on earth does not have jurisdiction over the souls in Purgatory.

Four Ways to Gain a Plenary Indulgence:

A Catholic, being in the state of grace (confession within the 7 days to gain the indulgence) , can gain a Plenary Indulgence by many different prayers and works of piety, but these four are worthy of special mention.

1. Making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament aka Adoration - to adore Our Lord for at least on half hour. In our area we are very blessed to have multiple churches and chapels that now have Adoration 24/7. (I don’t know if this counts, you would need to check with your priest. I found a site http://www.savior.org). It is Perpetual Adoration on the web. I have used it many times, when I have been sick or want to have quiet time with the Lord while praying my rosary, or for comfort when it’s not possible for me to get to one of our chapels or churches.

2. Spending at least one half hour reading Sacred Scripture - pull out your Bible, read the Readings of the day, and meditate on them. Or find a verse, meditate on that. Venerate Our Lord through the Word of God!

3. Making the Way of the Cross – this includes walking from Station to Station (at publicly held Stations, if this cannot be done in an orderly way, at least the leader must move from Station to Station). No specific prayers are required, but devout meditations on the Passion and Death of Our Lord is required. There is a book I especially use during the month of November called “The Way of the Cross for the Holy Souls in Purgatory” by Susan Tassone.

4. Recitation of the Rosary - (of at least five decades), with devout meditation on the Mysteries, in addition to the vocal recitation. It must be said in a church, chaplet with Adoration of Our Lord present, family group, religious community or pious association. I also use Susan Tassone’s The Rosary for the Holy Souls in Purgatory during November.

5. Additional Requirements - In addition to performing the specified work, these three conditions are required:    Confession, Holy Communion, Prayer for the Holy Father’s (Pope Benedict XVI) intentions = One Our Father, and One Hail Mary will suffice.

The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work; it is fitting, however, that Communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Holy Father be recited on on the same day the work is performed.

In addition, to gain a Plenary Indulgence, a person’s mind and heart must be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin.

If one tries to gain a Plenary Indulgence, but fails to fulfill all the requirements, the indulgences will be only partial.

Only one Plenary Indulgence may be gained per day, except that, at “the moment of death,” a person may gain a second Plenary Indulgence for that day.

If we generously offer Indulgences for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, we may hope to obtain relief or release for many of them, in accord with God’s holy will. In gratitude, they may well obtain for us many great favors.

(The information is obtained from the official Enchiridion of Indulgences [1968]and the Apostolic Constitution The Doctrine of Indulgences [1967]. This informational card received the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, meaning these are official declarations that a book or pamphlet is free from doctrinal or moral error.) Information taken from “How to Gain a Plenary Indulgence”, distributed from TAN Books).

As we know, Holy Water is one of the sacramentals of the Catholic Church that remits venial sin, and we also use as additional armor to protect ourselves from evil.

I discovered in Susan Tassone’s Thirty-Day Devotions for the Holy Souls, that using Holy Water is another way to help the Holy Souls. The Holy Souls long for Holy Water. The Holy Souls nearest to heaven may need the sprinkling of only one drop to release them.

When blessing yourself, don’t forget to sprinkle some Holy Water on the ground, saying “by this Holy Water and by Thy Precious Blood, wash away all my sin, O Lord, and relieve the souls in purgatory.” Then make the Sign of the Cross.

The Plenary Indulgence counts for the Holy Souls ONLY during the days of Nov 1st – 8th. It also helps the Holy Soul, for us to visit their grave during this time for the Holy Souls to receive the Plenary Indulgence.

Don’t forget the Holy Souls and they won’t forget You!

“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon them. Amen”

I pray I was able to get this information out to my readers while they still have time. I will be praying that the Holy Souls who need this indulgence, God will guide their family member to the individual/s grave site for the soul who would benefit from this indulgence .

God Bless,

Michele