“O HOLY HOST, YOU THAT BREAKS DOWN THE GATES OF PURGATORY AND OPENS THE DOOR  OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO THE FAITHFUL!” --St.  Pierre Damien

Pope John Paul II convoked the Year of the Eucharist beginning October 17, 2004, through October, 2005. 

At the  beginning of the monumental year we can truly benefit and celebrate this great gift. Here are some ways we can intensely live the Year of the Eucharist! 

The Church Suffering is waiting anxiously for us to help them reach Heaven and join the Church Triumphant. We must remember that the Church Suffering can benefit in a great  way during this awesome Year of the Eucharist. 

This is truly their year, too!  We have the power and privilege of giving them Paradise during this Eucharistic  Year! Here’s how.... 

The Holy Mass is the most efficacious means to help, to relieve, and to deliver the souls languishing in purgatory. Why? Because the Most Holy Eucharist is the Source and Summit of our Faith. It is the highest act of worship and the highest form of prayer. It surpasses every prayer. 

Once during the celebration of Holy Mass in the Church of St. Paul at Tre Fontane near Rome, St. Bernard saw an unending stairway which led up to Heaven. By means of it very many angels ascended and  descended, carrying from purgatory to Paradise souls freed by the Sacrifice of Jesus -- a sacrifice renewed by priests on altars all over the world. 

We often hear, “Oh, the souls of this or that person is certainly in Heaven.” However, their situation is more like the sick man who waited for many weary years at Bethsaida’s pool for someone to assist him into the healing waters. They are saying, “We have no one to help us.  We long for the Precious Blood of Jesus."  

St. Jerome, one of the greatest doctors of the Church, asserts that as a result of every Mass which is celebrated devoutly, many souls are released from purgatory, and also that the holy souls feel no pain during the celebration of Mass, if the priest prays for them in offering the sacrifice. St. Augustine, too, teaches that the holy souls from whom the priest prays during Holy Mass feel no torment for the duration of the holy sacrifice. 

If only this were the first thing to occur to us in connection with our dead, to remember them at God’s altar. The Church has always remembered the dead in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and exhorted the faithful to pray for them. 

Holy Mother Church urges us to pray for the souls in purgatory. Although they cannot help  themselves, these poor souls do have recourse to our prayers. It is said that in time of affliction we know our true friends. But what affliction can be compared to theirs?   

As Michael Brown suggests in Afterlife:  Begin a life Novena: a Mass offered for each year of your life where you can meditate on a different year each day.

During each Mass ask God to send love and blessings where you have failed to love and to bless every person who came anywhere near your presence, from the moment of you conception to the present. Then you can begin the necessary purification here on earth. 

Eucharistic Adoration is one of the most powerful forms of prayer in assisting the holy souls reach Heaven. Eucharistic Adoration is “intercessory prayer.” The adorer assumes the office of mediators on behalf of mankind by their unceasing prayers, offering up supplications, day and night to God’s throne of mercy on behalf of the Church Suffering.  From the Sacred Host, streams of alleviating grace flow into the expiatory realms of purgatory, bringing unspeakable relief  to those imprisoned there. 

And in  a very special way remember our deceased priests and bishops who have brought us the Eucharist year in and year out each day of our life! We tend to “canonize” our clergy and loved ones immediately after their death. Father Faber tells us, “We are apt to leave off too soon praying for our priests and loved ones with an unenlightened esteem for the holiness of their lives, that they are freed from purgatory much sooner than they really are.” 

Let  us offer a very great part of our prayers and sacrifices for the souls of priests, bishops and consecrated religious during this Eucharistic Year.  

Remember to have individual Masses offered for yourselves while you are alive. Offer Gregorian Masses for your deceased loved ones. Enroll you and your family in Propagation of the Faith Memberships. You are remembered in 15,000 Masses each year and a daily Mass in Vatican City! See our website at: www.spiritualtreasury.org or stassone@archchicago.org  for more information or write or call us at: 

Catholic Mission Office, 721 N.  LaSalle, Chicago IL  60610; 312-382-3328 

Let us  be missionaries of the Eucharist for our Holy Souls in Purgatory. 

A holy soul in Purgatory said the following:  “You the living, can do everything for us, and we can do everything for you, it is an exchange of prayers." 

“Christ, ‘living bread which came down from Heaven.’ is the only one who can satisfy man’s hunger at all times and in all parts of the earth" -- John Paul II.

10/22/04

Second story

Purgatory Is Seen As Nothing Less Than Incredible 'Masterpiece' Of God’s Mercy'

By Susan Tassone 

Part III in a series

All who die in God’s grace and friendship are indeed assured of their salvation; but after death some undergo purification, so as to be free from all sin, and achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven. 

The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect (Catechism of the Catholic Church #1030). This teaching is based on the practice of prayer for the dead mentioned in Sacred Scripture, “Therefore (Judas Maccabeus) made atonement for the dead, from their sin” (2 Maccabees 12:45). 

From the beginning Holy Mother Church has honored the memory of the dead by offering prayers in suffrage for them. Above all, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the most efficacious means to help the souls in Purgatory. Why? The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the highest act of worship and the highest form of prayer.

Prayer is the key to Heaven. 

Prayer is an indispensable means of attaining salvation for ourselves and our deceased loved ones. Fervent and submissive prayer penetrates the clouds and moves the heart of God to mercy. 

The prayer of St. Augustine (A.D. 430) for his mother, St. Monica, is another important testimony from the early Church about prayer for the dead. He wrote: “Forgive her too, O Lord, if she trespassed against you in the long years of her life after baptism.  Forgive her I beseech, you; do not call her to account. Let your mercy give your judgment an honorable welcome, for your words, are true and you have promised mercy to the merciful” (Confessions, Book 9:13).

Monica is quoted by her saintly son as telling him at the end of her life to lay her body to rest anywhere, but to remember her at the sacrifice of the altar. 

Recent studies show that prayer heals, and recoveries are 50 percent quicker for those who had surgery, even if the patient was unaware that he was being prayed for.  An Arizona study journal reports that intercessory prayer produced measurable improvement in the medical outcomes of critically ill patients. 

Today, many are discovering how the Eucharist not only purifies the souls of those who have died but also heals the living as they come into deeper relationship with Jesus.

The late Dr. Kenneth McCall of the United Kingdom logged over 1,000 cases of emotional or physical healing of clients when they offered a Mass for their deceased loved ones. 

The Mass heals the living and the dead! 

The holy souls in Purgatory need our prayers. 

The Mass is the great form of prayer to assist the souls attain heaven. 

Said St. John Chrysostom, “Christ is the victim that gives solace to the dead.” What a marvelous opportunity we have during this YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST to assist our living and deceased!

 Who are the "holy souls"?

They are our families, relatives and friends. Whom do you miss the most? For whom do you wish you could have done more for in this life? Who has hurt you?

Who has helped you the most spiritually or temporarily? 

Have a Mass offered for them! 

And remember to have a Mass offered for yourself.

Christ told St. Faustina of Poland, “All these souls are greatly loved by Me.  They are making retribution to My justice.  It is in your power to bring relief. Draw all the indulgences from the treasury of My Church and offer them on their behalf. Oh, if you only know the torments they suffer.”

November 15, 2004

By Susan Tassone 

What would you want for Christmas if you were in Purgatory? Heaven.

You would want to see the Face of Jesus gazing on you with love for all eternity! 

The Holy Souls languishing in purgatory love, praise, and thank God. Although their suffering is worse than any illness or suffering on earth, they are saved. They have seen the face of God. Now they know the goodness of God and want to be with Him but are held back. So the Holy Souls' loss of the sight of God is their greatest suffering. This is Purgatory. 

Souls undergo purification necessary for Heaven. They never rest. They suffer day and night... 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And so they beg our prayers and suffrages (that is, intercessions). Christmas Day and not All Souls' Day is when the most souls are released, according to the Blessed Mother of Medjugorje.

We often hear, "Oh, the soul of this person or that person is certainly in Heaven." How often does this false charity cause souls to suffer and delay their entry into Heaven? We don't know the state of the soul. We can't judge. Only God knows the disposition of the soul at the hour of death. And if the soul is in Heaven, praise God!  No prayer is ever wasted. God applies our prayers to other souls.   

It is our duty especially to pray for the souls of our family, friends, and benefactors.

Let us be an advocate by our prayers and turn their pain into everlasting glory.

We invite you to join us with Our Lady and give the gift of  Jesus  to our Holy Heroes on Christmas Day! Do you realize how many “new intercessors” you will have on Christmas Day by helping to bring about their release? Be Our Lady’s merciful ones.  Christmas is upon us. Answer the call this Advent. Here are a few suggestions to give “Paradise” to our friends and loved ones for Christmas. 

--   Double up on your prayers and sacrifices for your departed loved ones

-- Insert the St. Gertrude prayer or your favorite Holy Souls prayer in your Christmas cards.

--  Sprinkle Holy Water on the graves of your loved ones and those around the grave when visiting the cemetery during the Holidays. Kneel and pray there.

--  Parents, grandparents, guardians, Godparents, teach the children... the eternal rest prayer, how to sprinkle Holy Water for the holy souls, and how to offer up “little things.” Bring them to the cemetery. You will have planted the seed of reverence in their hearts and in due time this will manifest itself and assure you of their suffrages at the hour of your death.

-- Light blessed candles. The burning candle is a sign of our prayer, a bright silent intercessor for the holy souls.

--  Give the Holy Souls the joy of a Holy Mass. Arrange to have Masses offered during Advent. Offer your Mass and indulgences on Christmas Day. The Mass is the most powerful prayer on earth. It is the quickest means to bring the Holy Souls to Paradise!

--  Place a special ornament on your tree or wreath in honor of the Holy Souls.

--  Recite the Eternal Rest prayer before and after your meals.

Remember, the Holy Souls are our mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, Godparents, doctors, nurses, priests, and nuns --  all who have helped us in this life!  Pray for them and the souls most abandoned, closest to Heaven, and the soul most like you! When you are called home, the Holy Souls you released during your lifetime will greet you at the gates of Paradise!

Just think of the power and privilege God has given to us to help Him. 

To quote St. Thomas Aquinas,  “Of all prayers, the most meritorious, the most acceptable to God are prayers for the dead, because they imply all the works of charity, both corporal and spiritual.”

December 7, 2003

Return to archive page

Return to Spiritdaily.com

You are at www.spiritdaily.org