Grant Thy eternal rest...

All Souls Day*

Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed

November 2

 

The commemoration of All Souls is rooted in the Church's

strong conviction that we, the living, have a serious responsibility

in love to accompany with prayer those who have died but who

must yet complete the purificatory preparation every human being

needs to be able to dwell in the all-encompassing love of God.

(From Magnificat, November 2014, Vol 16, No 9)

 

 

 

 

"Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious Blood

of Your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with

the Masses said throughout the world today,

for all the Holy Souls in purgatory.  Amen."

 

St Gertrude the Great

 

 

"I would go so far as to say that if there was no purgatory, then we would have to invent it, for who would dare say to himself that he was able to stand directly before God. .... (God) can cleanse us in such a way that we are able to be with Him and can stand there in the fullness of life.  Purgatory strips off from one person what is unbearable and from another the inability to bear certain things, so that in each of them a pure heart is revealed, and we can see that we all belong together in one enormous symphony of being."  ~ Pope Benedict XVI

LITTLE LITANY OF THE HOLY SOULS

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us. 

Holy Souls, Pray for us. For the souls of our families, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of our friends, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of our enemies, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all pagans, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all priests, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all religious, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of the just, We pray Thee, O God. For the souls of all sinners, We pray Thee, O God. For the Holy Souls in Purgatory, We pray Thee, O God. For those who have none to pray for them, We pray Thee, O God. O almighty and eternal God, we beg Thee to have mercy on the Holy Souls in Purgatory, especially those for whom we are bound to pray; and we ask Thee also to listen to the prayers of the Blessed Souls in our behalf. Amen.

  PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DEATH…written by Bl John Henry Cardinal Newman

O my Lord and Savior, support me in my last hour by the strong arms of Thy sacraments, and the fragrance of Thy consolations. Let Thy absolving words be said over me, and the holy oil sign and seal me; and let your own body be my food, and Thy blood my sprinkling; and let Thy Mother Mary come to me, and my angel whisper peace to me, and Thy glorious saints and my own dear patrons smile on me, that in and through them all I may die as I desire to live, in Thy Church, in Thy faith, and in Thy love. Amen.   

My Jesus, mercy.

*MORE on All Souls Day...   Click here: All Souls Day

Click here: Spiritualdirection.com Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed: All Souls' Day

 

Remember those, O Lord,

Who in Your peace have died,

Yet may not gain love's high reward

Till love is purified

 

With You they faced death's night

Sealed with Your victory sign;

Soon may the splendor of Your light

On them forever shine!

 

 

“Grant, O Lord, that I may experience a reasonable sorrow at the death of those who are dear to me, shedding tears of resignation over our mortal condition, yet soon restraining them by this consoling thought of the faith: that in dying, the faithful have only withdrawn a little from us to go into a better world.

“May I not weep as do the pagans who are without hope. I may have reason to be sad, but in my affliction hope will comfort me. With hope so great, it is not fitting, O my God, that Your temple should be in mourning. You dwell there, You who are our Consoler; and You cannot fail in Your promises.” ~ St. Augustine