11/09/2021 – Pray for Souls in Purgatory

“November is an important month to us as Catholics, because the Church dedicates this month to prayer for the souls in Purgatory, causing us to pause, and reflect on those who have gone before us.

That those who have died, be they in Heaven or Purgatory, are still united and part of the larger Body of Christ, since Christ by His death and Resurrection is the Lord of the living and the dead.

Purgatory it is not as some think a “second chance” after death, but for those who have died in “God’s grace and friendship, but are still imperfectly purified.” … as the Baltimore Catechism calls it: “God’s Hospital.”

The Church, therefore, reminds us of the importance of praying for these souls, so that, indeed, we can assist them to their and our Heavenly homeland. …While there are a thousand different prayers with which we can do this, there has been a long tradition of praying one of the most treasured prayers we have, that of the Holy Rosary.

St. Leo XIII… said:

“The Rosary is the most excellent form of prayer and the most efficacious means of attaining eternal life.” It is, he says, “the remedy for all our evils, the root of all our blessings,” for, to him, “there is no more excellent way of praying.”Therefore, given this powerful prayer and the necessity to which we are called to pray for the souls in Purgatory, it seems only fitting that, indeed, it is the Rosary that would be most appropriate to offer for those holy souls.”

(from lousiapiccareta.com)