Praying with the Saints for The + Holy + Souls in Purgatory
Praying with the Saints for The + Holy + Souls in Purgatory
Susan Tassone
Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division
Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.
Huntington, Indiana 46750
Nihil Obstat
Reverend Michael Heintz, Ph.D.
Censor Librorum
Imprimatur
John M. DArcy
Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
June 24, 2009
The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book is free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture citations used in this work are taken from the Catholic Edition of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible (RSV), copyright 1965 and 1966 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission.
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English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America copyright 1994, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana. English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Modifications from the Editio Typica copyright 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc. Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
Unless otherwise noted, texts of papal documents are from the Vatican website, www.vatican.va.
Excerpts from the English translation of The Roman Missal copyright 1973, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. (ICEL). All rights reserved.
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Copyright 2009 by Our Sunday Visitor Publishing Division, Our Sunday Visitor, Inc. Published 2009.
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ISBN: 978-1-59276-551-5 (Inventory No. T833)
eISBN: 978-1-61278-284-3
LCCN: 2009932451
Cover design: Amanda Miller
Cover art: Jed Gibbons
Interior design: Sherri L. Hoffman
Interior art: Jed Gibbons
Printed in the United States of America
Dedicated to the most grateful souls,
especially my ancestors.
Rest in peace!
Of Prayer, Of Love, and Of Contact with Other Worlds
Be not forgetful of prayer. Every time you pray, if your prayer is sincere, there will be new feeling and new meaning in it, which will give you fresh courage, and you will understand that prayer is an education.
Remember, too, every day, and whenever you can, repeat to yourself, Lord, have mercy on all who appear before Thee today. For every hour and every moment thousands of men leave life on this earth, and their souls appear before God. And how many of them depart in solitude, unknown, sad, dejected that no one mourns for them or even knows whether they have lived or not!
And behold, from the other end of the earth perhaps, your prayer for their rest will rise up to God though you knew them not nor they you. How touching it must be to a soul standing in dread before the Lord to feel at that instant that, for him too, there is one to pray, that there is a fellow creature left on earth to love him too!
And God will look on you both more graciously, for if you have had so much pity on him, how much will He have pity Who is infinitely more loving and merciful than you. And He will forgive him for your sake.
Father Zosima,
in Dostoyevskys The Brothers Karamazov
Table of Contents
What Do We Know About Purgatory and the Holy Souls?
What Do the Saints Reveal About Purgatory?
Apostles of Purgatory: Devotions and Practices Throughout the Year
Appendix:
Novena Prayers and Additional Resources
Preface
All down the centuries, the Catholic Church, true to her belief in the Communion of Saints which she professes in the Apostles Creed, has urged the faithful to pray fervently for the souls of their deceased brethren in purgatory. They are often called poor souls because they cannot help themselves, depending fully on our prayers to be able to cleanse themselves of the residue of their sinful past and enter into Gods beatific presence to become our grateful intercessors before his heavenly throne. Among these we must mention those who have been long forgotten by their relatives and friends on earth: we call them the abandoned souls in purgatory.
Over the years, Susan Tassone has been tirelessly writing and teaching about this revered tradition of praying for the holy souls in purgatory. Her meticulous research and attention to both historical and spiritual detail has helped many to understand more deeply the value of this singular devotion and selfless way of prayer. In her latest book, Praying with the Saints for the Holy Souls in Purgatory , she has brought a whole new dimension to this devotion, seeing it through the spiritual writings and tradition of saints throughout the centuries. The book presents the writings and spiritual legacy of saints from all corners of the world and through all ages, thus demonstrating the universal interest in praying, with and through the saints, for the holy souls.
Susans singular crusade has led her compassionate heart to add a missionary dimension to her special ministry, a dimension that envisages using the devotion to give tangible support to priests in areas where the faithful are unfamiliar with or unable to offer Mass intentions in support of their pastors. This ministry consists of collecting Mass intentions, or stipends, for the poor souls in purgatory, and then allocating these funds for the needs of priests toiling hard in the missions throughout the world. The generosity of so many who have been deeply touched by this ministry in favor of the holy souls has thus provided a new means of sustenance to many priests in mission territories. Among these are retired diocesan and religious priests, seminary professors, members of missionary monastic communities, and priests living in remote difficult areas and poor village parishes lost in some faraway forest or jungle.
Thanks to these untiring efforts, assistance has gone out through cardinals, apostolic nuncios, archbishops, and bishops to help support diocesan and missionary clergy who gratefully fulfill the obligations of offering Masses for the poor souls, and who also invoke Gods special blessings and protection on the donors of the Mass stipends.
In combining the devotion to the holy souls with support for mission personnel, Susan sets a wonderful example of lay collaboration in the Churchs evangelizing mission. For it encourages a lay participation in missionary endeavors that goes beyond territorial borders and cultures, and which also brings together men and women of all parts of the world in a chorus of praise, prayer, and thanksgiving for the salvation of those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith (Eucharistic Prayer I).
