Holy Souls in Purgatory - The Love Our Lady Has for These Souls

Greetings in Jesus and Mary....

Today we remember and pray particularly for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. It is best to go to Mass (up to 3) to pray for these souls. In 1915, Pope Benedict XV permitted priests to celebrate three Masses on All Souls Day, primarily connected to the overwhelmingly amount of soldiers who were dying during World War I. Priests will often celebrate the first Mass for a specific intention, the second for all the faithful departed and the last for the intentions of the Holy Father.

The Church provides a special indulgence during the first week of November.
An indulgence, applicable only to the souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray for the departed in November. The indulgence is plenary each day from the 1st to the 8th of November; on other days of the year it is partial.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines an indulgence as “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven” (CCC 1471). 

Our Blessed Mother has a special place for these souls in Purgatory....especially those who have had a special devotion to Her. As stated in my last article, the Sabbatine Privilege is a great gift of God through Our Lady to those who have performed the required conditions. For those who may have had a special devotion to Her but not fulfilled those conditions....She, as a good and loving Mother,  still showers favors upon that soul.

It is stated by many saints who have had the privilege to understand or see Purgatory that Our Lady Herself (as well as St. Michael) visit Purgatory to either console the souls or to have them released when their particular time is over. There are special days of the year that She and St. Michael come to release a number of these souls....on all Her Feast Days...especially the Feast of the Assumption and Christmas. How great the joy must be for the souls to feel Her presence when She is there and to give their hopes a more joyful boost as they are being purified for Heaven.

The Queen of Heaven desires that Her children on earth help Her to relieve these souls. In imitation of Our Good Mother, we should be daily offering little aspirations and prayers of love for them....not only today but throughout our lives. Our prayers offered to Our Lady will be multiplied by these souls for us in thanksgiving. We can comfort Our Sorrowful Mother to relieve these souls as Her good children should ..... not only to please the Hearts of Jesus and Mary but to make many friends from Purgatory who will in turn pray for us from Heaven once there. (It is stated in the Unpublished Manuscript of Purgatory that "those who have forgotten the holy souls are forgotten in their turn....this is only just.")

Also, in the book, An Unpublished Manuscript of Purgatory, it is written of the sister from Purgatory as stating....."I have been in the second Purgatory since the Feast of the Annunciation. On that day I saw the Blessed Virgin for the first time. In the first stage, we never saw Her. The sight of Her encourages us and this beloved Mother speaks to us of Heaven. While we see Her, our sufferings are greatly diminished."  Also stated....."God often accords more graces through the intercession of these suffering souls than through the prayers of the saints. Let the Father, when he wishes to be sure of obtaining what he wants, to ask the souls who have love Our Lady most. These, in consequence, She wishes most of all to release."

I will end with more words from the end of this little book to encourage all of us as we finish this short journey here on earth....in order to live a life of eternity in Heaven with God, Our Lady and all of His angels and saints....... These words from the book can be taken as a means to imitate the love Our Lady has for God....."Think often on the Holy Eucharist, on the hidden life of Jesus in the Tabernacle. There, above all, you will see His Love concealed, alone and waiting in vain for someone to come and say to Him, "Jesus, I love You!" By Holy Communion, Jesus will unite you to Himself most intimately....more so than He has ever done to anyone before. You will find in this Divine Food an extraordinary strength to raise you up to the height of perfection that Jesus requires of you........All things pass and pass quickly. Do not fret so much about things that will end one day. Aim at what will never end. By our holy actions united to Jesus, let us embellish our heavenly throne. Let us raise it up a few steps nearer to Him whom we shall contemplate and love throughout all of eternity. This is what should be our sole concern in life....to love and please God....to do His holy Will.....in love and imitation of our Good Queen and Mother....Mary!"

"The more a soul loves God on earth, the higher the advances in perfection, the more one will love and understand God in Heaven"....(This is true imitation of Mary!)

Our Lady of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, pray for them.
Jesus Mary, I love You, save souls!