Devotion for the Month of November – The Holy Souls in Purgatory

Devotion for the Month of November – The Holy Souls in Purgatory

“Twelve Months Sanctified by Prayer”
By Father Antoine Ricard (1834 – 1895)

“It has been said and with reason, that “amongst all Catholic devotions, one of the most solid, most fruitful and the most conformed to that spirit of charity which constitutes the soul and principle of Christian morality, is, without doubt, devotion to the souls in Purgatory.”

And now, let us see what really is the end of this beautiful devotion. Is it not to deliver from expiatory flames, souls who find in our suffrages, a compensation for the slowness of their painful expiation? But the real and immediate object of devotion to the souls in Purgatory, leads to various consequences, which multiply its fruits. For to deliver a soul from Purgatory, is it not to procure the glory of God, since it allows that soul to praise Him in heaven for all eternity? And to deliver a soul from Purgatory, is it not to exercise one of the best works of charity a Christian could practice, since it procures for that soul, the greatest of all benefits, heavenly bliss?

To deliver a soul from Purgatory, is to create for ourselves in heaven, a most powerful friend, whose gratitude will never fail us.

Finally, to work for the deliverance of the souls in Purgatory, is to compel ourselves, so to say, to the frequent remembrance and serious consideration of our last end and consequently, to obtain a pledge and infallible means of salvation, according to the word of the Holy Ghost: “Remember thy last end and thou shalt never sin.” (Page 13 – 14)

ETERNAL REST

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord
and may perpetual light shine upon them
and may the souls of all the faithful departed,
through the mercy of God,
rest in peace.
Amen