I do love the way that the Church reminds us to pray for the Holy Souls during the month of November. We start off with the members of the Church rejoicing in the Beatific Vision on the Feast of All Saints, and then, starting with the Commemoration of All Souls, we get down to praying for all those who, through human frailty, haven't quite made it... since most of us are likely to fall into the latter category, it behoves us to observe the duty of praying for the dead.
We can get numerous plenary indulgences, and partial ones too, applicable to the Holy Souls. I am always particularly moved by the practice of mentioning those forgotten souls in Purgatory who have no-one to pray for them - this group is, I fear, increasing, due to the pernicious tendency to "canonise" the deceased at his or her funeral, instead of praying for him to be released from Purgatory. There is also the problem that many people do not have relatives who believe in God, let alone in Purgatory.
This year I have created a short slideshow of photos from the Requiem Mass celebrated on All Souls' Day along with photos taken when we had our parish's annual Blessing of Graves ceremony at Sidcup Cemetery. I have set the pictures to music - a track by the vocal group Cantores Missae, from their CD, Praise to the Holiest. The Choir Director, Charles Finch, has given me permission to use the track... you can obtain the CD by emailing him, or from the website.
Another impressive production! I thought the Elgar O Salutaris an interesting accompaniment- but remarkably, even surprisingly, appropriate.
ReplyDelete"It is a holy and wholesome thing to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins."
ReplyDeleteThanks very much for taking the trouble to compile that lovely sequence, which reminds us to pray for the souls of the faithful departed, and especially those who have no-one to pray for them, all year round.
I wish bidding prayers (ugh) had not morphed so frequently into the certainty that the deceased were already having a swell time in Heaven.
When I'm in my long Purgatorial spell (DV) I'll need all the prayers I can get.
Yep, when I die, I want a solemn requiem Mass with black vestments and the whole nine yards. Not just because I am into tradition (though I can't deny that's part of it); but mostly because I want people to do two things: (1) meditate on the Four Last Things; and (2) pray for my soul. I think the aforementioned form of the Mass is the most conducive to achieving the desired results.
ReplyDeleteMagnificent, Mac. A wonderful way to remember (and continue to pray for) The Holy Souls in Purgatory. Thank you, also, for the Advent Posting. It helps make this first part of The Ecclesiastical Year, "The Cycle of Christmas", very special.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see you asking others to pray for the Poor Souls! The poor souls need more from us than just the basic prayers. If you go to poor souls prayer cards and send us a self address stamped envelope, we will send you 3 free prayer cards that are 4" x 6" laminated. Of course you can download the prayer cards for free in either color or black and white.
ReplyDeleteKeep helping them and pray for our ministry too, please.