Introductory Prayer

Let us pray.

Lord, hear the prayers we will offer up to you every day of this month for the consolation of our deceased brothers and sisters and grant them a place of refreshing light and peace! Hear also the prayers which those souls will offer up to you for our intention that we might ultimately obtain, through their intercession, the graces for which we pray.

Daily Readings and Meditations

  • Nineteenth Day

    Fourth Reason: The Gratitude of the Deceased

    – In Purgatory –

    Most theologians will agree that the suffering souls intercede for those who assist them even while they are in Purgatory. They can obtain nothing for themselves and their prayers are fruitless when they ask for their own torments to be abated. Such is not the case for the prayers they offer for their benefactors. Those petitions are within the order of Providence. They touch God’s heart and are not tainted by vice, which often renders ours fruitless. Those souls are pure and holy, dear to the Lord and always perfectly united to Him; they pray fervently without distractions, with perseverance. Their merit is so great that, without daily proof, we could scarcely believe this.

    So we have everything to gain in exchanging our prayers with those of our deceased brethren. The best means we have of obtaining from God that for which we ask is to interest the souls in Purgatory in our cause by presenting it to them. In return, we must offer them our prayers, holy Mass and all the indulgences applicable to these. So let us pray for the blessed and grateful souls in Purgatory. They will pray fervently for us. They will offer to God, and for our intention, all the merits of their indescribable suffering. Truly, as Scripture tells us, it is a holy and salvific mission to relieve the souls in Purgatory.

    – In Heaven –

    Heaven is the homeland of gratitude. Liberated by our acts of love and our prayers, those souls will remain attached to us by bonds of eternal gratitude. Will they be able to forget us when we have brought them to eternal riches and helped clothe them in the vestment of immortality and glory? Will they be able to forget us, when we have sent them to their place at the banquet table of the Lamb where they will finally be able to eat the bread of angels for which they hunger? No! Assuredly not! They will never forget us; they will be attentive to all our needs, they will watch over us like so many guardian angels. From their thrones, they will watch over our perils and woes, pleading endlessly with God to help us in our trials, to remove temptation from our senses. They will add their petitions to ours, pleading with God to keep us safe from temptations and asking Him to lead us to His Heart. What precious assistance! What relief from our torments! What consolation in our final hour! What powerful advocates at our final Judgement! Should we find ourselves in Purgatory, those souls whom we delivered will come to visit us and console us until we join them in the splendours of the eternal beatitudes.

    My God! What benefit and consolation there is in our devotion to the souls in Purgatory! Happy and blessed then are those who pray for the dead. Everything you offer in charity, St. Ambrosius tells us, turns to grace. Following our own death, we will reap the benefits one hundred-fold.

    – Example –

    A pious and credible nun wrote the following, proving the power of prayers for the souls in Purgatory.

    I prayed fervently for my physical healing, petitioning Our Lady of Lourdes, the Child Jesus, St. Joseph, without result. My prayers were answered after I begged the souls in Purgatory to intercede for me. I promised to offer prayers and Masses for them if I could renew my religious life. May those dear advocates be blessed forever! I was completely healed! I hastened to accomplish what I had promised. You can see how God desires the deliverance of the souls held captive. He forces us, in a manner of speaking, to pray for them by favouring the petitions we make through their intercession. I am convinced of this truth because I owe all the favours I’ve obtained from God to my good friends in Purgatory.

    Learn from this example and be assured that you will obtain everything through the intercession of our friends, the deceased.

    Let Us Pray

    Holy souls in Purgatory, I pray to the Lord Jesus who died for you, to have mercy on your suffering. By his holy and precious Blood, may He soothe your torment! In return, dear charitable souls, please intercede for me. Your prayers are heard for you are in grace. Pray for the spiritual and temporal favours I need; pray that I may know a holy death and that I may one day join you in Heaven.

    Let Us Pray

    Lord, hear the prayers we will offer up to you every day of this month for the consolation of our deceased brothers and sisters and grant them a place of refreshing light and peace! Hear also the prayers which those souls will offer up to you for our intention that we might ultimately obtain, through their intercession, the graces for which we pray for.

Prayers

Decade of the Rosary for the Deceased

– The Our Father

Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

– x10 Hail Marys

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

– Glory Be

Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Litany for the Faithful Departed

Lord have mercy.
Jesus Christ have mercy.
Lord have mercy.
Jesus Christ, hear us.
Father in Heaven, God Almighty,
have mercy on the faithful departed.
Son of God, Redeemer of the world, Almighty,
have mercy on the faithful departed.
Holy Spirit, Bread of life, Almighty God,
have mercy on the faithful departed.
Holy Trinity, the One True God,
have mercy on the faithful departed.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for the faithful departed.
St. Michael the Archangel,
pray for the faithful departed.
My Holy Angel and Angels of the faithful departed,
pray for the faithful departed.
Community of Blessed Spirits,
pray for the faithful departed.
St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist,
pray for the faithful departed.
Holy Patriarchs and Prophets,
pray for the faithful departed.
Holy Apostles and Evangelists,
pray for the faithful departed.
St. Stephen and St. Lawrence,
pray for the faithful departed.
Holy Martyrs,
pray for the faithful departed.
St. Gregory and St. Augustine,
pray for the faithful departed.
Holy Doctors, Popes, and Confessors,
pray for the faithful departed.
St. Ann and St. Mary Magdalene,
pray for the faithful departed.
St. Catherine, St. Ursula, and her companions,
pray for the faithful departed.
Holy Virgins and Widows,
pray for the faithful departed.
Holy Saints of God,
pray for the faithful departed.
Be their Conciliator
Lord, and forgive them.
Be their Conciliator
Lord, and save us.
By your holy and tender Name Lord,
have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.
By Your great Mercy Lord,
have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.
By Your bitter Passion and Your Sacred Wounds Lord,
have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.
By Your Precious Blood and by Your Death Lord,
have mercy on the souls of the faithful departed.
We are poor sinners Lord,
hear our prayer.
Have mercy on all the faithful departed Lord,
hear our prayer.
Remit the sentence incurred by their sins Lord,
hear our prayer.
Take them to Your peace and eternal rest Lord,
hear our prayer.
Grant them Your paternal inheritance Lord,
hear our prayer.
Invite them to come and contemplate Your Divine Beauty Lord,
hear our prayer.
Fill them with Your unlimited bounty Lord,
hear our prayer.
Fulfill their total desire for salvation Lord,
hear our prayer.
Give eternal rest, especially to the souls of our relatives, friends and benefactors Lord,
hear our prayer.
Have mercy on the soul for whom no one prays Lord,
hear our prayer.
May the offering of the Holy Mass and Holy Communion be beneficial to them Lord,
hear our prayer.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world,
forgive them.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, Sweet Jesus, 
hear them.
Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, 
grant them eternal rest.

The Apostles’ Creed

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

Salve Regina

Hail holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail our life, our sweetness and our hope! To thee do we cry poor banished children of Eve. To thee we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate thine eyes of mercy towards us, and, after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary! Pray for us O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

The Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory

Lord Jesus, have mercy on the souls detained in Purgatory. It was for their salvation that you took on our human nature and suffered a most painful death. Have mercy on their burning desire to see you, have mercy on their tears of repentance. Through the merits of your Passion remit the sentence they incurred by their sins. Dear, loving Jesus, may your Blood descend on those dear souls! May it shorten their time of atonement and may they soon be called to eternal happiness in your presence! Amen.

De Profundis

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord hear my voice! O Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleading. If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord who would survive? But with you is found forgiveness: For this I revere you. My soul is waiting for the Lord more than a watchman for daybreak. Let the watchman count on daybreak and Israel on the Lord. Israel indeed will he redeem from all its iniquity. Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.