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

  • Ninth Day

    Torments of Purgatory: The Powerlessness of the Souls in Purgatory

    – Powerlessness in their suffering –

    Consider the fact that at the moment of death all merit ceases because the soul no longer possesses its freedom to choose between good and evil. Purgatory is that long night of which Jesus spoke, during which no one can freely act; those who languish there are like the farmer of the Gospels whom the father no longer allows to cultivate his field.

    That is why the deceased can no longer do anything to alleviate their suffering: perfect resignation, the intensity of their torment, their love of God, nothing will shorten for an instant their stay in Purgatory. The slightest suffering would have granted them celestial glory while they were still on earth, in this place of atonement, their suffering is sterile for them and sterile for Heaven; it is simply the acquittal of their debts.

    Alas, to suffer for years, perhaps for centuries without merit for themselves! How sad that thought and how much it must add to their torment! Also, it is from us that they await assistance and relief.

    Truly we are the only source of comfort for the dead! We alone are their liberating providence. Heaven consoles them. We relieve them. Heaven encourages them. We deliver them. Saints open their arms to receive them. We introduce them to their eternal inheritance. Such is our power. Such is our duty. Let us meditate on this!

    – Powerlessness in their prayer –

    The souls in Purgatory are powerless to relieve their own suffering through their prayer or through their suffering. It is in vain that they cry out to God from the depths of their burning prison.

    In vain do they attempt to bend his Justice as they say with David, My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me. I cry out by day and you answer me not; by night and there is no relief for me. Remember your mercy O my Lord. Break the bonds that keep me far from you. Deliver me from my torments. Have mercy Lord, have mercy!

    The time for mercy no longer exists in Purgatory; the reign of Justice has begun. Repeated supplications are no longer efficient; when our debt has been completely acquitted through our suffering, our soul will fly to Heaven.

    If the prayers of the deceased no longer benefit them, ours deeply touch the heart of God. As our prayers rise up to Heaven, mercy pours on the souls in Purgatory in torrents of grace, forgiveness, freedom and glory.

    It is through prayer that Mary and Martha obtained the resurrection of Lazarus and it is through prayer that we will obtain the deliverance of our loved ones. Let us pray with all our heart! Let us pray unceasingly for them! Let us often say, Good and merciful Jesus, grant them eternal rest! Oh Mary, our Mother and our Consolation come to their aid! All saints of Paradise, intercede for them!

    – Example –

    Going through Judea, Jesus met a paralytic who was sitting sadly near the pool of Siloam. On certain days, an angel descended upon the waters of the pool and stirred the waters. The first person to bathe in it would then be healed. That poor man had been waiting for a long time for his healing. Moved by compassion, Jesus asked him why he did not go forward with the others to be healed. Lord, answered the man, it is because I am paralysed in all my limbs and unable to move by myself. The healing which I desire so deeply does not depend on me, poor paralytic. I am in need of a friend who will come to my rescue and give me his hand! Poor paralytic!

    Such is the sad state of the holy souls in Purgatory; they remain immobile in the torturing flames, incapable of helping themselves in the least, unable to throw themselves in the salvific pool of Jesus’ Precious Blood. They are waiting for some compassionate friends to come along and bathe them. Be that charitable friend, that liberating angel for the paralytic souls in Purgatory!

    Let Us Pray

    – My God, I beg you to have mercy on the poor souls who are lingering in that long night of purification. Alas, they can no longer help themselves. Allow me to be their mediator and to stand between them and your holy Justice. I beg you Lord, shorten their exile! Oh my Jesus be their Conciliator! May they rest in peace!

    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.