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

  • Third Day

    The Existence of Purgatory, Part I

    – The Word of God –

    The existence of Purgatory is not a mere pious belief, which we are free to accept or to reject. It is a formal dogma taught by faith, which we must profess lest we become anathema. It is a holy and salvific thought, proclaims the Old Testament, that of praying for the dead so that they may be delivered from their sins. The Jews were so convinced of this truth that they had a prayer for the deliverance of the deceased, which the head of the family had to recite before the family sat down to a meal.

    Jesus Christ himself taught, Settle your accounts with your enemies while you are still in this world. If you do not, your enemies will deliver you into the hands of the Judge and the Judge will give you over to his minister, who will throw you in jail from which you will not be freed until your debt has been paid, down to the last farthing. That enemy according to St. Augustine, is God Himself, the irreconcilable enemy of sin. That inexorable Judge, according to Scripture is Jesus Christ, the Judge of the living and the dead. Finally, the dreaded prison is Purgatory, from which we cannot leave until we have satisfied Divine Justice, that is, after having eliminated all the murkiness of our soul. 

    Jesus was not content with engraving the memory of Purgatory in our hearts. After his Death, setting for us a perfect example, He descended into Limbo where Souls had been awaiting deliverance since the Fall of Adam, that Fall which had closed all access to Heaven. Amid immense celestial joy, He reopened forever the gates of Heaven.

    My God, I believe in Purgatory, I adore the equity of your judgement, including the rigours of your Justice!

    – The Church’s Teaching –

    The faith of the Church is no less explicit. This is how it was formulated by the Council of Trent: May they be anathema, those who would affirm that after having received the grace of justification, all sinners obtain so much remission and eternal acquittal, that there is no temporal debt left to atone, in this world or in Purgatory before they might enter Heaven. All the Latin and Greek doctors of the Church as well as all ancient and modern theologians have confirmed this belief.

    In accordance with this belief, the Church, a tender and compassionate mother prays every day during Mass for the souls in Purgatory. She recommends that we, her children offer to God, prayers, sacrifices, sufferings and Holy Masses for the deliverance of our deceased brethren. She marks a solemn anniversary when we are invited with all of Christianity to come to the aid of the faithful departed.

    How consoling it is for us to realise that after our death, the Church will pray for us and will ask all of the faithful to ask God for our deliverance. She will not stop praying until we are brought into the bosom of the Triumphant Church. Our Catholic Church is like a tender mother. She knows her children’s weaknesses!

    – Example –

    Judas Maccabee, that man of faith in whose care God had entrusted the law of Israel, Jerusalem and her temple, defeated the enemies of God and Israel in a great victory. The first action of this pious and brave man was to fall on his knees and praise the Lord of all armies. Rising with his troops, he beheld the bodies of his fallen companions. Filled with a holy respect for the brave deceased, Judas had them gathered and buried in the tombs of their ancestors. Finally, thinking of the souls of these martyrs who had died for their Faith and for their Country, he collected offerings and sent twelve thousand drachmas to Jerusalem as a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of these martyrs.

    For, in wisdom and piety, he considered that those who had died in Faith had indeed stored up a precious reward.

    That is how the children of God behaved two thousand years ago. Confirming these serious and moving facts, the Spirit of God repeated them through the mouth of the sacred historian, It is a holy and salvific thought, that of praying for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sins.

    Let Us Pray

    Obedient child of your Church, I firmly believe, O my God, in the existence of Purgatory. I believe because your Spirit of Truth has revealed it, because your saints and your doctors teach it. Increase my faith that my charity for those captive souls in Purgatory might grow. Be their Conciliator O Jesus! Lord, call your children and our brethren to eternal rest and may the light that never dies shine upon them. May they rest in peace!

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.