603. November 2, Commemoration of Faithful Departed

Meditations no. 530 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

The blessed souls in purgatory are purified in order to see God in heaven.

Today the Church dedicates her prayers to our departed brethren. It is a consoling truth of our faith that after death we do not lose our ties with those who accompanied us here on earth. The teaching of the Church reminds us that until Christ comes at the end of the world, some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth, others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory. … All of us, however in varying degrees and in different ways share in the same charity towards God and our neighbours. That is why today we piously recall the souls being purified in purgatory, even as yesterday we rejoiced in celebrating the multitude of saints in heaven. It is a holy and pious thought to make atonement for the dead that they might be delivered from their sin.

The state of these souls is such that they suffer and rejoice at one and the same time. Their suffering may be greater there than any that they have experienced in this life, but they also experience great joy. In purgatory suffering and happiness are mysteriously interwoven. The reason for their joy is their love for God and the assurance of their own salvation. They have won the battle, and their eternal destiny has already been decided. As God’s sons and daughters, they are now on the way to glory. That is why Christian tradition calls them the holy souls in purgatory.

For those in purgatory, even their pains are a source of joy. They accept their suffering in complete abandonment to God’s will. With a burning, though still imperfect love, they adore the mystery of God’s sanctity and justice. They love their suffering because they want to be purified and makes up for their offenses. They see their painful transformation as a great blessing and happiness, and in the midst of their suffering they are filled with peace.

We have a double bond to the souls in purgatory as a consequence of the communion of saints. We on our part can help them to leave purgatory sooner. St Bernard says, I will rise to help them, and beseech by my tears, beg by my sighs, intercede by my prayers and satisfy by my sacrifice so that… God may pass judgment and convert their labour into rest, their misery into glory. With these and similar works, their atonement debt can be erased, their toil disappear, and their suffering end.

They, in turn, can intercede for us. The holy souls in purgatory. Out of charity, out of justice, and out of an excusable selfishness (they have such power with God!) remember them often in your sacrifice and in your prayers.

Whenever you speak of them may you be able to say, “My good friends, the souls in purgatory.”

We can relieve their sufferings through our prayers, suffrages and penance.

We should help the souls in purgatory as our holy Mother the Church does, lightening their sufferings through our prayer and through our desires and deeds to atone abundantly.

Prayer for the souls in purgatory is a duty of charity; and in many cases, also one of justice. Today the Church prays unceasingly, Give them eternal rest, O Lord, and may your light shine on them forever . This prayer is pleasing to God, for He wants to increase the number of the blessed. God, our Creator and Redeemer, by your power Christ conquered death and returned to you in glory. May all your people who have gone before us in faith share his victory and enjoy the vision of your glory for ever.

The faithful add their private prayers to the Church’s public petition. Our Father taught us a way to do this by adding prayers for the holy souls in purgatory after the recitation of the rosary, by saying the responses for the deceased, and by short aspirations.

Our Father said, I imagine purgatory in a way that may not be very theological but that helps me and fills me with devotion. I like to think that the souls in need of purification from their sins before entering heaven, arrive there and queue. The ones closer to the exit are those who have less things to make reparation for. And when a suffrage arrives, it is applied equally to all For why should a soul enter heaven earlier because it left a lot of money for Masses, while a poor person is kept waiting because he has nobody on earth to offer suffrages on his behalf? I prefer to think that God distributes the suffrages equally among them all, and that all the souls in purgatory take a step together toward the exit To me this seems more in keeping with God’s mercy.

The most valuable suffrage we can offer is the holy sacrifice of the altar. It is a dogma of faith that the Mass can be applied for the deceased to satisfy for the temporal punishment due to their sins. In her desire to help her children reach heaven as soon as possible, the Church permits all priests to celebrate the holy sacrifice of the Mass three times today. With a mother’s love, the Church has also established that the faithful can gain indulgences that are applicable to the deceased. These indulgences flow from the treasury of graces formed by the merits of Christ, our Lady and the saints.

Personal penance, offered as expiation for sins, can also be offered for the deceased. Our hope that God will heed our prayers, our suffrages and our penance on behalf of the souls in purgatory stems from the certainty that all who are united to Christ form a single Body in Him.

We have a special duty of piety toward our own faithful departed.

Lord, in your kindness accept these gifts for our departed brothers and sisters and for all who sleep in Christ. May his perfect sacrifice free them from the power of death and give them eternal life. In fulfilling the pious duty of praying for the dead and offering suffrages for them, we should especially remember the faithful of the Work. For we are a family with bonds that are stronger than death.

Our Father often told us about the forty martyrs of Sebaste, who prayed to God, Lord, forty of us have entered into battle: we ask for forty crowns. We ought to pray the prayer of those forty martyrs ourselves, he said. I have a great devotion to them. I had even thought of celebrating their feast day in the Work, but we do not have the vocation of a martyr… My devotion to those martyrs is based on their mutual perseverance, on their fraternal love and affection in praying for one another. The fraternity and affection that unites us here on earth leads us to do everything we can to help all our brothers become saints. We want all of us to be in heaven together, with no one missing. If we pray and mortify ourselves for one another on earth, we should also do the same for those who rest in God. Lord in this sacrament you give us your crucified and risen Son. Bring to the glory of the resurrection our departed brothers and sisters who have been purified by this holy mystery.

Our Father has established that whenever one of our brothers dies, suffrages are celebrated for him. During the month of November many Masses and prayers are offered for the deceased members of the Work, for our parents and for our benefactors. Throughout this month we will have a special opportunity to be united to those in purgatory and in heaven. The affection we felt for those who are gone remains alive even after their death. Consequently, we visit the graves where their bodies await the universal resurrection, and we pray for their eternal rest. Since they were faithful to the end, God took them into his glory.

We ask our Lady, Ianua Coeli, to open the gates of heaven for those who have left us, and that someday we may all be reunited there forever.