O Lord, my Healer, I seek to be free from this disability. I stand on Your Word that tells me that You forgive all our sins and heal all our diseases. Heal me, Lord, I pray. The thief has come to steal, kill, and destroy, but Your Son Jesus came to bring abundant life, and I claim that abundant life over my body.
St. Alphonsus said, “Souls that really love God, will never neglect to pray for holy souls and poor sinners.”
THE POLISH PRINCE (True Purgatory Story)
A Polish prince who, for some political reason, had been exiled from his native country bought a beautiful castle and property in France.
Unfortunately, he had lost the Faith of his childhood and was at the time of our story engaged in writing a book against God and the existence of a future life.
Strolling one evening in his garden, he came upon a poor woman weeping bitterly. He questioned her as to the cause of her grief.
“Ah! Prince,” she replied, “I am the wife of Jean [John] Marie, your former steward, who died two days ago. He was a good husband to me and a faithful servant to Your Highness. His sickness was long and I spent all our savings on the doctors, and now I have nothing left to get Masses said for his soul.”
The Prince, touched by her grief, said a few kind words and, though professing no longer to believe in a future life, gave her some gold coins to have Masses said for her husband’s soul.
Some time after, it was again evening, and the Prince was in his study working feverishly at his hook.
He heard a loud rap at the door and without looking up called out to the visitor to come in. The door slowly opened and a man entered and stood facing the Prince’s writing table.
On glancing up, what was not the Prince’s amazement to see Jean Marie, his dead steward, looking at him with a sweet smile.
“Prince, ” he said, “I come to thank you for the Masses you enabled my wife to have said for my soul. Thanks to the saving Blood of Christ, which was offered for me, I am now going to Heaven, but God has allowed me to come and thank you for your generous alms. “
He then added impressively: “Prince, there is a God, a future life, a Heaven and a Hell. “
Having said these words he disappeared.
The Prince fell upon his knees and poured forth a fervent Credo ( I believe in God.. “).
Why We Should Pray for the Souls in Purgatory
“The Holy Souls are eager for the prayers of the faithful which can gain indulgences for them. Their intercession is powerful. Pray unceasingly. We must empty Purgatory!” — Saint Padre Pio
HOW TO HELP THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY
The recital of the Rosary (with its great indulgences) and making the Way of the Cross (which is also richly indulgenced) are excellent means of helping the Holy Souls.
St. John Massias, as we saw, released from Purgatory more than a million souls, chiefly by reciting the Rosary and offering its great indulgences for them.
Another easy and efficacious way is by the constant repetition of short indulgenced prayers [applying the indulgence to the Souls in Purgatory]. Many people have the custom of saying 500 or 1,000 times each day the little ejaculation, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee!” or the one word, “Jesus. ” These are most consoling devotions; they bring oceans of grace to those who practice them and give immense relief to the Holy Souls. Those who say the ejaculations 1,000 times a day gain 300,000 days Indulgence! What a multitude of souls they can thus relieve! What will it not be at the end of a month, a year, 50 years? And if they do not say the ejaculations, what an immense number of graces and favors they shall have lost! It is quite possible — and even easy — to say these ejaculations 1, 000 times a day. But if one does not say them 1,000 times, let him say them 500 or 200 times.
ALMS HELP THE HOLY SOULS IF GIVEN IN THEIR NAME
St. Martin gave half of his cloak to a poor beggar, only to find out afterwards that it was to Christ he had given it. Our Lord appeared to him and thanked him.
Blessed Jordan of the Dominican Order could never refuse to give an alms when it was asked in the Name of God. One day he had forgotten his purse. A poor man implored an alms for the love of God. Rather than refuse him, Jordan, who was then a student, gave him a most precious cincture or “girdle” which he prized dearly. Shortly after, he entered a church and found his cincture encircling the waist of an image of Christ Crucified. He, too, had given his alms to Christ. We all give our alms to Christ.
RESOLUTION
a) Let us give all the alms we can afford;
b) Let us have said all the Masses in our power and say as many Rosaries for them as Possible
c) Let us hear as many Masses as possible;
d) Let us offer all our pains and sufferings for the relief of the Holy Souls.
We shall thus deliver countless Souls from Purgatory, who will repay us ten thousand times over.
OFFERING OF DAILY ACTIONS
ETERNAL Father, by virtue of Thine generosity and love, I ask that
Thou accept all my actions, and that Thou dost multiply their value in
favor of every soul in Purgatory. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
THE HEROIC ACT IN FAVOR OF THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
O MY GOD! for Your greater glory, and to imitate as closely as possible the generous Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer, and also to testify my devotion to the Blessed Virgin, my Mother, who is also the Mother of the Souls in Purgatory, I place in her hands all my satisfactory works, as well as the fruit of all those which may be offered for my intention after my death, that she may apply them to the Souls in Purgatory according to her wisdom and good pleasure. Amen.
His Holiness, Leo XIII, Jan. 17, 1888, granted to the faithful who shall perform some pious practice for the relief of the Souls in Purgatory, every day during the whole month of November, whether in public or in private, an indulgence of seven years and as many quarantines on each day of the month; a plenary indulgence, once during the same month, on any day of the month, on the usual conditions: confession and communion, and a visit to a church or public oratory, and there praying for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff. HOW A GIRL FOUND HER MOTHER (True Purgatory Story)
A poor servant girl in France named Jeanne Marie once heard a sermon on the Holy Souls which made an indelible impression on her mind. She was deeply moved by the thought of the intense and unceasing sufferings the Poor Souls endure, and she was horrified to see how cruelly they are neglected and forgotten by their friends on Earth.
Among other things the preacher stressed was that many souls who are in reality near to their release — one Mass might suffice to set them free — are oftentimes long detained; it may be for years, just because the last needful suffrage has been withheld or forgotten or neglected!
With her simple faith, Jeanne Marie resolved that, cost what it might, she would have a Mass said for the Poor Souls every month, especially for the soul nearest to Heaven. She earned little, and it was sometimes difficult to keep her promise, but she never failed.
On one occasion she went to Paris with her mistress and there fell ill, so that she was obliged to go to the hospital. Unfortunately, the illness proved to be a long one, and her mistress had to return home, hoping that her maid would soon rejoin her. When at last the poor servant was able to leave the hospital, all she had left of her scanty earnings was one franc!
What was she to do? Where to turn? Suddenly, the thought flashed across her mind that she had not had her usual monthly Mass offered for the Holy Souls. But she had only one franc! That was little enough to buy her food. Yet her confidence that the Holy Souls would not fail her triumphed.
She made her way into a church and asked a priest, just about to say Mass, if he would offer it for the Holy Souls. He consented to do so, never dreaming that the modest alms offered was the only money the poor girl possessed. At the conclusion of the Holy Sacrifice, our heroine left the church. A wave of sadness clouded her face; she felt utterly bewildered.
A young gentleman, touched by her evident distress, asked her if she was in trouble and if he could help her. She told her story briefly, and ended by saying how much she desired work.
Somehow she felt consoled at the kind way in which the young man listened to what she said, and she fully recovered her confidence.
“I am delighted beyond measure, ” he said, “to help you. I know a lady who is even now looking for a servant. Come with me. ” And so saying he led her to a house not far distant and bade her ring the bell, assuring her that she would find work.
In answer to her ring, the lady of the house herself opened the door and inquired what Jeanne Marie required. “Madam, ” she said, “I have been told that you are looking for a servant. I have no work and should be glad to get the position. “
The lady was amazed and replied: “Who could have told you that I needed a servant? It was only a few minutes ago that I had to dismiss my maid, and that at a moment’s notice. You did not meet her?”
“No, Madam. The person who informed me that you required a servant was a young gentleman. “
“Impossible!” exclaimed the lady. “No young man, in fact no one at all, could have known that I needed a servant. “
“But Madam, ” the girl answered excitedly, pointing to a picture on the wall, “that is the young man who told me!”
“Why, child, that is my only son, who has been dead for more than a year!”
“Dead or not, ” asserted the girl with deep conviction in her voice, “it was he who told me to come to you, and he even led me to the door. See the scar over his eye; I would know him anywhere. “
Then followed the full story of how, with her last franc, she had had Mass offered for the Holy Souls, especially for the one nearest to Heaven.
Convinced at last of the truth of what Jeanne Marie had told her, the lady received her with open arms. “Come, ” she said, “though not as my servant, but as my dear daughter. You have sent my darling boy to Heaven. I have no doubt that it was he who brought you to me. “
Why We Should Pray for the Souls in Purgatory
“The Holy Souls are eager for the prayers of the faithful which can gain indulgences for them. Their intercession is powerful. Pray unceasingly. We must empty Purgatory!” — Saint Padre Pio
Why We Must Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory
St. Thomas of Aquinas, the Prince of Theologians, says that the fire of Purgatory is equal in intensity of the fire of Hell, and that the slightest contact with it is more dreadful than all the possible sufferings of this Earth.
St. Augustine, the greatest of the Holy Doctors, teaches that to be purified of their faults prior to being admitted to Heaven, souls after death are subjected to a fire more penetrating, more dreadful than anything we can see, or feel, or conceive in this life. “Though this fire is destined to cleanse and purify the souls”, adds the Holy Doctor, “still it is more acute than anything we can possibly endure on Earth.”
St. Cyril of Alexandria does not hesitate to say: “that it would be preferable to suffer all the possible formats of Earth until Judgment day, than pass one day in Purgatory.”
St. Pio “Our fire, in comparison with the fire of Purgatory is a refreshing breeze.”
HOW TO HELP THE HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY
The recital of the Rosary (with its great indulgences) and making the Way of the Cross (which is also richly indulgenced) are excellent means of helping the Holy Souls.
St. John Massias, as we saw, released from Purgatory more than a million souls, chiefly by reciting the Rosary and offering its great indulgences for them.
Another easy and efficacious way is by the constant repetition of short indulgenced prayers [applying the indulgence to the Souls in Purgatory]. Many people have the custom of saying 500 or 1,000 times each day the little ejaculation, “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in Thee!” or the one word, “Jesus. ” These are most consoling devotions; they bring oceans of grace to those who practice them and give immense relief to the Holy Souls. Those who say the ejaculations 1,000 times a day gain 300,000 days Indulgence! What a multitude of souls they can thus relieve! What will it not be at the end of a month, a year, 50 years? And if they do not say the ejaculations, what an immense number of graces and favors they shall have lost! It is quite possible — and even easy — to say these ejaculations 1, 000 times a day. But if one does not say them 1,000 times, let him say them 500 or 200 times.
ALMS HELP THE HOLY SOULS IF GIVEN IN THEIR NAME
St. Martin gave half of his cloak to a poor beggar, only to find out afterwards that it was to Christ he had given it. Our Lord appeared to him and thanked him.
Blessed Jordan of the Dominican Order could never refuse to give an alms when it was asked in the Name of God. One day he had forgotten his purse. A poor man implored an alms for the love of God. Rather than refuse him, Jordan, who was then a student, gave him a most precious cincture or “girdle” which he prized dearly. Shortly after, he entered a church and found his cincture encircling the waist of an image of Christ Crucified. He, too, had given his alms to Christ. We all give our alms to Christ.
RESOLUTION
a) Let us give all the alms we can afford;
b) Let us have said all the Masses in our power and say as many Rosaries for them as Possible
c) Let us hear as many Masses as possible;
d) Let us offer all our pains and sufferings for the relief of the Holy Souls.
We shall thus deliver countless Souls from Purgatory, who will repay us ten thousand times over.
OFFERING OF DAILY ACTIONS
ETERNAL Father, by virtue of Thine generosity and love, I ask that
Thou accept all my actions, and that Thou dost multiply their value in
favor of every soul in Purgatory. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
THE HEROIC ACT IN FAVOR OF THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
O MY GOD! for Your greater glory, and to imitate as closely as possible the generous Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer, and also to testify my devotion to the Blessed Virgin, my Mother, who is also the Mother of the Souls in Purgatory, I place in her hands all my satisfactory works, as well as the fruit of all those which may be offered for my intention after my death, that she may apply them to the Souls in Purgatory according to her wisdom and good pleasure. Amen.
OFFERING OF DAILY ACTIONS FOR THE HOLY SOULS
We Should Do This at Least Once a Week for The Holy Souls
ETERNAL Father, by virtue of Thine generosity and love, I ask that
Thou accept all my actions, and that Thou dost multiply their value in
favor of every soul in Purgatory. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
FOR THOSE WHO REALLY WANT TO GO ALL THE WAY FOR THE HOLY SOULS
THE HEROIC ACT IN FAVOR OF THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
O MY GOD! for Your greater glory, and to imitate as closely as possible the generous Heart of Jesus, my Redeemer, and also to testify my devotion to the Blessed Virgin, my Mother, who is also the Mother of the Souls in Purgatory, I place in her hands all my satisfactory works, as well as the fruit of all those which may be offered for my intention after my death, that she may apply them to the Souls in Purgatory according to her wisdom and good pleasure. Amen.
This Heroic Act of Charity is the completely unselfish offering to God of all the satisfactory value of one’s prayers and good works — plus the value of any that might be offered for one after one’s death — for the benefit of the Souls in Purgatory, rather than for oneself. The “satisfactory value” of a good work is its value with regard to making up for our sins and reducing our stay in Purgatory. However, the “meritorious value” of our good works is inalienable, i.e., our merits, which give us a right to an increase of glory in Heaven, cannot be applied to anyone else. Moreover, a person who has made the Heroic Act may still pray for himself, friends and other intentions.
The Heroic Act is revocable at will and is not a vow. Its actual ratification depends on the will of God. By making this act with purity of intention, one is relying upon the mercy of God and the prayers of the Communion of Saints to assist his soul after death. The Heroic Act was approved and encouraged by Pope Benedict XIII [1724-1730].
According to the Raccolta of 1932: The faithful who make the Heroic Act in favor of the Souls detained in Purgatory, may gain an indulgence.” At the time this was a plenary indulgence with special conditions attached , such as attending Mass, receiving Holy Communion in supplication for the Holy Souls, etc.
Precious Blood of Jesus Christ Save