Well done good and faithful servants! We accomplished our goal of having 2600 Rosaries said in the month of October, one Rosary for each parishioner family! We also finished filling in all the tiles on the mosaic! Thank you so much for all your prayers. I know these prayers have made a big impact as all prayers do, most especially the Rosary! I think we will have to do this again next October. For November, we have some new ways to focus our prayers—invoking the intercession of the saints and praying for the souls in Purgatory.
We celebrate All Saints Day this Monday, November 1. We celebrate all the saints in heaven, especially those not officially canonized, including any of our loved ones who have died and are among the blessed in heaven. We should ask the intercession of lots of saints, those canonized, but also those not canonized. We should ask the intercession of loved ones who have died. Families pray for each other (just as we did all those Rosaries in October) and the saints are family! By the way, All Saints Day is a Holy Day, but the normal obligation is not required this year since it falls on Monday (there is a rule about that). So please come celebrate the saints of your own free will and out of love!
The following day, Tuesday, Nov. 2, is All Souls Day, and we remember all those who have died and especially all the souls in purgatory. The whole month of November really reminds us of the importance of remembering the dead and praying for the souls in purgatory. Did you know that the souls in purgatory can intercede for us? When we pray for each other, we draw closer. The closer we are to each other and to God, the more effective are our prayers. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#958) states about the souls in purgatory: “Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.”
The greatest way to pray for the dead is to have a Mass intention for them. This can be done by contacting the parish office. Of course we can always pray on our own and in particular seek indulgences. Did you know you can obtain a plenary (full) indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, if you devoutly visit a cemetery and pray for the departed? This can be done on any day from November 1st to the 8th (and can be repeated each day for another indulgence). A partial indulgence is granted similarly for all the days of the rest of the year, or if we simply pray for the dead with this little prayer all Catholics should memorize: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.”
Peace,
Fr. Greg