It's coming upon that time of year again - the season of Allhallowtide - the three day period beginning on October 31 and ending on November 2 dedicated to the remembrance of the dead. This includes all the saints, the martyrs, and the holy souls in purgatory. The Catholic Church offically recognizes November as a month dedicated to prayer for the holy souls. They (the holy souls) are the souls of the departed who lived holy lives, but upon their death still lived with some attachment to sin. They were faithful, and they did good works, but their lives were not free from all sin at the time of their death. They, therefore, after death go to a place or a state of being known in the Catholic tradition as Purgatory. It is a place or state of purification by holy fire. While certainly not a happy place, it is not a place of torment and it is not hell. Our prayers for the holy souls assist them in the purification process and accelerate their release from Purgatory and deliver them into the presence of God. Sadly, there are many souls in Purgatory that have no one to pray for them and thus their time in Purgatory is prolonged. This is why it is so important to remember the souls of departed. Many (probably most) do not go immediately to heaven because the majority of us even whilst doing our best to live a faithful life remain attached to our sins in some form. Those who do not are only the most holy among us and are very rare indeed. No form of sin can exist in heaven and that is why a state of Purgatory is necessary, because while we are saved by our faith and our good works it does not necessarily extinguish all form of sin from our lives. This is an example of the mercy of God. The holy souls in Purgatory, despite their remaining attachments to sin, will be reunited with God in due time once their purification is complete, and our prayers are a form of charity and a part of our own good works which have the power to save our own souls.
I make remembrance of the holy souls in Purgatory a part of my daily prayer ritual regardless of what time of year it is, but pay special attention to this devotion during the months of October AND November. It is my solemn wish and my obligation to pray for the souls of the departed, many of whom are my own departed family members, and to obtain through my own intercession and the intercession of the saints the release of as many souls from Purgatory as possible in the Allhallowtide season.
It is my sincere hope that many of you will join me in this endeavor and pray for the souls of the departed this season. May the Lord have mercy on their souls, and may they find eternal rest. Amen.
