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Lilyofthevalley
Guest
Explain why this practice is done and what it is supposed to accomplish.
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M
mosher
Guest
“The living Faithful can come to the assistance of the Souls in Purgatory by their intercession (suffrages). (De fide.)” (Ott. Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, p. 321ff.)
There is much to say about this and much proof of this practice in the early Church but to strictly answer your question I think a further excerpt fron Ott’s book will work:
“Suffrages operate in such a manner that the satisfactory value of the good works is offered to God in substittution for the temporal punishments for sins, which the poor soul still have to render. It operates by way of remission of temporal punishments due to sin. In prayer impetratory value is added. While atonement establishes a formal claim against the Divine justice, prayer takes the form of an appeal to the Mercy of God. The possibility of vicarious atonement is founded on the unity of the Mystical Body of Christ effected by grace and charity.” (Ott, p. 322)
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IanS
Guest
I pray for the holy souls in Purgatory. Especially those that have no one else to pray for them, that they may be purified and fully reunited with Christ in heaven.
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Montie_Claunch
Guest
O.K. When one dies chances are they are going to purgatory (hopefully they will go there or where all go after Purgatory). Purgatory where one suffers out the Temporal Punishment (i.e. After King David was forgiven of all his evil deeds with his freinds wife and having his freind killed, God was going to punish him by taking the child of his freinds wife away from him. Temporal Punishment). So We pray for the dead, among other activites we could do for them, to eleviate or shorten their time there. That is it in a nutshell. a bit over conscice but, I hope it helps.
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Lilyofthevalley
Guest
Thank-you, for answering. Are some people apt to spend less time in purgatory?
Also, WHAT prayers does one ***say ***for those in purgatory?
Can one go to hell from purgatory? That’s just a question that popped into my mind while posting.
Also, WHAT prayers does one ***say ***for those in purgatory?
Can one go to hell from purgatory? That’s just a question that popped into my mind while posting.
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E.E.N.S
Guest
Also, WHAT prayers does one ***say ***for those in purgatory? Anything you’d like, really…though here is a popular one:
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all the Masses said throughout the world today, for all those Holy Souls in Purgatory…”
Can one go to hell from purgatory? No.
T
The_Iambic_Pen
Guest
Nope. If my understanding is correct, Purgatory is a place of purification, and all who have been purified move on to Heaven. One could even say that Purgatory is a part of Heaven, the front porch, so to speak. One must knock the dirt off one’s boots before entering the house. At any rate, I’m sure one of the actual Catholics would give a better answer than me.
God bless!
M
Montie_Claunch
Guest
I would assume that the time spent in Purgatory would depend on the gradation of punishment which would depend on how you acted when you were alive.
I don’t think there are any resrictions on what prayers you say. You could say a “Our Father”, a “Hail Mary” or One striaght from the Heart.
Not to my knowledge. I think they would just go to hell. That if one goes to Purgatory it is pretty safe to say that you will one day make it to heaven.
I have a book that tells where eavrything is in the CCC at home. Some when I get there I will give you what I got on it.
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mosher
Guest
Judgment is to either heaven or hell. Purgatory is like the heavenly doormat.
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E.E.N.S
Guest
A temporary heavenly doormat, that disappears after all the guests have entered the house.
L
Like
Guest
The Iambic Pen:
And God Bless you!
PS: Are you any closer to Rome?
I don’t think a Catholic could have defind it as simple as you did! VERY GOOD!
And God Bless you!
PS: Are you any closer to Rome?
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Lilyofthevalley
Guest
Also, the candles in the church is that part of the prayers for the dead? Or is for a special intentions?
I am trying to get specifics as I had a loss in the family back in August. She was a devout Catholic. I am biased I think she went straight to heaven, though.
I am trying to get specifics as I had a loss in the family back in August. She was a devout Catholic. I am biased I think she went straight to heaven, though.
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E.E.N.S
Guest
Even if you think that she went straight to heaven, the best thing you could do for her is to pray for her (just in case she didn’t go stright to heaven.
)
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E.E.N.S
Guest
**Powerful Means of Releasing Souls:
(Each time this simple aspiration is said, a soul is released from Purgatory.)
"Eternal Rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace. Amen."
"May the Divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed through the Mercy of God; rest in peace. Amen."
Dominican Nuns of the
Perpetual Rosary,
Monastery Pius XII
Rua do Rosa’rio, 1
Fatima, Portugal
**
- Offer up the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass for souls
- Offer up the Daily Rosary that Our Lady of Fatima asked of us.
- The Way of the Cross ~ It was revealed to a chosen soul that when one offers up the stations of the cross for the holy souls in Purgatory he obtains the release of 10,000 souls!
- The Holy Wounds of Christ
- The Holy Face prayers and devotions of reparation
- Praying many short indulgenced prayers:
(Each time this simple aspiration is said, a soul is released from Purgatory.)
"Eternal Rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace. Amen."
"May the Divine assistance remain always with us, and may the souls of the faithful departed through the Mercy of God; rest in peace. Amen."
- Offer up our daily actions, sacrifices and fasts united to Jesus’ life and suffering here on earth.
- Offer up our daily sufferings and pains to relieve theirs.
- Spread devotion to the Holy Souls
- Give Alms on behalf of the Holy Souls
- Offer The Heroic Act* *in favor of the Holy Souls
- Join the Association of the Holy Souls:
Dominican Nuns of the
Perpetual Rosary,
Monastery Pius XII
Rua do Rosa’rio, 1
Fatima, Portugal
**
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E.E.N.S
Guest
**O MASTER, TEACH US TO PRAY THE OUR FATHER
FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
**(attributed to St. Mechtilde)
The following story, which tells of what happened to a lady, a privileged soul, on 2 February, 1968, the Feast of Candlemas, shows us the very great value and the fruitful use which one may make of the Our Father, composed by St Mechtilde for the relief of the souls in Purgatory.
It took pace in Switzerland, at Hinsiein, a place of pilgrimage to Mary. On a weekday in winter, it was, the church was almost empty. Madame Aloisia Lex was praying with some relatives. Looking towards the High-altar, she noticed the presence of a very old nun, dressed in a very old-fashioned religious habit, dating from a bygone age. She went towards her and this nun gave her a prayersheet which she put mechanically into her pocket. There took place, then, something strange; the entrance door opened suddenly and she beheld an enormous crowd of pilgrims arriving, very poorly dressed, who walked with muffled steps, like phantoms. A flood of pilgrims, an almost unending line, which came into the church. A priest stood there and showed them the way. The country-woman wondered, in astonishment, how this immense crowd was going to have enough space in the church. She turned to the side, then, for a brief moment, to light a candle. When she looked behind again, the church was empty as at the beginning.
Completely amazed, Aloisia asked her parents where all the people had gone. Nobody, however, who had come with her, had noticed the procession of pilgrims and none either had seen the nun. Not believing her eyes, she sought, in her pocket, the sheet which she had been given. This sheet which she held in her hands, clearly proved to her that she had not imagined everything. It contained the text of a prayer which in times past, Our Lord had taught to St. Mechtilde, during an apparition. It was the Our Father, for the Souls in Purgatory. Each time St. Mechtilde recited this prayer, she saw countless Souls in Purgatory rise up to Heaven.
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, I beseech You, O Heavenly Father, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not love You sufficiently, nor render to You all the honor which is Your due, due to You their Lord and Father, Who, by pure grace, have adopted them as Your children. By their sins, rather, have they driven You from their souls, where You none the less wished always to live. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the love and veneration which Your Incarnate Son showed You all during His earthly life, and I offer all the acts of penance and satisfaction which He performed and by which He effaced and atoned for the sins of men.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME, I beg You, O Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not honor, always and fittingly, Your Holy Name, but often they took It in vain and proved unworthy of the name “Christian”, by their lives of sin. In reparation for their faults, I offer to You all the honor which Your Well-Beloved Son rendered to Your Name by His words and deeds.
THY KINGDOM COME; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always seek or adore Your Kingdom with enough fervor and diligence;This Kingdom, the only place where true rest and peace reign. In reparation for their omissions, through indifference to do what is good, I offer You the Most Holy Desire of Your Son, by which He wished that they also might become heirs of His Kingdom.
THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always submit their will to Your Will. In reparation for their disobedience, I offer You the perfect conformity of the Heart, full of love, of Your Divine Son with Your Holy Will and the most profound submission which He showed in obeying You unto death on the Cross.
(cont’d)
FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
**(attributed to St. Mechtilde)
The following story, which tells of what happened to a lady, a privileged soul, on 2 February, 1968, the Feast of Candlemas, shows us the very great value and the fruitful use which one may make of the Our Father, composed by St Mechtilde for the relief of the souls in Purgatory.
It took pace in Switzerland, at Hinsiein, a place of pilgrimage to Mary. On a weekday in winter, it was, the church was almost empty. Madame Aloisia Lex was praying with some relatives. Looking towards the High-altar, she noticed the presence of a very old nun, dressed in a very old-fashioned religious habit, dating from a bygone age. She went towards her and this nun gave her a prayersheet which she put mechanically into her pocket. There took place, then, something strange; the entrance door opened suddenly and she beheld an enormous crowd of pilgrims arriving, very poorly dressed, who walked with muffled steps, like phantoms. A flood of pilgrims, an almost unending line, which came into the church. A priest stood there and showed them the way. The country-woman wondered, in astonishment, how this immense crowd was going to have enough space in the church. She turned to the side, then, for a brief moment, to light a candle. When she looked behind again, the church was empty as at the beginning.
Completely amazed, Aloisia asked her parents where all the people had gone. Nobody, however, who had come with her, had noticed the procession of pilgrims and none either had seen the nun. Not believing her eyes, she sought, in her pocket, the sheet which she had been given. This sheet which she held in her hands, clearly proved to her that she had not imagined everything. It contained the text of a prayer which in times past, Our Lord had taught to St. Mechtilde, during an apparition. It was the Our Father, for the Souls in Purgatory. Each time St. Mechtilde recited this prayer, she saw countless Souls in Purgatory rise up to Heaven.
OUR FATHER, WHO ART IN HEAVEN, I beseech You, O Heavenly Father, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not love You sufficiently, nor render to You all the honor which is Your due, due to You their Lord and Father, Who, by pure grace, have adopted them as Your children. By their sins, rather, have they driven You from their souls, where You none the less wished always to live. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the love and veneration which Your Incarnate Son showed You all during His earthly life, and I offer all the acts of penance and satisfaction which He performed and by which He effaced and atoned for the sins of men.
HALLOWED BE THY NAME, I beg You, O Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not honor, always and fittingly, Your Holy Name, but often they took It in vain and proved unworthy of the name “Christian”, by their lives of sin. In reparation for their faults, I offer to You all the honor which Your Well-Beloved Son rendered to Your Name by His words and deeds.
THY KINGDOM COME; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always seek or adore Your Kingdom with enough fervor and diligence;This Kingdom, the only place where true rest and peace reign. In reparation for their omissions, through indifference to do what is good, I offer You the Most Holy Desire of Your Son, by which He wished that they also might become heirs of His Kingdom.
THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always submit their will to Your Will. In reparation for their disobedience, I offer You the perfect conformity of the Heart, full of love, of Your Divine Son with Your Holy Will and the most profound submission which He showed in obeying You unto death on the Cross.
(cont’d)
E
E.E.N.S
Guest
(cont’d)
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always receive the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with enough desire, but often without contemplation, or love, or even unworthily, or they neglected to receive It. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, all the faults of which they have been guilty through succumbing to the Seven Capital Sins and also in not having wished either to love or pardon their enemies. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, because too often they did not resist temptations and the passions, but they followed the Enemy of all goodness. In reparation for all these sins, in thought, word, and deed. I offer You the glorius victory which Our Lord won against the world, as well as His Most Holy Life, His Work and Sorrows, His Suffering and His Most Cruel Death.
BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL; and from all punishments through the Infinite Merits of Your Well-Beloved Son and lead us, as well as the Souls in Purgatory, into Your Kingdom of eternal glory. Amen.
GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, for they did not always receive the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist with enough desire, but often without contemplation, or love, or even unworthily, or they neglected to receive It. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.
FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, all the faults of which they have been guilty through succumbing to the Seven Capital Sins and also in not having wished either to love or pardon their enemies. In reparation for these faults, I offer You the outstanding Holiness and the great contemplation of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Divine Son, addressed to You in favor of His enemies when He was on the Cross.
AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION; I pray You, Father Most Good, pardon the Souls in Purgatory, because too often they did not resist temptations and the passions, but they followed the Enemy of all goodness. In reparation for all these sins, in thought, word, and deed. I offer You the glorius victory which Our Lord won against the world, as well as His Most Holy Life, His Work and Sorrows, His Suffering and His Most Cruel Death.
BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL; and from all punishments through the Infinite Merits of Your Well-Beloved Son and lead us, as well as the Souls in Purgatory, into Your Kingdom of eternal glory. Amen.
E
E.E.N.S
Guest
An eminent theologian wisely remarks that if souls are condemned to Hell* for all eternity *because of one mortal sin, it is not to be wondered at that other souls should be detained for long years in Purgatory who have committed countless deliberate venial sins, some of which are so grave the sinner scarcely knows if they are mortal or venial. Too, they may have committed many mortal sins for which they have had little sorrow and done little or no penance. The guilt has been remitted by absolution, but the pain due to the sins will have to be paid in Purgatory.
Our Lord tells us that we shall have to render an account for each and every idle word we say and that we may not leave our prison until we have paid the last farthing. (cf. Matt 5:26)
The saints committed few and slight sins, and still the sorrowed much and did severe penances. We commit many and grave sins, and we sorrow little and do little or no penance.
Our Lord tells us that we shall have to render an account for each and every idle word we say and that we may not leave our prison until we have paid the last farthing. (cf. Matt 5:26)
The saints committed few and slight sins, and still the sorrowed much and did severe penances. We commit many and grave sins, and we sorrow little and do little or no penance.
E
E.E.N.S
Guest
Here are a few links on the subject of Purgatory:
http://www.catholic.com/library/Purgatory.asp
http://www.catholic.com/library/Roots_of_Purgatory.asp
http://scripturecatholic.com/purgatory.html
http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/purgatory.htm
http://www.earlychurchfathers.org/belief.php?id=16
http://www.staycatholic.com/ecf_purgatory.htm
http://www.catholic.com/library/Purgatory.asp
http://www.catholic.com/library/Roots_of_Purgatory.asp
http://scripturecatholic.com/purgatory.html
http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/purgatory.htm
http://www.earlychurchfathers.org/belief.php?id=16
http://www.staycatholic.com/ecf_purgatory.htm
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Lilyofthevalley
Guest
EEENS thank you very much, I will be saying those prayers for my aunt.
T
Thal59
Guest
Allow me to cut and paste my own words from the “Do Protestants Pray For Souls?” thread.
If the souls of the departed did not need prayer, then praying for them would be to no avail, but it wouldn’t hurt you or them. (If you were deceased and enjoying heaven, and a friend on earth prayed for you every day, it may not help you - but wouldn’t it be a beautiful expression of love and concern for you?)
However, if the souls of the departed DID need prayers, then praying for them would truly be an act of Christian love and mercy. Whereas NOT praying for them would deny them aid in their time of need.
He who prays for souls, therefore, either prays to no avail or he helps those souls.
He who does not pray for souls, therefore, either does not pray to no avail or he offers no help to souls in need.
Take your choice.
Thal59
If the souls of the departed did not need prayer, then praying for them would be to no avail, but it wouldn’t hurt you or them. (If you were deceased and enjoying heaven, and a friend on earth prayed for you every day, it may not help you - but wouldn’t it be a beautiful expression of love and concern for you?)
However, if the souls of the departed DID need prayers, then praying for them would truly be an act of Christian love and mercy. Whereas NOT praying for them would deny them aid in their time of need.
He who prays for souls, therefore, either prays to no avail or he helps those souls.
He who does not pray for souls, therefore, either does not pray to no avail or he offers no help to souls in need.
Take your choice.
Thal59
- Status