Visiting a cemetary and praying for the dead -- partial indulgence for Holy souls in Purgatory

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Ophelia23

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My title explains what I was reading about today: That if one visits a cemetery each day between November 1 and November 8 to pray for the holy souls of purgatory, a partial indulgence will be granted for whomever you are praying for. I have two questions regarding this.
  1. Is this true? I am unsure if the source I obtained it from is entirely reliable…
  2. If it is true, do you have to visit the cemetery of the person you are praying for? If not, does it need to be a Catholic or even Christian cemetery? I live next door to a Jewish cemetery that I could easily visit during my kids’ naptime to offer prayers.
What are your thoughts?
 
Hi Ophelia23! Yes, I do believe that when you visit a cemetery and pray for the dead on All Souls Day, a special plenary indulgence can be gained for the souls in Purgatory. So yes do make that visit. I go often to the cemetery to pray for my parents since they rest so near to my house. ***“It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins” (2 Maccabees 12:46) ***

Peace, Mark
 
I’ve never seen any reference to the existence of Purgatory in God’s Word. There are Two places after death – to be present with the Lord – or waiting for final judgement as a non-believer. Scripture says "Now is the day of salvation’ – while we are here on earth. It’s fine to visit the grave of your loved-one. Unfortunately no amount of money can change a person’s eternal destiny.
 
crochet_lady said:
I’ve never seen any reference to the existence of Purgatory in God’s Word. There are Two places after death – to be present with the Lord – or waiting for final judgement as a non-believer. Scripture says "Now is the day of salvation’ – while we are here on earth. It’s fine to visit the grave of your loved-one. Unfortunately no amount of money can change a person’s eternal destiny.
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Purgatory in 1 Corinthians 3 (NIV)…

12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

Indulgences aren’t sold, if that’s what you mean by “no amount of money”.

A person’s eternal destiny is indeed sealed at their death and cannot be changed. Purgatory is God’s cleansing fire on the way to heaven.
 
crochet_lady said:
I’ve never seen any reference to the existence of Purgatory in God’s Word. There are Two places after death – to be present with the Lord – or waiting for final judgement as a non-believer. Scripture says "Now is the day of salvation’ – while we are here on earth. It’s fine to visit the grave of your loved-one. Unfortunately no amount of money can change a person’s eternal destiny.
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I’ve never seen any reference to the amount of books that should be included in the New Testament but you take the Church’s teaching that there are 27. So by adhering to your New Testament you implicitly adhere to the pre-reformation teachings of the Catholic Church. You accepted their authority to acknowledge which books were to be inspired so you can also then admit that not everything is explicit in Scripture. The understanding of purgatory is in scripture when it clearly states that nothing unclean can enter heaven. Purgatory is the ridding of all of our attachments to sin and moving into the Light of God. It’s a burning off (1 Cor 3:15) of those things that do not make us fit for heaven. This DOES NOT undermine what Christ did for us on the cross. We can ONLY get to heaven because Christ died for our sins. This IS NOT an addition to what Christ has done on the cross. This is a preparation for the beatific vision which can have no blurred vision. This is a teaching that is given by the same inspired Church that was inspired to acknowledge the 27 books of the New Testament that you have no problem accepting. God bless… teachccd
 
isn’t that a bit spooky, what if you get a reply from an evil spirit claiming to be somebody
you know? as the saying goes, let sleeping dogs lie.:eek:
 
To answer the OP, one can gain a PLENARY indulgence (under the usual conditions, of course) for the poor souls in Purgatory during these 8 days.

catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1178
Indulgenced Acts for the Poor Souls
A partial indulgence can be obtained by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed, even if the prayer is only mental. One can gain a plenary indulgence visiting a cemetery each day between November 1 and November 8. These indulgences are applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory.
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The usual conditions, for those who don’t know, are as follows:
A Plenary Indulgence can be gained only one per day. The faithful must be in the state of grace and these three conditions must accompany the prescribed act:
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1.the faithful must receive the sacrament of confession, either eight days before or after the pious act is performed,
2.receive Holy Communion on that day
3.and recite prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (one Our Father and one Hail Mary is the minimum, but any other additional prayers may be added).
All attachment to sin, even venial sin, must be absent. If one’s disposition is less than perfect or if some of the above conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence becomes partial.
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The last part is the most difficult, IMHO. Being free from all attachment to sin is not an easy task, to say the least. That being said, I’m hoping and praying that my family and I have already freed some of the poor souls from Purgatory these past 2 days! :gopray2:
 
dandy1822 said:
isn’t that a bit spooky, what if you get a reply from an evil spirit claiming to be somebody
you know? as the saying goes, let sleeping dogs lie.:eek:
Click to expand...
Praying for the dead and talking to the dead are two very different things…
 
This is from Father Z’s blog:

ACTION ITEM! All Souls’ Day Indulgences. Wherein Fr. Z rants for a while.
Posted on 30 October 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

From the Handbook of Indulgences

Visiting a Church or an Oratory on All Souls Day
A plenary (“full”) indulgence, which is applicable only to the souls in Purgatory is granted to the Christian faithful who devoutly visit a church or an oratory on (November 2nd,) All Souls Day.

Will you not, for love, try to gain these indulgences? Make a plan.

Requirements for Obtaining a Plenary Indulgence on All Souls Day (2 Nov)

Visit a church and pray for souls in Purgatory
Say one “Our Father” and the “Apostles Creed” in the visit to the church
Say one “Our Father” and one “Hail Mary” for the Holy Father’s intentions (that is, the intentions designated by the Holy Father each month)
Worthily receive Holy Communion (ideally on the same day if you can get to Mass)
Make a sacramental confession within 20 days of All Souls Day
For a plenary indulgence be free from all attachment to sin, even venial sin (otherwise, the indulgence is partial, not plenary, “full”).

You can acquire one plenary indulgence a day.

A partial indulgence can be obtained by visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed. You can gain a plenary indulgence visiting a cemetery each day between 1 November and 8 November. These indulgences are applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory.

A plenary indulgence, applicable only the Souls in Purgatory, is also granted when you visit a church or a public oratory on 2 November. While visiting the church or oratory say one Our Father and the Apostles Creed.

A partial indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, can be obtained when saying the “Eternal rest … Requiem aeternam…” prayer.

Do you know this prayer?
Requiem aeternam dona ei [pl.eis], Domine, et lux perpetua luceat ei [eis]. Requiescat -ant] in pace Amen.Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

[More at his blog…]
wdtprs.com/blog/2013/10/action-item-all-souls-day-indulgences-wherein-fr-z-rants-for-a-while/
 
teachccd

It’s interesting that you apply 1 Corinthians 3:15 to purgatory. There’s an article I found
PDF Apocrypha - the Holy Scripture & Israel Bible Society of Canada – just type in the title and you’ll find it. It explains the why’s and where’ fores of those books. That some people accept them and some don’t. Catholics included. 🙂
 
teachccd

Actually there are 66 books in the Bible / God’s Word. The Old and New Testaments together.

Is Purgatory supposed to be a Place?
For instance in the book of Luke chapter 16 we read in vs. 19 There was a certain rich man …vs 20 ‘but there was a certain beggar named Lazarus…vs 22 "So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. vs 23 And being in torments in Hades, he left up his yes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. vs 26 "And besides all this, there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’"
That place is already called Abraham’s Bosom.
And then Revelation 20:10 " The devil, who had deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
vs 11 "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who on it, …vs 12 "And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. vs 13 “The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. vs 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. vs 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Then in chapter 21 – Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the fist haven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. vs 2 "Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. "

With this Scriptural scenario , I see no evidence of purgatory / the purpose Of it.

It’s Also true that it’s hard to picture Anyone dying and being in tormenting conditions in Hades and Then having it continue in the Lake of Fire / Brimstone Forever.
But God Also tells us how to Avoid That and be able to be with Him for eternity. And that is described in the last couple of chapters in Revelation.

IF Purgatory / apparently the purging of our ‘left-over’ sins / If necessary – then That’s saying that Christ’s blood / grace / is NOT adequate to Really forgive our sins.
And IF people Can ‘pray or pay’ a person Out of purgatory – who determines How much praying or how Much money is needed? After all – only God Really knows a person’s heart or his motives for his actions. So - how does a person know How much is Really Enough?!
 
When did All Souls Day first come about? If we do the same things but not on All Souls Day, does it still have an effect?

Can it be for general souls in purgatory or do you have to name names?
 
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