Who Prays Anymore for the Holy Souls in Purgatory?

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St. Gertrude the Great is invoked often, for prayers for the poor souls in purgatory. She had a deep empathy for those souls in purgatory, and would ask God at each mass to have mercy on them.

God would reply to St. Gertrude that He would use whatever was offered to Him for the faithful departed, according to His inclination to show pardon & mercy.

St. Gertrude was a Benedictine and mystic writer. She had the gift of miracles and prophecy.

Jesus revealed to her His infinite love, and asked her to spread it, with love, for the suffering and for sinners.

St. Gertrude received, from our Lord, the promise that, if this prayer is said, 1,000 souls are released from Purgatory.

“Eternal Father,
I offer You the most precious blood
of thy Divine Son, Jesus,
in union with the Masses said
throughout the world today,
for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,
for sinners everywhere,
for sinners in the universal Church,
for those in my own home,
and in my family. Amen.”
 
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How to Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Author Susan Tassone notes the importance of prayer and offering Masses for the deceased.
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How to Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory
Author Susan Tassone notes the importance of prayer and offering Masses for the deceased.
JOSEPH PRONECHEN
Susan Tassone won’t admit it, but she is one of the experts on the souls in purgatory.

Her credentials speak for her. She has written six books on the subject, among them one co-written with Father Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal. Cardinal Ivan Dias, former prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, wrote the foreword to her latest book, which has an imprimatur, Praying With the Saints for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. She has recently begun her seventh book.

This week, beginning today, Monday, Oct. 24, Tassone will be Johnnette Benkovic’s guest on her EWTN television show Women of Grace. Tassone will be sharing some new insights about Pope St. Gregory the Great and his connection to the holy souls and purgatory. On Nov. 2, All Souls’ Day, she will be Father Mitch Pacwa’s guest on EWTN Live.

She recently spoke about what we can do to help the souls in purgatory.

What is the best devotion to help the souls in purgatory?

The holy sacrifice of the Mass is the chief source of devotion for the holy souls.

So, the most powerful means to relieve or release a soul from purgatory is through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. You’ll find that in the Catechism. It says it in 1032: “From the beginning, the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.”

In Praying With the Saints for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, I have Pope Benedict XVI’s writings that point to having Masses offered for the souls in purgatory. [One extensive quote is from Sacramentum Caritatis (Sacrament of Charity).]
 
adamhovey1988 said:
You know, whilst the Orthodox may not have the same understanding as Catholics on the afterlife, they do in fact pray for the Dead. There are, also in fact, Jewish prayers for the Dead.
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Mormons also do big geneaologies and pray for all of their ancestors.
The commonality of this practice is interesting.
 
Francis said:
Susan Tassone won’t admit it, but she is one of the experts on the souls in purgatory.

Her credentials speak for her. She has written six books on the subject, among them one co-written with Father Benedict Groeschel of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal.
Click to expand...
I pray for the souls in Purgatory and I think that it’s great that Susan Tassone is spreading the word, but for those of us who grew up doing this stuff, it’s a bit weird to see Tassone lauded in some areas like this is some newfangled concept that she “invented” or somehow knows more about than the endless parade of saints and priests who wrote and preached about praying for the Holy Souls before anybody ever heard of her.

I try to set my small annoyance aside thinking that if Tassone is bringing new people to the practice of praying for souls, that’s a good thing…I am not sure why “six books on the subject” are needed though…

edited to add, I just read her bio page and it credits her with leading the “purgatory movement”. Great, now I’m part of some “movement” I didn’t even know I was in…was just trying to do what Jesus, my mother, the Fatima children, St. Therese etc. said we should do.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
it’s a bit weird to see Tassone lauded in some areas like this is some newfangled concept
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Quite true, plus the call to “personal sacrifice” seems a bit more demanding than simply going to mass with an intention (there is something wrong with the original posting - not diminishing the merits of the Eucharist, something is missing and doesn’t add up).
 
Everyday I try to fit in an extra Rosary on the Sorrowful Mysteries for them.
 
I started doing it recently after I picked up the book Purgatory: Explained by Fr. Shouppe and listening to the conferences by Fr. Ripperger

Great book. Great talks.

Pray for the Holy Souls…
 
Sure,i agree with you,for Catholic’s it’s a part of our regular prayers during Holy Mass,or we remember them during our family prayer/Rosary,citing that they are very few books on the subject.the difference is she has combined devotions, meditations, writings, scripture, quotes, which made it appealing to the masses.

Some view purgatory as a “punishment.” It is not. Purgatory is NOT a scary place.God loves us more than anybody else and more than anybody can! It is His Love that cleanses and purifies us to be able to stand before His presence that’s what she has emphasized.

i thing this is the benchmark for the popularity ,and that’s why people keep buying the books, at that she did a great job to remove that fear,last what i heard is she has at least released eight books on the subject ! .What matters to us, is the devotion to be spread,we all do our part,God Bless

1 Corinthians 3:5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you came to believe, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have a common purpose, and each will receive wages according to the labor of each. 9 For we are God’s servants, working together; you are God’s field, God’s building.
 
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Francis said:
Some view purgatory as a “punishment.” It is not. Purgatory is NOT a scary place.God loves us more than anybody else and more than anybody can! It is His Love that cleanses and purifies us to be able to stand before His presence that’s what she has emphasized.

i thing this is the benchmark for the popularity ,and that’s why people keep buying the books, at that she did a great job to remove that fear
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I appreciate what you’re saying and that people want to remove the fear, not only for themselves but for their loved ones. But it is a bit odd after literally centuries of clergy’s writings and saints’/ mystics’ revelations presenting Purgatory to us as a scary, suffering, Hell-like place that one would wish to avoid if at all possible, it is now being presented as some sort of friendly learning experience where God just helps us to grow and overcome our mistakes. I’m not surprised if Tassone is pushing this idea of taking the fear out of Purgatory, as I’ve read something similar in the booklets by Anne, a Lay Apostle (I know these are controversial, but the booklets are actually sold at one Adoration chapel I attend and contain a Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur).

If one is accustomed to reading stuff like Fr. Schouppe’s works, Padre Pio’s comments on Purgatory (which were not all that many decades ago), etc then the idea of Purgatory as this un-scary place does not seem to jive with the previous ideas. I think Purgatory is now being re-imagined partly to get rid of the fear, as you said, but also partly because in this day and age people can’t square the idea of Purgatory with a loving God. I am not sure it’s productive to think of Purgatory as a happy friendly un-fearful place because the fear of Purgatory for me and my loved ones (specifically, reading Padre Pio’s revelations at 2 in the morning) did more to get me back to active prayer and practice than a lot of friendly “oh that’s okay, God loves you anyway and will kindly show you the error of your ways” stuff would have. Maybe we should scrap the Tassone books and just give everybody a Padre Pio book, or perhaps the revelations of Don Bosco, or St. Teresa of Avila, etc.

Then again, private revelation is not binding, and until we actually die we have no idea what Purgatory would be like. It may even be different for different people. St. Therese of Lisieux said the soul gets what it expects from God, so perhaps if someone is expecting a friendly Purgatory, that’s what they get. When I was a child and was afraid of Purgatory, my mother would say, “Maybe we are living our Purgatory on earth” and it seems like the revelations also support that to some extent (such as people who suffer severe hardships on earth and offer it up).
 
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What you said is absolute true, we should have a reverential fear towards purgatory,so we’ll think twice before we sin,sure their are different stages in purgatory and the most bottom must be similar to hell ,at it is revealed to different saints which you mentioned ,i was just thinking of St Therese of Lisieux ,you have take the words from my mouth! .

yes what your mother said is true ,the more we suffer on earth is better for us and for our purification, than suffer the fires of purgatory which is unbearable, that’s why we should try to accept by the Grace of God the different pains, sufferings,headaches,trials sickness and offer them for the sack of the love of Jesus, reparation of poor souls and for the conversion of sinner and for the Church,God Bless
 
The pain in purgatory is scary, that’s how it was described. Souls there suffer immensely. But yes, they are sure to be in heaven, just a matter of time of how long their purgation will be. Our prayers can help shorten their stay.
 
I read that the worst pains on earth are only the slightest in hell or purgatory. Also read that in purgatory the pain is not so much from the fire, but from the longing of a soul to see God. Better to suffer on earth than in hell or purgatory.
 
There is one priest at my parish who, whenever he says Mass, he asks that we pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, especially those who have no one to pray for them. This is done during the prayers of the faithful.
 
I pray a simple memorised prayer for the Holy Souls in purgatory daily while I am washing my face.

The best time to pray for the dead would be at Mass after having received Holy Communion.
 
so far I pray the rosary everyday one of my intentions when I offer up the rosary is for the souls in purgatory
 
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