I love to Pray for the Souls in Purgatory

During Holy Mass especially, I often remember and pray for the dearly departed souls in Purgatory. I pray to Jesus to bless them and comfort them in their terrible sufferings. They need to stay in this place to cleanse themselves from the stains left by the sins committed during their life on earth, for as long as God deems fit. How long they need to stay nobody knows. No one can enter Heaven until one is as pure as Purity itself.

But eventually they will be admitted to God's eternal Light. As long as they are in Purgatory, these saintly beings cannot pray for their own salvation, but depend entirely on our Prayers. Our prayers for them descend on them like balm on their wounds and like manna from Heaven. In return they pray God for us and we should ask them to do so regularly. Our Lady, the Holy Mother Mary loves the Souls in Purgatory dearly and loves those who pray for them.

Reciting the Rosary, hearing the daily Mass and receiving Holy Communion are the 3 main sources for us of obtaining mercy from God on their behalf. I like to pray especially for the souls of my relations - my mother and father, great aunts who were like my parents to me, for the numerous souls from older generations who have inhabited the premises where I now live, who have worked in the garden which I now enjoy, who have walked the street which I walk everyday. I also pray for the souls of the members of the clergy, the priests whom I remember from my childhood.........who knows the amount of good they did before they passed away, the peace and consolation they bestowed upon the faithful in their parish. I pray for all those I once knew and even for those whom I never knew and perhaps have nobody to pray for them.

It is beautiful to pray for the dearly departed and ask God's blessings, forgiveness and mercy for them. It is comforting to think that your prayers will help to alleviate their sufferings even a tiny fraction and on the other hand it is encouraging for us to know that they have great power to intercede for us before God and pray for OUR salvation. God Please Rest Their Souls in Peace.

I will pray to Jesus for SOMEONE dear to me who needs HIS help

I like to pray to Jesus Crucified. Poor Man, all that suffering hanging by his hands and feet nailed to the Cross. And after the savage Flagellation, the Crowning with Thorns amid the humiliation and abuse, drained of all strength under the burden of the wooden cross and the constant beatings, abandoned by everybody, except his Holy Mother Mary. A nagging thought comes to my mind, if I were to be present at the time of His Passion, to which group of onlookers would I have belonged. Probably to those who felt a little pity but couldn't care less or do anything. I imagine all the noise and shouting, like a carnival with Him as the main actor, being pushed along and buffetted by the waves of the surging throng, helpless under the gaze and stares of all around him. He leaves a trail of blood behind him and yet nobody shows any mercy. The crowds are thirsty for his blood - - and yet God the Father Almighty permits His Only Son to suffer all this owing to His Love for us.



As I pray, I look at Jesus and He looks into my eyes. I recite the Our Father, the prayer that He Himself has taught us and speak to Him in my mind and heart and beseech Him to "please heal her dear Jesus". "She is still so young to have this kind of affliction". "It is going to ruin her life, morally and physically" . "Please change it to something else, something less harmful". Please Jesus, she loves you too, I know and You know more than I.


I like to imagine Jesus in a more quiet mood yet very sad as well. Sitting at the Last Supper as He is saying goodbye to His friends for the last time. He is heartbroken and He leaves them the Holy Eucharist - ' for this is My Body and this is My Blood' - in remembrance of Him. There are tears in their eyes for it is the final farewell. Jesus is heartbroken because He knows that one of His friends is going to betray him and he is well aware of the harsh torments that await Him at the hands of those who hate Him most. Please Jesus, grant or how I wish that if I were living in Your time I would have been one of your followers. Help me to be one of them now.

Our Father, thou art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name,

Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.



Give us today our daily bread, forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those that trespass against us,

Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Amen.

Final note: I do not know why I am writing this on the Internet.