All Hallow’s Day- November 1st
A solemnity of great happiness and of great hope.
The day that we celebrate all those unknown saints in heaven. All of them! All Saints Day is a holiday of obligation (except during the Covid-19 pandemic) when we come together to rejoice and be glad. This festival reminds us that we are all called to sanctity!
Someday we hope to join them!
The Octave from November 1st to the 8th
How can a loving person who has learned to love God and neighbor, who has the hope of heaven, not be kind to their beloved dead? Or, to any dead? We cannot let them be forgotten nor abandoned by us who are still on earth.
We cannot drive by a graveyard nor stand at their tombs forgetting to pray as if they don’t exist anymore! They do exist! They do wait for our prayers. Sometimes they wait for a long, long time, even years!
We, the living, the Church Militant, can pray and offer sacrifice for them. We can obtain refreshment for their souls. Be confident! Praying for the dead is a Spiritual Work of Mercy.
We can release a soul from Purgatory each day for the first 8 days in November!
How extraordinary is that! [NOTE: Plenary Indulgences extended to the end of November.]
With a little heart, a little determination, a little follow through, a little planning and, of course, the will of God, we can give them our help! Our love for them should not die at death. We can give them a small sign of our love and gratitude.
How can we help the holy souls?
From the Enchiridium of Indulgences:
Visit their graves and say a prayer for them: “An indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the 1st to the 8th of November; on other days of the year it is partial.“
Visit to a Church or an Oratory on All Souls Day: “A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Souls in Purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who on the day dedicated to the Commemoration of all the faithful departed piously visit a church, a public oratory or -- for those entitled to use it -- a semipublic oratory.”
Other means of helping the souls in Purgatory:
Offering the Sacrifice of the Mass
Offering of Holy Communion even Spiritual Communions
Promoting the devotion to the souls in purgatory
Prayers: the Rosary is the most important prayer after the Mass, the litany to the Blessed Virgin, the Memorare and other Marian prayers
Devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the wearing of the scapular
Alms
Acts of Charity
All and every ordinary work
Mortifications and sacrifices offered to God for the relief or release of the suffering souls.
“In general, it is highly probable that all purely intentioned religious, and even not strictly religious, acts and gestures motivated by love for the deceased are acceptable to God so they may serve as refreshment for the poor souls, invoking the saints on behalf of them, sprinkling holy water, making the Sign of the Cross with holy water, burning a candle and so on.”
From: Hungry Souls by Gerard J.M. Van Den Aardweg, p. 125
For more information regarding Life Everlasting, Heaven, Hell and Purgatory visit here.
