Yesterday morning at early mass a lady, a stranger, sat down behind me and to my right at mass. I noticed this because at everyday mass folks tend to always sit in the one place, I notice this is the smae in all Churches. We are creatures of habit. After mass, when I came down from the altar she pressed something into my hand anked me to put it up. She was crying. We have two large boards up t o the right of the altar for Holy Souls memorial cards. She said she was afraid of crying while putting it up and this is why she wanted me to put it up. I went over to put it put but looked at his picture and all at once I reslised that this was his and his wfie's way of looking for prayer from me. After this as I turned to go from the board I thought at once of a gentleman I knew well about 30 years previously. I did not even know he was dead but knew at once was looking for prayer from purgatory. This is what I mean, the doors of our hearts get knocked gently. We have to be open to this.... I think you know round about this time of year the Holy Souls get permission to travel a little in search of rpayer. We need to be open to this. ..and opne the doors of our hearts to welcome them and give prayer aid.
Beautiful!! I like how you said.....Holy Souls get permission to travel in search of prayer. This is true. It's just beautiful to be able to help through the Lords Mercy.
I love November fro several reasons. My birthday is in November , it is the Holy Souls month, a beautiful time of change. But I think mostly I love it because of great graces associated with the Autumnal month when I was a child. Our religious teacher had told us that there was a special plenary indulgence for anyone visiting the Church and saying a few prayers and for each visit we could get one Holy Soul out of Purgatory!! The idea totally delighted me. This was bargan basement stuff. So on my way home and stopped of in Church and prayed for an hour or two going in and out in and out and out. Really very,very happy to think each time I did so another soul was getting out. Actually I think it was from this time my own devotin to the Holy Souls became established. Though it is a poor enough devotion compared to others. But I recall with joy those Autumn evenings falling and the huge feeling of joy. Yesterday at mass in the hospital the young priest wore total black vestment for the mass for the Holy Souls. Some people , I think that thinking about the dead, the Holy Souls is sombre. I never found it so. I always find it a greay joy. It is the Communion of saints in action. When I pray for them I feel them all drawing closer . A source of huge joy. Even the weather seems so right to remember them. As we enter the great Winter darkenss it seems even that the world in a sense visitng Purgatory on a Mercy Mission. My own favourite prayer is for the souls deepest in Purgatory. They are my Favourites. https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=1178
I am kind of wandering of topic here, but writing about Autumn reminds me of my favourite angel story of all time. It occured in Fall in the Eastern United States , near one of the Ivy Leauge uNiversities I think, back in the 1920's. A Professor and his wife were walking in the woods along a sunken path admiring the colours of the leaves. But then overhead walking along in the air they saw a group of four women, beautifully robed talking together. The couple below noticed that three of the women were paying particula attention and deference to one of the women who they were all looking too and appeared to be teaching them. The women paid no attention to the gaping couple below and disspeared overhead as they went over the trees on the other side. I foten think of this story when I am in the woods. It was just so beautifu land unexpected. I foten wonder if...possibly one of the women was the Blessed Virgin? Teaching women saints? Or was it as the couple thought, angels? Anyway , a lovely story.
If we don't remember the Holy Souls while we are alive, I don't think it is reasonable to suppose that anyone will remmber us when we are down there. What goes around comes around. This should light a fire under us to pray. http://www.helpersoftheholysouls.co...fs/out_of_print/DivineCrucibleOfPurgatory.htm
After mass during the wekk at the Monastery I have gotten into the habit of wandering over to the large board of mmemorial cards and pictures of the dead of the area and praying for their souls. It really struck home to me a great lesson of mortality. All those smiling faces many of them very young, but now dead. We are all going to die. A stark fact and we all understand this at some level. But at the deepest, deepest level we do not really believe this. For at the deepest level I suspect we believe we are, all of us, going to live forever. But not so. We are going to die as Jesus and Mary died , as the Apostles died and all the saints and mrtyrs before us. Devotion to the Holy Souls cuts through this lie and reminds me of this and cautions me to makes use of the time and graces left a great lesson. I turn sixty tomorrow and so in this part of the country I have been given a free pass for public transport. This means I will no longer be travelling by car to early mass at Clonard Monastery, but will be travelling by bus and attending mid day mass in the hospital. So after many years as a Eucharistic Minister and daily attendent, helping too around the altar I said my sad but joyful good bye to some of my many dear friends there. But after mass as I stood beside the Marian Shrine I turned and looked at teh Golden Great Gates there. For the very first time I noticed, after all these years that above both Golden 'M's on the gate were large crowns inset with four large blue stones. So I reached out and touched one, blessed myself and walked across the sanctuary. But as I knelt to genuflect in front of the huge golden tabernalce suddenly I was enveloped in an ntense and overwhelming aroma of roses. It was MAry saying her goodbyes right back at me and thanking me. As I drove back from the monastery I was thinking to myself how little reason Mary had to thank me. But then one by one memories of the service I have given there down the years came back to me. So I am glad Mary said her good byes and gave her beautiful thanks of roses. Life is so passing. True. But it is so, so beautiful .Let us give thanks and praise.
Thanks for sharing that Padraig. It was truly touching. I will say Happy Birthday to you now. May you have a most blessed birthday .....full of peace and joy. Tomorrow I will be up close with death and sorrow. I am attending a memorial of a young lady whom I knew. She died suddenly. She was my daughters age. I knew her and her family when I first came to live here in 2003. I haven't seen them in a long while but heard of her passing through FB. The sorrow will be very great tomorrow ....especially the sorrow of the parents. It's the hardest of sufferings for parents to out live their children. The young lady who passed away.....her name is NICOLE MEIXNER. I have been praying for her soul since I heard. I pray that I may bring some words of comfort to them but only prayer can really help. If you read this ......please say a prayer for the you girls soul and for her family. Thank you! Again.....thanks for the post. It's beautiful. our Holy Mother is MOST GRACIOUS!! She adores ALL her children.
Happy 60th Padraig, I think you are going to be indoors as there is a storm coming tomorrow evening - you may take the dogs for an early walk!! http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...braces-itself-for-storm-abigail-a6723611.html
Thank you Bobby, perhaps the storm will put out a few bonfires. I hope so. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/rel...sh-Reformation-was-a-violent-catastrophe.html
There is a lovely story about Padre Pio and a Jewish gentleman Julius Fine who apparently went to Purgatory although he was never baptised. This is interesting because some people hold strongly that there is no Salvation outside the visible Church . THis seems to indicate that there is. In 1965 Julius was diagnosed with the illness that would lead to his death a year later. Apparnetly he was a very,very good lovng man , a great father and husband loved by all around him. But his daughter Mr's Florence Fine Erhman, a Catholic convert, was worried about his soul after death , in case he got sent to hell for not having converted. After her fathers death she became even more worried but when approached and asked about this St Padre Pio said, 'Julius Fine is saved, but it is necessary to pray much for him'. '
I have no scriptural or church basis for this but I believe that one of the jobs of the angels is to baptise good and innocent people before they die and somehow administer to those souls wherever possible in such a way as to qualify them as being part of the church and so saveable. Just my faith. I may be wrong but in Garabandal the angels adminstered consecrated hosts to the girls. Perhaps they gave a tiny particle to Julius that he may have eternal life in him. In this way the teaching is preserved. Baptised and communed. Saved. I once baptised an old Jew on his death bed. He was a good guy. He didn't know. Maybe the angels did the rest.
Perhaps, in his heart he desired baptisms on his deathbed - baptism of desire! God's mercy is indeed awesome.
And what about aborted infants? I believe they are saved because they have been martyred in the womb - a form of baptism by blood.
Inside every old person is a young person screaming: "What the hell happened!! ...... Get me outta here!!" GOD SAVE ALL HERE!!
