Who are the Holy Souls in Purgatory
Those of us on earth are members of the Church Militant, those in Heaven are the Church Triumphant. Those who die who aren鈥檛 quite ready to go straight into the arms of God at the moment of their death? Those in Purgatory are the Church Suffering or the Church Penitent. Those in purgatory have died in the friendship of God but still needed cleansing of the temporal effects of sin.
How can we help them?
By practicing the Spiritual Work of Mercy of praying for the dead. Think of your relatives, friends or people you know of who have left this world. If they are in Purgatory, they can鈥檛 pray for themselves, but we can pray for them. Think of those souls who have no one to help them. We can help by praying for them and help them to reach Heaven sooner. St. Margaret Mary referred to the holy souls as her 鈥渄ear suffering friends.鈥� Her great love for these souls moved her to pray and sacrifice daily for them.
Many people, including many Catholics, don鈥檛 recognize the importance of praying for the dying and the already deceased, so many souls die alone and suffer alone in purgatory without the help from their family and friends on earth. Pray for a soul forgotten in purgatory who has no one to pray for them. You can create a spiritual bond with them that will last eternally. Pray a Rosary or Divine Mercy Chaplet or just a Hail Mary for them each day. You may not realize it but those in Purgatory can pray for us even though they can鈥檛 pray for themselves.
In one Vision, Our Lord tells St Gertrude that He longs for someone to ask Him to release souls from purgatory. St. Gertrude the Great was a Benedictine nun and mystic who lived in the 13th century. She died in 1302. Her feast day is November 16th.
Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great for the Holy Souls in Purgatory
O Eternal Father, I offer Thee 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 鈥� for sinners in the Universal Church, for those in my own home and for those within my family. Amen.
It is believed that Jesus promised Saint Gertrude that 1,000 souls would be freed from purgatory each time the prayer is said with devotion.
– Sister Dolores Keyser, ESEH, Director of Prison Ministry