By Fr. Christopher Foeckler, MJ •  St. Josaphat Formation Center • Phoenix, AZ

Something that moves me to pray, and I know many others as well, is the intention of praying for the most abandoned souls in Purgatory. The ones who have no one to pray for them to help expiate their sins so they may enter thus purified into the joyous Presence of God.

No one wants to be forgotten in any way, but especially when we need remembrances in prayers, sacrifices and Masses to do for us what we can no longer do for ourselves. And yet there are several ways this can happen even with the best of intentions. The Scriptures and pious writers tell us: “out of sight, out of mind.” How easily we forget someone when they are absent, and more so when they are permanently absent! Our dearest loved ones are not readily forgotten, but time robs our memories of even our closest companions. Does the number of years since their death shock you? And if they were prematurely ‘canonized’ at their funeral and we long felt assured of their walking with the Lord in Paradise, time doesn’t need long to fade their memory.

No one wants to be forgotten. And so as the Gospel paradoxes ratify: to not be forgotten yourself, you should remember and pray for those who are. We, of course, pray frequently for our dearest loved ones, but this November when we dedicate special prayers and Masses for the deceased, let’s also be mindful to pray for those who are forgotten and abandoned in the realms of Purgatory. The Church also provides for this with the third Mass every priest can offer on November 2nd.

I found a simple exhortation on a memorial card that I hope will go on my memorial card when it is required (hopefully many years from now!) and will inspire some folks for a long time afterwards to pray for me, and which I now use to remind myself to pray for the souls in Purgatory:

“We have loved them in life;
Let us not forget them in death
Until we have conducted them by our prayers
Into the eternal abode of bliss.”

If we remember them, they will surely remember us both now and when we are most absent to others’ minds and prayers. Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the Mercy of God, rest in peace! Amen.

This post is also available in: Inglese Hindi Polacco Slavo Spagnolo Ucraino