November is the month that the Catholic Church dedicates to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. It’s also a good time to remember that we are sinners and must prepare and strengthen our own souls. Did you know that the Catechism teaches:
“All who die in God’s grace and friendship but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death, they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC 1030).
This understanding is brought to life in this letter from C.S. Lewis in which he writes to his fictional friend, Malcolm:
Our souls demand purgatory, don’t they? Would it not break the heart if God said to us, “It is true, my son, that your breath smells and that your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into the joy”?
Should we not reply, “With submission, sir, and if there is no objection, I’d rather be cleaned first.”
“It may hurt, you know.”—
“Even so, sir.”
November is the opportune month to help the Holy Souls in Purgatory. There are even special ways the Church provides to honor and help them this month. For example, did you know that Catholics in a state of grace who devoutly visit a cemetery during the first eight days of November and pray for the departed can receive a “plenary indulgence applicable only to the souls in purgatory.
As we pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, our own souls shine more brightly with charity.
A saint know for his love for the Holy Souls
This November, let us call upon a saint known for his charity to the Holy Souls: the one and only Padre Pio. There are so many stories about this special saint; here’s one that brings November’s devotion to life!
Friars who lived with Padre Pio once heard unforgettably beautiful voices echoing through the friary, at the same time that Padre Pio was deep in prayer. They asked him what the sound was, to which he answered, “Why are you all so surprised? They are the voices of the angels, who are taking souls from purgatory into paradise.”
Born Francesco Forgione in 1887, the Capuchin priest known as Padre Pio lived at the friary in San Giovanni Rotondo. He was known to have a soft spot for Americans, however, because his father, Grazio, himself poor and illiterate, went to Jamaica, New York to find work. Grazio Forgione sent money home to provide for the family, allowing Francesco to be tutored and then go to seminary. Padre Pio was known to say, “My father crossed the ocean twice in order to give me the chance to become a friar.”
Directly after Mass on September 20, 1918, Padre Pio had a vision of Jesus and then received the stigmata not only on his hands, as is frequently remembered, but also on his feet and side. He endured persecution for these wounds by many throughout his life.
Some in the Vatican were skeptical of Padre Pio and for several years, he was stripped of the faculties of his priestly ministry, except to say private Mass. Padre Pio endured this deep sorrow with heroic patience, trusting in God. Padre Pio gladly offered all this suffering up to God. He had a profound devotion to the Holy Souls, writing his spiritual director:
“For some time I have felt the need to offer myself to the Lord as a victim for poor sinners and for souls in purgatory. This desire has grown continuously in my heart, until now it has become a powerful passion. I made this offering to the Lord, imploring Him to lay on me the punishments that are prepared for sinners and for souls in purgatory, even multiplying them upon me a hundredfold as long as He converts and saves sinners and quickly releases the souls in purgatory.”
Souls of the dead sought him
When his public priestly faculties were restored, he spent 10 hours hearing Confessions daily, frequently telling the penitents their sins, and helping them to achieve true sorrow, and implanting in them the desire to sin no more. Padre Pio’s Holy Mass took about three hours; and those who attended felt the time fly by and that every moment was time well spent. St. Pio built a hospital near his friary which he called: “House for the Alleviation of Suffering.”
Is it any wonder, then, that a priest-saint so compassionate to his flock is also known for helping the Holy Souls in Purgatory?
In fact, Padre Pio once remarked that as many souls of the dead came up the road to his monastery, seeking his assistance, as those of the living. We should not hesitate to call upon Padre Pio for his intercession getting our loved ones out of Purgatory.
Padre Pio is a zealous advocate of making reparation to the suffering of Jesus through devotion to His Agony. We can accomplish this via praying an at-home Holy Hour. This beautiful devotion so dear to Padre Pio will give us a closer bond with Our Lord, and help alleviate the suffering of the Holy Souls.
Padre Pio taught that Jesus promised those who pray it will be better able to intercede for those in Purgatory. Visit Catholic Holy Hour and sign up to receive a free Padre Pio-themed Holy Hour you can pray right at home.
What a fitting guide Padre Pio is for us as we pray our way through this November and end the month in Thanksgiving to God.
