When I was a child, my dad taught me a little habit of prayer I’ve kept to this day and taught to my own kids.
We were walking outside on a frigid Chicago winter day, and I was complaining about being cold.
“It really is cold,” my dad agreed. “But instead of complaining about the cold, you can offer it up. Then it becomes a prayer to help someone. When I’m cold, I like to offer it up for someone who is in Purgatory to get into Heaven.”
Then he told me his two favorite prayer intentions for offering up little discomforts. “I like to pray for the soul in Purgatory who is closest to getting into Heaven, so hopefully that prayer gets them ‘over the hump’ into Heaven, and then they’ll pray for me from Heaven,” he said. “I also like to pray for the person in Purgatory who is the farthest away from Heaven, especially if they have no one else to pray for them.”
That was decades ago, but I thought about it when I was explaining All Souls Day to my kids this year. All Souls Day is a distinct occasion, unlike any other in the liturgical calendar. Here are a few things that set it apart.
All Saints vs. All Souls
What’s the difference between All Saints Day and All Souls Day? I asked my kids that question. The saints we celebrate on All Saints Day are in heaven, while the souls we remember on All Souls Day are in Purgatory.
“On All Saints Day, we ask the saints in heaven to pray for us,” I explained. “What’s different about All Souls Day?”
“We pray for them!” my oldest said.
We talked about my dad’s habit of offering little discomforts for the souls in Purgatory. While he prays for the souls in Purgatory regularly, many of us kind of forget.
All Souls Day is set apart in the liturgical year for the whole Church to pray together for these souls, in whose number many of us might find ourselves some day.
Our yearly tradition
Keeping all this in mind, our family has a very simple yearly tradition for All Souls Day. We visit a cemetery (you can get an indulgence) and pray the customary invocation for the faithful departed:
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Most years it’s really cold in Chicago by the time All Souls Day comes around on November 2, so this cemetery visit is quick. If it’s snowing, we just drive into the cemetery and don’t even get out of the car to pray. Usually, we’re on the way to or from one of the kids’ activities. But keeping it brief makes it sustainable to keep up with this tradition year after year.
And no matter how quick, I know the kids will remember this tradition of praying for the souls in Purgatory in a cemetery for All Souls Day. Hopefully it helps them to understand what All Souls Day is all about. And hopefully, like their grandpa, they’ll eventually continue this prayer intention throughout the year.
