Praying for Souls

Catholic teaching encourages praying for souls in Purgatory, believing that such prayers can shorten their time of purification and help them enter Heaven sooner. This is based on the belief in the Communion of Saints, where the living, the dead, and those in Purgatory are united in Christ. Prayers and indulgences offered to the souls in Purgatory can contribute to their purification and spiritual growth.The Catechism teaches, “Our prayer for them [souls in Purgatory] is capable not only of helping them but also of making their intercession for us effective” (958). One rationale for this is that the souls in Purgatory are perfected in charity.Just as the Holy Souls in Purgatory can pray for us, we can also pray for them.If you would like us to pray each day for members of your family or friends who have died, please fill out the form below. We will diligently pray for them, by name, each day. Our prayers continue daily and do not end.If you would like to light a candle, please click here.

There are several ways to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.Have Masses said for your departed loved ones, especially on the anniversary of their death. This is an act of love and remembrance; it can also be a way of making up for absences from Mass. Also, having a mass said for the dead is a loving way of affirming the importance of the Mass and asking that our loved ones now come to understand and appreciate what they didn’t realize on earth.Pray the special Holy Souls Rosary. The Holy Rosary is the most powerful prayer after the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.Obtain indulgences. Indulgences reduce or cancel the temporal punishment that we incur through sin. There are many ways to obtain indulgences through pious actions, and we can apply their merits to the dead. For example: A) devoutly visit a cemetery and pray for the dead during November 1-8. B) devoutly recite the Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart prayer.Give alms: material assistance to the poor has always been considered a penance that can be offered for the Holy Souls. “For almsgiving saves from death and purges away every sin” (Tobit 12:9). We can make our gift “in the name of our loved ones” or to honor their memory; we can give to their favorite charity or contribute a gift to our Church. We can pray that any act of justice that was left undone by our family member (perhaps due to an unexpected death) might now be repaired by our act of charity.Pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet.Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great: tradition holds that St. Gertrude was told that piously reciting this prayer releases 1,000 souls from Purgatory.Sprinkle Holy Water on the ground: St. John Macias, a great friend of those in Purgatory, would often sprinkle Holy Water on the ground for the spiritual benefit of the suffering souls. It is a symbol of refreshment and washing, like a spring rain.When passing by a cemetery, pray the short Eternal Rest prayer. This prayer grants poor souls a partial indulgence.Visit a cemetery: Pray over the graves of your departed loved ones, or visit a random graveyard and pray for them. Simply doing this grants a partial indulgence for those in Purgatory.Spread devotion to the Holy Souls: make others aware of the great need of these suffering souls in our prayers.Offer your forgiveness to those who have died who may have offended you during their lifetime – even if it was insignificant or long forgotten. Re-establish peace in this way. You can also ask forgiveness of those who have died whom you may have offended. This is not only for the good of your soul but also to complete and perfect the purification and enlightenment of your loved ones.