JULY IS MONTH WHEN PRECIOUS BLOOD IS INVOKED FOR ABANDONED SOULS, PRIESTS IN PURGATORY

From http://www.spiritdaily.com/tassonejune2011.htm

By Susan Tassone

"No one is more dead than a dead priest because no one prays for him!"

The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood of Jesus. Let us offer a great part of our Masses, Stations, Rosaries, Indulgences, and chaplet for the priests in purgatory and for these abandoned souls.
An ancient devotion is to offer these suffrages for 33 consecutive days for the most abandoned souls in purgatory in honor of Our Lord's 33 years on earth. I have received enormous graces with this powerful devotion. Be their liberators. They long for the door of heaven to be opened.

There is a great shortage of priests. We do not know whether we will have the privilege of having a priest at our side at the hour of our death. Pray for our deceased priests in purgatory. Beg them to intercede to grant the grace of final repentance for you and your whole family and all future generations until the end of time and in exchange you will pray for them. At the hour of your death, you will be surrounded by all the priests for whom you opened the door to Heaven.

In turn, they will escort you to the heavenly banquet.

The more we pray for the holy souls in purgatory the more effective their intercession is for us.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#953) confirms: "Our prayers for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective."

THE HEROIC ACT FOR THE POOR SOULS

A decree of the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences dated December 18, 1885, and confirmed the following day by Leo XIII, says:
The Heroic Act of Charity in favor of the souls detained in purgatory consists in this, that a member of the Church militant (Christifidelis), either using a set formula or simply by an act of his will, offers to God for the souls in purgatory all the satisfactory works which he will perform during his lifetime, and also all the suffrages which may accrue to him after his death. Many Christians devoted to the Blessed Vrgin Mary, acting on the advice of the Theatine Regular Cleric Father Gaspar Olider, of blessed memory, make it a practice to deposit the said merits and suffrages as it were into the hands of the Blessed Virgin that she may distribute these favors to the souls in purgatory according to her own merciful pleasure. Olider lived at the beginning of the eighteenth century.
The Heroic Act is often called a vow, yet it partakes more of the nature of an offering made to God and to Mary, and it is also, unlike a vow, revocable at will. This point has been decided by the S.C. Indulg., Feb. 20, 1907, in answer to a question from Chicoutimi in Canada. A special vow "never to revoke the Act" would probably be binding, because its subject matter is an act of the personal will of which man can freely dispose, whereas he has not the disposal of his satisfactory works in favor of the departed; that depends on God; for man it is only a matter of pious desire, and only in this sense a votum. It always remains doubtful to what extent God accepts the oblation, and it is certain that the holy souls altogether lack the power of accepting it. The practice of the Heroic Act is based on the communion of saints, in virtue of which the good deeds of one member of Christ's body benefit all other members. Its meritoriousness results from the more intense charity (love of God and His suffering friends) which inspires it, and on which the intrinsic perfection of all our good deeds depends. Its heroicity arises from the willingness it involves to take upon one's self the dreadful pains of purgatory for the love of one's neighbor, although there remains the reasonable hope that God in His goodness, and the sainted souls in their gratitude, will not allow the punishment to be exacted to the full.
The Heroic Act has been enriched with numerous indulgences by Benedict XIII (1728), Pius VI (1788), and Pius IX (1852). Priests who make it receive the personal privilege of gaining a plenary indulgence for a soul of their choice each time they say Mass. Laymen gain a similar indulgence each time they receive Holy Communion, also each Monday they hear Mass for the departed; in both cases the usual conditions are required.

Words to a formal Act of Heroic Charity are as follows:
O Holy and Adorable Trinity, desiring to aid in the relief and release of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, through my devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, I cede and renounce, on behalf of these souls, all the satisfactory part of my works, and all the suffrages which may be given to me after my death. In their entirety, I offer them to Mary, the Most Holy Mother of God, that she may use them, according to her good pleasure, for those souls of the faithful departed whom she desires to alleviate their suffering. O my God, deign to accept and bless my offering which I make to Thee through the most august Queen of Heaven and Earth. Amen.

Evidence of Purgatory

From http://www.spiritdaily.com/purgchurch.htm

Does purgatory exist? (Of course).
Is it really painful? (For some).
Is there actually fire?
There is -- according to a new, powerful, and fascinating book that takes us across the spectrum of that "middle territory" known as "Gehinnom," with a special section on precisely that: the indications that in the afterlife is a place of purgation where something is felt akin to earthly blaze, leaving even burnt marks as testimony.
Put that in the category of "phenomena":
According to the book, Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory, by Gerard J. M. Van Den Aardweg, there are numerous cases in which the deceased have appeared in flames that wrap around them and have left scorched objects -- as evidenced at the famed Marian shrine of Czestochowa in Poland and at a mysterious small museum in Rome dedicated to purgatory.
There is skepticism until one reads detailed cases with a consistency that has spanned several centuries. For example, there was the fiery imprint of a forefinger on the pillow of a nun, Sister Margherita of the Sacred Heart, at the monastery of St. Clare in Bastia, Italy. "This print," writes Van Den Aardweg, a psychotherapist, "was left on the night of June 5, 1894, when the deceased Sister Maria of St. Luigi Gonzaga appeared to Sister Margherita. According to the account of the event, the deceased, who had been a pious nun, appeared dressed as a Poor Clare sister, surrounded by shadows but recognizable. To the surprise of Sister Margherita, she explained that she was in purgatory to expiate for her bouts of impatience, her not accepting God's Will [during a long illness]."
There was a woman named Marguérite in Metz, France whose mother-in-law is said to have appeared to her and imprinted scorched fingerprints on a page in Imitation of Christ where it says, "Truly I labor in the sweat of my face, my heart is tormented by grief, I am laden with sin... and no one can liberate and save me, but You, my Savior."
There was Louise Sénèchal, who died on May 7, 1873 and allegedly left a burn mark on a night cap [below, left] in order to substantiate her need for Masses. The Mass is often a request from those on the other side! For your consideration!
Before we go much further, it's important to know that souls from purgatory long have said despite the sufferings, they would never return to the blindness of earth.
"The thought of purgatory is productive rather of consolation than of terror," said St. Francis of Sales, a doctor of the Church and an expert on the subject. "Great as the torments of purgatory are, the interior consolations granted there are nevertheless so ineffable that no earthly bliss and enjoyment can equal them."
Moreover, the flames may be symbolic in some cases or at the lowest levels of purgatory, which also has places that are more misty than ablaze. Nearest Heaven, purgatory begins to resemble paradise. But suffering -- burning ones, apparently -- there are. Is it really a "burning" in the physical sense, or a way of transmitting an idea of expiation?
For besides forgiveness, there must be penance for every sin (the stain of sin must be "burned" away), and as John Paul II once said, "every trace of attachment to evil must be eliminated, every imperfection of the soul corrected."
The nightcap, scorched pages, and other pieces of evidence are on display at the Church of the Sacred Heart of Suffrage along the Tiber near the Vatican. Indeed, the Sacred Heart is especially invoked for purgatorial souls, we learn -- as is Mary's Immaculate one.
In the church, reports Dr. Van Den Aardweg, is the collection known as the Piccolo Museo del Purgatorio (Little Museum of Purgatory). "These physical objects with evident burn marks are carefully examined, and humanly speaking it must be excluded that they are fakes, first because they are attested to by honest and reliable witnesses and authenticated by various diocesan authorities after critical examination, and second, due to the nature of the evidence itself," says the researcher. "It is virtually impossible in most cases artificially to produce burn traces or marks such as those we encounter here in prayer books or tissues."
Interestingly enough, reports Dr. Van Den Aardweg (who is from Holland and active in the pro-life movement), in November of 1897 the altar in a chapel where the church was later erected there was a fire. "Many people who were present thought they discerned through the flames, on the left side of the altar, the face of an anguished person," he writes. "Whether it was truly an apparition of a soul from purgatory, one can still see the distorted features of this face on the wall, which was conserved when the chapel was demolished and the present church completed in 1917."
This starts to make images claimed in other objects take on a bit more meaning. Most startling of all may be the Czestochowa phenomenon. This occurred when a deceased priest reputedly burned his fiery hand print into an altar corporale (the fine linen used in the Mass to cover the chalice) during the 19th century. "Two clerics of the monastery (Pauline Order) had promised one another many years ago that the one who would die first would give the other one a sign from the beyond," says the author. "This was what the other one was thinking about, when one day he just had finished Holy Mass and, as usual, was folding together the corporale before him, in nine folds. The evil doubt went through his head that perhaps there would be no survival after death at all. "At that moment, a hand appears, lays itself on the corporale, and immediately disappears again." What will the modern Pharisees and Sadducees say about all this -- documented by a scientists?
The point: there seems to be a fire in purgatory, as in hell, but in purgatory the soul is headed to Heaven; fire as with gold purifies. A mystery this is: why suffering is so effective at expiation. Van Den Aardweg marshals the facts in what may be the most compelling book on purgatory since the famed Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory (revelations from a deceased nun, who also spoke of fire). This book is not just about fire. But it is an intriguing aspect. There was the woman in 1922 in the Saarland (Germany) who saw a priest surrounded by fire. There was the daughter near Luxembourg whose father left a burn mark of his hand (in a prayer book and on a handkerchief). As we will see, souls often show themselves in a way that represents their sins (and their purification). "Do you then suffer much?" a mystic once asked a soul who appeared to her (this was the princess, Eugenie von der Leyen). "Look at me!" was the soul's reply. Then she was as if flooded with flames.
[resources: Hungry Souls: Supernatural Visits, Messages, and Warnings from Purgatory, The Amazing Secrets of Purgatory, After Life, and Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory]

Litany for the Holy Souls

O Jesus, Thou suffered and died that all mankind might be saved and brought to eternal happiness. Hear our pleas for further mercy on the souls of:

My dear parents and grandparents, My Jesus Mercy
My brothers and sisters and other near relatives, My Jesus Mercy
My godparents and sponsors of Confirmation, My Jesus Mercy
My spiritual and temporal benefactors, etc.
My friends and neighbors,
All for whom love or duty bids me pray,
Those who have suffered disadvantage or harm through me,
Those whose release is near at hand,
Those who desire most to be united to Thee,
Those who endure the greatest sufferings,
Those whose release is most remote,
Those who are least remembered
Those who are most deserving on account of their services to the Church,
The rich, who are now the most destitute,
The mighty, who are now powerless,
The once spiritually blind, who now see their folly
The frivolous, who spent their time in idleness,
The poor who did not seek the treasures of heaven,
The tepid who devoted little time to prayer,
The indolent who neglected to perform good works,
Those of little faith, who neglected the frequent reception of the Sacraments,
The habitual sinners, who owe their salvation to a miracle of grace,
Parents who failed to watch over their children,
Superiors who were not solicitous for the salvation of those entrusted to them,
Those who strove for worldly riches and pleasures,
The worldly minded, who failed to use their wealth and talent for the service of God,
Those who witnessed the death of others, but would not think of their own,
Those who did not provide for the life hereafter,
Those whose sentence is severe because of the great things entrusted to them,
The popes, kings, and rulers,
The bishops and their counselors,
My teachers and spiritual advisors,
The priests and religious of the Catholics Church,
The defenders of the Holy Faith,
Those who died on the battlefield,
Those who fought for their country,
Those who were buried in the sea,
Those who died of apoplexy,
Those who died of heart attacks,
Those who suffered and died of cancer,
Those who died suddenly in accidents,
Those who died without the last rites of the Church,
Those who shall die within the next twenty-four hours,
My own poor soul when I shall have to appear before Thy judgment seat,

PRAYER

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them: For evermore with Thy Saints, because Thou art gracious.

P. The Lord be with you.
S. And with thy spirit.

May the prayer of Thy suppliant people, we beseech Thee, O Lord, benefit the souls of Thy departed servants and handmaids: that Thou mayest both deliver them from all their sins, and make them to be partakers of Thy redemption. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine on them. Amen.

May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

November is the month for Holy Souls

From http://www.communityofhopeinc.org

Novena for the Poor Souls

(Prayers from the Raccolta, 594-595)

Prayer to be said every day of the Novena

V. O Lord, hear my prayer;
R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful, grant unto the souls of Thy servants and handmaids the remission of all their sins, that through our devout supplications they may obtain the pardon they have always desired, Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
Eternal rest, etc.

Sunday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in the Garden, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and especially that one which is the most forsaken of all, and bring it into Thy glory, where it may praise and bles Thee forever. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Eternal rest, etc.

Monday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in His cruel scourging, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and among them all, especially that soul which is nearest to its entrance into Thy glory, that it may soon begin to praise Thee and bless Thee forever. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Eternal rest, etc.

Tuesday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Blood of Thy divine Son Jesus that was shed in His bitter crowning with thorns, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and among them all, particulary that soul which is in the greatest need of our prayers, in order that it may not long be delayed in praising Thee in Thy glory and blessing Thee forever. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Eternal rest, etc.

Wednesday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Blood of Thy divine Son Jesus that was shed in the streets of Jerusalem, whilst He carried on His sacred shoulders the heavy burden of the Cross, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and especially that one which is richest in merits in Thy sight, so that, having attained the high place in glory to which it is destined, it may praise Thee triumphantly and bless Thee forever. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Eternal rest, etc.

Thursday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Body and Blood of Thy divine Son Jesus, which He Himself, on the night before His Passion, gave as meat and drink to His beloved Apostles and bequeathed to His holy Church to be the perpetual Sacrifice and life-giving nourishment of His faithful people, deliver the souls in Purgatory, but most of all, that soul which was most devoted to this Mystery of infinite love, in order that it may praise Thee therefore, together with Thy divine Son and the Holy ghost in thy glory forever. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Eternal rest, etc.

Friday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Blood which Jesus Thy divine Son did shed this day upon the tree of the Cross, especially from His sacred hands and feet, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and particularly that soul for whom I am most bound to pray, in order that I may not be the cause which hinders Thee from admitting it quickly to the possession of Thy glory, where it may praise Thee and bless Thee forevermore. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Eternal rest, etc.

Saturday

O Lord God Almighty, I beseech Thee by the Precious Blood which gushed forth from the sacred side of Thy divine Son Jesus in the presence of and to the great sorrow of His most holy Mother, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and among them all, especially that soul which has been most devout to this noble Lady, that it may come quickly into Thy glory, there to praise Thee in her, and her in Thee, through all the ages. Amen.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be. Eternal rest, etc.