SAN DIEGO — In November, the Catholic Church reflects in a special way on those who have passed from this life to the next.
What is All Saints’ Day?
Everyone in Heaven is a saint. The Church has officially declared, through canonization, that certain individuals are saints. But it acknowledges that there are many others whose names we won’t know until we (hopefully) arrive there ourselves. The Solemnity of All Saints, observed on Nov. 1, celebrates all of them, even those without their own feast days.
Is it a holy day of obligation?
Yes. However, in the United States, the obligation to attend Mass is dispensed when it falls on a Saturday or Monday. This year, it’s a Sunday, which is already a holy day of obligation.
Are any local parishes named after All Saints’ Day?
Yes, All Hallows Parish in La Jolla. “Hallow” is an Old English word for “saint.”
What is All Souls’ Day?
Also known as the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, its focus is the souls in Purgatory. Observed on Nov. 2, it is not a holy day of obligation.
Our souls are bound to spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell. But many of those destined for Heaven aren’t ready to go there immediately. Still “imperfectly purified,” they must spend time in Purgatory, “so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraph 1030).
But my loved ones are already in Heaven, right?
At many funerals, it’s commonplace to hear that the deceased is “looking down on us from Heaven.” But considering the many shortcomings that even the best of us have, is it so hard to imagine that your loved one might require some purification after death?
While it’s beyond your authority to declare your loved one a saint, you can shorten their time in Purgatory and lessen their suffering there by praying for the repose of their souls.
How can we help the holy souls in Purgatory?
Obviously, one of the most fruitful ways is to have Masses celebrated for them.
There is even a tradition of celebrating “Gregorian Masses,” so named because of an association with the sixth-century Pope St. Gregory the Great. Gregorian Masses are actually a series of 30 Masses offered once a day on consecutive days for the same deceased person. The diocesan Office for the Missions and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association are among the organizations that accept requests for them.
What about indulgences?
“Every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the ‘temporal punishment’ of sin” (Catechism, Paragraph 1472).
An indulgence, as defined by the Catechism, is “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven” (Paragraph 1471). That remission can be either partial or plenary, depending on whether it removes some or all temporal punishment, and it can be gained for oneself or for a soul in Purgatory.
The list of indulgenced prayers, including many familiar ones, can be found in the “Manual of Indulgences,” viewable online at holyjoe.org/indulgences/Indulgences_1999.pdf. (Certain conditions are required for a plenary indulgence, including confession, receiving Communion, and praying for the intentions of the pope, all within 20 days of performing the indulgenced work. The work also must be performed “in a spirit that is completely detached from the affection for a sin, even a venial sin.”)
Are any indulgences tied explicitly to November?
Yes, the “Manual of Indulgences” says that a plenary indulgence, “applicable only to the souls in Purgatory,” is granted to those who “on any and each day from Nov. 1 to 8,” visit a cemetery and pray for the departed. Another plenary indulgence is available to those who, on All Souls’ Day, visit a church or oratory and recite an Our Father and the Creed.
Are there other prayers for the souls in Purgatory?
Though no indulgence is attached to it, you might consider the Prayer of St. Gertrude, named after the 13th-century nun to whom it is attributed:
Eternal Father, I offer you the Most Precious Blood of your Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
