For Catholics, November is a special month during which we remember those who have gone before us. We celebrated the first day of November with All Saints Day when we remembered all the saints, known and unknown, to us who now share the glory of heaven. The second day of November, All Souls Day, is when we remember all who have gone before us, who have the hope of heaven, but are not quite there yet. Where are these souls who have not risen to heaven and have not fallen into hell? They find themselves in a place the Church calls purgatory.
Being held in purgatory does not call into question God’s love, but rather the state of one’s soul. No sin of any sort: lust, envy, jealousy, etc. is allowed to catch a ride into heaven on the soul of the faithful departed. The place of cleansing for the departed soul is purgatory; it is where all sin is purged away.
The souls who are in purgatory going through a purification process benefit from our prayers. Our prayers express our communion with them and our desire that they be admitted into heaven. The most common prayers we use are the Holy Rosary and the Sacred Eucharist. It is a spiritual work of mercy to pray for the dead and thus we too benefit by this act of charity.
During this month of November, let us pray for all those people who have died. Most especially we pray for those who died without fully purifying their lives and who left us without being completely reconciled with God or one another.
Sincerely,
Rev. Miguel Gonza lez
Ser retenido en el purgatorio no cuestiona el amor de Dios, sino el es-tado de su alma. Ningu n pecado de ningu n tipo: la lujuria, la envidia, los celos, etc., pueden tomar un paseo al cielo en el alma de los fieles difuntos. El lugar de limpieza para el alma difunta es el purgatorio; es donde todo el pecado es purgado.
Las almas que esta n en el purgatorio pasando por un proceso de purificación se benefician de nuestras oraciones. Nuestras oraciones expresan nuestra comunio n con ellos y nuestro deseo de que sean admitidos en el cielo. Las oraciones más comunes que usamos son el Santo Rosario y la Sagrada Eucaristía. Es una obra espiritual de misericordia rezar por los muertos y, por lo tanto, también nos beneficiamos con este acto de caridad.
Durante este mes de noviembre, recemos por todas las personas que han fallecido. Ma s especialmente, oramos por aquellos que murieron sin purificar completamente sus vidas y que nos dejaron sin reconci-liarnos por completo con Dios o con los demâs.
Sinceramente,
Rev. Miguel González