Twenty-second Day: Alms-giving Affords Great Relief to the Departed
by VP
Posted on Tuesday November 21, 2023 at 11:00PM in Meditations
"Besides prayer and other acts of devotion there are practical good works we can perform for the relief of the suffering souls. Alms-giving is one of the most prominent, for this, being a work of mercy, is especially efficacious in obtaining mercy for the holy souls. Not the rich alone are able to give alms; the poor can do so as well; since it is not the value of the gift, but the good intention with which it is bestowed, that is acceptable in the sight of God. We also shall one day be numbered among the suffering souls, and who is in greater need and poverty than they? The most miserable beggar in this world can at least complain of his wants and ask others to assist him. But the souls in Purgatory cannot do even this, for the instances in which they are permitted to implore aid of the living are exceptional cases and very few are on record. What consolation it will afford us when in our own great time of need, the poor whom we have befriended and comforted upon earth, in company with the holy souls whom we delivered by offering this work of mercy for them, shall come to our assistance by their prayers and supplications! Therefore, says Holy Scripture: "Do good to the friend before thou die; and according to thy ability, stretching out thy hand to give to the poor." (Eccl. XIV. 13.)"
Prayer: Lord, graciously look upon the alms we offer for the redemption of the captive souls in Purgatory. Bestow upon them the full merit thereof that they may be able to discharge their debt; accept, we beseech Thee, this boom of charity, that delivered from debt and penalty Thou mayest lead them into Thy heavenly kingdom. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Prayer for Priests in Purgatory: My Jesus, by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden, in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns, in the Way to Calvary, in Thy Crucifixion and Death, have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory, especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them. I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me, the priests my heart has never forgotten, and for those that I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory. Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure; call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.
Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen
Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of those who upon earth gave alms for the relief of the suffering souls
Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (Three times)
Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!
Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907
