Dear Friends,
The Church has again arrived at a special time of the year devoted by to the holy souls in Purgatory. Holy Mother Church exhorts us during the month of November to increase our prayers and sacrifices for the remission of the residual effects incurred by the faithful departed whose sins have already been pardoned.
St. Augustine taught: “It is not to be doubted that we can aid the souls of the departed by the prayers of the Church, by the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and by the alms which we offer for them.” Holy Mother Church has always taught that prayers for the faithful departed are good, pious and useful, and she has always offered Masses for the deceased.
In order to honor this venerable tradition in providing relief to the suffering souls, the Saint Gregory Purgatorial Society, is accepting names of the deceased. In 2018, the Purgatorial High Mass for those enrolled in the Society will be offered on Tuesday, November 13th at 7:00 p.m. Enrollment of your beloved deceased in the Purgatorial Society is for one year. We ask for a sacrificial offering of $35 for the first name, and $10 for each additional name.
The Enrollment form is here. Please remit your enrollment by November 12.
We will place these names on the altar to be remembered at the commemoratio pro defunctis of every Mass offered at annual Requiem Mass, at each First Friday of the year, and at the 2:00 p.m. Latin Masses on Sundays during November.
In addition to joining us for Mass on November 13th, for the relief of the poor souls in purgatory —especially in a time when caring for the souls has sadly diminished—we encourage you to pray for daily for the deceased during November and visit a cemetery to pray for the deceased some time between November 1st and the 8th, when one may also gain a plenary indulgence for the faithful departed. See a brief outline on how to obtain a plenary indulgence for the Holy Souls in Purgatory on the Saint Gregory website (http://saint-gregory.org).
Finally, I encourage each of you to begin now inviting your friends and family members to participate in this noble effort. Many thanks for your generosity on behalf of the holy souls in purgatory.
Yours faithfully in the Lord,
Nicholas Renouf
Chairman on behalf of the Officers of the Society