November is the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory

Holy Mother Church dedicates the month of November to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, commemorating all her faithful children who have departed from this life, but have not yet attained the joys of heaven. The Church always has taught us to pray and sacrifice for the souls in Purgatory, helping them when they can no longer relieve their own suffering. Let us remember, too, that when they are finally released from their pains and experience the joys of Heaven, these souls, now prostrate before the Throne of God, never cease to pray for those who helped them. The most efficacious prayer for the souls, of course, is that of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, followed by the daily Rosary.

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 However, many other prayers are available for this purpose, including one given to St. Gertrude the Great by our Lord. The Prayer of St. Gertrude, given below, is one of the most famous of the prayers for the souls in purgatory. According to tradition, our Lord promised St. Gertrude that 1000 souls would be released from purgatory each time this prayer is said devoutly. Although we cannot be sure if our prayers are privileged to the same effects as St. Gertrude, through our devout recitation of this prayer, the suffering souls still receive benefits. If our prayers, however, do gain the same level of God’s amazing mercy for the poor souls as St. Gertrude’s prayers, how magnificent it would be! Just think…each time you recite this prayer devoutly, God would release one thousand souls from their suffering and bring them to heaven with Him. During this month of November, let us rise to the challenge to come to the aid of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, reciting the Prayer of St. Gertrude five, ten, or even fifteen times a day. What a wonderful goal: to free 15,000 souls from Purgatory each day!

Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy 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.
--St. Gertrude the Great