Why You Should Pray for the Souls of the Dead - 6 things to SHARE about All Souls and How to Gain an Indulgence for Souls in Purgatory

The month of November is dedicated to the souls in purgatory. People are encouraged to pray for the dead and obtain indulgences for them through prayer or works of mercy. The Catholic Church teaches that an indulgence is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "By a plenary indulgence is meant the remission of the entire temporal punishment due to sin so that no further expiation is required in Purgatory. A partial indulgence commutes only a certain portion of the penalty; and this portion is determined in accordance with the penitential discipline of the early Church." The Vatican extended normal Plenary Indulgences for the souls in purgatory for the whole month of November.

Indulgences for the Poor Souls

Current regulations:

I On All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2) a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted to those who visit any parish church or public oratory and there recite one Our Father and one Credo.

II On all the days from November I though November 8 inclusive, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted to those who visit a cemetery and pray even if only mentally for the departed.

(Due to the "covid-19" pandemic, the plenary indulgences for the deceased faithful will be extended for the entire month of November)

The elderly, the sick and all those who for serious reasons cannot leave the house, for example due to restrictions imposed by the competent authority for the time of a pandemic, in order to prevent numerous faithful crowding into sacred places, will be able to achieve Plenary indulgence provided that, spiritually uniting with all the other faithful, completely detached from sin and with the intention of complying as soon as possible with the three usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Holy Father), in front of an image of Jesus or of the Blessed Virgin Mary, recite pious prayers for the deceased, for example Lauds and Vespers of the Office of the Dead, the Marian Rosary, the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, other prayers for the deceased dearest to the faithful, or entertain themselves in the meditated reading of one of the Gospel passages proposed by the liturgy of the dead, or perform a work of mercy by offering pain and discomfort to God of one's life. 

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6 Conditions Necessary for obtaining both indulgences:

1. Only one plenary indulgence can be granted per day.

2. It is necessary to be in the state of grace, at least by completion of the work.

3. Freedom from attachment to sin, even venial sin, is necessary; otherwise the indulgence is only partial. (By this is meant attachment to a particular sin, not sin in general.)

4. Holy Communion must be received each time the indulgence is sought.

5. Prayers must he recited for the intentions of the Holy Father on each day the indulgence is sought. (No particular prayers are prescribed. One Our Father and one Hail Mary suffice, or other suitable prayers.

6. A sacramental concession must he made within a week of completion of the prescribed work. (One confession made during the week, made with the intention of gaining all the indulgences, suffices.)

Short Prayer of Saint Gertrude the Great for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

A prayer which would release many souls from Purgatory each time it is recited.

O 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, for those in my own home and for those within my family. Amen.

The Chaplet(Rosary) of the Holy Souls

This can be prayed on a set of normal Rosary beads.

Sign of the Cross.

The Apostle's Creed

Our Father (x1)

Hail Marys (x3)

Glory be (x1)

On the large beads, pray: "O Holy Souls draw the fire of God's Love into my soul, to reveal Jesus crucified in me here on earth, rather than hereafter in Purgatory."

On the small beads, pray: "Crucified Lord Jesus, have mercy on the souls in Purgatory."

When completed all (5) Five decades, pray Glory be (x3).