Spirit Daily
_________________________________________
Summer Devotions For Purgatorial Souls Is Christmas in July For Them
By Susan Tassone
Alongside the Mass and Holy Rosary, the Way of the Cross is most powerful and at the same time an easily available means of helping the souls in purgatory and acquiring merit for ourselves. Nothing is more pleasing to Our Lord than devout meditation on His bitter sufferings.
Our Lord allegedly told Sister Mary Martha Chambon, “When you offer my holy wounds for sinners, you must not forget to do so for the souls in purgatory, as there are but few who think of their relief.”
The summer months are a time to relax, vacation, and travel. Unfortunately, for the souls languishing in purgatory, there is never time off. They suffer day and night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week! We tend to forget our holy heroes when they need us most desperately. What an ideal time to help them and ourselves.
Our Lady of Medjugorje tells us, “Most souls are released on Christmas Day, not All Souls Day.” So we invited you to give the Holy Souls, “Christmas in July!”
The month of July is dedicated to the Precious Blood. The souls long for the Precious Blood of Jesus. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that “as the dew refreshes and raises up the withering plants and flowers, so does the Blood of Christ revive and comfort and bring renewed hope to the poor souls in purgatory.”
An ancient devotion and an efficacious means of obtaining favors from Heaven is to assist at Holy Mass and pray the Way of the Cross for the holy souls in purgatory for 33 consecutive days in honor of Our Lord’s 33 years on earth. What a marvelous summer devotion in July for the Holy Souls! And in a special way we can offer this practice for the priests and consecrated in purgatory. This Year of the Eucharist is an awesome time to assist them since they brought us the Eucharist day after day.
I know this devotion is potent since I have done it for the past three years. Many favors have been obtained by this means that were not received through the intercession of the Saints. The Holy Souls are extremely powerful especially when you release God’s priests and religious!
The month of August is devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Devotion to Mary Most Holy is a sign of predestination and a most effective means of avoiding purgatory and those souls we help. Pray the Rosary for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
It is written that at the time of Mary’s Assumption, all of purgatory was emptied, and the souls detained there accompanied her in her triumphant entry into Heaven. St. Bernardine of Siena also states that through her prayers and the application of her own merits, the Virgin has the power of freeing souls, especially her devotees, from purgatory. St. Peter Damian attests that every year on the Feast of the Assumption (August 15), the Virgin liberates thousands of souls. What a "Summer Bargain" indeed!