Cardinal Levada on All Souls' Day
Today (Tuesday, Nov. 2nd) the Church celebrates the Feast of All Souls
– the souls of the faithful departed. The prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, Cardinal William Levada offered a reflection on the significance of
this annual recurrence:"It seems to me this is a very special time in the annual cycle of the Church’s celebrations: the commemoration of all the faithful departed. It comes one day after the celebration of ogni santi – all the saints that the Lord has called to Himself, and for the rest of us, that’s the great hope: that, after the time of purification, we will all be called to be one with the Lord. So, we very willingly offer our prayers, our Masses, for the faithful departed – it gives us a chance to recall how much we love them, and how much they have loved us, and it’s something not to be missed".
The Church offers a Plenary Indulgence for the souls in purgatory, which is obtainable by all those who, having met the usual requirements, which include sacramental confession, Mass and holy communion, and detachment from all sin, visit a church or an oratory on the 2nd of November and there pray an Our Father and the Creed.
Another Plenary indulgence is obtainable for departed souls by anyone who, having met the requirements, visits a cemetery on any day from the 1st to the 8th of December and offers prayers for the dead. Listen:
| All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©. |