November 2nd is the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, or All Souls Day. The Catechism makes this teaching: “the Church in its pilgrim members, from the earliest days of the Christian religion, has honoured with great respect the memory of the dead; and because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ (2 Maccabees 12) she offers prayers for them.”
Pope Saint Paul VI spoke about the infinite value of the Mass as the most important prayer we have to offer up for the souls in purgatory. He also said we can offer our prayers for their benefit, especially the Rosary, our work, the sufferings of life, and all kinds of difficulties we experience, as well as the indulgences we merit for them during our earthly existence.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (N. 1478) describes how indulgences work: “an indulgence is obtained through the Church who, by virtue of the power of binding and loosing granted her by Christ Jesus, intervenes in favour of individual Christians and opens for them the treasury of the merits of Christ and the saints to obtain from the Father of Mercies the remission of the temple punishments due for their sins. Thus the Church does not want simply to come to the aid of these Christians, but also to spur them to works of devotion penance and charity.”
An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin. The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead. (cf. Catholic Catechism N. 1471)
On the All Souls day, an indulgence for someone who has died can be obtained by doing three things:
1) Participate at Mass and humbly receive Holy Communion.
2) Make a worthy sacramental confession on All Souls Day or a day or two on either side of All Souls.
3) Pray for our Holy Father, Pope Francis (say devoutly an Apostles Creed, Our Father, Hail Mary.)
On Tuesday November 2 the Mass Schedule is as follows: 7:15 AM, 12:10 PM, 3 PM, 5:10 PM and 6:30 PM. The 6:30 PM Mass in in Latin will have Mozart’s Requiem sung by Belli Voci A Capella Ensemble, directed by Paula DeWit.
