Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests, for Priests in Purgatory, and for Vocations

"If the faithful love Me, if they want to glorify Me as is their duty of love, nothing can be greater for them to do for Me than what they do for My priests, which is as they would have done for Me Myself..."

"The mission of faithful souls lasts, to free priests from that place of purification, to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of my glory. This will be an act of charity for them and a joy that they will give Me."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida ~

Excerpted Introduction from the book Praying for Our Priests:

There can be no more fruitful investment in the life of Holy Mother Church than time spent in prayer for Her priests and vocations to the priesthood. This project had its origin in the early days of 2006 when Monsignor Peter Dunne, recovering from a long and critical illness, experienced a deepening awareness of the need to pray for his brother priests in Purgatory. (emphasis mine)

At the same time, Vicki Herout, his longtime caregiver, spiritual daughter, and coworker in many projects, began to realize in her own prayers an intense and persistent call to pray for the priesthood. Eventually, they brought together a group that has continued to meet regularly to pray for priests. This booklet, initially compiled as an aid to this prayer group, has been adapted for use by individuals as well as small and large groups in a variety of settings.

The meditations on the priesthood that you will read in this booklet came out of the hearts and prayers of the authors – out of the heart of Monsignor Dunne who has loved and lived his priesthood to the fullest for sixty-five years – and out of the many months his coauthor spent praying, meditating and writing before the Blessed Sacrament. These prayers are meant for all to pray – priests, religious and laity – but they are written with the special purpose of providing insights into the life of a priest and into the mystery of the priesthood itself that will awaken and encourage in the laity a desire to pray for priests and for holy vocations.

As this booklet is about to be published, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has announced a special ‘Year for Priests’, emphasizing the centrality of Christ in the “…priestly ministry, without which there would be no Eucharist, no mission, not even the Church.” The Holy Father, in his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations in May, 2009, also stressed that “…prayer for vocations should be continuous and trusting.” Dear readers, just as we believe that there is no more fruitful investment in the life of the Church than prayer for Her priests, so we believe that one of the many fruits of a holy priesthood is vocations. We pray that this booklet will be an aid to those who will answer the Holy Father’s call to prayer – throughout the year and beyond.

~ Excerpted from page 4 of Praying for Our Priests. ~

~ Previous posts on Charity for Faithful Departed Priests ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests.  Amen.

Pope Benedict XVI: Mass for Deceased Cardinals and Bishops

"The great family of the Church finds in these days a time of grace and lives them, in accordance with her vocation, gathered closely around the Lord in prayer and offering his redeeming Sacrifice for the repose of the deceased faithful. Today, we offer it especially for the Cardinals and Bishops who have departed from us in this past year."

"Those who place themselves at the Lord's service and spend their lives in the ecclesial ministry are not exempt from trials; on the contrary, the trials are even more insidious, as the experience of the saints shows."

"... while we thank God for all the benefits that he has bestowed upon our deceased Brothers, let us offer for them the merits of the passion and death of Christ, so that they may fill the gaps due to human frailty."

~  Pope Benedict XVI:  Homily at Mass for Deceased Cardinals and Bishops, 2005 ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests.  Amen.

Jesus Wants Prayers and Suffrages for Deceased Priests

"I do not want to exclude priests who have died.

They also need prayers and suffrages

so that they may return to my arms from purgatory to heaven.

Even there, the mission of faithful souls lasts,

to free priests from that place of purification,

to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of My glory.

This will be an act of charity for them

and a joy they will give Me."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, from To My Priests ~

My Jesus,

by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden,
in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns,
in the Way to Calvary,
in Thy Crucifixion and Death,
have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory,
especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them.
I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me,
the priests my heart has never forgotten,
and those I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory.
Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure;
call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them!
Amen.

O God, Thou didst raise Thy servant, N.,

to the sacred priesthood of Jesus Christ,

according to the Order of Melchisedech,

giving him the sublime power to offer the Eternal Sacrifice,

to bring the Body and Blood of Thy Son Jesus Christ down upon the altar,

and to absolve the sins of men in Thine own Holy Name.

We beseech Thee to reward his faithfulness and to forget his faults,

admitting him speedily into Thy Holy Presence,

there to enjoy forever the recompense of his labors.

This we ask through Jesus Christ Thy Son, our Lord.

Rosary for the Souls of Priests in Purgatory

Rosary for the Souls of Priests in Purgatory
A 6 Decade Rosary

How to Pray the Rosary for the Souls of Priests in Purgatory:
The first five decades are meditations on the Sorrowful Mysteries.

The final decade is a meditation on the Lord's Holy Wounds and Precious Blood.

Preparation Prayers
•Make the Sign of the Cross
•Recite the Apostle's Creed
•Say:
◦One (1) Our Father
◦Three (3) Hail Marys (for the virtues of Faith, Hope, and Charity)
◦One (1) Glory Be

The First Decade
•Meditation: Lord Jesus Christ, through Your bloody sweat of fear that You shed on the Mount of Olives, we ask You to have Mercy on the Souls of Your Priests in Purgatory! Deliver them from their fear and pain and console them with the Cup of Heavenly Comfort!

•For each decade pray:
◦One (1) Our Father {Large Bead}
◦Ten (10) Hail Marys {Small Beads}
•Instead of the Glory Be, conclude with:
◦Lord, grant them Eternal Rest and let Perpetual Light shine upon them!

The Second Decade
•Meditation: Lord Jesus Christ, through Your painful Scourging which You tolerated so patiently for us sinners, we ask You to have Mercy on the Souls of Your Priests in Purgatory! Retract from them the pain of Your Anger and give them Eternal Relief.

The Third Decade
•Meditation: Lord Jesus Christ, through Your painful Crowning which You suffered so patiently for us sinners, we ask You to have Mercy on the Souls of Your Priests in Purgatory and give them the crown of Eternal Delight!

The Fourth Decade
•Meditation: Lord Jesus Christ, through Your painful Carrying of the Cross, which You suffered so patiently for us sinners, we ask You to have Mercy on the Souls of Your Priests in Purgatory! Remove from them the heavy burden of suffering and lead them into Eternal Peace.

The Fifth Decade
•Meditation: Lord Jesus Christ, through Your painful Crucifixion, which You suffered so patiently for us sinners, we ask You to have Mercy on the Souls of Your Priests in Purgatory! Turn Your Holy Face toward them and let them today be in Paradise with You!

The Sixth Decade
•Meditation: Lord Jesus Christ, through your five Holy Wounds and through all of Your Sacred Blood that You shed, we ask You to have Mercy on the Souls of Your Priests in Purgatory, and in particular {Insert the name of the particular priest for whom you are offering this rosary}! Heal their painful wounds and let them enjoy and participate fully in Your Salvation.

Conclusion
•Upon completion, say:
◦The Memorare
◦Hail Holy Queen
◦Prayers for the Intentions of the Holy Father
■One (1) Our Father
■One (1) Hail Mary
■One (1) Glory Be
•Conclude with the Sign of the Cross
Pope John Paul, II - pray for us!

~ Rosary for the Souls of Priests in Purgatory found here. ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Reparation Needed for Priests in Purgatory

"Tell the Father that if he wishes to please St. Michael, he will most earnestly recommend devotion to the souls in Purgatory. People in the world do not think of it. When they have lost their relatives or friends, they say a few prayers, weep for a few days and that is the end of it. The souls are henceforth abandoned. It is true that they merit this, for while they were on earth they neglected the dead. The Divine Judge deals with us in this world according to our actions in the former. Those who have forgotten the holy souls are forgotten in their turn. This is only fair. Perhaps if they had been reminded to pray for the dead and had been told a little about Purgatory, they might have acted differently."

"If only it were given to you to understand with what scorn and indifference Jesus is treated on earth, not only by the world in general, but how he is insulted, mocked and held in derision even by those who ought to love Him. Such indifference is even found among religious communities of men and women, His chosen people, where He ought to be treated as a Friend, a Father, a Spouse. Often He does not even receive the consideration shown to a stranger.

The indifference is also found among the clergy...He is treated as an equal by those who should tremble at the thought of the awful and august mission with which they have been entrusted. The most sacred reality is often treated with coldness and boredom. How many are those who have the interior spirit? I can assure you there are but few. Here in Purgatory the priests who are expiating their indifference and their want of love are numerous. Their culpable negligence must be atoned for...You can judge from this that God who is so good and loving to all His creatures finds few who love and console Him."

The above quotes are taken from An Unpublished Manuscript on Purgatory, revelations of a nun soul in Purgatory to a nun that she had lived with while on earth (chosen by God to aid in her deliverance from Purgatory). The revelation about lack of an interior spirit echoes the message given by Jesus to Blessed Dina Belanger: "Offer to My Father, for My priests, the spirit of prayer of My divine Heart, My spirit of contemplation, the perfect union of My Heart with Him. That is what is lacking in so many of My priests; a spirit of prayer, an intense interior life."

Our Catholic priests accept great responsibilities for God, His Church and for souls. It is only just that we who benefit from their priestly ministry should be charitable to them after their death. According to St. Padre Pio, "...we priests have more responsibilities before God, and when we appear before Him it is with fear and trembling."

To read what Jesus said to Venerable Concepcion about helping priests in Purgatory and for suggestions of ways to help priest souls click here.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Prayer for Priests in Purgatory

My Jesus,

by the sorrows Thou didst suffer in Thine Agony in the Garden,

in Thy Scourging and Crowning with thorns,

in the Way to Calvary,

in Thy Crucifixion and Death,

have mercy on the souls of priests in Purgatory,

especially those most forgotten and who have no one else to pray for them.

I wish to remember all those priests who ministered to me,

the priests my heart has never forgotten,

and those I no longer recall due to my frailty of memory.

Do Thou deliver them from the dire torments they endure;

call them and admit them to Thy most sweet embrace in Paradise.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,

and let perpetual light shine upon them!

Amen.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Priests in Purgatory Wait for Help From Charitable Souls

"These priestly souls, straying and sunken in abominable vices, when they are repentant and saved, they have an incalculable purgatory, and they give Me grief and my Heart of love is moved when seeing them suffer. I am not able according to the laws established by Me, I, WHO CAN DO EVERYTHING, to diminish their purgatory, if the militant Church does not apply my infinite merits to them.

"I have here another pain for my Heart that no one sees, nor knows of it, nor grasps all its extension and it is this: seeing myself as idle, without being able in a certain sense, with the devouring flames of my love, to sweeten their pains, to diminish their time of purification, to draw them out of the flames and to transport them within my Heart to heaven.

"This same justice impedes love; and as I myself am love, mercy and justice, this last attribute comes as a deterrent to love on this point--who would believe it!--I am eager and yearning because souls on earth can do what I am not able to do in heaven.

"This is another secret that I disclose today of the thousands of martyrdoms of love that I bear in my Heart of the Savior God. I struggled with divine and human means--how many times, years upon years!--to save souls of fallen priests, unfaithful to the church, renegades, apostates, schismatics etc. etc.: I succeeded in saving them with my very Blood, with tears from my soul, with pleading groans to the Father, with my infinite merits; and they arise from the world contrite and pardoned.

"Then, when they are in purgatory, alas! now nothing is possible for them to do , but WAIT, wait that there are charitable souls that ransom them, lessen their pain and time."

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, from To My Priests ~

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Indulgences for Faithful Departed Priests

Tomorrow is First Thursday when a special plenary indulgence may be gained for the Year for Priests. For more information on indulgences, check out the links below. Please consider offering any indulgences you might gain for the benefit of priest souls in Purgatory.

St. Margaret Mary Alacoque is quoted as saying:

"When I was praying before the Blessed Sacrament on the feast of Corpus Christi, a person enveloped in fire suddenly stood before me. From the pitiable state the soul was in, I knew it was in Purgatory and I wept bitterly. This soul told me that it was that of a Benedictine who had once head my confession and ordered me to go to Holy Communion. As a reward for this, God permitted him to ask me to help him in his sufferings.

"He asked me to apply to him all I should do or suffer for a period of three months. Having obtained my Superior's leave, I did what he asked. He told me that the greatest cause of his sufferings was that in life he had preferred his own interests to those of God, in that he had been too attached to his good reputation. His second defect was lack of charity to his brethren. The third was his all too natural attachment to creatures.

"It would be difficult to describe what I had to endure during those three months. He never left me and seeing him, as it were on fire and in terrible pain, I could do nothing but groan and weep almost incessantly. My superior, being touched with compassion, told me to do hard penances, particularly to take the discipline...After the three months I saw the soul radiant with happiness, joy, and glory. He was about to enjoy eternal happiness, and in thanking me he said he would protect me when with God."

Special Indulgence for the Year for Priests

All Souls Indulgence--Nov. 1st to 8th

Myths about Indulgences

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Jesus Wants Charity for Priests in Purgatory

In His confidences to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida and written in To My Priests, Jesus revealed that it grieves Him when priests forget to remember their departed brother priests. He said:

"I want that in the memento of the departed at Mass, they put their brother priests in the first place, without ever forgetting them. This is my chosen portion and the joy I experience in receiving a priestly soul in heaven equals and even surpasses greatly the love that I professed for them on earth."

"One more martydom of love. I desire that they apply to them in Masses, like the suffrages, my Blood and my merits; I hope that priests, their brothers, sacrifice me on their behalf; and alas! They forget this chosen portion; these souls continue even in purgatory their state of being favored of my Heart and whom I love, not only on earth but still more in purgatory and heaven.

"What my priests do in their charity of JUSTICE with their brothers, drawing them out of purgatory, THEY DO TO ME..."

"...when a soul of a priest comes from purgatory, my Heart beats with more violence; and I receive them and contemplate them with a gaze of indefinable love, and I make heaven tremble with joy."

"Now they will see if my heart of a God-man will eagerly desire to preserve these souls, caring for them,watching for them, hurling myself into the precipice in which many lie, taking them in my arms and saving them.

"But there I find a DIKE that stops Me in my tracks...and this is purgatory. There is no obstacle to my redemptive nor my saving action but to my JUSTICE; and my agonies of waiting begin and of more waiting, the intimate pains of seing those souls suffer that tend toward Me like steel to a magnet, and that remain here, until the militant Church, that is to say, my priests bring them to heaven directly by personal charity or by that of other souls, paying their debts to the offended Divinity."

"All my pains are caused by love and by the little charity of souls. I am charity, I am love and my sorrows consist in the faults against this charity that ought to be burning on earth, and in priestly souls it ought to inflame the Church.

"In my infinite Wisdom I formed my Church: and do they know of what material? From the substance of love, and in all its fibers, and in all its arteries, and in all its dispositions, they will see love and only love. And consequently, I became man, to unite the divine and the human, and to bring to heaven souls WITHOUT DUST.

"Purgatory itself is Love."

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of his Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Helping Priest Souls in Purgatory

"I do not want to exclude priests who have died.

They also need prayers and suffrages

so that they may return to my arms from purgatory to heaven.

Even there, the mission of faithful souls lasts,

to free priests from that place of purification,

to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of My glory.

This will be an act of charity for them

and a joy they will give Me.

~ Jesus to Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, from To My Priests ~

In the time of St. Bernard, a monk at Clairvaux appeared after his death to his brethren in religion to thank them for having delivered him from Purgatory. On being asked what had contributed most to free him from his torments, he led the inquirer to the church, where a priest was saying Mass. "Look," said he, "this is the means by which my deliverance has been effected; this is the power of God's mercy; this is the salutary sacrifice which takes away the sins of the world." Indeed, so great is the efficacy of this sacrifice to obtain relief for the souls in Purgatory that the application of all the good works which have been performed from the beginning of the world would not afford so much assistance to one of these souls as would be imparted by a single Mass.

~ Fr. Michael Muller, CSSR, from The Blessed Eucharist, Our Greatest Treasure ~

Read more about Masses for faithful departed priests here.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.

Please Help Faithful Departed Priests!

Except for the Blessed Mother's "fiat", which resulted in the Word becoming flesh in her womb through the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:38), there is no greater privilege on earth than to stand in the place of Jesus Christ and repeat the words that change bread and wine into His Body and Blood.

There is also no greater responsibility before God. The men who are chosen by Him to be His priests are responsible for offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, for absolving the repentant of their sins in the name of the Holy Trinity, and for feeding the spiritually needy and hungry with the Bread of Life. During their lives as priests, they are called to be shepherds of souls and are responsible for the salvation of those entrusted to them. St. Padre Pio said, "...we priests have more responsibilities before God, and when we appear before Him it is with fear and trembling."

If all of us will have to give an accounting to God at judgment, including for every idle word (Matt 12:36), imagine what priests, even the holiest, will have to answer for--because the obligations of their vocation are so much greater. They deserve all the spiritual support Catholics can give them during life and after death. In today's world, all priests face many serious spiritual challenges. In his day, St. Alphonsus Liguori said, "For every one demon which attacks a layman, one thousand attack the priest." Can you imagine that the ratio would be any less today?

St. Pio knew more than most people about purgatory and the souls who wait for their release. He obtained permission from his spiritual director to offer himself as victim for sinners and for souls in purgatory. He suffered the wounds of Christ in his own body for fifty years along with countless other sufferings. Despite overflow crowds at his Masses, he said, "More souls of the dead from purgatory than of the living...attend my Masses and seek my prayers."

The existence of purgatory and the need for souls to be perfectly pure before seeing God in the Beatific Vision is a dogma of the Catholic faith. A dogma is something we are expected to believe as Catholics. Unfortunately, many Catholics no longer believe this dogma, or do not take it seriously. At many funerals the faithful departed are unofficially "canonized". It is comforting for the bereaved to believe their loved ones are already enjoying heavenly bliss, but the truth is we do not know if that is the case. The Catholic Church takes very seriously the process of canonization. It is a long, exacting process. St. Pio said, "...we must always pray. If they no longer need prayers, they are applied to other souls."

When priests who have dedicated their lives to God's service depart this world for their eternal home, it is an appropriate tribute and justice that those who have spiritually benefited from their ministry help hasten their entrance into heaven .

In this Year of the Priest, hopefully the faithful departed priests will not be forgotten. Those who value and practice their Catholic faith are indebted to countless priests. (Actually, the whole world is indebted to Catholic priests--but most people are unaware of it because they don't know about or believe in the value of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.)

A fitting and most beneficial offering for faithful departed priests, (who made the Holy Eucharist available for Catholics), is to have Masses offered for their souls. The Gregorian Masses (30 consecutive days) are especially beneficial because they provide Masses quickly for the relief of the soul of one priest--they could be an offering of one person, a few, or several.

+++++++

When Masses are not readily available in parishes, a good place to send for Masses--single. triduum (3), novena (9), or Gregorian (30 consecutive) is http://www.spiritualtreaury.org/ . The Masses will be offered by missionary priests--your donation helps the departed soul or souls, helps provide for the temporal needs of the missionary priests, helps make their evangelization and ministry possible, and benefits the people they are able to minister to because of donations. As if that weren't enough, God will bless you for your generosity!

+++++++

Following is a list of other possible offerings for faithful departed priests (for all priests, a particular priest, or a specific group of priests)--make the intention before the offering:

Attending Mass and offering your Mass and Holy Communion

Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament

Offering the Precious Blood of Jesus--the St. Gertrude prayer or in your own words

Offering the Holy Rosary and other prayers

Offering of indulgenced prayers, including the indulgence--there are special indulgences for the Year of the Priest (see Annus Sacerdotalis link).

Offering alms, fasting, mortifications, good works, joys, sufferings

Offering any short prayer in your own words--a lifting up of your mind and heart to God on their behalf

+++++++

To help faithful departed priests is an act of mercy, and most Christians know what Jesus said about mercy--"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." (Matt. 5:7). Every soul's day will come to be judged by God. Hopefully, others will be merciful to us when we are in need and unable to help ourselves, the exact situation in which the souls in purgatory find themselves. Like St. Pio said, "...we must always pray."

Only God knows how many priest souls are in purgatory and dependent on our generosity. To Venerable Concepcion Cabrera de Armida, Conchita, Jesus said:

"...I am not able according to the laws established by Me, I WHO CAN DO EVERYTHING, to diminish their purgatory, if the militant Church does not apply my infinite merits to them."

"...I am eager and yearning because souls on earth are able to do what I am not able to do in heaven."

"The mission of faithful souls lasts, to free priests from that place of purification, to gain for Me the joy of seeing them finally in the bosom of my glory. This will be an act of charity for them and a joy that they will give Me."

Knowing that helping His priests who are in purgatory makes Jesus happy should be enough reason for anyone who loves Him to offer up what they can to hasten their release from purgatory and entrance into heaven.

Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ, Eternal High Priest, Mother of all priests, and our Mother, help us respond generously to the Holy Spirit's request, through the voice of His Church, to offer up to God Eucharistic adoration for priests. Amen.