Q&A
From the October AD 1998
Our Lady of the Rosary
Parish Bulletin
Indulgences and Prayers for The Souls in
Purgatory
Indulgences
Those devoutly visiting a cemetery from November 1st
through 8th and praying for the faithful departed may gain for them a plenary
indulgence. On other days of the year the indulgence is partial (Enchiridion,
#13)
At any time we may gain a partial indulgence for the Souls
in Purgatory, by reciting the verse, "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace."
(Enchiridion, #46)
Those devoutly visiting a church or an oratory on All
Soul's Day may gain a plenary indulgence for the Souls in Purgatory. The visit
may be made any time after noon on All Saints day and must include the
recitation of the Our Father and the Creed. (Enchiridion, #67)
There are numerous other indulgenced prayers and works,
all of which may be applied to the Souls in Purgatory. For example:
* A visit to the Blessed Sacrament: a partial indulgence; plenary if
the visit lasts a half hour or more. (Enchiridion, #3)
* Recitation of the Angelus (or Regina Cæli during Eastertide):
partial. (Enchiridion, #9)
* Praying five decades of the Rosary: a partial indulgence; plenary if
recited in a church or oratory, or with a family group, religious community, or
pious association. (Enchiridion #48)
* Making the Sign of the Cross: partial. (Enchiridion, #55)
Under current law, no more than one plenary indulgence may
be gained in a day. Normally, partial indulgences may be gained more than once a
day. The "usual conditions" for gaining a plenary indulgence include
Sacramental Confession and Communion, and prayer for the Pope (at least and Our
Father and a Hail Mary) within eight days before or after performing the
indulgenced work. One must be in the state of grace to gain an indulgence for
one's self, but there is probable opinion among theologians that one not in the
state of grace may gain an indulgence for the souls in purgatory.1
Prayers for Each Day of the Week
On Sunday:
O Lord God almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son
Jesus shed in the garden, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and especially that
soul among them all which is most destitute of spiritual aid; and vouchsafe to
bring it to Thy glory, there to praise and bless Thee forever. Amen. Our Father,
Hail Mary, Eternal Rest....
On Monday:
O Lord God almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son
Jesus shed in His cruel scourging, deliver the souls in purgatory, and that soul
especially among them which is nearest to its entrance into Thy glory: that so
it may forthwith begin to praise and bless Thee forever. Amen. Our Father, Hail
Mary, Eternal Rest....
On Tuesday:
O Lord God almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son
Jesus shed in His bitter crowning with thorns, deliver the souls in purgatory,
and particularly that one among them all which would be last to depart out of
those pains, that it may not tarry so long a time before it comes to praise Thee
in Thy glory and bless Thee forever. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary, Eternal
Rest....
On Wednesday:
O Lord God almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son
Jesus shed in the streets of Jerusalem, when He carried the cross upon His
sacred shoulders, deliver the souls in purgatory, especially that soul which is
richest in merit before Thee: that so in the throne of glory which awaits it, it
may magnify Thee and bless Thee forever. Amen. Our Father, Hail Mary, etc.
On Thursday:
O Lord God almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Body and Blood of Thy divine
Son Jesus, which He gave with His own hands upon the eve of His passion to His
beloved apostles as their meat and drink, and which He left to His whole Church
to be a perpetual sacrifice and the life giving food of His won faithful people,
deliver the souls in purgatory, and especially that one which was most devoted
to this mystery of infinite love, that it may with Thy divine Son, and with the
Holy Ghost, ever praise Thee for Thy love therein in eternal glory. Amen. Our
Father, Hail Mary, Eternal Rest....
On Friday
O Lord God almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son shed
on this day on the wood of the cross, especially from His most sacred hands and
feet, deliver the souls in purgatory, and in particular that soul for which I am
most bound to pray: that no neglect of mine may hinder it from praising Thee in
Thy glory and blessing Thee forever. Amen. Our Father, etc.
On Saturday
O Lord God almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Blood which gushed forth from
the side of Thy divine Son Jesus in the sight of and to the extreme pain of His
most Holy Mother, deliver the souls in purgatory, and especially that one among
them that was most devout to her: that it may soon attain unto Thy glory, there
to praise Thee in her and her in Thee, world without end. Amen. Our Father, etc.
NOTE:
1. H. Davis, S.J., Moral and Pastoral Theology (London: 1935)
Vol. III, p. 428;
Bouscaren and Ellis, Canon Law (Milwaukee: 1951) p. 389
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