" Dread the torments suffered by the souls in Purgatory, and have compassion on them. Succor them by your prayers and deliver them by your good works" St. Albert the Great.

Miniatures Lives of the Saints, for Every Day in the Year, Volume 1; Volumes 28-146 1883

Holy Church teaches us that the state of grace is necessary to perform good works acceptable to God and of merit to the souls in Purgatory. There are some good works, the value of which does not depend upon the spiritual condition of the one who offers them. A person who may be, unfortunately, in the state of mortal sin, can have Masses said for the faithful departed. He himself will acquire no merit, thereby, but the suffering souls will derive the full benefit of the Holy Sacrifice. In all other good works offered for them, the state of sanctifying grace is requisite.

"He that abideth in Me," says Christ, "and I in him, the same beareth much fruit, for, without Me you can do nothing." If, then, we are incapable of gaining merit for ourselves, how can we bestow any upon others? St. Francis Xavier says: "Before being intent upon delivering souls from Purgatory, take heed to redeem our own souls from Hell!" and here we may add the word of the Lord spoken by His prophet: "Wash yourselves, be clean, take away the evil of your device from my eyes: cease to do perversely." (Isaiah I. 16)

Prayer: Grant us the grace, O Lord, to avoid sin at all times, and confirm us in Thy charity, that, by Thy bounty, our supplications for the suffering souls may be acceptable to Thee and beneficial to them. Through Christ Our Lord. 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 for those that 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.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of those who were careful never to lose the grace of God.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)

Practice: Make an act of perfect contrition.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907

Martyrdom of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych by Józef Simmler  (1823–1868)

• The Relics of St Josaphat in the Vatican

"The life of St. Josaphat is a lesson for all time. The two truths which he was charged by our Divine Lord to proclaim, and which he was to seal with his blood: the supremacy of the Roman Pontiff and the unity of the Church, are denied in our own day by the same sectaries, and all who maintain them assailed by the same fiendish cruelty." The Dublin Review, Part 1 page 46. 1877

"Stir up, O Lord, we beseech thee, in thy Church the Spirit wherewith the blessed Josephat thy Martyr and Pontiff was filled."  Thus prays our Mother, today, and the Gospel likewise points to the desire of obtaining pastors like to thee, O holy Bishop! The sacred text speaks of the false shepherd, who flees at first sight of the wolf; but the Homily, which explains it in the Night Office, brands equally with the title of hireling the keeper who, though he does not flee, suffers the enemy un-resisted to work havoc in the fold. May the divine Shepherd, whom thou didst imitate unto the end, even unto laying down thy life for the sheep, live again in all those whom he calls, like Peter, to exercise a greater love." The Liturgical Year: Passiontide and holy week, 3d edition. 1901 Abbot Prosper Gueranger OSB

"ST. JOSAPHAT was born in Volhynia, a province of Poland, of noble and virtuous parents who brought him up in lively sentiments of piety. During his childhood he was much affected at the thought of the sufferings which Jesus Christ had endured for the love of men, and one day when his mother was discoursing about our Lord's Passion, a dart issuing from the side of Jesus, as represented in a neighboring crucifix, transfixed his heart.

From that moment he felt himself powerfully inflamed with the fire of Divine Love, and gave himself up with such fervor to prayer and works of charity as to excite the wonder and admiration of all who beheld him. When he had reached the age of twenty, Josaphat received the religious habit in a convent of Basilian monks, where he practiced the most severe austerities and made rapid progress in virtue. His great reputation for sanctity and learning caused him to be raised to the office of Superior, and afterwards to the higher dignity of Archimandrite or Abbot. Finally, in spite of his earnest opposition, he was elected and consecrated Archbishop of Poloczk.

Invested with this new dignity, Josaphat continued the same humble and penitential way of life which he had followed within the walls of his monastery. Perfectly detached from earthly things, he devoted the whole of the revenue of his See to works of charity and the service of the Church. At the same time he gave himself up with unremitting assiduity to the care of his flock, whom he earnestly strove to preserve from the inroads of schism and heresy. Never was there to be found a more devoted champion of the rights and privileges of the Holy See, which he strenuously defended against the heretics both by his sermons and writings. Almighty God blessed his efforts with great success, and he was the means of bringing back innumerable souls to the unity of the Faith. His success in this respect drew upon him the hatred of certain fiery zealots, who conspired to effect his death; nor was their design hidden from our Saint, who in a public sermon forewarned the people of his approaching departure. Meanwhile he hastened to complete the visitation of his flock, that death might find him faithfully employed in the service of his Master and with his accounts made ready.

Having completed their preparation, the conspirators took occasion of the Archbishop's visit to Vitepsk in the course of his ministration, to carry their plot into execution. Rushing tumultuously to the Archiepiscopal residence, they entered with drawn swords, striking and slaying whomsoever they met. Josaphat immediately went forth to meet them. "My children," said he, "why do you slay my friends? Behold if you have anything against me, here I am." At these words, they rushed upon him, loaded him with blows, pierced him with their daggers, and finally struck off his head with an axe. His blessed body was cast into the neighboring river, but being discovered by a miraculous light, was taken out and interred with great solemnity and veneration. St. Josaphat accomplished his glorious martyrdom on November 12, A.D. 1623, being then in the forty-third year of his age."  Short lives of the saints, for every day in the year, Volume 3 By Rev. Henry Gibson 1897

"Honor thy father, and forget not the groaning of thy mother. Remember that thou hadst not been born but through them, and make a return to them; as they have done for thee." (Eccl. VII. 29-30) Next to God, our parents are our greatest benefactors, entitled to most tender love and gratitude, which is the sacred duty of every child. This duty does not end with this life; it is extended even to eternity. Should our departed parents find no relief in their pains? Must they cry out in bitter anguish: "I have reared sons and daughters, but they have forgotten me?"

If we compassionate the misery of strangers, if we do not heartlessly send a beggar from our doors, oh, let us remember how near and dear father and mother are to us, and how greatly we are indebted to them. After their death, we owe them prayers, alms, good works, and Masses. They cry out to us for mercy. Would it not be the lowest degree of ingratitude were we to forget those who bestowed their best love and care upon us in life? The commandment of God, "Honor thy father and thy mother," is an obligation also towards our deceased parents.

Prayer: O God, Who hast commanded us to honor father and mother, look in loving kindness upon the souls of my father and mother, and forgive them their trespasses and grant unto my the joy of being re-united to them in the glorious light of everlasting life. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord. 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 for those that 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.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of parents who have been forgotten by their children.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)

Practice: Mortify yourself by an act of obedience

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907

Mother Cabrini and Pope leo XIII

"I will have no peace until I have wrested every last child from Protestant hands."

"We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend on material success; nor on sciences that cloud the intellect. Neither does it depend on arms and human industries but on Jesus alone." Mother Cabrini

Prayer: Almighty and Eternal Father, Giver of all Gifts, show us Thy mercy, and grant, we beseech Thee, through the merits of Thy faithful Servant, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, that all who invoke her intercession may obtain what they desire according to the good pleasure of Thy Holy Will...(here name your request).

O Lord Jesus Christ, Savior of the world, mindful of Thy bountiful goodness and love, deign, we implore Thee, through the tender devotion of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini for Thy Sacred Heart, to hear our prayers and grant our petitions.

O God, the Holy Ghost, Comforter of the afflicted, Fountain of Light and Truth, through the ardent zeal of Thy humble handmaid, Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, grant us Thy all powerful aid in our necessities, sanctify our souls and fill our minds with Divine Light that we may see the Holy Will of God in all things.

Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, beloved spouse of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, intercede for us that the favor we now ask may be granted.

Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory, etc. (Three times)

Imprimatur: Samuel Cardinal Stritch, Archbishop of Chicago, 1943

• Sanctuary of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini

• These Splendid Sisters: Mother Cabrini An Apostle of the Italians by JAMES J. WALSH, 1926
  

" Frances Xavier Cabrini was born at St. Angelo on July 15, 1850. A few hours after her birth, a flock of white doves alighted in the courtyard, in which her father had spread the grain to dry. Fearing that the doves might damage the grain, he drove them away, but vainly so. They returned again and again-it was a happy omen!
When seven, she was confirmed, and at ten she received first holy Communion. As a child, she was so modest and amiable that she was named "the little Saint." She liked to play with dolls dressed as Nuns, whom she ruled as a little abbess, and making small paper boats, she would fill them with violets, and placing them on the water, she imagined she was sending Missionaries to pagan lands.

She received her early education from her Sister Rose, a licensed teacher. When thirteen, she entered the school of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart in Arluno, and at eighteen, having succeeded brilliantly in her studies, was granted a normal school certificate. Then she went home, losing her parents through death in the following years.

At that time Don Bassano Dede, parish priest of St. Angelo, needed aid in his pastoral work. Frances gladly helped him, teaching Christian doctrine to the children, visiting the sick and helping the poor. Later she taught school in a nearby town. All this time she felt strongly drawn to the Religious life and performed many acts of self-denial. Thus she slept on two boards in place of a mattress. Several times she applied for admission to different Religious Communities, but in vain.

Some time later when asked to supervise an orphanage in Cadogno, she at first refused, because she still hoped to become a Religious. Finally, she consented to try it for fifteen days. Those fifteen days became six years, and in 1880, she was still directing this work, surrounded by a group of young women, who also were desirous of dedicating themselves to the Missions.

That same year, the Bishop of Lodi commissioned her to found a Missionary Institute. Frances and her companions took over an ancient Franciscan Convent, and a few days later, Holy Mass was celebrated and Holy Communion was distributed to the new community. Then an Academy was opened, which was soon filled to capacity. Then Frances was elected Mother General of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. The Community grew and new houses sprang up quickly, among them two in the Papal City, Rome. On March 12, 1888 the Holy See approved the Institute of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.

One day, Bishop Scalabrini, the founder of the Missionaries of Emigration, told her of the difficulties and misery of Italian emigrants in America, and suggested that Frances establish her Community in New York. Blessed Cabrini did not immediately act on this suggestion. But when in an audience, Pope Leo XIII said to her, "Not to the East, but to the West. Go to the United States," Blessed Cabrini no longer hesitated.

She landed in America on March 31, 1889, and immediately set to work, a work that lasted until her death. For the Italian children she erected schools, kindergartens, orphanages, hospitals and free dispensaries. She became active in all kinds of social welfare work.

In 37 years she erected 67 houses in Europe and America. At her death, her Community numbered five hundred Sisters, there were five thousand children in her schools, orphanages, etc. Her hospitals took care of almost one hundred thousand sick.

Blessed Cabrini died in Chicago on December 22, 1917, at the age of 67. On November 13, 1938, she was declared "Blessed" by Pope Pius XI. Her relics are preserved in the Chapel of the Cabrini High School, Chicago."  Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints: edited by Rev. Fr.  John Gilmary Shea 1925

"Besides the general duty imposed upon us by the divine law of charity, there is a special obligation incumbent upon every one to assist particular souls. This duty devolves upon us in consequence of the personal relations with such souls during their earthly career; for whatever be the condition of man in life, he will have among the souls departed, who may be suffering in Purgatory, some to whom he is indebted for particular favors and benefits.

But what could more forcibly elicit our charity and gratitude than to behold our loved ones and our benefactors in extreme distress, while we have the means of alleviating their suffering! That person does not possess a spark of Christian charity, who, from neglect or indolence, suffers the souls of his friends to be tormented in the flames of Purgatory."

Prayer: Revive, O Lord, within the hearts of Thy faithful an active commiseration for the brethren gone before us, that they may not, by our indifference or neglect, suffer without relief and assistance. Through Christ Our Lord. 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 for those that 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.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of those who are neglected by their relatives and friends.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)

Practice: Bestow alms for the relief of the suffering souls.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907

16. We adore Thee, O most watchful Advocate! And to make reparation for the many negligences of those who have any authority in the Church, to correct the abuses and irreverences there committed against Thee, we offer up to Thee the exact attention and careful solicitude of holy bishops and prelates. Eternal praise and thanksgiving be to the Most Holy and Most Divine Sacrament.

O Queen of heaven and earth, hope of mankind, who adores thy Divine Son incessantly! We entreat thee, that, since we have the honor to be of the number of thy children, thou would interest thyself in our behalf and make satisfaction for us, and in our name, to our Eternal Judge, by rendering to Him the duties which we ourselves are incapable of performing. Amen.

CAPG

"In Regard to pompous displays for the departed, St. Augustine says: "Costly funerals and expensive displays may afford the living some consolation, but are of no benefit to the departed." He adds, however: "Let care be bestowed upon funerals and the erection of monuments: for Holy Writ reckons these among good works. Let all perform these last services for their departed, and hereby relieve their own sorrow; but let them show greater zeal, care, and generosity in succoring the souls of the departed, by Masses, prayers and alms, and thus give evidence not only of a temporal, but also a spiritual love for those who are departed in body only, but not in spirit. According to a rule of the Church, flowers should be used at funerals of children only; circumstances may at times justify a deviation from this rule, but, at all events, it is unpardonable if the expense connected with this display deprives the soul departed of any spiritual assistance."

Prayer: We beseech Thee, O Lord, by Thy infinite mercy, do not despise our prayers in behalf of the souls in Purgatory, but grant them the peace and consolation we desire for them. Through Christ Our Lord. 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 for those that 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.

Pope Saint Pius X and Saint John Vianney, pray for us and especially for our priests. Amen

Special Intercession: Pray for the souls of those who were remembered by a pompous funeral only, and have no relief in their pain.

Lord grant them eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen. (three times)

Practice: Accompany the funeral of a poor person, at the first opportunity.

Invocation: My Jesus, mercy!

Source: Manual of the Purgatorian Society, Redemptorist Fathers. 1907