Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory
When praying for the departed, we usually pray for the ones we love. But, as Christians, we also have a duty to pray for the deceased whose souls are waiting in the purgatory to finally join the Lord. In 2008, as he celebrated All Souls’ Day, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us of why it is so important to pray for the souls in purgatory: “Christian hope is not solely individual, it is also always a hope for others. Our lives are profoundly linked, one to the other, and the good and the bad that each of us does always affects others too. Hence, the prayer of a pilgrim soul in the world can help another soul that is being purified after death.”
Jesus Christ Himself explained the power of reciting prayers for the Souls of the departed in His apparitions to St. Bridget of Sweden and St. Faustina.
Prayer for the Suffering Souls in Purgatory (Laguentibus in Purgatorio)
“The suffering souls in Purgatory,
Who are being purified in excessive heat,
And are tormented by severe punishment,
Assist them, in your compassion, O Mary!
You are the open-wide fount who wash away the faults of men.
All you help, rejecting none:
Extend your hand to the Dead,
Who in pain languish continually, O Mary!
To you the souls of the Dead lovingly sigh,
Desiring to be rescued from pain
And to stand in your sight,
To possess eternal joys, O Mary!
As they groan, hasten, Mother;
In mercy, show them your heart.
May Jesus through His wounds
Be pleased to heal them: ask this, O Mary!
You are true hope to them that call upon you.
The Holy Souls Sodality cry to you for their brethren.
Appease your Son, that in Heaven
He may give them their reward, O Mary!
Grant that the tears we shed at the feet of the Judge,
And which you regard with kindness,
May soon extinguish the avenging flames,
That the Holy Souls may join the choirs of Angels, O Mary!
And when the strict accounting takes place
In the terrible and awesome Judgment of God,
As He judges us, supplicate your Son,
That with the Saints may be our portion, O Mary!”
Prayer to the Precious Blood of Jesus by St. Gertrude
“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family.
Amen.”
Other Prayers to Release Souls from Purgatory
When Jesus Christ appeared to St. Faustina, he asked her to write down the Divine Mercy Novena. It is a prayer to Merciful Jesus, recited for nine successive days: during the novena, you are invited to pray for all the souls, especially on the 8th day, when you pray for the souls in purgatory.
In His apparition to St. Bridget, Jesus dictated 15 prayers to honor the Wounds He sustained during His Passion. By reciting those prayers, He promised, you can release 15 souls from purgatory, convert 15 sinners, and confirm and preserve 15 souls.
Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory with Hozana
Hozana lets you join a wide variety of prayer communities to practice daily prayer. Pray for the departed souls on Hozana by joining
