When I was a kid, my brother came home from Catholic summer camp singing a dirge that went like this: “Pray for the dead and the dead will pray for you; seems like they have nothing else to do.” 

It was meant to be funny, but we took it seriously and began praying for relief and liberation of the Holy Souls in Purgatory every night before we went to bed. My father’s devotion to the Holy Souls would manifest in the famous phrase: “Offer it up,” if we had any sickness, disappointment or sacrifice to make.

November is traditionally the “Month of the Holy Souls.” I hope that collectively Catholics have not downplayed the necessity of interceding for them, particularly having the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered for them. Unfortunately, funerals today sound like mini-canonizations, when they should be loving but sober commendations of the departed soul to the mercy of God. 

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The trend goes along with the “We’re All Good People” fad. Yes, as Genesis states, God created humanity good, but through our own free will, we are also all sinners. When they called Jesus “good,” He countered with “only God is good,” meaning truly good, the source of all good, Goodness itself. To be in the presence of an all-holy God, we must be all-holy. Purgatory is that state and place of purgation or purification to make whatever has tarnished the image of God in us shine brightly again. It’s almost cruel to act as though the people we loved in life were so good that they “don’t need prayers.” If we really love them and didn’t fail to pray for them in this life, we’ll redouble our prayers for them in the afterlife.

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We call people in Purgatory “holy” because they are saved, but in need of more sanctification. One mystic who received visits from the Holy Souls said that “they are happy to be where they are because it is certain they are going to Heaven. None of them would ever choose to return to earth because they see it as a place of darkness [and uncertainty] where you can lose your soul.” But make no mistake, even though Purgatory is the green room of Heaven, the sufferings of Purgatory are intense. Some have described them as similar to Hell except that they will eventually come to an end and are in view of an eternity of bliss with God.

The more I read and learn about Purgatory, the more I don’t want to go there. Indulgences are looking more and more desirable. I recently listened online to an elderly Irish priest from Glendalough (home of St. Kevin), and he was relating how it grieves God when we’re content to “go to Purgatory first.” Don’t we want to be with Him right away? Then Father exclaimed: “It’s a sin to want to go to Purgatory first!” 

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He gave his listeners (including me) great hope by the following train of thought. “God is very merciful. Let us take advantage of His mercy on this earth by telling Him we don’t want to go to Purgatory. Yes, there is still reparation owed for even the sins that were forgiven in Confession, but what if we did that reparation on earth? What if we began living our life today—with the help of God—so as to avoid Purgatory all together? What if we took striving for holiness seriously, starting now?”

The ditty my brother learned at camp is true. The Holy Souls will help us if we help them. They can no longer gain merits and help themselves, so they rely entirely upon our charity. I was talking with one of my Sisters recently and she said: “Just think: once someone is dead for about fifty years, those that knew them are also dead, and so no one is praying for them on earth any more. We have to pray for all these forgotten souls.” When we nuns drive by a cemetery, one of us will always intone: “Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.”  The Bible says: “It’s a wholesome thought to pray for the dead.” Our generosity will not go unrewarded by these grateful brothers and sisters…or God.