November is also the month when the church prays for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, gifts are given to have Masses said for the dead to ease their way through Purgatory and into Paradise.
The History of the belief in purgatory
While the use of the word “purgatory” (in Latin purgatorium) as a noun may have appeared only between 1160 and 1180, giving rise to the idea of purgatory as a place (what Jacques L
In 2 Maccabees 12:42–45, part of the Catholic scriptural canon but regarded as apocryphal by Protestants, the Catholic church discovered particular Old Testament justification for after-life purification. And, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Christians have always prayed for the dead, a practise that assumes the dead are helped between death and their entrance into their ultimate home. In a note to the 2 Maccabees passage, the New American Bible Revised Edition, which is approved by the Catholic bishops of the United States, says: “This is the first expression of the doctrine that prayers and sacrifices for the deceased are efficacious.” Judas’ purification offering was most likely intended to ward off punishment from the living. The author, on the other hand, uses the story to demonstrate faith in the resurrection of the righteous and the possibility of atonement for the misdeeds of otherwise fine individuals who have died. This idea is related to, but not identical to, the Catholic doctrine of purgatory.”
Shortly before becoming a Roman Catholic, the English scholar John Henry Newman stated that the essence of the doctrine may be discovered from within ancient tradition, and that the core coherence of such ideas proves that Christianity was “delivered to us from heaven.” The Catholic Church’s teaching on purgatory, as articulated by the Second Council of Lyon (1274), the Council of Florence (1438–1445), and the Council of Trent (1545–63), is devoid of the imaginative accretions of popular belief. Purgatory – Wikipedia
That being part of the Official position: – the giving of gifts and the masses said for the dead do help the Body of Christ understand that we are One church and One Body, whether alive, in transition or who have reached our heavenly reward.(The Church Suffering and the Church Militant) Purgatory is not a place, but a state as Heaven also is not a physical place but the realm of God who is incorporeal and a Spirit.
Prayers said during November
The 130th Psalm in Latin – The De Profundis
De profundis clamavi ad te, Domine;
ThoughtCo. (2021, September 3). History and Usage of the De Profundis Psalm 130. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/de-profundis-542782
Domine, exaudi vocem meam. Fiant aures tuæ intendentes
in vocem deprecationis meæ.
Si iniquitates observaveris, Domine, Domine, quis sustinebit?
Quia apud te propitiatio est; et propter legem tuam sustinui te, Domine.
Sustinuit anima mea in verbo ejus:
Speravit anima mea in Domino.
A custodia matutina usque ad noctem, speret Israël in Domino.
Quia apud Dominum misericordia, et copiosa apud eum redemptio.
Et ipse redimet Israël ex omnibus iniquitatibus ejus.
The English Translation
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice.
ThoughtCo. (2021, September 3). History and Usage of the De Profundis Psalm 130. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/de-profundis-542782
Let Your ears be attentive to my voice in supplication.
If You, O Lord, mark iniquities, Lord, who can stand?
But with You is forgiveness, that You may be revered.
I trust in the Lord; my soul trusts in His word.
My soul waits for the Lord more than sentinels wait for the dawn.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn, let Israel wait for the Lord,
For with the Lord is kindness and with Him is plenteous redemption;
And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.
Prayers for the Dead 18 Prayers for the Dead: Catholic & Christian Prayers for Loss – Sympathy Card Messages (sympathymessageideas.com)