All of November, we pray for the souls of those in Purgatory, which is everyone who isn’t already a saint, not dead, or didn’t accept God’s friendship in this lifetime at the moment of judgment. We participate in offering each soul God’s mercy by our prayers, by our acting as intercessors, practicing what the saints, both known and known only to God, do for us.
Preparing for mass on November 1st, I thought of all those family members I’ve loved who have died. A list began to form. It expanded to those in my husband’s family, to friends, to past teachers, classmates,college professors, and people who I do not know if they are living or dead, but I would long to meet again one day in Heaven. I thought of friends and colleagues who had lost people dear to them in the past year, and the names of their mothers, brothers, spouses and friends they’d lost. Those names belonged on the list too.
I thought of all the names I don’t know, the names I’ve forgotten. Praying for living and the dead is a spiritual act of mercy. As such, it would be a good discipline for all of the Church militant (that’s us), to make a list in addition to putting people’s names in the book at the Church. Asking others we encounter, if there is someone we could pray for, would also be part of the process. The list would grow as the month progressed, becoming our own personal litany of people for whom we would pray. We would gather names and discover stories and it would knit the present –strengthening the friendships and family connections with the past and with the future.
These are the souls we would encounter should we be so graced as to enter into the communion of saints. These are the people we would spend eternity singing for joy with, as we shared the delight of being in God’s presence and knowing, we had all of eternity to sing God’s praise. It’s a way also to connect our present family, to a past that they may not know, but which has shaped who we are by their lives. The stories we share in the midst of these prayers are a treasure themselves. In the midst of calling to mind each of the people we’ve known and loved that matter and praying, we help a generation that does not know these souls, to know the stories that reveal to them, why we loved these people.
It would make all of November a gift, and a season of thanksgiving and we would receive a cornicopia of graces, overflowing.
Let us get to the work of making friends in Heaven by praying while we’re here.
Need help getting started?
1) Go to confession.
2) Receive communion.
3) Pray for the petitions of the Pope for this month —
November
For anyone who has lost a child
We pray that all parents who mourn the loss of a son or daughter find support in their community and receive peace and consolation from the Holy Spirit.
4) A partial indulgence can be obtained by devoutly visiting a cemetery and praying for the departed, even if the prayer is only mental. There are a few cemeteries that have car paths, allowing one to “visit” even if you stay in the car.
5) Praying the rosary or the chaplet is a good way to remember all the people you’ve lost in your life.
6) Going to adoration, you can ask for the souls in purgatory to join you in adoring Jesus face to face. 
7) Tell your children to do so as well, so that some day, they will remember your names in the book at the parish, and on their lips and heart even if only for a moment in November.
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