Our Bishop offered the Requiem Mass for three homeless persons who were found dead on the streets, and gave their unclaimed bodies a dignified burial in the Cathedral.

Mother Teresa said that poverty was not only hunger and want, but also the spiritual misery of being unloved and uncared for. We were made in the dignity of God’s image and made for communion. How awful it is to see our brothers and sisters suffer loneliness. The love of Christ compels us to do corporal and spiritual works of mercy: sharing in the sufferings of the poor, praying for the deceased, and ensuring Christian burial for their bodies, etc. As we observe All Souls’ Month, let us not forget to bring love to the Poor Souls in Purgatory who need our prayers.

In his homily, the Bishop told the story of a dying priest who asked that his memorial not be a celebration of his life but a prayer for his immortal soul. We must grapple with the reality of the necessity of sanctification and the sufferings of Purgatory. The Bishop highlighted the power of the Mass for the purification of faithfully departed souls, for the Mass offers the infinite merits of Christ’s Eucharistic Sacrifice. Let us remember to pray for the souls of those who are destitute. Like Lazarus in the parable, may they dwell in the glory of heaven and the bosom of Abraham. 

Say this prayer every day along with a Hail Mary for a poor soul for whom no one is praying for:

*Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with all the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy soul in purgatory, for sinners in the universal Church, for sinners everywhere, those in my home and within my family. Amen.