Tomorrow, November 2 is All Souls Day, a feast in which we pray for the holy souls in Purgatory. In addition to offering Mass and praying for the souls of the faithful departed, the Church also gives us the opportunity to gain a plenary indulgence for the souls in purgatory.
A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment, so for a person on earth it would be as though they had just been baptized. If they died at that moment they would go straight to heaven. The Church also gives us the opportunity to obtain a plenary indulgence for souls in Purgatory.
Since the faithful departed now being purified are also members of the same communion of saints, one way we can help them is to obtain indulgences for them, so that the temporal punishments due for their sins may be remitted.
Additionally, to gain the plenary indulgence, one must:
– Pray for the intentions of our Holy Father
– Worthily receive Holy Communion (ideally on the same day, or – within several days if that is not possible)
– Go to Confession within about 20 days of the indulgenced work
– Be in a state of grace at the time the indulgenced work is completed
– For a plenary indulgence it is also necessary to have a complete detachment from sin, even venial sin.
Please join us at OLC for Mass at 9:00 AM, 12:00 PM Noon, or 7:00 PM.
