Holy Souls Rosary Beads? All Answers

According to tradition, Our Lord said St. Gertrude the Great that every time she devoutly recited the following prayer, the suffering of these holy souls in purgatory would be greatly relieved:

Eternal Father, I offer You the Most Precious Blood of Your Divine Son Jesus, in union with the Masses celebrated throughout the world today, for all holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, the in my own home and in my family. Amen.

Saint Gertrude the Great was a 13th-century German nun, writer, and mystic adorned with many heavenly visions, including one of the earliest mystics encouraging Jesus’ devotion to his Sacred Heart. It is reported that as a result of her faithful and frequent reciting of this prayer, Jesus showed her a large number of souls who came to heaven from purgatory.

However, we should note that while this prayer has long been part of our Catholic tradition, it is not officially condoned. This means that the Holy See has stated that we should reject all claims that reciting prayer will release a certain number of souls from purgatory. Nonetheless, the Church has always encouraged fervent prayer for those suffering in purgatory, because our prayers help alleviate their suffering.

So our response should be to simply pray fervently and let God take care of the details!

You can easily memorize this popular prayer and recite it anytime you wish to commemorate the departed believers in your family and friends. Try to add it after each rosary decade, especially in November! The Church devotes the entire month of November to prayer for the Holy Souls; her special feast day is November 2, All Souls’ Day.

Do you know enough about the Holy Souls?

What happens to a soul after death? What Does the Church Teach About Purgatory? Find these beautiful teachings and more in The Four Last Things: A Soul’s Journey series. What about unseen things – ghosts, angels, demons and more? There are clear answers. Find them in our Angels and the Supernatural series.

The rosary is often used as a guide to other Catholic prayers. These prayers relate to challenges or celebrations in the life of a person praying the rosary or on behalf of another for whom the prayers are being said.

The history of the rosary in Catholicism can be traced back to the time of Saint Dominic in southern France in the early 13th century. It is said that St. Dominic was shown a string of pearls by the Virgin Mary and instructed to preach the rosary among his people to fight against sin. From that time on, the rosary then slowly spread throughout Catholicism, with Pope Leo XIII. officially attributed the beginnings of the Rosary to Saint Dominic. Eastern Orthodox Chotki

Eastern and Orthodox Catholics use a prayer rope or string of beads called chotki (Russian) or komboskini (Greek). Originally there was a woolen rope tied with 33, 50 or 100 knots and ended in either a cross or a tassel. For each knot or bead the Jesus prayer was recited. This prayer rope tradition appears to have originated among the early monks of the faith.

Religious belief of Christianity, primarily Catholicism

“Purification after death” redirects here. For the practice observed by various cultures of cleansing the bodies of the recently deceased, see Last Offices

Purgatory (Latin: Purgatory, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French)[1] is according to the belief of some Christians (mostly Catholics) an intermediate state after physical death for atonement.[2] The process of purgatory is the ultimate purification of the elect, entirely different from the punishment of the damned.[3] Tradition, with reference to certain scriptures, sees the process as a cleansing fire. Some forms of Western Christianity, particularly within Protestantism, deny its existence. Other streams of Western Christianity see purgatory[4] as a place that may be filled with fire. Some concepts of Gehenna in Judaism are similar to those of purgatory.

The word “purgatory” has come to refer to a wide range of historical and modern notions of postmortem suffering on the verge of eternal damnation.[5] English speakers also use the word in a non-specific sense to mean any place or state of suffering or distress, especially those that are temporary.[6]

The Catholic Church holds that “all who die in God’s grace and friendship but are imperfectly cleansed” undergo a process of cleansing which the Church calls purgatory “to attain the holiness necessary to enter the enter into the joy of heaven”. Catholicism also bases its teaching on the practice of praying for the dead, which has been in use in the Church since the beginning of the Church and is mentioned in the Deuterocanonical book of 2 Maccabees 12:46.[7]

According to Jacques Le Goff, the concept of purgatory as a physical place arose in western Europe towards the end of the 12th century.[8] Le Goff explains that the concept involves the idea of ​​a purgatory, which he says is “atoning and purifying and not punitive like the fires of hell”.[9] At the Second Council of Lyons in 1274, when the Catholic Church first defined its doctrine on purgatory, the Eastern Orthodox Church did not adopt that doctrine. The Council did not mention purgatory as a third place or as containing fire[10] which is also absent from the declarations of the Councils of Florence (1431-1449) and Trent (1545-1563).[11] Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. have explained that the term does not designate a place but a condition of existence.[12][13]

The Church of England, mother church of the Anglican Communion, officially denounces what it calls “the Roman doctrine concerning purgatory,”[14] but maintains the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and elements of the Anglican, Lutheran, and Methodist traditions that for some there is purification after death and that the dead are prayed for.[15][16][17][18][19] The Reformed Churches teach that the dead are freed from their sins through the process of glorification.[20] Rabbinic Judaism also believes in the possibility of purification after death, and may even use the word “purgatory” to describe the similar rabbinic concept of Gehenna, although Gehenna is also sometimes described [by whom?] as more akin to Hell or Hades becomes. 21]

History of Faith[edit]

Image of a non-fiery purgatory (Gustave Doré: Illustration to Dante’s Purgatorio, Canto 24).

While the use of the word “purgatorium” (Latin purgatorium, a place of purification, from the verb purgo, “to purify, to purify”[22]) as a noun appeared perhaps only between 1160 and 1180, leading to the idea of ​​purgatory as a place [23] (what Jacques Le Goff called the “birth” of purgatory),[8] the Roman Catholic tradition of purgatory as a transitional state has a history dating back even before Jesus Christ to the worldwide practice of caring for the dead and praying for them and the belief, also found in Judaism, which is considered the forerunner of Christianity, that praying for the dead contributes to their purification after death. The same practice appears in other traditions as well, such as the medieval Chinese Buddhist practice of making offerings on behalf of the dead, who are said to suffer numerous trials.[5]

The Catholic Church found specific Old Testament support for post-mortem purification in 2 Maccabees 12:42–45,[24] part of the Catholic biblical canon but considered apocryphal by Protestants. [25] [26] [5] And according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the prayer for the dead was adopted by Christians from the beginning[27], a practice which implies that the dead should pray between death and moving into their final abode is helped.[5] The New American Bible Revised Edition, authorized by the Catholic Bishops of the United States, says in a note on 2 Maccabees: “This is the earliest doctrinal statement that prayer and sacrifice are operative for the dead. Judas probably intended his cleansing sacrifice to ward off punishment for the living. However, the author uses the story to demonstrate belief in the resurrection of the righteous and in the possibility of atonement for the sins of otherwise good people who have died. This belief is similar to, but not quite the same as, the Catholic doctrine of purgatory.”[28]

Over the centuries, theologians and others have developed theories, devised descriptions, and created legends that have contributed to the formation of a popular conception of purgatory that is far more detailed and elaborate than the fairly minimal elements that have been officially proclaimed as part of authentic doctrine the church.

Shortly before becoming a Roman Catholic,[29] the English scholar John Henry Newman argued that the essence of the doctrine was to be found in the ancient tradition and that the core consistency of such beliefs was evidence that Christianity “brought us originally from heaven was given. .[30] The teaching of the Catholic Church on purgatory, as defined in the Second Council of Lyons (1274), the Council of Florence (1438–1445) and the Council of Trent (1545–63), [5] [31] is without the imaginative additions of the popular notion of purgatory.

Christianity [edit]

Some Christians, typically Catholics, recognize the doctrine of purgatory, while many Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches would not use the same terminology, the former based on their own Sola Scriptura doctrine combined with their exclusion of 2 Maccabees from the Protestant canon of the Bible , the latter for their rejection of the term “purgatory”, although they acknowledge an intermediate state after death and before the Last Judgment; It is for this reason that the Eastern Orthodox offer prayers for the dead.

Catholicism[ edit ]

The Catholic Church calls what it calls the post-mortem purification of “all who die in God’s grace and friendship but are imperfectly purified,” purgatory. [32] Although purgatory is presented in popular imagination as a place rather than a process of purification, the idea of ​​purgatory as a physical place with time is not part of the Church’s teaching.[12] Fire, Another Important Element of Purgatory Popular fantasy is also missing from the teachings of the Catholic Church.

The purgatory of Catholic doctrine[edit]

At the Second Council of Lyons in 1274, the Catholic Church first defined its teaching on purgatory in two terms:

some souls are purified after death; such souls benefit from the prayers and pious duties performed for them by the living.

The Council stated:

[I]If they die truly repentant in charity, before having satisfied by worthy fruits of penance for (sins) committed and not committed, their souls are purified after death by penalties of purgatory or purgatory, as Brother John has explained to us. And in order to mitigate such punishments, these benefit from the offerings of the living believers, namely, the offerings of masses, prayers, almsgiving, and other duties of piety, which have been customarily performed by the believers for the other believers, according to the ordinances of the Church.[ 33]

A century and a half later, the Council of Florence reiterated the same two points in virtually the same words, again excluding certain elements of the purgatory of popular imagination, notably fire and place, which representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church opposed at the Council:[34] [The Council] also stipulated that if those who are truly penitent have departed in the love of God before satisfying themselves with the worthy fruits of penance for sins committed and omitted, their souls will be purified after death by the punishments of purgatory will; and in order to free them from such punishments they benefit from the voting rights of the living believers, namely, the sacrifices of Mass, prayers, and almsgiving and other works of piety, which are ordinarily performed by the believers for other believers according to the institutions of the Church.[35]

The Council of Trent reiterated the same two points and, moreover, in its Decree on Purgatory of December 4, 1563, recommended avoiding speculation and irrelevant questions:

Ever since the Catholic Church, taught by the Holy Spirit, in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and the ancient Tradition of the Fathers, has taught in Holy Councils and most recently in this Ecumenical Synod that there is purgatory and that souls are confined there by the right to vote of the faithful, and especially through the acceptable sacrifice of the altar, the holy synod commands the bishops to insist that the sound doctrine of purgatory, transmitted by the holy fathers and holy councils, be believed by the faithful of Christ, nurtured, taught, and preached everywhere.

But the more difficult and subtle “questions” which do not lead to “edification” (cf. 1Tm 1:4), and from which very often no increase in piety arises, are to be excluded from popular discourses on the uneducated. Likewise, they must not allow matters that are unsafe or have the appearance of being a lie to be raised and discussed publicly. On the other hand, those things which tend to a certain curiosity or superstition, or smell of filthy gain, let the believer ban them as scandals and stumbling blocks.[36]

Catholic teaching on purgatory is presented as consisting of the same two points in the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, first published in 2005, which is a dialogical summary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It deals with purgatory in the following exchange:[37]

210. What is purgatory? Purgatory is the state of those who die in God’s friendship, assured of their eternal salvation, but who still need purification to enter into the happiness of heaven. 211. How can we help souls being purified in purgatory? Thanks to the communion of saints, the faithful who are still on pilgrimage on earth can help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers for them, especially the Eucharistic Sacrifice. They also help them through alms, indulgences, and penance.

These two questions and answers summarize information from sections 1030-1032[38] and 1054[39] of the Catechism of the Catholic Church published in 1992, which also speaks of purgatory in sections 1472-1473.[40]

Role in relation to sin[ edit ]

According to the teaching of the Catholic Church, those who die imperfectly purified in God’s grace and friendship, though assured of their eternal salvation, undergo purification after death in order to attain the holiness necessary to enter into the joy of God .[ 41]

Unless “redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness,” mortal sin, the object of which is mortal matter, and also committed with full knowledge and conscious consent, “brings exclusion from the kingdom of Christ and eternal death to hell, for ours Freedom has the power to make choices forever, without turning back.”[42] Such sin “disqualifies us from eternal life, the deprivation of which is called the ‘eternal penalty’ of sin”.[43]

Although venial sin does not deprive the sinner of friendship with God or the eternal happiness of heaven,[44] “it weakens charity, reveals a disordered affection for created goods, and hinders the progress of the soul in the practice of virtues and pursuits the morally good; it deserves temporal punishment”,[44] because “every sin, even venial, involves an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth or after death in the state of purgatory. This cleansing frees one from what is called the ‘temporary punishment’ of sin”.[43]

“These two punishments are not to be construed as a form of external vengeance imposed by God, but as a consequence of the very nature of sin. A conversion that springs from fervent love can thus achieve the complete cleansing of the sinner that no penalty would remain.”[43]

This cleansing of our sinful tendencies has been compared to the rehabilitation of someone who needs cleansing of any addiction, a gradual and probably painful process. It can be fostered throughout life through voluntary self-mortification and penance, and through acts of generosity that show love of God rather than of creatures. If not completed before death, it may still be necessary to enter the divine presence.[45] Saint Catherine of Genoa said: “As for Paradise, God did not put up doors there. If you want to enter, do so. An all-merciful God stands there with open arms, waiting to take us into his glory. I also see, however, that the Divine Presence is so pure and luminous – much more than we can imagine – that the soul, having even the slightest imperfection, would rather plunge into a thousand hells than do so before the Divine Presence to appear.”[46]

A person seeking purification from sinful tendencies is not alone. Because of the communion of saints: “The holiness of one benefits another, far beyond the harm that sin could do to another. Thus, resorting to the communion of saints allows the penitent sinner to be more quickly and effectively cleansed of the penalties of sin”.[47] The Catholic Church declares that by granting indulgences for expressions of devotion, penance and charity by the living “Opens the treasury of the merits of Christ and of the saints, to obtain from the Father of mercies forgiveness of the temporal punishments due for their sins”.[48]

Speculations and ideas about purgatory

Some Catholic saints and theologians sometimes had conflicting ideas about purgatory that went beyond those accepted by the Catholic Church and reflected or contributed to the popular image, which involves the idea of ​​purification by actual fire in a specific place and for a precise length of time . Paul J. Griffiths notes: “Recent Catholic thought on purgatory typically preserves the essentials of the basic doctrine while offering speculative, second-hand interpretations of these elements.”[49] As Joseph Ratzinger wrote: “Purgatory is not, as Tertullian suggested, a kind of transcendental concentration camp in which man is forced to be punished in a more or less arbitrary way, but it is the inner necessary process of change in which a man finds himself capable of Christ, capable of God and thus capable of unity with the whole community of the saints”.[50]

The speculations and popular notions that were common in the Western or Latin Church, particularly in the late Middle Ages, have not necessarily found acceptance in the Eastern Catholic Churches, 23 of which are in full communion with the Pope. Some have explicitly rejected the notions of punishment by fire at a specific location, dominant in the popular image of purgatory. The representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church at the Council of Florence argued against these notions but stated that they believe that after death there is a purification of the souls of the saved and that these are sustained by the prayers of the living: “If Souls who depart from this life in faith and charity, but stained with some defilements, whether they have unrepented small or great repentance, but have not yet borne the fruits of penance, we believe that within reason of be cleansed of these faults, but not by some purifying fire and special punishments in any place.”[51] The definition of purgatory adopted by this council excluded and mentioned the two terms with which the orthodox disagreed only the two points, which they said were also part of their faith.Accordingly, the agreement known as the Union of Brest states men formalizing the acceptance of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church: “We will not debate purgatory, but we trust the teaching of the Holy Church”.[52]

fire [edit]

Fire occupies an important place in the popular image of purgatory and has been the subject of speculation by theologians, speculation to which the article on purgatory in the Catholic Encyclopedia refers, the Council of Trent’s warning of “difficult and subtle questions which do not tend to edification.”[53]

Fire was never included in the Catholic Church’s defined teaching on purgatory, but speculation about it is traditional. “The Tradition of the Church speaks of a cleansing fire, with reference to certain Scriptures.”[54] The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers in this connection to two New Testament passages in particular: “If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer harm, although he himself saved, but only as by fire”[55] and “that the tested authenticity of your faith – more precious than gold, which perishes when tested by fire – may be found as a result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ”.[56] Catholic theologians have also quoted verses such as: “I will put this third into the fire and refine it as silver is refined, and try it as gold is tried. They will call my name and I will answer them. I will say ‘You are my people’; and they will say: ‘The Lord is my God'”,[57] a verse which the Jewish school of Shammai applied to God’s judgment of those who are neither wholly righteous nor wholly wicked.[58][59]

The use of the image of a cleansing fire dates back to Origen, who, with reference to 1 Corinthians 3:10–15, is taken to refer to a process by which the dross of lighter transgressions will be burned and thus the soul, purified, will be saved ,[53][60] wrote: “Suppose you build on the ground that Christ Jesus taught, not just gold, silver, and precious stones – if you actually have gold and a lot of silver or little – Suppose you have silver , gems, but I’m not just saying these elements, but supposing you have wood and hay and stubble too, what will he become of you after your final departure? wood and with your hay and your stubble, that you may defile the kingdom of God? But you want to be left in the fire again for the hay, the wood, the stubble, and get nothing that is your due for the gold and the silver and the jewels? That’s not reasonable. So what? It follows that you receive the fire first because of the wood and the hay and the stubble. For for those who can discern, our God shall really be a consuming fire.”[61] Origen also speaks of a ennobling fire that melts away the lead of evil deeds, leaving only pure gold.[62]

St. Augustine tentatively put the idea of ​​purgatory after death to some Christian believers: “69. It is not incredible that such a thing should happen after this life, whether or not it is the subject of fruitful investigation. It can be discovered or hidden whether some of the believers will sooner or later be saved through a kind of purgatory, according as they have loved the goods that perish and according to their attachment to them.”[63]

Gregory the Great also argued for the existence of a Purgatorius Ignis (a purifying fire) before judgment to remove minor defects (wood, hay, stubble) rather than mortal sins (iron, bronze, lead).[64] Pope St. Gregory in the Dialogues quotes the words of Christ (in Mat 12:32) to establish purgatory: “Yet we must believe that before the Day of Judgment there is a fire in purgatory for certain petty sins: because our Savior says that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.” (Matthew 12:32) From this sentence we learn that some sins are forgiven in this world, and one others can be forgiven in the next: for what is denied as to one sin is consequently understood as granted as to another.”[65]

Gregory of Nyssa spoke several times of purification by fire after death,[66] but he generally has apokatastasis in mind.[67]

Medieval theologians accepted the association of purgatory with fire. Thus, the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas considered it probable that purgatory was close to hell, so that the same fire that tormented the damned purged righteous souls in purgatory.[68]

Ideas about the alleged fires of purgatory have changed over time: early in the 20th century, the Catholic Encyclopedia reported that most theologians had historically assumed that the fires of purgatory were in some sense a material fire, albeit from Ordinary fire of a different nature was the view of the majority of theologians at the time, that the term should be understood metaphorically.[69][70]

Pope Benedict XVI recommended to theologians the depiction of purgatory by Saint Catherine of Genoa, for whom purgatory is not an external fire but an internal fire: “The saint speaks of the soul’s journey of purification on the path to full communion with God, starting from her own experience of deep sorrow over the committed sins compared to God’s infinite love. […] “The soul,” says Catherine, “shows itself to God still bound to the desires and sufferings that result from sin, and this makes it impossible for it to enjoy the beatific vision of God. ” Catherine affirms that God is so pure and holy that a soul stained by sin cannot be in the presence of divine majesty. We, too, feel how distant we are, how fulfilled we are in so many things that we fail God Aware of the immeasurable love and perfect justice of God, the soul suffers consequently from not having responded to that love properly and perfectly, and love of God Himself becomes a flame, Love Itself purifies it of the residue of sin.”[71]

In his 2007 encyclical Spe salvi, Pope Benedict XVI referring to the words of the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15 about a fire that both burns and saves, from the opinion that “the fire that both burns and saves is Christ himself, the judge and Savior, the encounter with him is the decisive act of judgment, before his gaze all lies melt away.[72]

This encounter with him that burns us transforms and frees us, allowing us to truly become ourselves. Everything we build up in our lives can prove to be a straw, just a din, and it collapses. But in the pain of that encounter, when the impurity and sickness of our lives are revealed to us, lies redemption. His gaze, the touch of his heart, heals us with an undeniably painful transformation “like fire”. But it is a blissful pain in which the holy power of his love burns through us like a flame, enabling us to become fully ourselves and therefore fully God.[72]

In this way, too, the link between justice and grace is made clear: the way we live our lives is not indifferent, but our defilement does not stain us forever if we at least keep reaching out to Christ, to the truth and to him Love. In fact, it has already been burned by the Passion of Christ. In the moment of judgment we experience and absorb the overwhelming power of his love over all evil in the world and in ourselves.[72]

The pain of love becomes our salvation and our joy. It is clear that we cannot calculate the “duration” of this transformative burning in terms of this world’s chronological measurements. The transforming ‘moment’ of this encounter eludes the earthly calendar – it is the time of the heart, it is the time of ‘transition’ to communion with God in the body of Christ.”[72]

Popular idea of ​​purgatory as a place

The Island of St. Patrick’s Purgatory

In his book La naissance du Purgatoire (The Birth of Purgatory), Jacques Le Goff writes the origin of the idea of ​​a third domain of another world, similar to heaven and hell, called purgatory, Parisian intellectuals and Cistercian monks to the last three decades of the twelfth century, possibly already 1170-1180. Before that, the Latin adjective purgatorius existed, as in purgatorius ignis (purifying fire), but only then did the noun purgatorium appear, used as the name of a place called purgatory.[73] Saint Robert Bellarmine also taught that “purgatory, at least the usual place of atonement, is within the earth, that the souls in purgatory and the damned are in the same subterranean space in that deep abyss which Scripture calls hell.” [74][75]

The change came about at the same time as the writing of the book Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii, an account by an English Cistercian of a repentant knight’s visit to the land of purgatory, which is reached through a cave on the island known as Station Island or St. Patrick’s became purgatory in lake Lough Derg, County Donegal, Ireland. Le Goff said this book “occupies an essential place in the history of purgatory, in the success of which it played an important, if not decisive, part”.[76]

One of the earliest depictions of St. Patrick’s purgatory is a fresco in the Monastery of San Francisco in Todi, Umbria, Italy. This long ago whitewashed fresco was only restored in 1976. The painter was probably Jacopo di Mino del Pellicciaio, and the date of the fresco is circa 1345. Purgatory is depicted as a rocky mound with separate openings in its hollow center. Above the mountain, St. Patrick presents the prayers of the faithful, which can help alleviate the sufferings of souls undergoing purification. In every opening sinners are tormented by demons and fire. Each of the seven deadly sins – avarice, envy, sloth, pride, wrath, lust, and gluttony – has its own region of purgatory and its own appropriate torments.

Dante faces purgatory (represented as a mountain) in this 16th-century painting.

Le Goff devotes the last chapter of his book to Purgatorio, the second canto of the Divine Comedy, a poem by the 14th-century Italian author Dante Alighieri. In an interview, Le Goff stated: “Dante’s Purgatorio represents the sublime conclusion of the slow development of purgatory that took place throughout the Middle Ages. The power of Dante’s poetry was instrumental in fixing in the public imagination that ‘third place’ whose birth was by and large fairly recent.”[79] Dante envisioned purgatory as an island off the antipodes of Jerusalem which was pushed up in an otherwise empty sea by the expulsion of the fall of Satan who left him, is fixed at the center of the globe.The cone-shaped island has seven terraces upon which souls ascend from the seven deadly sins or capital vices Additional spurs at the base hold those for whom the beginning of the ascent is delayed because they were excommunicated in life, indolent or late repentant.At the summit is the Garden of Eden, from where those purified from evil tendencies and vollkommen gemachten Seelen in den Himmel gebracht werden.

Die katholische Kirche hat die Idee eines Fegefeuers eher als Bedingung denn als Ort in ihre Lehre aufgenommen. Am 4. August 1999 sagte Papst Johannes Paul II. über das Fegefeuer: „Der Begriff bezeichnet keinen Ort, sondern einen Daseinszustand. Wer nach dem Tod in einem Zustand der Reinigung existiert, ist bereits in der Liebe Christus, der die Reste der Unvollkommenheit als „Bedingung der Existenz“ von ihnen entfernt.[12]

In ähnlicher Weise sagte Papst Benedikt XVI. 2011 über die heilige Katharina von Genua (1447–1510) in Bezug auf das Fegefeuer: „Zu ihrer Zeit wurde es hauptsächlich mit Bildern dargestellt, die mit dem Raum verbunden sind: Es wurde ein bestimmter Raum konzipiert, in dem sich das Fegefeuer befand Katharina jedoch sah das Fegefeuer nicht als eine Szene in den Eingeweiden der Erde: Für sie ist es kein äußeres, sondern ein inneres Feuer. Dies ist das Fegefeuer: ein inneres Feuer.“[13]

Eastern Orthodoxy[ edit ]

Während die ostorthodoxe Kirche den Begriff Fegefeuer ablehnt, erkennt sie einen Zwischenzustand nach dem Tod und vor dem endgültigen Gericht an und bietet Gebete für die Toten an. Laut der griechisch-orthodoxen Erzdiözese von Amerika:

Der moralische Fortschritt der Seele, sei es zum Guten oder zum Schlechten, endet genau im Moment der Trennung von Körper und Seele; in diesem Augenblick entscheidet sich das endgültige Schicksal der Seele im ewigen Leben. … Es gibt keinen Weg zur Reue, keinen Ausweg, keine Reinkarnation und keine Hilfe von außen. Sein Platz wird für immer von seinem Schöpfer und Richter bestimmt. Die orthodoxe Kirche glaubt nicht an das Fegefeuer (einen Ort der Reinigung), das heißt den Zwischenzustand nach dem Tod, in dem die Seelen der Erretteten (derjenigen, die keine zeitliche Strafe für ihre Sünden erhalten haben) von allen vorbereitenden Makeln gereinigt werden in den Himmel einzutreten, wo jede Seele vollkommen und geeignet ist, Gott zu sehen. Auch die orthodoxe Kirche glaubt nicht an Ablässe als Erlass von Fegefeuerstrafen. Sowohl das Fegefeuer als auch der Ablass sind miteinander zusammenhängende Theorien, die weder in der Bibel noch in der alten Kirche bezeugt sind, und als sie durchgesetzt und angewendet wurden, führten sie zu bösen Praktiken auf Kosten der vorherrschenden Wahrheiten der Kirche. Wenn der allmächtige Gott in seiner barmherzigen liebenden Güte die schreckliche Situation des Sünders ändert, ist es der Kirche Christi unbekannt. Die Kirche lebte 1500 Jahre lang ohne eine solche Theorie.[80]

Die ostorthodoxe Lehre besagt, dass, obwohl alle unmittelbar nach dem Tod einem individuellen Gericht unterzogen werden, weder die Gerechten noch die Bösen den endgültigen Zustand der Glückseligkeit oder Bestrafung vor dem Jüngsten Tag erreichen,[81] mit einigen Ausnahmen für rechtschaffene Seelen wie die Theotokos (Gesegnete Jungfrau Maria), „die von den Engeln direkt in den Himmel getragen wurde.“[82]

Die ostorthodoxe Kirche hält es für notwendig, an diesen Zwischenzustand nach dem Tod zu glauben, in dem die Seelen vervollkommnet und zur vollen Vergöttlichung gebracht werden, ein Prozess des Wachstums und nicht der Bestrafung, den einige Orthodoxe Fegefeuer genannt haben.[83] Eastern Orthodox theology does not generally describe the situation of the dead as involving suffering or fire, although it nevertheless describes it as a “direful condition”.[84] The souls of the righteous dead are in light and rest, with a foretaste of eternal happiness; but the souls of the wicked are in a state the reverse of this. Among the latter, such souls as have departed with faith but “without having had time to bring forth fruits worthy of repentance … may be aided towards the attainment of a blessed resurrection [at the end of time] by prayers offered in their behalf, especially those offered in union with the oblation of the bloodless sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ, and by works of mercy done in faith for their memory.”[85]

The state in which souls undergo this experience is often referred to as “Hades”.[86]

The Orthodox Confession of Peter Mogila (1596–1646), adopted, in a Greek translation by Meletius Syrigos, by the 1642 Council of Jassy in Romania, professes that “many are freed from the prison of hell … through the good works of the living and the Church’s prayers for them, most of all through the unbloody sacrifice, which is offered on certain days for all the living and the dead” (question 64); and (under the heading “How must one consider the purgatorial fire?”) “the Church rightly performs for them the unbloody sacrifice and prayers, but they do not cleanse themselves by suffering something. The Church never maintained that which pertains to the fanciful stories of some concerning the souls of their dead who have not done penance and are punished, as it were, in streams, springs and swamps.” (question 66).[87]

The Eastern Orthodox Synod of Jerusalem (1672) declared: “The souls of those that have fallen asleep are either at rest or in torment, according to what each hath wrought” (an enjoyment or condemnation that will be complete only after the resurrection of the dead); but the souls of some “depart into Hades, and there endure the punishment due to the sins they have committed. But they are aware of their future release from there, and are delivered by the Supreme Goodness, through the prayers of the Priests and the good works which the relatives of each do for their Departed, especially the unbloody Sacrifice benefiting the most, which each offers particularly for his relatives that have fallen asleep and which the Catholic and Apostolic Church offers daily for all alike. Of course, it is understood that we do not know the time of their release. We know and believe that there is deliverance for such from their direful condition, and that before the common resurrection and judgment, but when we know not.”[84]

Some Orthodox believe in a teaching of “aerial toll-houses” for the souls of the dead. According to this theory, which is rejected by other Orthodox but appears in the hymnology of the Church,[88] “following a person’s death the soul leaves the body and is escorted to God by angels. During this journey the soul passes through an aerial realm which is ruled by demons. The soul encounters these demons at various points referred to as ‘toll-houses’ where the demons then attempt to accuse it of sin and, if possible, drag the soul into hell.”[89]

Protestantism[ edit ]

In general, Protestant churches reject the Catholic doctrine of purgatory although some teach the existence of an intermediate state. Many Protestant denominations, though not all, teach the doctrine of sola scriptura (“scripture alone”) or prima scriptura (“scripture first”). The general Protestant view is that the Bible, from which Protestants exclude deuterocanonical books such as 2 Maccabees, contains no overt, explicit discussion of purgatory and therefore it should be rejected as an unbiblical belief.[90]

Another view held by many Protestants, such as the Lutheran Churches and the Reformed Churches, is sola fide (“by faith alone”): that faith alone is what achieves salvation, and that good works are merely evidence of that faith.[91] Justification is generally seen as a discrete event that takes place once for all during one’s lifetime, not the result of a transformation of character. However, most Protestants teach that a transformation of character naturally follows the salvation experience; others, such as those of the Methodist tradition (inclusive of the Holiness Movement) teach that after justification, Christians must pursue holiness and good works.[92][93] Those who have been saved by God are destined for heaven, while those have not been saved will be excluded from heaven.[94]

Some Protestants hold that a person enters into the fullness of one’s bliss or torment only after the resurrection of the body, and that the soul in that interim state is conscious and aware of the fate in store for it.[95] Others have held that souls in the intermediate state between death and resurrection are without consciousness, a state known as soul sleep.[96]

As an argument for the existence of purgatory, Protestant religious philosopher Jerry L. Walls[97] wrote Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation (2012). He lists some “biblical hints of purgatory” (Mal 3:2; 2 Mac 12:41–43; Mat 12:32; 1 Cor 3:12) that helped give rise to the doctrine,[98] and finds its beginnings in early Christian writers whom he calls “Fathers and Mothers of Purgatory”.[99] Citing Le Goff, he sees the 12th century as that of the “birth of purgatory”, arising as “a natural development of certain currents of thought that had been flowing for centuries”,[100] and the 13th century at that of its rationalization, “purging it of its offensive popular trappings”, leading to its definition by a council as the Church’s doctrine in 1274.[101]

Walls does not base his belief in purgatory primarily on Scripture, the Mothers and Fathers of the Church, or the magisterium (doctrinal authority) of the Catholic church. Rather his basic argument is that, in a phrase he often uses, it “makes sense.”[102] For Walls, purgatory has a logic, as in the title of his book. He documents the “contrast between the satisfaction and sanctification models” of purgatory. In the satisfaction model, “the punishment of purgatory” is to satisfy God’s justice. In the sanctification model, Wall writes: “Purgatory might be pictured … as a regimen to regain one’s spiritual health and get back into moral shape.”[103]

In Catholic theology Walls finds that the doctrine of purgatory has “swung” between the “poles of satisfaction and sanctification” sometimes “combining both elements somewhere in the middle”. He believes the sanctification model “can be affirmed by Protestants without in any way contradicting their theology” and that they may find that it “makes better sense of how the remains of sin are purged” than an instantaneous cleansing at the moment of death.[104]

While purgatory was disputed by the Reformers, some early patristic theologians of the Eastern Church taught and believed in “apocatastasis”, the belief that all creation would be restored to its original perfect condition after a remedial purgatorial reformation. Clement of Alexandria was one of the early church theologians who taught this view. Protestants have always contended that there are no second chances. However, for Lutherans a similar doctrine of what may happen to the unevangelized is expressed in the book titled What about those who never heard.[105] The reality of purgatorial purification is envisaged in Thomas Talbott’s The Inescapable Love of God[106] Different views are expressed by different theologians in two different editions of Four Views of Hell.[107]

Anglicanism[ edit ]

Anglicans, as with other Reformed Churches, historically teach that the saved undergo the process of glorification after death.[108] This process has been compared by Jerry L. Walls and James B. Gould with the process of purification in the core doctrine of purgatory (see Reformed, below).

Purgatory was addressed by both of the “foundation features” of Anglicanism in the 16th century: the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and the Book of Common Prayer.[109]

Article XXII of the Thirty-Nine Articles states that “The Romish Doctrine concerning Purgatory . . . is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warranty of Scripture, but rather repugnant to the Word of God.”[110] Prayers for the departed were deleted from the 1552 Book of Common Prayer because they suggested a doctrine of purgatory. The 19th century Anglo-Catholic revival led to restoring prayers for the dead.[111]

John Henry Newman, in his Tract XC of 1841 §6, discussed Article XXII. He highlighted the fact that it is the “Romish” doctrine of purgatory coupled with indulgences that Article XXII condemns as “repugnant to the Word of God.” The article did not condemn every doctrine of purgatory and it did not condemn prayers for the dead.[112]

As of the year 2000, the state of the doctrine of purgatory in Anglicanism was summarized as follows:

Purgatory is seldom mentioned in Anglican descriptions or speculations concerning life after death, although many Anglicans believe in a continuing process of growth and development after death.[113]

Anglican Bishop John Henry Hobart (1775–1830) wrote that “Hades, or the place of the dead, is represented as a spacious receptacle with gates, through which the dead enter.”[114] The Anglican Catechist of 1855 elaborated on Hades, stating that it “is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection, in which the soul does not sleep in unconsciousness, but exists in happiness or misery till the resurrection, when it shall be reunited to the body and receive its final reward.”[115] This intermediate state includes both Paradise and Gehenna, “but with an impassable gulf between the two”.[17] Souls remain in Hades until the Final Judgment and “Christians may also improve in holiness after death during the middle state before the final judgment.”[116]

Leonel L. Mitchell (1930–2012) offers this rationale for prayers for the dead:

No one is ready at the time of death to enter into life in the nearer presence of God without substantial growth precisely in love, knowledge, and service; and the prayer also recognizes that God will provide what is necessary for us to enter that state. This growth will presumably be between death and resurrection.”[117]

Anglican theologian C. S. Lewis (1898–1963), reflecting on the history of the doctrine of purgatory in the Anglican Communion, said there were good reasons for “casting doubt on the ‘Romish doctrine concerning Purgatory’ as that Romish doctrine had then become” not merely a “commercial scandal” but also the picture in which the souls are tormented by devils, whose presence is “more horrible and grievous to us than is the pain itself,” and where the spirit who suffers the tortures cannot, for pain, “remember God as he ought to do.” Lewis believed instead in purgatory as presented in John Henry Newman’s The Dream of Gerontius. By this poem, Lewis wrote, “Religion has reclaimed Purgatory,” a process of purification that will normally involve suffering.[118] Lewis’s allegory The Great Divorce (1945) considered a version of purgatory in the related idea of a “refrigidarium”, the opportunity for souls to visit a lower region of heaven and choose to be saved, or not.

Lutheranism[ edit ]

The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther was once recorded as saying:[119]

As for purgatory, no place in Scripture makes mention thereof, neither must we any way allow it; for it darkens and undervalues the grace, benefits, and merits of our blessed, sweet Saviour Christ Jesus. The bounds of purgatory extend not beyond this world; for here in this life the upright, good, and godly Christians are well and soundly scoured and purged.

In his 1537 Smalcald Articles, Luther stated:[120]

Therefore purgatory, and every solemnity, rite, and commerce connected with it, is to be regarded as nothing but a specter of the devil. For it conflicts with the chief article [which teaches] that only Christ, and not the works of men, are to help [set free] souls. Not to mention the fact that nothing has been [divinely] commanded or enjoined upon us concerning the dead.

With respect to the related practice of praying for the dead, Luther stated:[121]

As for the dead, since Scripture gives us no information on the subject, I regard it as no sin to pray with free devotion in this or some similar fashion: “Dear God, if this soul is in a condition accessible to mercy, be thou gracious to it.” And when this has been done once or twice, let it suffice. (Confession Concerning Christ’s Supper, Vol. XXXVII, 369)[121]

A core statement of Lutheran doctrine, from the Book of Concord, states: “We know that the ancients speak of prayer for the dead, which we do not prohibit; but we disapprove of the application ex opere operato of the Lord’s Supper on behalf of the dead. … Epiphanius [of Salamis] testifies that Aerius [of Sebaste] held that prayers for the dead are useless. With this he finds fault. Neither do we favor Aerius, but we do argue with you because you defend a heresy that clearly conflicts with the prophets, apostles, and Holy Fathers, namely, that the Mass justifies ex opere operato, that it merits the remission of guilt and punishment even for the unjust, to whom it is applied, if they do not present an obstacle.” (Philipp Melanchthon, Apology of the Augsburg Confession).[122] High Church Lutheranism, like Anglo-Catholicism, is more likely to accept some form of purgatory.[citation needed] Lutheran Reformer Mikael Agricola still believed in the basic beliefs of purgatory.[123] Purgatory as such is not mentioned at all in the Augsburg Confession, which claims that “our churches dissent in no article of the faith from the Church Catholic, but only omit some abuses which are new.”[124]

Methodism[ edit ]

Methodist churches, in keeping with Article XIV – Of Purgatory in the Articles of Religion, hold that “the Romish doctrine concerning purgatory … is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God.”[125] However, in the Methodist Church, there is a belief in Hades, “the intermediate state of souls between death and the general resurrection,” which is divided into Paradise (for the righteous) and Gehenna (for the wicked).[126][127] After the general judgment, Hades will be abolished.[127] John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, “made a distinction between hell (the receptacle of the damned) and Hades (the receptacle of all separate spirits), and also between paradise (the antechamber of heaven) and heaven itself.”[128][129] The dead will remain in Hades “until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see Matthew 25).”[130]

reformed [ edit ]

After death, Reformed theology teaches that through glorification, God “not only delivers His people from all their suffering and from death, but delivers them too from all their sins.”[20] In glorification, Reformed Christians believe that the departed are “raised and made like the glorious body of Christ”.[20] Reformed theologian John F. MacArthur has written that “nothing in Scripture even hints at the notion of purgatory, and nothing indicates that our glorification will in any way be painful.”[131]

Jerry L. Walls and James B. Gould have likened the glorification process to the core or sanctification view of purgatory[132] “Grace is much more than forgiveness, it is also transformation and sanctification, and finally, glorification. We need more than forgiveness and justification to purge our sinful dispositions and make us fully ready for heaven. Purgatory is nothing more than the continuation of the sanctifying grace we need, for as long as necessary to complete the job”.[133]

Latter-day Saint Movement [ edit ]

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, teaches of an intermediate place for spirits between their death and their bodily resurrection. This place, called “the spirit world,” includes “paradise” for the righteous and “prison” for those who do not know God. Spirits in paradise serve as missionaries to the spirits in prison, who can still accept salvation. In this sense, spirit prison can be conceptualized as a type of purgatory. In addition to hearing the message from the missionary spirits, the spirits in prison can also accept posthumous baptism and other posthumous ordinances performed by living church members in temples on Earth. This is frequently referred to as “baptism for the dead” and “temple work.”[134] Members of the Church believe that during the three days following Christ’s crucifixion, he organized spirits in paradise and commissioned them to preach to the spirits in prison.[135]

Judaism [edit]

In Judaism, Gehenna is a place of purification where, according to some traditions, most sinners spend up to a year before release.

The view of purgatory can be found in the teaching of the Shammaites: “In the last judgment day there shall be three classes of souls: the righteous shall at once be written down for the life everlasting; the wicked, for Gehenna; but those whose virtues and sins counterbalance one another shall go down to Gehenna and float up and down until they rise purified; for of them it is said: ‘I will bring the third part into the fire and refine them as silver is refined, and try them as gold is tried’ [Zech. xiii. 9.]; also, ‘He [the Lord] bringeth down to Sheol and bringeth up again'” (I Sam. ii. 6). The Hillelites seem to have had no purgatory; for they said: “He who is ‘plenteous in mercy’ [Ex. xxxiv. 6.] inclines the balance toward mercy, and consequently the intermediates do not descend into Gehenna” (Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 3; R. H. 16b; Bacher, “Ag. Tan.” i. 18). Still they also speak of an intermediate state.

Regarding the time which purgatory lasts, the accepted opinion of R. Akiba is twelve months; according to R. Johanan b. Nuri, it is only forty-nine days. Both opinions are based upon Isa. lxvi. 23–24: “From one new moon to another and from one Sabbath to another shall all flesh come to worship before Me, and they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against Me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched”; the former interpreting the words “from one new moon to another” to signify all the months of a year; the latter interpreting the words “from one Sabbath to another,” in accordance with Lev. xxiii. 15–16, to signify seven weeks. During the twelve months, declares the baraita (Tosef., Sanh. xiii. 4–5; R. H. 16b), the souls of the wicked are judged, and after these twelve months are over they are consumed and transformed into ashes under the feet of the righteous (according to Mal. iii. 21 [A. V. iv. 3]), whereas the great seducers and blasphemers are to undergo eternal tortures in Gehenna without cessation (according to Isa. lxvi. 24).

The righteous, however, and, according to some, also the sinners among the people of Israel for whom Abraham intercedes because they bear the Abrahamic sign of the covenant are not harmed by the fire of Gehenna even when they are required to pass through the intermediate state of purgatory (‘Er. 19b; Ḥag. 27a).[136]

Maimonides declares, in his 13 principles of faith, that the descriptions of Gehenna, as a place of punishment in rabbinic literature, were pedagocically motivated inventions to encourage respect of the Torah commandments by mankind, which had been regarded as immature.[137] Instead of being sent to Gehenna, the souls of the wicked would actually get annihilated.[138]

Islam [edit]

Islam has a concept similar to that of purgatory in Christianity. Barzakh is thought to be a realm between paradise (Jannah) and hell (Jahannam) and according to Ghazali the place of those who go neither to hell or to heaven.[139] But because it does not purify the souls it resembles more the limbo than the purgatory.

In some cases, the Islamic concept of hell may resemble the concept of Catholic doctrine of purgatory,[140] for Jahannam just punishes people according to their deeds and releases them after their habits are purified. A limited duration in Jahannam is not universally accepted in Islam.[141]

Indian religions[edit]

Indian religions believe in purification of the soul in Naraka.[citation needed]

Zoroastrianism[ edit ]

According to Zoroastrian eschatology, the wicked will get purified in molten metal.[142]

Mandaeism [ edit ]

In Mandaean cosmology, the soul must go through multiple maṭarta (i.e., purgatories, watch-stations, or toll-stations) after death before finally reaching the World of Light (“heaven”).[143]

The Mandaeans believe in purification of souls inside of Leviathan,[144] whom they also call Ur.[145]

See also[edit]

References[ edit ]

Italian saint and mystic

Not to be confused with his contemporary Thomas of Tolentino

Nicholas of Tolentino (Latin: S. Nicolaus de Tolentino, (c. 1246 – September 10, 1305), known as the Patron Saint of Holy Souls, was an Italian saint and mystic. He is particularly invoked as the advocate of souls in purgatory, particularly during of Lent and in the month of November. In many Augustinian churches there are weekly devotions to Saint Nicholas on behalf of suffering souls. November 2, All Souls’ Day, has a special meaning for the followers of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.

life [edit]

Born in Sant’Angelo in Pontano in 1245, St. Nicholas of Tolentino took his name from St. Nicholas of Myra, at whose sanctuary his parents prayed for a child. Nicholas was ordained a monk at 18 and a priest seven years later. He made a name for himself as a preacher and confessor. Around 1274 he was sent to Tolentino, near his birthplace. The city suffered from civil wars between the Guelphs and Ghibellines in their struggle for control of Italy. Nicholas was primarily a pastor to his flock. He served the poor and criminals. He is said to have healed the sick with bread over which he had prayed to Mary, the Mother of God. He gained a reputation as a miracle worker. Nicholas died in 1305 after a long illness. People immediately began to seek his canonization. Eugene IV canonized him in 1446 and his relics were rediscovered in Tolentino in 1926.

A hardworking, kind, and gentle youth, Nicholas became an Augustinian novice at the age of 16 and was a student of the Blessed Angelus de Scarpetti. A monk in the monasteries of Recanati and Macerata, among others, he was ordained in 1270[2] at the age of 25 and soon became known for his preaching and teaching. Nicholas, having visions of angels reciting “Tolentino,” took this as a sign in 1274 to move to that city, where he spent the rest of his life. Nicholas worked to counteract the decline in morals and religion that accompanied the development of city life in the late 13th century.[3]

Because of his kind and gentle nature, his superiors entrusted him with the daily feeding of the poor at the monastery gates, but at times he was so generous with the monastery’s provisions that the procurator asked the superior to examine his generosity.[4] Once, when he was weak after a long fast, he received a vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Augustine telling him to eat bread marked with a cross and dipped in water. He was instantly stronger. He began distributing these buns to the sick while praying to Mary and often healing the afflicted; this is where the Augustinian custom of blessing and distributing St. Nicholas bread originated.[5]

In Tolentino, Nicholas worked as a peacemaker in a city torn by the dispute between the Guelphs and the Ghibellines, who supported the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the conflict over control of Italy. He served his flock, helped the poor, and visited prisoners. Whenever he worked miracles or healed people, he would always ask those he was helping “not to say anything about it,” stating that he was only God’s instrument.[4]

Nicholas is said to have received visions throughout his life, including images of purgatory, which friends attributed to his long fast. Prayer for souls in purgatory was the prominent feature of his spirituality.[2] For this reason, Nicholas was in 1884 by Leo XIII. declared the patron saint of souls in purgatory.

Towards the end of his life he became ill, suffering greatly, but still continued the mortifications that had been part of his holy life.[6] Nicholas died on September 10, 1305.[5]

legends [edit]

There are many stories and legends related to Nicholas. One says the devil once hit him with a stick, which was then displayed in his church for years. In another, Nicholas, a vegetarian, was served a roast fowl for which he made the sign of the cross, and it flew out of a window. Nine passengers on a ship that was sinking at sea once begged Nicholas for help, and he appeared in the sky, wearing the black Augustinian garb, radiating golden light, holding a lily in his left hand and using his right hand to calm the storm. An apparition of the saint is said to have saved the burning palace of the Doge of Venice by throwing a piece of blessed bread into the flames. He has also been reported to have resuscitated over a hundred dead children, including several who drowned together.

According to the Peruvian chronicler Antonio de la Calancha, it was Saint Nicholas of Tolentino who made permanent Spanish settlement possible in the harsh, high-altitude climate of Potosí, Bolivia. He reported that all children of Spanish colonists born there died in childbirth or shortly thereafter, until a father dedicated his unborn child to Saint Nicholas of Tolentino (whose own parents had eventually demanded sacred intervention in order to have a child). The colonist’s son, born on Christmas Eve 1598, reached healthy adulthood, and many later parents followed suit and named their sons Nicolás.[7]

Worship [ edit ]

San Nicolas de Tolentino in Makabebe

Cabanatuan Cathedral

Nicholas was canonized by Pope Eugene IV (also an Augustinian) on June 5, 1446.[8] He was the first Augustinian to be canonized.[2] At his canonization, Nicholas was credited with three hundred miracles, including three resurrections.[9]

The remains of Saint Nicholas are kept in the Shrine of Saint Nicholas in the Basilica di San Nicola da Tolentino in the town of Tolentino, province of Macerata in Marche, Italy.

He is especially invoked as the intercessor of souls in purgatory, especially during Lent and the month of November. In many Augustinian churches there are weekly Saint Nicholas devotions for the suffering souls. November 2, All Souls’ Day, has a special meaning for the followers of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino.[2]

St. Pius V did not include it in the Tridentine calendar, but it was inserted later and given September 10 as its feast day. His liturgical celebration, judged to be of limited importance worldwide, was not retained in the 1969 revision of the General Roman Calendar,[10] but he is still recognized as one of the saints of the Roman Catholic Church.[11]

A number of churches and oratorios are dedicated to him, including San Nicolò da Tolentino in Venice, San Nicola da Tolentino agli Orti Sallustiani in Rome, Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in The Bronx, New York, and Saint Nicholas of Tolentino in Bristol, UK.

In Ireland, Augustinian churches and monasteries historically marked his feast day with a ceremony of distributing bread, sometimes with his likeness on the loaves. This practice was most closely associated with churches in County Waterford.[12]

Philippines [ edit ]

In the Philippines, the 16th-century church of San Nicolas de Tolentino was built in his honor at Banton, Romblon, and his feast day is celebrated as the annual Biniray festival, which commemorates the Catholic islanders’ devotion to Saint Nicholas during the Muslim Raids in the 16th century.

In the province of Pampanga, in the heart of Macabebe, Pampanga is a 440-year-old Augustinian church founded in 1575 and built in his honor. The historic church is 70 meters long, 17 meters wide and 11 meters high. The facade of the church is sparsely decorated and its architectural symmetry is lost between the different shapes that the windows and the main entrance take. Simple neoclassical lines of the facade. Currently, a second-class relic of the saint is venerated every Tuesday after mass.[13]

In the province of Nueva Ecija, St. Nicholas is venerated as the titular of the historic Cabanatuan Cathedral where General Antonio Luna was assassinated in 1899. His first-class relic is displayed to the faithful from September 1st to 10th each year.

In Dimiao, Bohol, the feast of San Nicolas de Tolentino, patron saint of the parish church built between 1797 and 1815, is also celebrated every September 10th.

There is also the San Nicolas de Tolentino Parish Church along C. Padilla Street in Cebu City, the capital of the province and island of Cebu. Built in 1584, the church is one of the oldest in the country. The church was also built years before the Diocese of Cebu was founded in 1595. Located about 1.5 kilometers south of the city, it was called Cebu Viejo and was separated from the city by the Pagina creek and El Pardo. The area is also believed to be the original site of the landing of Legaspi’s armada on April 17, 1565 and became the embryo of a settlement that Legaspi founded. San Nicolas was a vibrant city during the Spanish period, the breeding ground for the 1898 revolution against Spain and the birthplace of 20th-century Cebuano music legends. The city finally merged with Cebu City on April 17, 1901.

The 16th-century church in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, is dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Tolentino. In May 2021, Pope Francis elevated the parish church to the status of a minor basilica.[14]

Iconography[ edit ]

Nicholas of Tolentino by Master of Narni; Early 15th century

He is depicted in the black habit of the Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine – a star above or on his chest, holding a lily or a crucifix wreathed with lilies. Sometimes, instead of the lily, he holds a phial filled with money or bread.[6]

See also[edit]

He emphasizes: “In praying the Rosary, we remain faithful to the Scriptures and to this tradition.”

That the Holy Rosary is a “Christ-centered prayer, centered on the life of Christ and the culmination of God’s great salvation stories for the redemption of the world,” is another reason that makes the prayer special and powerful, Archbishop Brislin says.

“This prayer, more than any other, helps us to remember and focus on the life of Christ, His teaching, and His gift of self. It reaffirms our faith in the incarnation, passion, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus, and our faith in the great gift of the Holy Spirit,” the 64-year-old prelate explained in his October 7 reflection.

The Marian mysteries help us to reflect on the saving power of God, because “Mary, after all, like all people, was saved by Jesus Christ and represents us all,” adds the South African archbishop.

Another reason praying the Holy Rosary is special and powerful is that it is a prayer of contemplation, says Archbishop Brislin, referring to the 2001 Directory of Popular Piety and Liturgy of the Vatican Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, which described the recitation of the saint’s rosary as “contemplative prayer, requiring stillness in rhythm or even spiritual dwelling, which encourages the faithful to meditate on the mysteries of the life of the Lord”.

“The point of contemplative prayer is that it’s not just about ‘thinking’ about the mysteries or bringing them to mind,” says the South African prelate, explaining that “in contemplation we take the mysteries into our lives, so this prayer is no longer just words that we use, but becomes a living prayer – a prayer that changes and transforms us so that we can live what we pray.”

The archbishop, who has been serving the people of God in Cape Town since December 2009, finds praying the rosary special and powerful because “it is a prayer that asks the intercession of Our Lady”.

“One theologian described praying the Rosary as sharing in the life of Mary, with the focus on Christ,” he says, referring to Romano Guardini, adding: “Like Mary, through the Rosary we try to orient our lives more and more towards Jesus.”

The Holy Rosary “is also an acknowledgment that Jesus Himself gave Mary to be the Mother of the Church and indeed the Mother of us all,” he continues, referring to the Gospel of John, which says: “His mother and the disciple Seeing whom He loved to stand beside her, Jesus said to his mother, “Woman, this is your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “This is your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took them to his house.”

Rosary prayers are Christian prayers that are said, among other things, on a set of rosary beads. These prayers recite specific phrases on different parts of the rosary beads. They can address Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, or God the Father.

Holy Rosary[edit]

The best-known example of a rosary prayer is simply called the “Holy Rosary” and involves contemplating five mysteries of the Rosary while reciting the prayers “Our Father,” “Hail Mary,” and “Glory to the Father.”[1]

This prayer of the rosary dates back several centuries, and experts differ on its exact history.[2] In the sixteenth century, Pope Pius V established the current form of the original fifteen mysteries for this rosary, and they remained so into the 20th century.[3] During his reign, Pope John Paul II expanded the number of mysteries in this rosary while leaving the original mysteries intact.

Other prayers listed in the Roman Catholic tradition are: the Fátima Prayers, the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Memorabilia of Bernard of Clairvaux.[4]

Paternoster beads [ edit ]

In monastic houses, monks were expected to recite the Liturgy of the Hours daily in Latin, the liturgical language of the Western Christian Church. Christian monks, in addition to clergy, “recited or chanted the 150 Psalms as the main source of hourly worship.” [5] To count these repetitions they used beads strung on a string, and this set of prayer beads was commonly referred to as a known as pater noster, which is the Latin word for “Our Father”.

In some homes, lay brothers who did not understand Latin or were illiterate were required to recite the Lord’s Prayer (also known as the “Our Father”) a set number of times daily while meditating on the mysteries of Christ’s Incarnation. Lay people adopted this practice as a form of popular worship.[5] In the eighth century the penances, or rulebooks for penitents, prescribed various penances of twenty, fifty, or more priests. The strings of beads used to properly say such penances gradually came to be known as paternosters.[6] The paternoster could be of various lengths, but often consisted of 5 “decades” of 10 beads, which, when performed three times, amounted to 150 prayers.

Today, some Anglican religious orders, such as the Solitaries of DeKoven, manufacture and distribute the Pater Noster Cord, in addition to other devotions such as the Anglican Rosary, as part of the Christian spiritual life.[5]

Servite Rosary[ edit ]

In 1233, seven members of a Florentine confraternity dedicated to Our Lady assembled for prayer under the presidency of Alessio Falconieri. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to the young men and exhorted them to devote themselves to their ministry in order to retire from the world. They retired to the desolate slopes of Monte Senario near Florence, where they experienced another vision of Mary. There they founded a new order called the Servants of Mary, or Servite, in recognition of their special way of worshiping Our Lady of Sorrows. The seven-“week” Servite rosary is variously referred to as the Servite rosary; Rosary of the Seven Sorrows of the Virgin Mary; and the rosary with the seven swords. A series of introductory prayers for the Servite Rosary was written by Alphonsus Liguori in his book The Glories of Mary.[7]

Franciscan crown[ edit ]

In 1263 Bonaventure, Minister General of the Order, encouraged liturgical devotion in honor of the Mystery of the Visitation. The Franciscan rosary, or as it is more properly known, the Franciscan crown, developed in the early 15th century and was officially established in 1422. The Franciscan crown consists of seven decades of Hail Marys, each preceded by an Our Father and followed by a Glory Be and completed after the 7th decade by two more Ave Marys to complete the number 72, believed to be the age of Mary is at the time of her ascension. The crown commemorates the seven joys of Mary and how she responded to God’s grace in her life. In addition to developing this Marian devotion, the Franciscans are credited with adding the last words to the Ave Maria: Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners (from the writings of Bernardino of Siena) now and at the hour of our death (from the writings of the Servite Fathers and the Roman Breviary).

Rosary of St. Anthony [ edit ]

The Irish (especially the Gaelic speakers) and their descendants have a tradition of saying thirteen Aves instead of ten in honor of Anthony of Padua, whose feast day is 13 June. Also called the St. Anthony Rosary, his prayers are accompanied by a poem called Miraculous Responsory, or si quaeris, written by Bonaventure.[8]

Rosary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary[ edit ]

The Rosary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary is prayed with an ordinary rosary.[9]

Rosary of the Holy Wounds[edit]

The Rosary of the Holy Wounds was introduced in the early 20th century by Mary Martha Chambon, a Roman Catholic lay sister of the Visitation Convent in Chambéry, France.

This rosary specifically meditates on the wounds of Jesus Christ as an act of indemnity for the sins of the world. This rosary also focuses on prayers for souls in purgatory. Mary Martha ascribed to Jesus the following purpose of the Rosary: ​​”You must not forget the souls in purgatory, for few think of their relief… The Holy Wounds are the treasure of treasures for the souls in purgatory.”[10 ][11][12]

Rosary of Divine Mercy[edit]

The Divine Mercy Rosary was introduced in the early 1930s by Faustina Kowalska, a nun living in Płock, Poland. The focus of this prayer is God’s mercy and focuses on three themes: obtaining mercy, trusting in Christ’s mercy, and showing mercy to others.

Bridgettine Crown[ edit ]

The rosary as prayed by the Order of the Bridgettin is a loop containing six decades along with a short string of beads leading to the crucifix.[6] It was propagated by Bridget of Sweden. It adds an additional mystery (joyful, sad and glorious) related to the Holy Virgin. It is the traditional Rosary of the Discalced Carmelites.[13] An example of the Bridgettine Rosary is depicted on the statue of the Crowned Virgin in the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

Trinity Rosary[ edit ]

This term is used for at least two different rosaries or rosaries.

Trisagion Rosary of the Trinitarian Order[ edit ]

First, it may refer to the special Rosary or Rosary used by the Trinitarian Order (the Order of the Most Holy Trinity for the redemption of prisoners), founded in France in 1198. The Trinitarians early on used a form of prayer based on the trisagion (sometimes trisagium or triagion, from Greek “three times” + “holy”). This is a Byzantine prayer in praise of the Trinity: its simplest form is “Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us.”[14]

The Trisagion Rosary (usually called the Rosary) has three groups of nine beads. When reciting the Rosary, each group is preceded by the Trisagion and the Pater Noster. A special prayer is said on each of the nine beads: “Praise, glory and thanks be to you forever, blessed Trinity. ” Each group of nine prayers is followed by a Gloria Patri (“Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit…”), and the whole ends with a closing prayer.[15]

As with other rosaries specific to a particular religious order, its history is rather murky. The first question is how long the Trinitarians have used the Trisagion and associated prayers. The prayers themselves are quite old and may have come to the Trinitarians from Byzantium through their connections in the Middle East. The Trisagion itself can be traced back at least to the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) and perhaps further.[14] The Trinitarians’ use of these special prayers may very well date back to the early days of the Order.

A separate question is when beads were used to count these prayers. Reciting a specific number of prayers does not necessarily imply the presence of beads – prayers can be counted on fingers by moving a pin from one hole to another, and so on. It is possible that Trisagion beads were first seen in the 14th or 15th centuries – when other rosaries were becoming popular, suggesting the concept of using beads as counters.

Other Trinity Rosaries[ edit ]

Second, the term “Trinitarian Rosary” can refer to any set of Christian prayer beads on which prayers are said to the Holy Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit).

A Trinity rosary of this type can have the same basic form[16] as the traditional Marian rosary with 5 decades of 10 beads and introductory prayers, and so on. Or such prayers may be said with the Anglican or other varieties[17] of beads.

There are several of these Trinitarian rosaries, all of relatively recent origin. For example, one uses the prayer: “God Almighty, God Almighty, King of Heaven, You are the Lord! Blessed are you in heaven, and blessed is your holy word! Holy Jesus, eternally begotten Son of God, send your Holy Spirit upon us and kindle in our hearts the fire of your divine love!”.[18][19]

Ecumenical Miracle Rosary[ edit ]

The Ecumenical Miracle Rosary is prayed on the Roman Catholic Rosary and is based on the miracles of Jesus.[20] The Miracle Ecumenical Rosary has had a positive response from Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians and is prayed by members of these denominations.[21] Key features of the Ecumenical Rosary include praying the Nicene Creed on the crucifix or cross, praying a prayer known as “The Greatest Commandment” on “the three Hail Mary beads and all the beads of the Decades” and the praying a prayer known as “The Great Commission”; on the return “to the medal at the end of the rosary” the prayer of Jesus is said.[22]

Chotki[ edit ]

While the use of the Roman Catholic rosary was gradually adopted by many Eastern Catholics, many Eastern Catholic churches have embarked on a campaign of liturgical de-Latinization, removing imported devotions and practices (such as the rosary) that have obscured and replaced traditional and authentic devotions and practices of the Eastern Catholic Churches [citation needed]. Consequently, the most commonly used prayer in the Eastern Christian Churches (Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics) is the Jesus Prayer, which uses the older prayer rope (chotki), a knotted rope (instead of beads) tied to a cross. The prayer rope is not as tight in shape as the western rosary (it can have 10, 33, 50, 100, or 500 knots) and usually uses beads only as dividers between sections. The Eastern prayer cord is often divided into decades, but may also be divided into sections of 25 or some other number, or not at all.

Anglican Rosary[ edit ]

Anglican prayer beads

Anglican prayer beads are sometimes used among High Church Anglicans. This set is also known as the “Anglican Rosary”[23] or the “Christian Prayer Beads”, the latter term reflecting the popularity this set has gained among Christians of various other traditions. Anglican bead sets contain 28 beads in groups of seven called “weeks”, with an additional large bead in front of each. There are 33 beads in total, representing the years of Jesus’ life on earth. A number of Anglicans use the Jesus Prayer, as do Eastern Christians, but there are no church-mandated prayers or meditations in Anglican practice. Some Anglo-Catholics use the traditional Dominican rosary.

See also[edit]

Notes [edit]

References[ edit ]

Roman Catholic Sacramental and Marian Devotion to Prayer

La Visione di San Domenico (The Vision of Saint Dominic), ), Bernardo Cavallino, 1640

The Holy Rosary[1] (Latin: rosarium, meaning “crown of roses” or “garland of roses”),[2] also known as the Dominican Rosary[3][4] or simply Rosary, refers to a set of prayers , used in the Catholic Church, and to the string of knots or beads used to count each prayer. When referring to the prayer, the word is usually capitalized (“the Rosary”, as is usual for other names of prayers, such as “the Lord’s Prayer” and “the Hail Mary”); When referring to the beads, it is written with an initial small letter (“a rosary bead”).

The prayers that make up the rosary are arranged in sets of ten Hail Marys called decads. Each decade is preceded by an Our Father (“Our Father”) and traditionally followed by a Glory Be.

Some Catholics also choose to recite the prayer “O my Jesus” after the Glory Be, which is the most well-known of the seven Fátima prayers.

As each movement is said, one of the mysteries of the Rosary is commemorated, which commemorates events in the lives of Jesus Christ and Mary. Rosaries are prayed for five decades. Rosaries are an aid in saying these prayers in the correct order.

Pope Pius V (in office 1566–1572) established a standard of 15 mysteries of the rosary based on a long-standing custom. This groups the Mysteries into three groups: the Joyful Mysteries, the Sorrowful Mysteries, and the Glorious Mysteries. In 2002, Pope John Paul II said it was appropriate to add a new group of five, called the Luminous Mysteries, bringing the total number of mysteries to 20. The Glorious Mysteries are prayed on Sunday and Wednesday, the Merry Mysteries on Monday and Saturday, the Sorrowful on Tuesday and Friday, and the Luminous on Thursday. Usually five decades are recited in one sitting.

For more than four centuries, several popes have promoted the rosary as part of Marian devotion in the Catholic Church[5], which essentially consists of meditation on the life of Christ[6]. The rosary also represents the Catholic emphasis on “participation in the life of Mary, centered in Christ” and the Mariological theme “toward Christ through Mary.”[7]

A five decade traditional rosary in sterling silver

A Coptic style Egyptian rosary with an additional Coptic crucifix

Devotions and spirituality[ edit ]

Devotion to the Rosary is one of the most striking features of popular Catholic spirituality.[8] Pope John Paul II placed the rosary at the center of Christian spirituality, calling it “one of the most beautiful and praiseworthy traditions of Christian contemplation.”[9][10][11]

Catholics believe that the rosary is a remedy against severe trials, temptations and life’s necessities and that the rosary is one of the great weapons given to believers in their struggle against all evil.[12] Pope Pius XI is quoted as saying, “The rosary is a powerful weapon to put demons to flight.”[13]

Saints and popes have emphasized the meditative and contemplative elements of the rosary and given specific teachings on how the rosary should be prayed, for example the need for “concentration, respect, reverence and purity of intention” during rosary recitation and contemplation.[14]

Beginning in the 16th century, prayers of the rosary were often associated with “figurative texts” that aided meditation. Such images continue to be used to represent the mysteries of the Rosary. Catholic saints have emphasized the importance of meditation and contemplation. Written meditations on the rosary are based on the Christian tradition of lectio divina (literally divine reading) as a way of using the gospel to initiate a conversation between the person and Christ. Padre Pio, a follower of the Rosary, said: “By studying books one seeks God; by meditation one finds him.”[15]

References to the Rosary formed part of a series of reported Marian apparitions spanning two centuries. The reported messages of these apparitions have influenced the spread of Rosary devotion worldwide.[16][17] In Quamquam pluries Pope Leo XIII reported. of Rosary devotions to Saint Joseph and granting indulgences in favor of Christian faithful who, during the month of October, would have added the prayer to Saint Joseph at the end of the Holy Rosary.[18]

Praying the Rosary may be prescribed by priests as a form of penance after confession. (Repentance is generally not intended as a “punishment”; rather, it is meant to stimulate meditation on past sins and spiritual growth.[19])

history [edit]

Knotted prayer cords were used in early Christianity; The Desert Fathers are said to have created the first of this kind, using knots to track how many times they said the Jesus prayer.[20]

According to pious tradition, the notion of the rosary was given to Saint Dominic of Osma at an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1214 in the church of Prouille, although in fact it had been known in various forms since the 9th century. This Marian apparition received the title of Our Lady of the Rosary.[21] In the 15th century it was promoted by Alanus de Rupe (aka Alain de la Roche or Alan of the Rock), a Dominican priest and theologian who founded the “Fifteen Rosary Promises” and founded many Rosary Confraternities.

According to Herbert Thurston, it is certain that by the course of the 12th century and before Dominic’s birth, the practice of reciting 50 or 150 Hail Marys had become common knowledge. According to 20th-century editions of the Catholic Encyclopedia, the story of Dominic’s devotion to the Rosary and supposed apparition of Our Lady of the Rosary does not appear in any document of the Catholic Church or Dominican Order before the writings of de Rupe, some 250 years after Dominic. [22] However, recent research by Donald H. Calloway, supported by some members of the church hierarchy, attempts to refute this claim.[23]

Leonard Foley claimed that although Mary’s delivery of the rosary to Dominic is recognized as a legend, the development of this form of prayer owes much to the Order of Preachers.[24]

The practice of meditating while praying the Hail Mary is attributed to Dominic of Prussia (1382–1460), a Carthusian friar, who called it “The Rosary from the Life of Jesus.”[25] The German monk from Trier added a phrase to each of the 50 Hail Marys using quotations from scriptures (which then followed the name “Jesus” before the intercession ending was added during the Counter-Reformation).[26] In 1569, the papal bull Consueverunt Romani Pontifices of the Dominican Pope Pius V officially established the devotion of the Rosary in the Catholic Church.[27]

From the 16th to the early 20th century, the structure of the rosary remained essentially unchanged.[22] There were 15 mysteries, one for each of the 15 decades. During the 20th century, the addition of the Fatima prayer at the end of each decade became more common. There were no further changes until 2002, when John Paul II introduced five optional new Luminous Mysteries, although variations on this had already been suggested by the likes of Louis de Montfort and George Preca, and implemented by figures like Patrick Peyton in the mid-20th century.

Papal notes[ edit ]

In the 16th century, Pope Pius V linked the Rosary to the Universal Roman Calendar by introducing the Feast of Our Lady of Victories (later changed to Our Lady of the Rosary), celebrated on October 7th.

Pope Leo XIII, known as “The Pope of the Rosary”, issued twelve encyclicals and five apostolic exhortations on the rosary and added the invocation Queen of the Most Holy Rosary to the Litany of Loreto. Pope Pius XII and his successors actively promoted the devotion to the Virgin Mary at Lourdes and Fatima, which is credited with a new revival of the rosary within the Catholic Church.[25]

Pope John XXIII Considered the rosary so important that on April 28, 1962, in an apostolic exhortation, he called for praying the rosary in preparation for the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council.[28] Pope John Paul II issued the apostolic exhortation Rosarium Virginis Mariae which emphasized the Christocentric nature of the rosary as a meditation on the life of Christ. He said: “Through the Rosary the faithful receive abounding grace as through the hands of the Mother of the Redeemer.”[10]

On May 3, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI declared that the rosary is experiencing a new spring: “It is one of the most eloquent signs of the love that nourishes the young generation for Jesus and his Mother.”[29] To Benedict XVI, the rosary is a meditation on all the important moments of salvation history.

The Inventory of Popular Piety and Liturgy of the Congregation for Divine Worship emphasizes the Christian meditative/meditative aspects of the Rosary, explaining that the Rosary is essentially a contemplative prayer requiring “quietness of rhythm or even a mental dwelling, leading the faithful to… Meditation encourages on the mysteries of the Lord’s life.”[30] The Congregation for Divine Worship points to the role that the Rosary can have as a formative part of the spiritual life.

Theologian Romano Guardini described the Catholic emphasis on the rosary as “participation in the life of Mary, of which Christ was the center.”[25] This opinion was formerly supported by Leo XIII Christ.[31]

Devotional Growth[edit]

The rosary has been mentioned in the writings of Catholic figures from saints to popes and continues to be mentioned in reported Marian apparitions, with a number of promises attributed to the power of the rosary.

According to Alan de la Roche, the Virgin Mary is said to have made 15 specific promises to Christians who pray the Rosary.[32] The promises of the 15th Rosary range from protection from calamity to meriting a high degree of glory in heaven.[33]

John T. McNicholas says that during the penal period of Ireland, when Mass was either infrequent or impossible, the rosary became a substitute within the home. In the 18th century, the French priest Louis de Montfort explained the importance of the rosary and its power in his book The Mystery of the Rosary. He emphasized the power of the rosary and gave specific instructions on how to pray it, e.g. with attention, devotion and humility (reverence), with contemplative pauses.[35]

One of the forces that encouraged the spread of the Rosary among 19th-century Catholics was the influence of the Rosary Pope, a title attributed to Leo XIII. (1878–1903) for publishing twelve encyclicals and five apostolic exhortations on the rosary, established the Catholic custom of praying the rosary daily in the month of October, and in 1883 added the invocation Queen of the Most Holy Rosary to the Litany of Loreto.[36]

Leo XIII explained the importance of the Rosary as the one way to God from the believer to the Mother and from her to Christ and through Christ to the Father, and that the Rosary was a vital means of partaking in the life of Mary and finding the way to Christ.[ 31] This emphasis on the path through Mary to Christ has been a key direction in Catholic Mariology ever since, with Mariology viewed as intrinsic to Christology.[37][38][39]

The Rosary as a family prayer was promoted by Pope Pius XII. advocated in his encyclical Ingruentium malorum: “In vain does one seek a remedy for the vacillating destiny of civic life unless the family, the principle and foundation of human community, is fashioned after its gospel pattern… We affirm that the custom of the family prayer of the Holy Rosary is an extremely effective tool.”[40]

In Brazil, two million men are involved in a movement called Terço dos Homens, men’s rosary.[41] It consists of weekly meetings to pray a group of mysteries.[42] In neighboring Hispanic countries, the movement is called Rosario de Hombres Valientes.[43]

Structure of prayers[ edit ]

The crucifix on a rosary

Basic structure[ edit ]

The structure of the rosary prayer recited with the rosary beads is as follows:

The rosary begins on the short strand:

Then follows the praying of the decades, repeating this cycle for each mystery:

Announce the secret;

The Lord’s Prayer on the Great Pearl;

The Ave Maria on each of the ten adjacent little beads;

The Glory Be on the field before the next big pearl; and

Conclude:

Regina’s ointment;

The Loreto Litany;

All other intentions; and

The Sign of the Cross.

Instead of ending each decade with the Gloria Patri, Pope Pius IX added: “May the souls of the faithful who have died by the mercies of God rest in peace.” The Fatima prayer is commonly used after the Gloria Patri as a pious adjunct, nor on the great Pearl, spoken.

Variations and common pious additions

Customary devotional additions to the rosary are made after each decade and after the recitation of the Hail, Holy Queen. Some Catholics recite the Fatima Decade Prayer at the end of each decade before or after the Glory Be. Some add the Miraculous Medal Prayer “O Mary, conceived without sin…” or the Fatima Ave refrain (“Have, Ave, Ave Maria! Ave, Ave, Ave Maria!”). Others add a prayer of devout Eucharistic prayer “O Most Holy Sacrament, O Divine Sacrament, all praise and thanksgiving be Yours” at the end of each decade in honor of Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament. In the practice of the Brethren of the Christian Schools, there is an extra decade for the intentions of the students or the Virgin Mary.

A rosary from a decade

After the Hail, Holy Queen, many Catholics add the prayer “O God, whose only begotten Son…”, the prayer to Saint Michael and a prayer for the Pope’s intentions. In some cases the litany of Loreto may be recited at the end.

In the practice of the Dominican Order, the opening prayers of the Rosary correspond to the beginning of the Liturgy of the Hours:[46]

In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. O Lord, open my lips. And my mouth will proclaim your praise. Extend me your help, O God. O Lord, hasten to help me. Glory be to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning is now and always will be, world without end. Amen.[47]

Group rosary prayer[edit]

When a group prays the rosary, it is customary for the prayers that make up the decades to be divided into two parts. The second part of the Lord’s Prayer begins with “Give us this day our daily bread”; the second part of the Ave Maria begins with “Holy Mary, Mother of God”; and the second part of Glory be to the Father with “As it was in the beginning.” This lends itself to an alternation.[48]

Sometimes a leader recites the first half of the prayer while the other participants recite the rest. Another style of praying the rosary sometimes entrusts the praying of the first part of the prayers to different people while maintaining the leader’s traditional style of praying to the congregation.

Mysteries of the Rosary[edit]

The Mysteries of the Rosary are meditations on episodes in the life and death of Jesus from the Annunciation to the Ascension and beyond. These are traditionally grouped into thematic sets of five known as the happy (or happy) mysteries, the sad mysteries, and the glorious mysteries. Pope John Paul II recommended an additional phrase called “Luminous Mysteries” (or “Mysteries of Light”) in his Apostolic Exhortation Rosarium Virginis Mariae (October 2002).[49]

Typically, each mystery is also associated with a spiritual goal known as the “fruit”. Below are the original 15 mysteries from the appendix to Louis Marie de Montfort’s book The Mystery of the Rosary, with other possible fruits given in parentheses in other pamphlets:

Joyful secrets[ edit ]

The announcement. Fruit of the Mystery: Humility The Visitation. Fruit of the Mystery: Charity The Birth. Fruit of the Mystery: Poverty, Detachment from the Things of the World, Contempt for Riches, Love for the Poor The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: Gift of Wisdom and Purity of Mind and Body (Obedience) The Finding of Jesus in the Temple. Fruit of the Mystery: True Conversion (Godliness, Joy of Finding Jesus)

Luminous Secrets[ edit ]

Sad Secrets[edit]

Glorious Mysteries[ edit ]

The resurrection. Fruit of the Mystery: Faith The Ascension. Fruit of the Mystery: Hope, Desire to Ascend to Heaven The Descent of the Holy Spirit. Fruit of the Mystery: Love of God, Holy Wisdom to know the truth and to share it with everyone, Divine Charity, Adoration of the Holy Spirit The Assumption of Mary. Fruit of the Mystery: Union with Mary and True Devotion to Mary The Coronation of the Virgin. Fruit of the Mystery: Perseverance and Increase in Virtue (Trust in Mary’s Intercession)

The original Mysteries of Light were written by George Preca, the only Maltese official Catholic saint, and later reformed by the Pope.[50]

Days of Prayer[edit]

The full rosary consists of praying all 15 mysteries (taking the Joyful, Sorrowful, and Glorious as the minimum number). Alternatively, a single set of five mysteries can be prayed each day according to the following convention:

Day of Prayer Standard / Traditional With the Luminous Mysteries Advent Sunday, Christmas and Epiphany: The Joyful Mysteries

In Septuagesima, Lent and Holy Week: The Sad Mysteries

At Easter and after Pentecost: The Glorious Mysteries In Advent, Christmas: The Joyful Mysteries

In Lent: The Sad Mysteries

At Easter and in the annual circle: The glorious mysteries Monday The joyful mysteries The joyful mysteries Tuesday The painful mysteries The painful mysteries Wednesday The glorious mysteries The glorious mysteries Thursday The joyful mysteries The luminous mysteries Friday The painful mysteries The painful mysteries Saturday The glorious mysteries The joyful secrets

Rosary[edit]

Mary Rose A 16th-century rosary found aboard the Carrack. A rosary bead with miniature reliefs

Rosaries provide a physical method of counting the number of Hail Marys said as the mysteries are contemplated. The fingers are moved along the beads as the prayers are recited. By not having to mentally keep track of the count, the mind is free to meditate on the mysteries. A five-decade rosary contains five groups of ten beads (a decade) with additional large beads before each decade.[51] The Ave Maria is said on the ten beads within a decade, while the Lord’s Prayer is said on the large bead before each decade. A new mystery meditation begins at each of the great beads. Some rosaries, particularly those of religious orders, contain fifteen decades, corresponding to the traditional fifteen mysteries of the rosary. Both five and fifteen decade rosaries are attached to a shorter strand that begins with a crucifix, followed by a large bead, three small beads, and a large bead before connecting to the rest of the rosary. A rosary of five decades consists of 59 beads “in total”.[52]

Although counting prayers on a string of beads is common, the rosary prayers do not require a set of beads and can be said with any type of counting device, counting on the fingers or without a device at all.

Rosaries from a decade[ edit ]

Rosaries for a decade can also be used: the devotee counts the same ring of ten beads repeatedly for each decade. Severe legal penalties were imposed on practicing Catholics during religious conflicts in Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries. Small, easily concealed rosaries were therefore used to avoid identification and became known as Irish punishment rosaries. Sometimes, instead of a cross, other symbols with specific meanings were used, such as a hammer to indicate the nails of the cross, cords to represent the flagellation, a chalice to commemorate the Last Supper, or a crowing rooster to denote the denial of Peter indicates.

Materials and distribution[ edit ]

The beads can be made from any material including wood, bone, glass, crushed flowers, semi-precious stones such as agate, jet, amber or jasper, or precious materials such as coral, crystal, silver and gold. Pearls can be crafted to contain trapped Sacred Relics or Holy Water Drops. Rosaries are sometimes made from the seeds of the ‘rosary pea’ or ‘pearl tree’. Today, the vast majority of rosaries are made of glass, plastic, or wood. It is common for beads to be made from materials of special significance, such as jet from the shrine of St. James in Santiago de Compostela or olive pits from the Garden of Gethsemane. On rare occasions, pearls are made from expensive materials, from gold and silver to mother-of-pearl and black diamond designs from Swarovski. Early rosaries were strung on threads, often silk, but modern ones are more commonly made as a series of links. Catholic missionaries in Africa have reported that bark rosaries were used for praying there due to the lack of conventional rosaries. Our Lady’s Rosary Makers produce approximately 7 million rosaries annually, which are distributed to those deemed economically and spiritually needy.[53]

Most rosaries used in the world today have simple and inexpensive plastic or wooden beads connected by cords or cords. The main cost is the labor for assembly. A large number of inexpensive rosaries are made in Asia, particularly China. Italy has a strong manufacturing presence in mid- and high-price rosaries.

Rosaries are often for sale; Hundreds of millions were also produced and distributed free of charge by Catholic lay and religious apostolates worldwide. There are a number of rosary clubs around the world that make rosaries free of charge and distribute them to missions, hospitals, prisons, etc. To maintain security in prisons, special rosaries are donated with a string that breaks easily.

Carrying the rosary[edit]

The Apostolate of Holy Maternity writes that the Virgin Mary encourages the faithful to wear the rosary and scapular because “it helps them to love Jesus more” and serves as a “protection from Satan”.[54] In addition, Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort encouraged Christians to wear the rosary, stating that this had “made him considerably easier”.[55] Many religious orders wear the rosary as part of their habit. A rosary hanging from the belt is often part of the Carthusian robe.[56]

Canon Law §1171 provides that sacred objects intended for worship by dedication or blessing are to be treated with respect and may not be used for profane or improper purposes, even if they belong to private individuals.[57] As such, according to Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at Regina Apostolorum University:

If the reason for wearing a rosary is a profession of faith, a reminder to pray it, or some similar reason “to the glory of God,” then there is nothing wrong with that. It would be disrespectful to wear it just as jewelry. This last point is something to keep in mind when wearing a rosary around your neck. First, while not unheard of, it is not common Catholic practice. … While a Catholic may wear a rosary around his neck for a good cause, he or she should consider whether the practice is understood positively in the cultural context in which the person moves. If misunderstanding is likely, then it would be better to avoid the practice… A similar reasoning is observed in dealing with rosary bracelets and rings, although in this case the likelihood of confusion as to meaning is far less. They are never just ornaments, but are worn as a sign of faith.[58]

Rosary ring from a decade

A rosary ring is a ring worn around the finger with 10 indentations and a cross on the surface representing a decade of a rosary. This and other religious rings were particularly popular in the 15th and 16th centuries.[59] These rosaries were given to some Catholic nuns at their solemn profession. A finger rosary is similar to a ring but slightly larger. Rosaries like these are used by either rotating them while praying or simply holding them between your finger and thumb. A hand rosary is a decade in a complete loop, with one bead separated from ten other beads. This is meant to be worn while walking or running to avoid tangling the larger guy.

In addition to a string of pearls, decadent rosaries are made in other physical forms. A rosary ring, also called “Basque Rosary”, is a finger ring with eleven knobs, ten rounds and a crucifix.

A rosary bracelet consists of ten beads and often a cross or medal. Another form is the rosary card. A rosary card is either one with a “handle” that moves like a slide rule to count the decade, or it has an entire rosary with studs, similar to braille and ancient counting systems. Some households that cannot afford Christian artwork or a crucifix hang a rosary.[61] In addition, many Christians hang rosaries on the rearview mirror of their cars as a sign of their faith and for protection when driving.[62]

Rosary and Scapular[ edit ]

Rosary and Scapular

“The Rosary and the Scapular are inseparable” are words attributed to the Virgin Mary by Lucia Santos, one of the three children who narrated the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Fátima in 1917 and later the apparitions at Pontevedra in 1925.[ 63] At these apparitions, the Virgin Mary reportedly called herself The Lady of the Rosary, and in one of the final appearances at Fátima on October 13, 1917, had a brown scapular in one hand and a rosary in the other. The Lady of the Rosary reportedly encouraged praying the rosary and wearing the brown scapular.[64]

Throughout history, the rosary and scapular have been encouraged and associated as objects of devotion and prayer by a number of popes, and certain indulgences have been attached to them.[65][66]

Click to Pray eRosary [ edit ]

In October 2019, the Vatican launched a $109 “electronic rosary” containing ten black agate and hematite beads and a metal cross that detects movement. It is connected to the Click to Pray eRosary mobile phone app, designed to help Catholic users pray for world peace and reflect on the Gospel. The rosary can be worn as a bracelet; it is activated by the sign of the cross. The app gives visual and audio explanations of the rosary.[67][68]

Rosary-based devotions[edit]

novenas [ edit ]

The use of novenas that include a rosary is popular among Catholics.[69] As with other novenas, the traditional method is to pray the rosary for nine consecutive days, making a request along with each prayer. Indulgences are granted for rosary novenas that involve specific prayers, e.g. a prayer to Catherine of Siena and Dominic of Osma.[70]

The longer “54-day rosary novena” consists of two parts of 27 days each, i.e. three repetitions of the 9-day novena cycle. It is an uninterrupted series of rosaries in honor of the Virgin Mary, reported as a private revelation by Fortuna Agrelli in Naples, Italy, in 1884.[71] Die Novene wird durchgeführt, indem siebenundzwanzig Tage lang jeden Tag fünf Jahrzehnte lang der Rosenkranz gebetet wird. Die zweite Phase, die unmittelbar darauf folgt, besteht aus fünf Jahrzehnten jeden Tag für siebenundzwanzig Tage in Danksagung und wird gebetet, ob der Bitte stattgegeben wurde oder nicht. Während der Novene wechseln sich die Meditationen zwischen den freudigen, traurigen und glorreichen Geheimnissen ab.

Rosenkranzperlen werden manchmal verwendet, um Rosenkranzgebete zu sagen, die nicht in erster Linie das Ave Maria und die Geheimnisse des Rosenkranzes beinhalten. Einige Formen des katholischen Rosenkranzes sind als Wiedergutmachung einschließlich der Sünden anderer gedacht. Ein Beispiel ist der Rosenkranz der Heiligen Wunden, der erstmals zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts von Marie Martha Chambon, einer katholischen Nonne des Klosters des Heimsuchungsordens in Chambéry, Frankreich, eingeführt wurde. Dieser Rosenkranz ähnelt in seiner Struktur dem von Faustina Kowalska eingeführten Rosenkranz der Barmherzigkeit Gottes, der auf den üblichen Rosenkranzperlen gesagt wird und als Akt der Wiedergutmachung für die Sünden der Welt an Jesus Christus gedacht ist. Diese Gebete verwenden oft Rosenkränze, aber ihre Worte und ihr Format entsprechen nicht den Mysterien. Sowohl Kowalska als auch Chambon schrieben diese Gebete Visionen von Jesus zu.[74]

Friedensrosenkranz [ bearbeiten ]

Ein kürzerer Friedensrosenkranz (auch bekannt als Arbeiterrosenkranz oder Friedensrosenkranz[75]) wird von Unserer Lieben Frau von Medjugorje für das regelmäßige Gebet empfohlen: „Es gibt viele Christen, die nicht mehr glauben, weil sie nicht beten. Fangen Sie deshalb an, täglich zu beten, mindestens sieben Mal, Vater Unser, Gegrüßet seist du, Maria, Ehre sei dem Vater, und ich glaube an Gott”. So besteht der Rosenkranz von Medjugorje aus 1 + 7 x 3 Perlen, mit einem Kreuz oder einer Medaille. Der Rosenkranz wurde später zur Grundlage für ein Gebet um die sieben Gaben des Heiligen Geistes, das als Rosenkranz zu Ehren des Heiligen Geistes bekannt und in viele Sprachen übersetzt wurde.[76] Später entwickelte sie sich zu einer „Fruchtnovene“ zum Heiligen Geist, zur Frucht des Heiligen Geistes,[77] basierend auf dem Rosenkranz und einem Zitat aus dem Galaterbrief: „Die Frucht des Geistes aber ist Liebe, Freude , Frieden, Nachsicht, Freundlichkeit, Güte, Treue, Sanftmut und Selbstbeherrschung. Gegen solche Dinge gibt es kein Gesetz“ (Gal. 5: 22-23).

Aufnahmen des Rosenkranzes [ bearbeiten ]

Aufnahmen der Rosenkranzgebete werden manchmal von Anhängern verwendet, um bei Aspekten des Gebets wie Tempo, Auswendiglernen und durch inspirierende Meditationen zu helfen. Einige der bekannteren sind:

Der Rosenkranz ist ein Ort, Benedict J. Groeschel und Simonetta, The Saint Philomena Foundation

Der Rosenkranz, Kevin Scallon und Dana, Heartbeat Records

Bete den Rosenkranz mit Patrick Peyton

Im nichtkatholischen Christentum

In anderen christlichen Gemeinschaften gibt es viele ähnliche Gebetspraktiken, jede mit ihren eigenen vorgeschriebenen Gebeten und ihrer eigenen Form von Gebetsperlen (in einigen Traditionen als “Chotki” bekannt), wie zum Beispiel das Gebetsseil im ostorthodoxen Christentum. Diese anderen Andachten und die damit verbundenen Perlen werden normalerweise als “Kränze” bezeichnet. Der Rosenkranz wird manchmal von anderen Christen verwendet, insbesondere im Luthertum, in der anglikanischen Gemeinschaft und in der altkatholischen Kirche.[78][79]

Ein weiteres Beispiel für Rosenkranzgebete ist der überkonfessionelle ökumenische Wunderrosenkranz, „eine Reihe von Gebeten und Meditationen, die Schlüsselmomente im Neuen Testament abdecken.“[80]

Anglicanism[ edit ]

Anglican prayer beads

Die Verwendung des katholischen Rosenkranzes ist unter Anglikanern der anglo-katholischen Kirchenkunst ziemlich verbreitet.[81] Viele anglo-katholische Gebetbücher und Andachtsbücher, wie das Gebetbuch des heiligen Augustinus, enthalten den katholischen Rosenkranz zusammen mit anderen Marienverehrungen. The public services of the Anglican churches, as contained in the Book of Common Prayer, do not directly invoke the Blessed Virgin or any other saint in prayer as the Thirty-Nine Articles reject the practice of praying to saints, but many Anglo-Catholics feel free to do so in their private devotions. Anglicans who pray the Catholic Rosary tend not to use the Luminous Mysteries or the Fátima decade prayer.[78]

Anglican prayer beads, also known informally as the “Anglican rosary,” are a recent innovation created in the 1980s.[82] They consist of four “weeks” (the equivalent of a decade) of seven beads each. The weeks are separated from each other by single beads termed “cruciform beads.” A variety of different prayers may be said, the most common being the Jesus Prayer.[citation needed]

Anglican Prayer Beads are not a Marian devotion, and there are no appointed meditations. Although it is sometimes called the “Anglican rosary,” it is distinct from the Rosary of Our Lady as prayed by Catholics, Anglicans, and other Western Christians.[81]

Lutheranism[ edit ]

A small minority of Lutherans pray the Rosary.[83] However, while using the Catholic format of the Rosary, each “Hail Mary” is replaced with the “Jesus Prayer”. The only time the “Hail Mary” is said is at the end of the Mysteries on the medal, where it is then replaced with the “Pre-Trent” version of the prayer (which omits “Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death”). The final “Hail Mary” can also be replaced by reciting of either the prayer Magnificat, or Martin Luther’s “Evangelical praise of the Mother of God.”[79]

The Wreath of Christ is used in the Lutheran Church of Sweden. While an official order and rubric for its use exists,[84] it is often used as a tool for reflection and meditation rather than recitation of specific prayers or devotions, often as part of confirmation classes.[85] Some members of the Church of Sweden of high-church or evangelical catholic churchmanship will pray the traditional rosary, sometimes in an ecumenical setting with Roman Catholics.[86]

Churches named for the Holy Rosary [ edit ]

Catholic Marian church buildings around the world named in honor of the rosary include: the Shrine of the Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei in Italy, Our Lady of the Rosary Basilica in the archdiocesan seat of Rosario province, Argentina; the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás in the neighboring suffragan diocese of San Nicolás de los Arroyos, Our Lady of Pompeii in New York City, which is named for the Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompei, the Rosary Basilica in Lourdes, Nossa Senhora do Rosário in Porto Alegre, Brazil, The Chapel of the Virgin of the Rosary (1531–1690) in Puebla City, Mexico.[citation needed]

In Marian art [ edit ]

Since the 17th century, the rosary began to appear as an element in key pieces of Catholic Marian art. Key examples include Murrillo’s Madonna with the Rosary at the Museo del Prado in Spain and the statue of Madonna with Rosary at the church of San Nazaro Maggiore in Milan.[citation needed]

Madonna and rosary by Nicola Porta

Madonna with rosary, by Guido Reni, 1596

Madonna offering Saint Dominic rosary by August Palme, 1860

Madonna with the Rosary by Murillo, 1650

Madonna of the Rosary statue, Naples, Italy

Rosary Madonna, Porto Alegre, Brazil

Madonna with Rosary, South-Tyrol, Austria

Madonna with Rosary by Josef Mersa, Italy

Crucifixion and rosary

Saint Anthony with a rosary

Rosary with pomander

Old woman praying

Madonna of the Rosary by Caravaggio

See also[edit]

References[ edit ]

quotes[edit]

Works Cited[ edit ]

General references[ edit ]

“Rosary” in New Catholic Encyclopedia. Ed. Catholic University of America. New York: McGraw Hill, 1967.

Further reading[edit]

The Forgotten Church: 5 Reasons to Pray for Souls in Purgatory

“Purgatory shows God’s great mercy and washes away the faults of those who yearn to become one with him.” – St. Josemaría Escriva

When was the last time you heard a sermon on purgatory? If your church is like most, it’s a very long time. Getting more personal, when was the last time you prayed for the Holy Souls? If you’re like many Catholics, the answer isn’t recently. The souls in purgatory are too often forgotten by Catholics, and I fear it is often out of a misguided desire not to appear medieval (as if that were a bad thing), superstitious, or, worse, ecumenically insensitive.

Regardless of the reasons for its neglect, it is the consistent teaching of the Church that purgatory is quite real and that there are countless souls in need of our prayers. But I am not here to prove that purgatory exists or to provide a theological basis for its existence. Rather, it is meant to urge you to pray for the suffering of the Church. Here are 5 reasons to pray for the relief of our brothers and sisters in purgatory.

1. The pain is real – The suffering of purgatory is compared by the saints to burning in a blazing fire. In fact, some saints have even said that the pain of purgatory is not all that different from the suffering of hell. One of the main sources of pain is the fact that salvation has been obtained, and yet its consolations cannot be enjoyed immediately. This delay in enjoying heaven leads to a kind of spiritual torment. St. Thomas Aquinas explains it this way:

The more you crave something, the more painful the withdrawal becomes. And because after this life the desire for God, the Supreme Good, is intense in the souls of the righteous (because this drive towards Him is not hindered by the weight of the body, and that time of enjoying the Perfect Good would have come) if there were no hindrance would have given the soul suffers enormously from the delay.

So the souls in purgatory are suffering in a very real and painful way, a way that we cannot fully understand. We have the ability to help and relieve them through our prayers and actions.

2. They are our relatives – Many of us have blood relatives – grandmothers, aunts and uncles and parents – who have died and are probably in purgatory. We should pray for their souls out of love for them. But even if we don’t have dead relatives, we know that the souls in purgatory are still our spiritual brothers and sisters. We are related by baptism into Christ, and this family relationship should inspire us to act on her behalf.

3. You’ll Likely Go There – Let’s face it, most of us just aren’t holy enough to bypass purgatory, and the vast majority of us will experience its cleansing fires. If you were suffering badly, wouldn’t you wish someone could bring you relief? yes you would So praying for the Holy Souls is a fulfillment of the Golden Rule given to us by Christ – to do to others as you would like yourself. If you feel an aversion to praying for the poor souls, just think of what you would wish for if you were in their place.

4. It Will Bring You Joy – Praying for the souls in purgatory is not without reward. Can you imagine the joy of one day meeting brothers and sisters in Christ in heaven and realizing that you have helped them with your humble prayers? “When we enter Heaven we will see them, so many of them will come up to us and thank us,” Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “We will ask who they are and they will say, poor soul, for that you prayed in purgatory. ” The small sacrifice of time we have made in this life will be worth it when we see the faces of those who have benefited from our prayers.

5. It’s not that hard – Praying for the souls in purgatory is quite easy, so easy that we have no excuse not to do it. A prayer for the Holy Souls can be as simple as the short Requiem Aeternam prayer: “Eternal rest, grant him/her, O Lord, and shine upon him/her eternal light. May she rest in peace. Amen.” We can also add a brief request to our daily food prayer: “Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts… And may the souls of the deceased believers rest in peace by the mercies of God.” Why not do these simple prayers daily pray?

Two effective ways to pray for the souls in purgatory are by praying the Divine Mercy Rosary for them and remembering them in your rosary intentions. The Chaplets of Mercy and Rosary take about 10 to 20 minutes to complete. Even praying these powerful prayers for the Holy Souls once a week is not much to ask considering the benefits it brings to your spiritual family members.

At the end you can have a mass read for the poor souls. Bulk grants are usually $10, the cost of two coffees at Starbucks. This merciful almsgiving is pleasing to God and hardly troublesome to us.

start praying

Purgatory is nothing but an experience of the burning and purifying mercy of God, a purifying love that with its intensity consumes all imperfections. Although it may seem strange for us to inflict love and mercy as pain, this is the reality of purgatory.

We have the power to help and bring relief to our suffering friends. To do so is an act of mercy and self-giving love. The sacrifice it asks of us is minimal, yet the rewards are great. On this All Souls’ Day, let us renew our commitment to pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering in God’s cleansing love.

Requiem Aeternam dona eis, Domine

Et lux perpetua luceateis:

Required in Tempo. Amen.

“There is no doubt that we can help the souls of the dead through the prayers of the church, through the holy sacrifice of the Mass, and through the alms we offer for them.” –St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church

HOW TO EARN FULL INVENTATIONS FOR THE HOLY SOULS IN NOVEMBER:

Our beloved Church, in her wisdom, has given us, the militant Church, the ability to more quickly help ourselves and the suffering members of the Church—the Holy Souls in purgatory—to join the triumphant Church—those in Heaven. The method for this is indulgences.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF DIVORCE: COMPLETE AND PARTIAL. A partial pardon forgives a portion of the temporal penalty due; a plenary indulgence remits all of it.

We can obtain indulgences every day of the year, which is a great blessing for all of us. (To learn more about indulgences, read our introduction to indulgences (you must be a member to access the library group).)

However, November brings a special gift.

In November the sky darkens, the leaves fall from the trees and our thoughts turn to the Holy Souls in Purgatory, to whom the whole month is dedicated. This month the Church gives us special opportunities to help our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.

Each day from November 1st to 8th, the faithful can obtain a plenary indulgence that can only be granted to Holy Souls. We do this by performing one of these actions:

Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead. Our prayers can be verbal (out loud) or mental (in our heads). We can pray anything, although generally an Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory be sufficient. Or you can pray the Requiem aeternam (Eternal Rest): Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, Et lux perpetua luceat eis. Required in Tempo. “Give them everlasting rest, O Lord, and let everlasting light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.” Other ways to pray: devoutly recite eulogy or vespers from the Office of the Dead (English or Latin) For more information, see this NC Register article: How to Pray the Ancient and Powerful Office of the Dead. Visit one on All Souls’ Day church or an oratory and pray the Lord’s Prayer and the Apostles’ Creed.

During the remainder of the year, these actions can obtain plenary indulgences. *Read How You Can Help the Holy Souls in Purgatory from the NC Register.

NOTE: The usual conditions for obtaining an indulgence are also required.

REQUIREMENT

In order to receive an indulgence, we MUST do the following things:

TO DEMAND. In order to obtain an indulgence, one must want and intend an indulgence. It doesn’t happen by accident. Usually, before I begin whatever I am doing to receive the indulgence, I just say, “Jesus, I am doing this to receive a plenary indulgence.” You can also pray this morning prayer and it should cover you for the day:

O my God, united to the Immaculate Heart of Mary (kiss your scapular) I offer you the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars of the whole world, uniting with it the offering of all my thoughts, words and deeds day. O my Jesus, today I desire to obtain every indulgence and merit that I can and I offer them together with myself to Mary Immaculate so that she may best use them in the interest of Your Sacred Heart. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us! Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us! Amen.

CONFESSION . They must go to confession “several” days before or after the act of indulgence. Traditionally this has been 8-10 days, although in the Great Jubilee of 2000 the number of days was increased to 20 and this decision remains intact. Note: You must be in a state of grace to receive a plenary indulgence. This means that you must be free from any attachment to sin at the time you perform the act of indulgence. You can’t be mad at people, hold grudges, hate someone, etc. Confess everything and let it go!

. They must go to confession “several” days before or after the act of indulgence. Traditionally this has been 8-10 days, although in the Great Jubilee of 2000 the number of days was increased to 20 and this decision remains intact. : You must be in a state of grace to receive a plenary indulgence. That is, at the time of performing the act of indulgence, . You can’t be mad at people, hold grudges, hate someone, etc. Confess everything and let it go! COMMUNION . Receive Holy Communion. During Mass is preferable, although other times are permitted. The day of the act of indulgence is also preferred but not required. You can obtain ONE plenary indulgence per Holy Communion.

. Receive Holy Communion. During Mass is preferable, although other times are permitted. The day of the act of indulgence is also preferred but not required. You can obtain ONE plenary indulgence per Holy Communion. PAPAL INTENTIONS. You must pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. This does not pray for the Pope himself, but for his intentions, which he publishes every month. They don’t need to know what they are – God knows. A Lord’s Prayer, Hail Mary and Glory be enough.

COVID CHANGES

Due to the ongoing pandemic, these opportunities – normally limited to 8 days – have again been extended to the entire month of November!!

According to the decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary of October 28, 2021 on the plenary indulgence for the deceased:

After hearing the various requests recently received from various Holy Shepherds of the Church due to the ongoing state of the pandemic, the Apostolic COVENANTS confirms and extends for the entire month of November 2021 all the spiritual benefits already granted on October 22, 2020 , by Decree Protocol No. 791/20/I, which, due to the “Covid-19” pandemic, extended the plenary indulgences for the deceased faithful for the entire month of November 2020.

According to the Decree of the Apostolic Penitentiary on the Plenary Indulgence for the Faithful Deceased in the Current Pandemic, published on October 23, 2020:

a.- The Plenary Indulgence for visiting the cemetery and praying for the deceased, albeit only mentally, which is normally reserved only for the individual days from November 1st to 8th, can be postponed to other days of the same month until its end. These days freely chosen by the individual believers can also be separated from each other;

b- The Plenary Indulgence of November 2, instituted on the occasion of the commemoration of all the faithful who have died, for those who devoutly attend a church or chapel and there pray the “Our Father” and the “Confession of Faith”, may not be conferred solely on on Sunday before or after or on the day of All Saints’ Day, but also on another day of November freely chosen by the individual believers.

The elderly, the sick and all those who, for serious reasons, cannot leave their homes, for example due to restrictions imposed by the competent authority during this period of the pandemic, in order to prevent crowds of the faithful from crowding into the holy places, will be able to obtain the plenary indulgence as long as they unite spiritually with all other believers, totally detached from sin and intending to fulfill the three usual conditions (sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to intentions) as soon as possible of the Holy Father) ), in front of an image of Jesus or the Blessed Virgin Mary, recite devotional prayers for the deceased, e.g. the faithful, or engage in thoughtful reading of one of the Gospel passages suggested by the liturgy of the deceased, or do a work of mercy by making your way d the S worries and hardships of their own lives.

(Read the whole thing here.)

FINE PRINT

We can only obtain one plenary indulgence each day. EXCEPT the day we die when we can have two.

We can only offer indulgences for our own sins or for the Holy Souls in purgatory. (See the indulgence primer on the heroic act of charity linked below.)

on the heroic act of charity.) If you strive to obtain a full indulgence but do not meet all the requirements, the indulgence will only be partial.

For the benefit of the lawfully disabled, confessors can commute both the prescribed work and the required conditions (except for detachment from even venial sin).

More information about indulgences can be found in this primer on indulgences in the library group*

*You must join the group to access the link

IMAGE: Pixabay

“Eternal rest” is one of several Christian prayers for the dead that have been used since the dawn of Christianity. In Latin, the prayer is known as “Requiem Æternam”. It is recited after the death of a loved one to ask God to bless the deceased, guarantee their safe passage to heaven (or paradise) and ensure they rest in peace.

Prayer and Variations

There are several versions of “Eternal Rest”, including various translations of the original Latin prayer and variations. The version recited by Catholics reads:

“Give them eternal rest, O Lord,

And let eternal light shine on them.

May they rest in peace.

Amen.”

When praying for a specific person, you can replace “her” with “him” or “she.”

The translation recited by Lutherans is:

“Give them eternal rest, O Lord;

And let the eternal light shine on them.

May they rest in peace.

Amen.”

The translation recited by Anglicans is:

“Rest them eternal mercy, O Lord,

And let the eternal light shine on them.

May they rest in peace.

Amen.”

A variation of “Eternal Rest” is sometimes recited by Methodists during the funeral service:

“Eternal God,

we commend you for the great company of all of them

who have finished their walk of faith

and now rest from her work.

We praise you for those we care about

whom we name before you in our hearts.

We especially praise you for [name],

whom you have graciously received into your presence.

Grant all these your peace.

let eternal light shine upon them;

and help us to believe where we have not seen,

that your presence may guide us through our years,

and finally take us with you

into the joy of your home

not made with hands, but eternal in the heavens;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”

background

Belief in life after death is an important aspect of Christianity. Believers believe that a person’s soul or spirit passes on to another world after death. In Roman Catholicism, the state one enters immediately after death is purgatory, a frontier zone where the deceased is subjected to divine judgment. This judgment leads either to eternal damnation in hell or to heaven. Some Christians believe that purgatory is where the soul undergoes a final purification or purification before entering heaven. This is an explicit part of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“All who die in God’s grace and friendship but are imperfectly cleansed are sure of their eternal salvation; but after death they are purified to attain the holiness necessary to enter into the joy of heaven.”

It is believed that praying for the dead assists the soul in this process of purification. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, souls who “have departed in faith but have not had time to produce fruits worthy of penance” may be “assisted in attaining a blessed resurrection by prayers offered for them”. Prayer for the dead has been part of the Christian liturgy since the time of the early apostles.

This is not to say that all Christians pray for the dead. Many Protestant groups, for example, oppose this practice on the grounds that once a person dies, they are tried and no intercession can be made for them. The Niblian support for this belief is found at Hebrews 9:27:

“[I]st is for mortals to die once, and after that judgment.”

Wallace Thompson, secretary of Evangelical Protestants Northern Ireland put it more bluntly:

“We believe that when death comes, a person either goes to Christ for eternity or to hell.”

Adherents of this view consider praying for the dead futile and contrary to Bible teaching.

rest in peace

The phrase “rest in peace” (Latin requiescat in pace), which occurs in the prayer “eternal rest”, is also used in traditional Christian liturgies and prayers such as the requiem mass. The phrase (sometimes abbreviated R.I.P.) has been engraved on Christian tombstones since the eighth century. Some Christians use this saying as a request to God to grant the soul of the deceased peace in the afterlife. Others use it as a general blessing for the dead.