A November tradition of mercy you can do: Remembering the souls who time forgets
By DEACON ADAM COX
Special to Catholic Times
Shortly after I was brought into the Catholic Church, I signed up for a time slot in the adoration chapel at my parish. My time was between 3-4 p.m. on Saturday, and it worked out perfectly because I could go to Mass when my time in chapel was up. I really cherished that time because for the first part of the hour, I would gaze upon Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, and I just knew He was staring back at me. I would often pray a Rosary, and before I left the chapel, I would say prayers from a book that I always carried with me. This prayer book had prayers that could be said for certain times of the year with a specific theme for the month.
November had the Prayer of St. Gertrude and other prayers for the dead. I always felt a huge conviction to pray them all, but I never understood why. The desire to say those prayers grew into a yearly tradition where my wife and I would go to a different cemetery every week during the month of November to pray for the dead. (November is the month dedicated in the Catholic Church to pray for the dead.) We simply walk the grounds while praying a Rosary along with the Prayer of St. Gertrude for everyone who is buried there. If we feel called to a certain headstone, we stop and pray a Hail Mary for that soul.
We do this for two reasons. The first reason is death is something we all will face at some point and second, after a generation or two, the people buried in that cemetery are often forgotten. When our life ends, it does not mean we do not need prayers anymore because our soul could be in purgatory. The people that have gone before us are still our brothers and sisters in Christ, so praying for them brings a deep sense of connection to them, and God can use our prayers to expediate their time in purgatory and bring them to their heavenly reward.
My wife and I do our cemetery walk every November with the hope that someday, someone will do the same for us and our children. Remember that the people in our lives that have passed on are not gone, but have started a new chapter. This November, take the time to pray for your friends, family, and people you don’t know in a cemetery that have gone before us.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Prayer of St. Gertrude
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
Deacon Adam Cox serves at Mother of Perpetual Help Parish in Maryville.
Why pray for the dead?
Purgatory is the state of spiritual cleansing that occurs after death for souls who are destined for Heaven but still need purification from lesser sins or imperfections. Scripture teaches that “nothing impure will enter Heaven” (Revelation 21:27) and that not all sins are deadly to our relationship with God (1 John 5:17). Purgatory exists at the intersection of these truths: it is where souls are made completely pure before entering God’s presence.
The idea of purgatory is rooted in both Scripture and early Christian tradition. In 2 Maccabees 12, the Jews are shown praying for the dead — a practice that only makes sense if there is a temporary state of purification after death. Early Christians continued this practice, as reflected in New Testament passages such as 1 Corinthians 3:15 and 1 Peter 1:7, which speak of a cleansing fire. The Church has always understood purgatory as a temporary state, not a permanent destination — once a soul is fully purified, it enters the joy of Heaven.
From the earliest centuries, Christians have prayed for the dead, believing our prayers can assist those undergoing purification. Just as we pray for the living, trusting that God will grant them grace and strength, we also pray for the deceased, confident that our prayers can help shorten their time of cleansing. In His mercy, God allows our prayers to aid souls on their journey to Heaven, reminding us of the deep unity that exists between the living and the dead in the Body of Christ.