Fall-Winter 2013-2014

30 M arian H elper • F all /W inter 2013 •  www.marian.org F ather Dan Cambra, MIC, spiritual director of the Holy Souls Sodality, recently shared some of his favorite practices for aiding the Holy Souls as a way to help the faithful prepare for November, the month when the Church especially encourages us to remember the Holy Souls in Purgatory. On Nov. 2, we commemorate All Souls Day for all the faithful departed who are undergoing purification for their sins in purgatory. We are then invited to remember them in special ways throughout the month of November, mindful that they cannot help themselves. Father Dan, can you share some of your personal practices for the Holy Souls in Purgatory? I do a lot of traveling to parishes to share the Divine Mercy message. During the past year, I racked up something like 30,000 miles by car. In all that driving, we went past quite a few cemeteries — there are some quaint, little cemeteries here in New England that might have as few as a dozen headstones. There’s one just up the road that I go past often. I doubt that many people even realize that it’s a cemetery. The stones are small, and it’s not well cared for. Every time I go by, I encourage the Marians I’m traveling with to join me in saying the Eternal Rest Prayer for the Poor Souls. Together, we pray: “Eternal Rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.” This is one of those practices I learned from my grandparents when I was a child. We would travel from Provincetown, Mass., to Plymouth or New Bedford to visit relatives. Along the way, we passed a lot of different cemeteries — Protestant cemeteries, Catholic cemeteries, or family plots with just a few headstones — and as we passed them, my family would say a prayer. Whenever we honor the dead in this way, we are not praying just for the souls of those buried in that particular cemetery, but we are remembering all the faithful departed. Are there other practices from childhood? When we would go down by the seashore, I remember that my great grandmother would encourage us to pray for all those who are buried at sea. Some of my ancestors were commercial fishermen, and certainly a lot of commercial fishermen have met with an untimely death. My great grandmother would take us down by the shore, and she would always say, “Let’s say a prayer for all those who were buried at sea.” She would pray a simple Hail Mary and then say, “Mary, Star P raying for the H oly S ouls Father Dan Cambra, MIC, prays the Rosary using a Holy Souls Rosary. The beads go from black to white and are used to pray for a particular soul in purgatory. The white beads signify the soul’s entrance into heaven. Father Dan Cambra, MIC, talks about his practices. by Andrew Leeco A ndrew L eeco Click here to learn how to pray the Rosary. s