Marian Helper Fall 2015

Help souls to heaven gatory means you’ll get to heaven some day, but that you have a few things God has to ‘iron out’ first.” From there, one activity I like to encourage children to do is to make small sacrifices for their loved ones who have died, such as saying, “I won’t eat that sec- ond cookie, and will instead offer it for Grandma who has passed away.” When I bring kids int o Adoration, I have them imag- ine that particular person who has died is cradled in their hands, then I have them lift their hands up to an image of Jesus as they offer that person to the Lord. I have had kids tell me afterwards that they could feel the Lord was telling them, “Don’t worry” — he is tak- ing care of this person. As for the older kids, one of my favorite activities is to have them imagine themselves as a Holy Soul in Purgatory. Then I tell them that they have been for- gotten. I let them picture what it would be like to be stuck waiting, hoping that someone will help them get to heaven. Then I tell them that because of one per- son’s prayers, they are now in heaven. I ask the kids, “If you were that soul, would you ever forget what that one person, who maybe didn’t even know who you were, did for you?” It really gets them thinking. They often say, “I would never forget that person.” I go on to explain that once those souls in purga- tory reach heaven, they become the personal patron saint of the person who helped them be released from purgatory. Further, I tell them that by praying for the Holy Souls, you, in a sense, get an army of saints who want to return the favor to you in some way. So that can be a way of getting your children and grandchildren to think about how they can actively create this army of prayer warriors just by helping the Holy Souls. What are some prayers you can have younger children say to hasten the progression of the souls of the faithful departed in purgatory to their place in Heaven? The Eternal Rest prayer i s a great one. You could teach them that prayer at the same time that they are learning the Our Father o r the Act of Contrition. A nother great one is the Memorare because it offers you the chance to specifically com- mend to God that person who has died. As for the older children, I would teach them the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. I would also suggest the Prayer of St. Gertrude. The key to all of this is that they offer a prayer from the heart. They can pray during Adoration, th e Mass, t he Rosary, or at any moment throughout the day. An army of future saints awaits. In upcoming Holy Souls Sodality newsletters, I will have more suggestions for teaching children about the Holy Souls. See marian.org/b27 to join the Holy Souls Sodality or to join the Marians in our November remembrance. Father Andy Davy, MIC, serves as the pastor of St. Mary Parish in Plano, Illinois, and has enjoyed working in youth ministry for the past 20 years. Join the Holy Souls Sodality. The Holy Souls in Purgatory need your prayers. They can’t pray for themselves. Receive a Holy Souls rosary when you join the Sodality. To sign up, visit marian.org/b27 o r call (413) 298-1382. MH