Spiritual Benefits of Masses

“Therefore (Judas Maccabeus) made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.”

From the beginning Holy Mother Church has honored the memory of the dead by offering prayers in suffrage for them. Why have a Mass offered? The Holy Mass is a Eucharist, that is, an act of thanksgiving, of praise, of joy. It is also the most efficacious means to help the souls languishing in Purgatory. The Holy Mass is the highest act of worship and highest form of prayer.

Prayer is crucial in our lives. Prayer works miracles. We are bound to pray during this life if we wish to enjoy the bliss of heaven. Prayer is the key of Heaven. Prayer is an indispensable means of attaining salvation for ourselves and our deceased loved ones. Fervent and submissive prayer penetrates the clouds and moves the heart of God to mercy. The prayer of St. Augustine for his mother, St. Monica, is an important testimony from the early Church about prayer for the dead. He wrote: “Forgive her too, O Lord, if she trespassed against you in the long years of her life after baptism. Forgive her I beseech, you; do not call her to account. Let your mercy give your judgment an honorable welcome, for your words are true and you have promised mercy to the merciful.” (Confessions, Book 9:13). Who are the holy souls? They are our families, relatives, friends, deceased consecrated to God. Those whom no one prays for. Who do you miss the most? Who do you wish you could have done more for in this life? Who hurt you ? Who helped you the most spiritually or temporally? Have a Mass offered for them! And remember to have Masses offered for yourselves. What better, more useful gift for the living and for our dead!

We often hear, “Oh, the soul of this or that person is certainly in Heaven.” However, their situation is more like the sick man who waited for many weary years at Bethsaida’s pool for someone to assist him into the healing waters. They are saying, “We have no one to help us. We long for the Precious Blood of Jesus.”

We invite you in a special way to offer Masses this November for your deceased loved ones. By offering your Masses through the Missions you are providing bread and wine for the Eucharist for a priest in mission countries! These offerings help with liturgical expenses, books for seminarians, expenses for the priest’s livelihood, the life of the Church. These priests depend on your Masses as their lifeline! Many missionary priests serve in the poorest countries of the earth and labor in circumstances of profound personal hardship. They depend on the support of your Mass offerings to allow them to continue spreading the Gospel to these, God’s beloved poor. This is what your $5 donation for a Mass offering does!

Many Mass books are full a year in advance. By having a Mass offered through the Missions your Mass will be offered immediately.

Finally, did you know that many Missionary priests lack even a chalice to celebrate the Mass? The Mission Office provides chalices for these priests. This is made possible by the generosity of donors who donate $170 for a chalice with the donor’s name engraved. What better way to be remembered at the altar of God through this missionary priest!

“O Holy Host, you that breaks down the gates of Purgatory and opens the door of the Kingdom of Heaven to the faithful!”
- St. Pierre Damien

The whole month of November is dedicated to the Holy Souls. Under the ancient law the Month of the Dead was one of the most general and one of the most usual forms of prayer for the deceased; indeed devotion towards the dead appears to be one of the most remarkable rites among the Jews. It was decreed after the death of the patriarch Jacob that his sons should mourn him for 30 days. It was the same on the death of the high-priest Aaron, and of his brother Moses; The people of Israel believed that they could not better satisfy their gratitude to these great men than by offering to God supplications.

This pious practice of praying for the departed during the entire uninterrupted month became so deeply rooted among the chosen people that Scripture assures us mourning is only complete when the deceased has been sorrowed over during 30 days. From this comes the holy rite called the Month of the Dead.

Pope John Paul II convoked October 2004-October-2005 as the Year of the Eucharist. The Most Holy Eucharist is the Source and Summit of our Faith. The Mass is the most efficacious means to help, to relieve, and to deliver the souls in Purgatory. At the beginning of the monumental year we can truly benefit and celebrate this great gift. We invite you in a special way to offer Masses this November and throughout the YEAR OF THE EUCHARIST! Here’s how…

· Have individual Masses offered for your deceased loved ones, friends, yourselves, special occasions, during Holidays. It is a refreshing surprise to give someone the gift of prayer. St. Anselm tells us that those we hear or have offered during life are more profitable than those offered for us after death. In this way we shall not be at the mercy of those who remain behind. Only by the means of the Mass can we nourish the hope of being received into Heaven immediately after death, without having to pass through the purification of Purgatory.

· Offer Gregorian Masses which are a series of 30 Masses celebrated on 30 consecutive days for the repose of one deceased soul. Put these in your Will.

· Enroll you and your family in Propagation of the Faith Memberships. You are remembered in 15,000 Masses each year and a daily Mass in Vatican City!

· Offer heartfelt prayers before the Blessed Sacrament or in Eucharistic Adoration. From the Sacred Host streams of alleviating grace flow into the expiatory realms of purgatory, bringing unspeakable relief to those imprisoned there.

By praying, offering Masses and making sacrifices for the Holy Souls we have the power and privilege to shorten their Purgatory and unite them fully with God. In return, their gratitude will bring you countless blessings. There is no ungrateful soul in Heaven. They will be our intercessors until we are home in Heaven. God refuses them nothing! How can we pass up this grace! The Lord is never outdone in generosity. Let us be missionaries of the Eucharist for the Holy Souls! The word “Eucharist” means thanksgiving. Let us thank the Lord for our families, friends, and for the gift of this Eucharistic year.

“Christ, ‘living bread which came down from heaven,’ is the only one who can satisfy man’s hunger at all times and in all parts of the earth.”
- John Paul II, June 10, 2004.