November 10, 2023
Dear Friends,
We are in the month of praying for the Poor Souls. We may grieve for our beloved dead, but we grieve with hope. There is no greater way to show our love for our dead than to have Masses said for them as they undergo their final purification in Purgatory. Whether you request MASS INTENTIONS at St. Joseph Chapel (400 South Blvd. West, Pontiac, MI 48341), at your parish or elsewhere, please consider offering Masses for the Poor Souls not just in November but regularly. The Catechism says, “The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead” (n. 1032) and especially praying the Rosary and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Please remember that “by divine law all the faithful are required to do penance” (Pope St. Paul VI, Paenitemini, 1966). (We can still abstain from meat on Fridays, but also abstain and fast on other days.)
MASS INTENTIONS are an enormous help to us. (Terra Sancta Ministries, a 501 c 3 charitable non-profit, operates the shrine only with volunteers and without monetary support from the Archdiocese of Detroit and the Franciscan Order.) As the number of Catholics shrink, fewer Masses are being offered for the Poor Souls—some of whom we know, most of whom we do not. The Poor Souls can’t thank you know, but it is a well-founded theological opinion that they can pray for us even in Purgatory AND they certainly will out of gratitude in Heaven. Wherever you have Masses, know your “spiritual almsgiving” will have eternal effects for the needy souls … and for you!
To communicate with me, please DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL but email me directly at [email protected] or call/text me at (313) 727-9784. St. Joseph, Patron of a Holy Death, pray for us!
In Jesus, Mary & Joseph,
Fr. Alex Kratz, OFM
Spiritual Director of Terra Sancta Ministries