Ave Maria Meditations
Prayer For The Holy Souls:
Eternal Father, turn Your merciful graze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg You, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus, Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded, manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way than through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion. Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on the Poor Souls in Purgatory.
– Diary of St. Faustina, 1227
Prayer For All The Faithful Departed:
Heavenly Father, I believe that in Your wisdom and justice You willed to purify all persons who die without having attained the state that they need for all eternity, all who have still to expiate completely the sins committed here on earth.
I also believe that You mercifully arranged that this process of purification can be aided by the prayers of the living, and especially by the Eucharist. Help me to pray for my brothers and sisters who have departed from this world. (Here mention the names of those you pray for.)
May their time of purification be short, and may they be quickly guided into that holy light promised by our Lord to Abraham and his descendants. I offer You sacrifices and prayers of praise. Accept them for all the souls of the faithful departed and admit them all to the eternal joy of heaven. Amen.
From The New Saint Joseph People’s Prayer Book
Prayer For All Souls:
Dear God of Mercy, I pray this day for all souls, both known and unknown to me, who, although touched by death, have not yet entered Your Heavenly Kingdom. While they loved you in their lifetime, they failed in some way to attain the perfection Heaven demands. So in my love for them, I offer my prayers, my small works of mercy in the hope that Your mercy will flow to them and bring them to eternal peace with You.
May they intercede for me for the graces I may need to live out my life on earth in perfect obedience and love of You, my Father, so that I, too, may join them in everlasting life with You in Heaven. May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.
-from the Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary
