Monday - All Souls Day - Go to Holy Mass!!!

Tomorrow is All Souls Day... so you should go to Mass. Why? Because the dead can't pray for themselves... at least not in Purgatory. Don't believe me? Go to "Te Deum laudamus" to find out more info:
Te Deum laudamus!: Monday - All Souls Day - Go to Holy Mass!!!

Some of that post has to do with the Local Parish: Assumption Grotto, but the end of the post has a lot of good info pertaining to All Souls and Purgatory.

One of the best resources is the article by Fr. John Hardon:
"The Doctrine of Purgatory"

I think that it is important to pray for our dead. Especially, we should remember those that don't have anyone to pray for them, or those least remembered by others. We should not assume who will and will not receive the grace and glory of heaven, and therefore should pray for all those souls.

Also indulgences are granted during the week if we go to a cemetery and pray for the dead. I know that indulgences are a touchy subject for some, especially in light of history, but here is Fr. Perrone's explanation:

Regarding indulgences, all partial indulgences can be applied to the dead. For the plenary indulgence proper to All Souls Day, the following applies. One must visit a church on this day and spend some time (unspecified) praying for the dead. One must also add Lord’s Prayer and the Creed (Apostle’s Creed of the Sunday Mass creed). The other ‘usual conditions’ (see below) must also be present. If there is something unfulfilled in these conditions, the indulgence granted will be only partial.

Also, from November 1st through the 8th one may gain a plenary indulgence for the dead by visiting a cemetery and, while there, praying for the faithful departed. Again, there are no specified prayers to be said, except for those outlined in the ‘usual conditions,’ provided that one says, even only mentally, some prayers for the dead.

The ‘usual conditions’ are these: the one performing the work to gain the indulgence must be free from all sins, mortal and venial (venial sins can be remitted by an act of contrition, which is a good way to begin a work to gain an indulgence); one must receive the sacraments of Confession and Holy Communion: the Confession may be some days before or even after the day of the indulgenced work; the Communion preferably on the same day; one must add some prayers for the Pope (many different ones are possible, but the Lord’s Prayer and Hail Mary are sufficient).

Final word on indulgences for today: a plenary indulgence frees one from all the temporal punishment due to sins; a partial frees one from some of it. A plenary indulgence may be gained only once on any day.

So this may be something to do this week. If you do this, report in the comment box and let me know how things go!