Remember, O Lord, Thy servants, who have gone before us with the sign of faith and rest in the sleep of peace.
To these, O Lord, and to all who rest in Christ, grant, we pray Thee, a place of refreshment, of light, and of peace.
Through the same Christ our Lord. Amen.
By Purgatory we mean a place where souls suffer for a time after death on account of their sins, 1 Cor. iii. 15 : " Some shall be saved, yet so as by fire.'' We are In communion with the souls in Purgatory by helping them with our prayers and good works.-- Catechism.
In purgatory, souls suffer for a while in satisfaction for their sins before they can enter heaven. The principal suffering of these souls consists in the pain of experiencing, on the one hand, an intense longing for God and, on the other, a realisation that they are hindered from possessing Him by reason of their past sins. Unlike the souls in hell, they are certain of one day seeing God. They can be helped, moreover, by the prayers of the faithful on earth, and especially by the offering of Mass.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood Of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the Universal Church, those in my own home and within my own family. Amen.