Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matt. 7:7
Today is All Souls Day. The Feast of All Souls follows All Saints Day, and commemorates the faithful departed, those who die in God's faith and friendship.
However, Catholics believe that not all who die immediately are ready for heaven. Some of us need a bit more work. We call this time set aside for the fine-tuning of our character purgatory. We don’t really know how long purgatory lasts. Upon our death we leave behind time as we experience it. Our spirits will be outside of “time” – no more clocks or appointment books. For me, that puts the whole dilemma into the category of “time will tell”, not to make a pun.
My favorite aspect of All Souls Day is being told exactly how I am to pray. I am told to pray for all the souls floating around in purgatory, hopefully, cutting some time off of their sentence.
Prayer is very difficult for me and I don’t think I’m the Lone Ranger when it comes to this issue. I never seem to have the time, am too tired, too distracted, and sometimes can’t even figure out what to pray about. I am much more likely to read a book about prayer, of which I have bunches, then I am to just pray.
So, gentle reader, what are we to do?? Perhaps we need to first pray for ourselves. I know, I know – that seems awfully selfish. But, is it really? If we don’t first ask for the help we need in prayer, we’ll never pray. And if we never pray, some poor soul might have to hang around purgatory longer than necessary. I envision a horrible downward spiral in the world in general, all based on our not praying.
For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. Matt. 7:7
Today is All Souls Day. The Feast of All Souls follows All Saints Day, and commemorates the faithful departed, those who die in God's faith and friendship.
However, Catholics believe that not all who die immediately are ready for heaven. Some of us need a bit more work. We call this time set aside for the fine-tuning of our character purgatory. We don’t really know how long purgatory lasts. Upon our death we leave behind time as we experience it. Our spirits will be outside of “time” – no more clocks or appointment books. For me, that puts the whole dilemma into the category of “time will tell”, not to make a pun.
My favorite aspect of All Souls Day is being told exactly how I am to pray. I am told to pray for all the souls floating around in purgatory, hopefully, cutting some time off of their sentence.
Prayer is very difficult for me and I don’t think I’m the Lone Ranger when it comes to this issue. I never seem to have the time, am too tired, too distracted, and sometimes can’t even figure out what to pray about. I am much more likely to read a book about prayer, of which I have bunches, then I am to just pray.
So, gentle reader, what are we to do?? Perhaps we need to first pray for ourselves. I know, I know – that seems awfully selfish. But, is it really? If we don’t first ask for the help we need in prayer, we’ll never pray. And if we never pray, some poor soul might have to hang around purgatory longer than necessary. I envision a horrible downward spiral in the world in general, all based on our not praying.
So, tomorrow, first thing you do is ask for the graces you need to improve your prayer life. Your prayers do matter to God, to others, and most of all, to yourself. Just a few minutes in the morning and a few in the evening will be sufficient in the beginning. Most importantly, do not be discouraged by the accountings some people give of their prayer life. You pray in the way that is right for you.
