November is the month in which the Church traditionally intensifies her prayers for the souls in Purgatory. But every day should be for us a day of prayer for the holy souls. There are many souls there now suffering greatly but at the same time exceedingly happy. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, the Catechism and saints to consider how:

• The holy souls suffer from the pains of sense, likened to fire, and of loss, of being deprived of union with God
• The souls in Purgatory are happier than we are on earth, because they are assured of heaven and they love God more than we do
• We can help the souls in Purgatory by offering our prayers, works and sufferings for them
• The souls in Purgatory are powerful intercessors for us and we can entrust our intentions to them
• The holy souls should be able to consider us their “good friends”