A Vigil For the Souls in Purgatory Instead of a Halloween Party

about 2 months ago (Edited)

Well I've never tried joining such a thing before last night and all I can say is... whoa! What an experience! 😅

^source

From Uncaring Christian towards the Dead to Concerned Catholic for Souls in Purgatory

If you haven't read any of my posts since last year then you should know I almost never prayed for souls most of my entire life. 😅 I Rarely Prayed for Souls in Purgatory Until This Happened.

As a lukewarm and eventually almost cold Catholic, I only went to cemeteries when I was a kid until high school. And of course when a relative died and such. Other than that, nada. Rarely did I pray for the dead. Seriously, I had no reason to.

In the past decade or so, the foreign concept of evil Halloween trick-or-treat became prevalent in our country. Mainly I suppose it started because of the presence of call centers and the theme days they come up with to relieve the employee stress and such. And so I would join too to dress up as some scary being when I still worked there.

Eventually I would go to dance party/clubs with friends during Halloween for a night of drinking and supposed fun. Of course I would always dress as some dead or evil being. Heck I didn't think anything was wrong with it. Also our dearly departed are all in the province and I rarely went there so I had no reason to pray for the dead as was customary.

All that changed of course after my so-called spiritual renewal last year. And if you read that linked post on what happened several months ago then you know what finally made me do it often.

Progression of My Prayers for the Dead

After that something happened back in April (as linked above), it progressed to more prayers for the departed people! How and why? Well, one day in July I dropped by a Catholic bookstore in a mall and voila! I found something!!!

^{Booklet I bought from St. Pauls bookstore.}

I found a super affordable booklet on the souls in purgatory which has plenty of stories about 'em too. So of course I had to buy it. Haha. And guess what, it also has many prayers included, among other things.

Of course it has an English version too if anyone needs it. But the one above is priced lower than this one. 😍 And of course, the vernacular language is always better and much closer to the heart.

^source

Since I bought the yellow booklet, I've been praying some of what's in it. I think I started doing it daily just last month. 🤔 At first I still didn't feel like praying for them at all using what's in there but when you've finally become a "prayer warrior", you'll eventually realize the benefits will outweigh the doubts!

But what does this have to do with the prayer vigil I went to last night?

An Adoration Chapel Moment

Two days ago, I was praying in an adoration chapel. Of course I was holding that yellow booklet in my hands and was really into it. I was praying what I consider a long prayer for the first time, after my usual prayers. Suddenly an older woman handed me a note on folded paper.

Well hey, she was inviting me to join the vigil for the souls the next day. And so that's why I finally had a reason to show up and pray with them. I mean, yeah I've seen and heard the announcements every time I went to mass but haven't really decided to go until that moment.

I mean, why not when I'm already praying using my booklet. Haha. What's not to like in adding more prayers for the Holy Souls? And so after the mass last night I took a quick break then went back to church.

So How's the Vigil Experience?

I gotta say, I've never prayed that much and that long as far as I can remember. 😅 Didn't expect it would go like it did, but when I saw this prayer booklet I already had an inkling.

Well I didn't take a photo of the side of it but it's not too thick at all. However... Haha. When I flipped through the pages it seemed like it was gonna be a long prayer vigil. Hey I've never done such before and so I thought nothing much of it.

And so when it began I just went with the flow. Everything was fine, there were times we sat down, kneeled and stood up while praying. We also had moments when to bow and such.

I had nowhere else to go anyway so I just didn't check my phone for the time. It was a continuous prayer where we all took turns as instructed in the booklet. So I just told myself I will check the time when it's all over. Alas, my sleep-time warning alarm for the night suddenly went off! 😆

That's when I realized, oh boy, it's been more than 2 hours since we started praying! 😱 Hahaha, what a night. I thought it would only take 2 hours at most but heck, it almost reached 3 hours! 😂 Ok it was approximately 2 and half hours long.

The good thing was, after the blessing from the priest at the end of the vigil, they distributed snacks and water. Of course I went home immediately too. Haha. I couldn't pray anymore even if I wanted to. Good thing I already said some of my prayers before the mass, or else. 😆

How about the prayer experience? Well it wasn't boring at all. I read the parts required to read out loud as instructed, with enthusiasm. 💪 Heck there were only 20 or less people who joined so I felt like being a bit loud that night. Hahaha.

You might ask, "Is it tiring?" Say whuuut? I was even able to walk a kilometer home from the church afterwards, what are you talking about? 😜

Will I do it again next year? Uhmmm... maybe. Who knows where I'll be next year.

Overall I can say it's a good experience. Not tiring nor boring at all especially if you're already into praying. The only thing I wondered about afterwards was how many souls we helped with our vigil prayers. I guess I'll find out soon when I get to Heaven, God willing. 😁

Realizations During the Vigil

Out of everything I read in the booklet, somehow I finally had a clearer realization on life on Earth.

The truth is, our entire life is supposed to be lived in order to purify ourselves! Why? Because nothing impure will enter Heaven!

^source

Which is why Purgatory had to exist for people who died with the dirt of forgiven sins and other attachments still with them. More on this in my post about Plenary Indulgence.

So anyway, Jesus has been telling us to make ourselves perfect just as God the Father is. And yet nobody has been listening!!! 😲 I actually got slightly shocked that I was so ignorant of this.

When we don't understand something of course we will ignore, be afraid of or hate that thing even if it's already in front of us. We will naturally be blind and deaf to whatever we cannot comprehend. This is why so many people are living their lives as if in a "matrix", like in the movie. Sad to see but heck, many people have been blinded by demons, even those passed down thru generations.

Let's not be duped by demons anymore. We have to purify our souls to get to Heaven directly when we die! How? Follow God's life instructions, the 10 Commandments, and live a life of virtue! I know it's not easy but with the grace of God, the Sacrament of Confession and daily prayers, we can do it!!! 💪

How about you? What's the longest devotional prayer you've ever done? Have you experienced praying in such a vigil? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments!

XOXO,
@artgirl