November 20, 2023
“God, grant [name] the reward of their good deeds, forgive their shortcomings, and bless them with eternal happiness. May their soul find solace and tranquility in the presence of God, and be surrounded by love and light.”
— Prayer for repose of souls
A while back, I dropped off some books in one of the Little Free Libraries in my town. Scattered around the United States and in more than 80 countries, these freestanding libraries are a gem to readers who are interested in sharing their books with others in exchange for taking books for themselves.
On this particular trip to the Little Free Library, I was only dropping off books. I was not planning to leave with any books until three books of the same size lying on top of one another caught my eye: Inspirational Thoughts for Every Day, Catholic Book of Prayers and Minute Meditations for Each Day.
While I pondered why anyone would want to leave these books behind, I felt as if I had won the lottery — the book lottery — and received the grand prize.
After I returned home with my newfound treasures, I began leafing through the books and turned to the thoughts, meditations and devotional prayers for November. They served as good reminders that we are called as Catholics to understand the mysteries of sickness and suffering and to pray for the dead in November.
Catholics should be praying regularly for the souls in purgatory because this helps them transition to Heaven, brings consolation to those left behind and keeps all souls connected to God. There is no better time than November to make a commitment to pray for our brothers and sisters who are suffering, and to reflect on those who have gone before us.
Even amid our pain and loss, there is an opportunity to be in union with Christ and to accept his gift of peace.
This piece was written by Karen A. Avitabile, the editor of the Catholic Transcript magazine, for the Archdiocese of Hartford.
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