Eternal Father

Today is the feast of St. Gertrude the Great. During this month of November, the Church has given us the task of remembering the Church Suffering, those souls being cleansed through fire in Purgatory, destined for the Beatific Vision.

St. Gertrude, a mystic of the 13th century, had a particularly deep relationship with Our Lord and compassion for the souls in Purgatory. Jesus communicated to her that every time she prayed for these souls, 1000 would be released, their suffering eased, and welcomed into heaven.

Her prayer was addressed to God the Father. St. Stephen's has a fantastic statue of Our Eternal Father, high above the sanctuary and altar of sacrifice, flanked by two adoring angels holding thuribles, doubtlessly offering incense to their Creator.

A fitting image for today. The incense of the world burns toward idolatry. True sweetness ascends to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

At your next High Mass, consider offering incense and prayer to the Eternal Father for the souls suffering in Purgatory.

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 family. Amen.

*the original prayer was only for the souls in purgatory.