SORRY, numerous people have told me they can't play the video that was posted as part of the last entry about the Holy Souls. I'm really not technologically savvy enough to know how to fix so I can but point you in the direction of the Love To Be Catholic website which has a selection of entertaining videos about the Faith which includes the one by Fr Groeschel that I tried to include in the post. Sorry again. :-(

November - month of the Holy Souls - requiescant in pace

During this month of November it is customary for Catholics to increase their prayers for the souls of those who have died but who are still undergoing purification in purgatory.

It is a very sad thing that prayers for the Holy Souls have become far less common these days (perhaps even because of a loss of belief in purgatory at all!) I say it is very sad because these poor souls need our prayers and are so grateful for them, St John Vianney spoke of how blessed we are in praying for the souls in purgatory because when they reach heaven they will pray for us in return!

Let us never forget the Holy Souls then, and especially not during the month of November - when we ourselves pass from this world and are unready to stand before the face of Love itself we too will be eternally grateful for the prayers of the Church on earth which help us on the last leg of our journey to God.

For a more eloquent account of what purgatory is all about why not watch this video from the great Fr Benedict Groeschel



Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen

Vocations

Last wednesday Michael, Luke and I met up in Bury St. Edmunds (I being on my half-term and they being on placement not far away) to give a vocations talk to the parish confirmation group. Though there are only seven confimandees, they had been promised a prize for the one who brought the most friends with them! Needless to say, there were fifteen or so teenagers there. We watched the film 'Fishers of Men', and after that each of us gave a brief talk about what had attracted us to the priesthood and how we came to be in seminary. The experience of working in the world and the pull of marriage were some of the issues that came up, and we emphasised that priesthood wasn't necessarily an easy life to lead, but that it was a call from God like any other vocation. In the chapel Michael gave a brief reflection on Jesus calling the apostles to be fishers of men. The kids were very attentive, and we can only pray that some of them went away thinking about priesthood and religious life more seriously. In a time when a lot of parishes nationwide are gearing up to close down or amalgamate it is important to remember that the Church's future is in the next generations, and that no administrative plan will substitute the need for vocations.

After the session we joined the curate Fr. Martin Fears in the parish presbytery for dinner (and a very good dinner at that). Fr. Martin is the youngest priest in the diocese and the last East Anglian to be ordained from Oscott - in 2000. In the morning we went to Mass and then had a long-anticipated fry up. It was good to have a coming together of the brethren, to talk about seminary and to 'fortify one another with pious discourse' in the words of one of those youtube videos from a seminary across the water!