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(118) When you
pray for the repose of the soul of the departed,
force yourself to pray with your whole heart
remembering that to do so is your essential duty,
and not only that of a priest or ecclesiastic.
Represent to yourself how necessary repose is to the
departed one, and how greatly he (or she) needs the
prayers for him (or her) of the living, being a
member of the one body of the Church; how the demons
are contesting his (or her) soul from the angels,
and how it trembles, not knowing what its eternal
destiny will be. Our prayer of faith and love for
the departed means much in the Lord's sight.
Represent to yourself, further, how necessary rest
is for you when you are bound by the fetters of sin,
and how fervently, with what sincerity, ardour, and
power you then pray to the Lord and to the Most-pure
Mother of the Lord, and how you rejoice and triumph
when, after your fervent prayer, you obtain the
remission of your sins and peace of heart. Apply all
this to the soul of the departed. His (or her) soul
also needs prayer - your prayer now - because it
cannot pray fruitfully any longer itself; the soul
of the departed also requires the rest which you
can implore for it by means of your ardent prayer,
joined to works of charity for the benefit of that
soul, and especially by the offering of the
bloodless sacrifice on its behalf.
(119) Pray for the
departed as though your own soul were in hell, in
the flame, and as though you yourself were in
torment; feel their torments with your whole heart
and pray most fervently, most ardently that they may
rest in peace in the place of light and green
pastures, in the place of refreshing.
(120) Pray to the
Lord for the repose of the souls of your departed
forefathers, fathers and brothers, daily in the
morning and in the evening, in order that the
remembrance of death may live in you, and that the
hope in the future life, after death, may not be
extinguished in you, and that your spirit may be
daily humbled by the thought of the transitoriness
of your life.
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