Special Note: Today we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Rorate Caeli Purgatorial Society. When I officially launched this new Society back on September 27, 2010, I did so out of sadness and frustration.
I had recently attended the funeral of yet another family member who was robbed of prayers by being canonized a Saint from the pulpit by a terrible priest. And this time I was actually prepared. As a family member and pallbearer I spoke to the priest beforehand, appealed to his desire to help my family member, and asked him not to say she's a saint and to instead beg those attending for prayers. His answer was to eulogize her during Mass and say she's "looking down from Heaven on us" and to rejoice and not be sad. No mention of praying for her soul.
A lot has changed in 10 years for the Society. Ten years ago, I asked our readers to submit names, then we could all just pray for them. Behind the scenes, I was trying to find a priest that I could personally pay every week to say Masses for the list. But before I ever had to do that, priests began emailing me volunteering their time, and their traditional Latin Masses, for the enrolled Souls.
Now today, 10 years later, we have 109 priests saying weekly or at least monthly TLMs for the enrolled Souls -- which now number in the millions!
I want to thank all of you for submitting names. Some of you do it every day, with hundreds or thousands of names on your lists. And I want to urge all of you to take up this spiritual work of mercy. And don't forget you can enroll anyone who died, including non-Catholics, if they were the age of reason when they passed.
And please pray for another 10 years for the Society. So much has changed, and so much will change moving forward. What will not change until our Savior's return is the need to pray for the poor souls in Purgatory. They are called poor because they have no way of getting out of Purgatory on their own. It's up to us. Let's not let them down.
Please consider forwarding this Society to your family and friends, announcing from the pulpit during Holy Mass or listing in your church bulletin. We need to spread the word and relieve more suffering souls.
