Purgatorial Prayer Society – St. Joseph Catholic Church
“Free a Soul, Pray for a Loved One in Purgatory.”
We are a fellowship of parishioners who meet monthly in prayer to obtain relief and
deliverance from Purgatory for the Poor Souls.
We strive to obtain personal holiness, conversion of sinners and acquire spiritual and
temporal graces, especially for the Poor Souls of our Parish and our families and friends.
Why Pray For The Holy Souls In Purgatory:
To help our deceased family, friends and fellow parishioners obtain the graces needed to be
fully cleansed and freed from purgatory to heaven.
As the Church teaches us (see Church Teachings and Direction Regarding Purgatory below)
it is our duty as members of the Church Militant on earth to pray for the Church Suffering in
Purgatory who cannot pray for themselves, to hasten their temporal punishment for sins
that were forgiven during penance because temporal punishment remains. In Purgatory
the holy souls are purified of temporal punishment and made ready for elevation to the
Church Triumphant in Heaven with our Lord.
We meet virtually each month to pray for the souls of recently deceased members of the
parish, and to remember in prayer our family and friends. In addition, we offer our
individual prayers for them during the month. We assist these holy souls obtain the
needed graces and also help ourselves grow spiritually.
Join Our Group & Participate:
1. Monthly one hour virtual meeting of prayer and devotions via WebEx from your computer or phone.
2. 7:00 PM on the second Wednesday of every month.
3. To learn more and participate please contact Steve Zeoli at [email protected] or 703-408-3250 and leave a voicemail.
Church Teachings and Direction Regarding Purgatory:
Join us to help our departed Holy souls - family members, friends and those who have no
one to pray for them.
“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured
of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the
holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (CCC1030).
“But if someone’s work is burned up...the person will be saved but only as through fire.” (1 Cor 3:15)
Purgatory: A state of final purification after death and before entrance into heaven for
those who died in God’s friendship, but were only imperfectly purified; a final cleansing of
human imperfection before one is able to enter the joy of heaven. (CCC 1031; cf. 1472)
To enter into Heaven & God’s presence, we must become holy and perfect as He is. In this
life, God gives us every opportunity to prepare our souls for God’s presence and enter
Heaven upon our death. Very few of us love God the way we should, but God in his mercy
gives us a process, after death, called Purgatory; which purifies our souls so we learn to
love God as we should. Our souls are purified so we can be holy as God is holy and thereby
enter Heaven.
Further Instructional Purgatorial Resources:
a. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1030-1032, 1472-73)
b. PrayForSouls.org (National Shrine of Divine Mercy, Sturbridge, MA)
c. Catholic.com
d. Newadvent.com
e. Tanbooks.com
For more information, please contact Steve Zeoli at [email protected] or 703-408-3250
and leave a voicemail.