Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let the perpetual light shine upon them.
May the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
Praying for the Souls in Purgatory
Praying for the souls in Purgatory is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy. These souls long for God but they need to be purified of their sins before they can enter Heaven. It is us, those on earth, who can pray for these souls. The dead need our prayers. It does not matter when a person died, recently or long ago in the past. Our prayers always help the dead.
As Catholics, we believe in the Communion Saints – those in Heaven, those in Purgatory, and those on Earth. All three groups are connected. The ones on earth have a responsibility and an obligation to pray for one another and for those in Purgatory. The Saints in Heaven are role models and intercessors for those on earth.
Prayer For The Holy Souls – Diary of St. Faustina, 1227
Eternal Father, turn your merciful graze upon the souls suffering in Purgatory, who are enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. I beg you, by the sorrowful Passion of Jesus Your Son, and by all the bitterness with which His most sacred Soul was flooded, manifest Your mercy to the souls who are under Your just scrutiny. Look upon them in no other way than through the Wounds of Jesus, Your dearly beloved Son; for we firmly believe that there is no limit to Your goodness and compassion.
Have mercy, O Lord, have mercy on the Poor Souls in Purgatory.
May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
(Our Lady of Solitude Monastery)
Prayer Of St. Gertrude The Great
“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 home and within my family. Amen.”
Prayer For The Holy Souls (Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M.)
Merciful Father, hear our prayer and console us. As we renew our faith in Your Son, whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His Resurrection, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
Prayer For All Souls (Missionaries of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary)
Dear God of Mercy, I pray this day for all souls, both known and unknown to me, who, although touched by death, have not yet entered Your Heavenly Kingdom. While they loved you in their lifetime, they failed in some way to attain the perfection Heaven demands. So in my love for them, I offer my prayers, my small works of mercy in the hope that Your mercy will flow to them and bring them to eternal peace with You.
May they intercede for me for the graces I may need to live out my life on earth in perfect obedience and love of You, my Father, so that I, too, may join them in everlasting life with You in Heaven.
May the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace.
Prayer For All The Faithful Departed (From The New Saint Joseph People’s Prayer Book, 1348)
Heavenly Father, I believe that in Your wisdom and justice You willed to purify all persons who die without having attained the state that they need for all eternity, all who have still to expiate completely the sins committed here on earth.
I also believe that You mercifully arranged that this process of purification can be aided by the prayers of the living, and especially by the Eucharist. Help me to pray for my brothers and sisters who have departed from this world.
(Here mention the names of those you pray for.)
May their time of purification be short, and may they be quickly guided into that holy light promised by our Lord to Abraham and his descendants. I offer You sacrifices and prayers of praise. Accept them for all the souls of the faithful departed and admit them all to the eternal joy of heaven. Amen.
Prayer for the Dead (The St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology)
In your hands, O Lord, we humbly entrust our brothers and sisters. In this life you embraced them with your tender love; deliver them now from every evil and bid them eternal rest.
The old order has passed away: welcome them into paradise, where there will be no sorrow, no weeping or pain, but fullness of peace and joy with your Son and the Holy Spirit forever and forever. Amen.