A Rule of Charity for the Holy Souls

Devotion to the holy souls need not be complicated. The Church gives the faithful simple means by which charity for the dead can become part of ordinary Catholic life: the Mass, the Rosary, short prayers, sacrifices, cemetery visits, indulgenced works, and the offering of daily duties. What matters most is fidelity. A single prayer said daily for the dead, persevered in for years, is better than a great intention quickly forgotten.

Daily

• Pray the Requiem aeternam: "Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen."
• Offer one ordinary hardship, inconvenience, or act of work for the most abandoned souls in Purgatory.
• Add the faithful departed to morning or evening prayers, especially deceased family members, benefactors, priests, and those who have no one to pray for them.

Weekly

• Offer one Rosary, decade, or chaplet for the faithful departed.
• Make a small act of almsgiving or mercy for the dead, uniting it to the merits of Christ.
• Assist at Mass with the intention of helping the holy souls, even when the announced Mass intention is for another purpose.

Monthly and Yearly

• Request Masses for deceased relatives and friends, especially on anniversaries of death.
• Visit a cemetery and pray for the departed, not only in November but throughout the year.
• Keep a family list of the dead and bring it to prayer on All Souls' Day, during November, and on the anniversaries of death.

Short Prayers for the Dead

"May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen."

"Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice." — Psalm 129 / 130

"Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation." This brief aspiration is often offered for the dying and the departed, entrusting them to the maternal intercession of Our Lady.

The point of such a rule is not anxiety, calculation, or spiritual bookkeeping. It is love. The holy souls are our brothers and sisters in Christ. They cannot merit for themselves, but they can be aided by us; and when they enter Heaven, the charity shown to them is not forgotten before God.