A plenary indulgence can be gained for those who visit a cemetery and pray for the dead from November 1-8. The conditions to obtain the indulgence remain: praying for the intentions of the Holy Father, receiving Holy Communion that same day, confessing within the month, and having a detachment from sin. Recall that our first pastor, Fr. John Quinn, who founded St. Mary’s, is buried in front of the church under the monument erected in his honor. Please visit his resting place and say a prayer for his eternal repose. Read more here about indulgences, special days for indulgences, and the opportunity to gain two plenary indulgences in one day during the jubilee year.
The Catacombs of Rome show evidence that praying for the holy souls in Purgatory was an Apostolic custom because the early Christians believed in praying for the dead going by their own writings. The Catacombs of St. Calixtus outside the walls of Rome has inscriptions by the early Christians asking for prayers for their loved ones who died either naturally or through martyrdom. One inscription says,
“In your prayers remember us who have gone before you.”
“I implore you, brothers to pray whenever you come here and invoke the Father and Son in all your prayers so that they might save Agape (the person in the tomb) forever”
The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, describes the Pharisees understanding of life after death in his “Discourse to the Greeks Concerning Hades” http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/josephus/hades.htm
His discourse is similar to what Catholics have always believed about Sheol/Hades/Purgatory.
In paragraph 1 of his discourse, Josephus speaks of Hades and the “temporary punishments, agreeable to every one’s behavior and manners.” Compare to 2 Maccabees 12:42-45; 2 Samuel 12:13-14; Matthew 5:24-25; Matthew 12:32; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15; Hebrews 12:5; and Saint Augustine’s The City of God, 21:13 [A.D. 419].
Purgatory – There are several Catholic websites and web-pages that are very good at explaining Catholic teaching on Purgatory. Here are a few….
I. Purgatory (Biblical verses, teachings from Tradition and the Church Fathers)
https://www.scripturecatholic.com/purgatory/
II. A STUDY OF THE EIGHT LAST THINGS: CROSSING THE THRESHOLD TO ETERNITY Part V: PURGATORY
https://www.agapebiblestudy.com/EightLastThings/ELT_Purgatory.htm
III. Handout Part V: Purgatory
https://www.agapebiblestudy.com/EightLastThings/Lesson%205%20Handouts%20Eight%20Last%20Things.pdf
IV. PURGATORY: In this article, Fathers Rumble and Carty answer many of the objections which are raised against Holy Mother Church by non-Catholics.
https://web.archive.org/web/20090123063818/http://catholicapologetics.net/
V. Purgatory according to the Church Fathers
https://catholicbridge.com/catholic/purgatory-church-fathers.php
VI. The Church Fathers on Purgatory
https://web.archive.org/web/20170421100131/http://www.biblicalcatholic.com/apologetics/a105.htm
VII. Article 1. Whether there is a Purgatory after this life? By Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor of the Catholic Church
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/7001.htm#article1
VIII. Praying for the Dead and the Requiem Mass by Fr. William Rock, FSSP
https://fssp.com/praying-for-the-dead-and-the-requiem-mass/
IX. A Primer on Indulgences
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/55999/a-primer-on-indulgences
X. Tract – Myths about Indulgences
https://www.catholic.com/tract/myths-about-indulgences
XI. Catholic Encyclopedia – Indulgences
https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07783a.htm
XII. Baltimore Catechism On Indulgences
https://www.virgosacrata.com/baltimore-catechism-on-indulgences.html
