The Month of the Holy Souls

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On all the days from November 1 through November 8 inclusive, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted (under the usual conditions*) to those who visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. Partial indulgences are granted to those who recite Lauds or Vespers of the Office of the Dead, and to those who recite the prayer:

"Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domini, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Requiescant in pace" ("Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace").

Nov. 2—All Souls Day

On this feast, priests may say three Masses. Fr. Marsolle will say Low Masses at 7 am, 7:30 am, and 8 am (times approximate). All are welcome to attend any or all of these Masses, but are reminded that the faithful are only permitted to receive the Blessed Sacrament twice in one day.
Fr. Franco will say Low Masses at 12 noon and 12:30 pm (time approx.), and a High Mass at 2 pm.

Also on this feast, a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted (under the usual conditions) to those who visit any parish church or public oratory and there recite one Our Father and one Credo.

All Souls Intentions

Extra envelopes are available on the back table of the church on which you can write the names of people you'd like remembered at our Masses from Nov. 2—Nov. 8. If you contribute online but wish to submit a list of names to be remembered in the Mass, contact: office@stjosephrichmond.org

On Indulgences

A. Indulgences, which remove temporal punishment due to forgiven sin, may be gained by the living for themselves or applied to the souls in purgatory but they cannot be applied to other living persons.

B. Indulgences are called plenary if they remove all temporal punishment and partial if they remove only some of it.

C. A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once in the course of a day but a partial indulgence may be acquired more than once a day.

D. To gain an indulgence for oneself one must be baptized, in the state of grace at least at the completion of the prescribed work and subject to the one granting the indulgence. He must also have at least a general intention of gaining them and must perform the works enjoined at the time and in the manner prescribed.

E. "To acquire a plenary indulgence," the 1999 Enchiridion of Indulgences, issued by the Sacred Penitentiary, states, "it is necessary to perform the work to which the indulgence is attached and to fulfill the following three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion, and prayer for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff. It is further required that all attachment to sin, even venial sin, be absent.

"If the latter disposition is in any way less than perfect or if the prescribed three conditions are not fulfilled, the indulgence will be partial only…"

F. The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the prescribed work; it is, however, fitting that Communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff be said on the same day the work is performed. The condition of sacramental confession may be fulfilled within a period of about twenty days before or after the work is performed.

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