Jesus, Light for All Souls

The Eucharist is on the altar exposed for Eucharistic Adoration. Jesus is
present here Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity.

Clay oil lamps filled compound and hall at Sacred Heart Mission in Kakinada, as faithful gathered to pray for the souls of their departed beloved Friday evening, November 4. In this special month in the Church to remember the Poor Souls in Purgatory, people had already joined pastor Fr. Varghese Kalapurakudy for a Mass in the cemetery for All Souls Day, November 2. The priest is still recovering from post-monsoon Malaria that sent him to the hospital for six days. Despite his illness, Father has kept a full schedule since returning from the hospital and a week-long diocesan priest retreat in his Diocese of Visakhapatnam. 

On Friday, he and a few helpers arranged hundreds of lamps, fastening many in peeled plantain trunks, a traditional custom in India. The effect was stunning, as faithful gathered Friday night for Eucharistic adoration. The people begged Jesus, the Light of the World, to have mercy on them and on the Poor Souls, who in turn, are powerful intercessors for their loved ones on earth. 

May the Poor Souls in Purgatory Pray for Us! Jesus, Light of the World, Have Mercy on Us!

Little clay oil lamps are fastened into peeled plantain trunks.
Jesus is Light of the World.

November is for Souls

Anyone gathering with Fr. Varghese and Sacred Heart faithful in their Kakinada cemetery November 2nd, might have seen in vibrant color this reality -- faith makes death beautiful, and that those who go before us to God, in faith, are blessed. 

Families cleaned and decorated loved ones' graves and prayed for and with the souls of the faithful departed. Fr. Varghese is still recovering from Malaria, but blessed each grave and prayed with the people, offering a special outdoor Mass. He always takes special care on the Feasts of All Saints and All Souls, to explain Catholic teachings on death and the afterlife. The Poor Souls in Purgatory need our prayers, and in their gratitude, are powerful intercessors for those on Earth. In a unique way, these days of celebrating the whole Community of Faith, in Heaven, Purgatory and on Earth, are marked with solemnity, remembrance and joy.

   

To bury the dead is a Corporal Work of Mercy, and to pray for the living and the dead is a Spiritual Work of Mercy. May we live November, the month in honor of the Poor Souls of Purgatory, prayerfully and well. Dear Poor Souls in Purgatory, Pray for Us! All Saints in Heaven, hear our prayers.+++