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Ministries Help for the Holy Souls Down Under
Ministries Help for the Holy Souls Down Under
| Help for the Holy Souls Down Under |
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Australia! Land of eucalyptus eating Koala bears, coral reefs, vegemite sandwiches, reversed seasons, and endless sun and beaches. But there is more to Australia than fun in the sun. There is an organization there called Friends of the Suffering Souls, headed by Ben Forshaw, which offers great help to the souls in Purgatory. They trace their origins to the apparitions of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland in August 22, 1879. She appeared to 14 people at their church after their parish priest (Archdeacon Cavanagh) completed 100 consecutive Masses for the souls in Purgatory. Mary s apparition was viewed as a sign of approval for whom the Masses were offered for. Inspired by what happened at Knock, a group of people in the early 1980 s made contributions to have 100 consecutive Masses offered for the holy souls. After this novena was completed, another was made followed by another. Today, membership requires that they are to have one Mass offered for the souls in Purgatory each year. The time when this occurs is around the member s birthday. The member must confirm with the organization that a Mass has been scheduled for the holy souls. An e-mail or letter is sent to the member to remind them of their annual obligation. The mass is then offered on behalf of the whole organization for the holy souls with a special commemoration for its deceased members. With over 3000 members worldwide there are continuous Masses throughout the year for the souls in Purgatory. Most of the members are in Australia, but there are also large numbers in South Africa, Scotland, England, Ireland, United States, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Japan, India, Canada, Italy, Spain, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Germany, and Nigeria. In other words, the sun never sets on the Friend of the Suffering Souls. As a result of belonging to the organization each member receives the following benefits: 1. In spiritual matters the merit is multiplied by participation and not divided. Therefore each member receives the same merit as if he had arranged each and every individual Mass himself. 2. The many souls who benefit from this great number of Masses will be eternally grateful and will pray for the interests of members while they are in Purgatory and when they are released into Heaven. They will never forget the members because the members did not forget them. 3. All of the Masses are offered for all of the souls in Purgatory but especially for deceased members. Therefore after a members death his or her soul will enjoy the benefit of every single Mass organized by this organization. If a deceased member has to pass through Purgatory, as most of us will, then they will be grateful they took care of others so that now others take care of them. There is a Register of Deceased Members on their web site and in this register the names of deceased members are set out. This can sometimes be a great comfort to their loved ones left behind - to know so many Masses are interceding for them. The record of the confirmation is entered on the register and is also posted on the internet on a weekly basis as the year progresses so that members can see that their contribution is part of a whole continuous novena going throughout the year. This is truly a great way to help our brothers and sisters in Purgatory and it does not demand a great deal of effort on our part. All that we have to do is offer one mass each year around the time of our birthday. The mass is the most powerful prayer to help the holy souls and we should try to offer as many of them as we can. If you would like to register yourself with the Friends of the Suffering Souls, you can e-mail them at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit their web site at http://web.1earth.net/~foss/index.html. |
