PRAYER TO BE SAID ON MONDAY.
O GOD of all holiness, infinitely pure and adorable Being! how great must be Thy horror of the least stain of sin, since Thou punishest so rigorously in the flames of purgatory the venial faults of those whom Thou so tenderly lovest. Ah! mercifully enlighten my understanding, that the torments Thou inflictest on the least offence in the other world, may teach me the enormity of sin, and penetrate my heart with compassion for those souls who are now enduring inexpressible pains for such failings as perhaps I too often look on as trivial. My God, though Thy justice banishes them from that kingdom where nothing defiled can enter, yet surely Thy mercy has not forgotten them; no, Thou art too good, too compassionate to abandon the work of Thine own hands. Though the season for merit and repentance is now past for them, yet Thou hast left them a resource in the prayers of Thy servants on earth. Despise not, then, O Lord, the supplication which I, Thy unworthy child, now make for those who can no longer implore Thy mercy for themselves. Remember, O infinite Goodness, that they are all the work of Thy hands, redeemed by the precious blood of Thine only Son; consider that they are the objects of Thine infinite love, who burn with the most ardent desire to be united to Thee. Have mercy on them, then, O infinite Mercy! and for Thine own sake stretch forth to their relief those sacred hands by which they were formed, and apply to them once more the merits of that adorable blood by which they were redeemed. I most humbly offer up, to implore this favor, the adorable sacrifice of the Mass, in union with all the Masses which will be celebrated throughout the world to-day.
In union, also, with the infinite merits of Jesus Christ, I offer all my prayers, works, and sufferings this day for the relief of the holy souls.
Mercifully accept this oblation, O Lord, on behalf of all who now suffer in purgatory, particularly those for whom Thou desirest I should pray — those who are most dear to me — those to whose sufferings I may have been in any respect accessory — those who are most forgotten by others, and who have no one to pray for them. Give them all speedy repose and eternal rest, O merciful Father of all mankind, and give me the grace to spend this day in such a manner that through Thy infinite goodness, I may obtain the relief of these suffering and blessed souls.
