July 18 Entry

It's been almost a month since my last entry. My drawing board has been busy accepting punishment from my work for a Chicago teachers' group. If this sounds like a burden, it's not. Actually this work is one of His blessings!
Throughout the week, I've been wanting to share what last Monday, July 12 brought me.  Mondays are special day for the Souls in Purgatory. For me though, last Monday was like any ordinary day...my work overwhelmed my mind.  Some souls could have been shouting over me their unheared voices early in the morning, like..."Hello! it's Monday...it's for our mass day!". Well, one did made his voice heard before I totally forgot the afternoon masses for the Souls...and "he" kept me on track of my Monday obligation for the Souls in Purgatory.
About 9 am, I was sharing with my wife about Aidan who whispered his name to me early in the morning.  Aidan died of a heart attack at a young age of 24. He was Irish, the youngest brother of the President of the company where I worked some 30 plus years ago in Makati, Manila, Philippines. His passing was a sad day for the family including our office. The good memories of him remained: his vibrant and friendly personality.
More than five years into this Apostolate of helping the Souls in Purgatory...yet, I missed Aidan's name in my list. It made me realize that our memories really can't serve us well.  It's through Divine intervention that we, as servants of the Lord are able to recall those whom we have forgotten.  It have goose bumps to my wife and me because of the length of time from Aidan's death, early 80's... up to last Monday, July 12 that he still needed prayers...30 years...and to think that the time in Purgatory is longer compared to that of the living. I can't put into words how Aidan could have endured all this time before he was allowed by the Almighty to make a close encounter with us...so he could be included in our regular prayers and Monday masses for the Souls in Purgatory.
It's Monday again today, July 19. Only God knows what surprises He has in stored for me this day. Friends, I would like to request once more...please say a short prayer for the eternal repose for the soul of Aidan.  May God bless us all and all the Souls whom you pray for.

The Divine Mercy Novena

Added to the 30-Day Novena for the Souls in Purgatory, is the Devotion to the Divine Mercy.   Our Lord gave it to St. Faustina to bring more Souls to His heart especially the most difficult, the lukewarm and indifferent ones.

For those who may want to know and learn more about this Devotion, please click this link to visit the Divine Mercy Novena.

Friends, let's empty Purgatory!...and May God bless us all.

The Souls of Kawasan Falls

This was my 2nd encounter last Monday.
The names of the list for the mass has been prepared already. The Souls of Kawasan Falls were included. I wanted to attend the 4pm mass but the weather did not cooperate. It rained when I was about to go. So, I waited for another hour for the weather to improve for the last mass at 5pm.
Who are the Souls of Kawasan Falls?  Please allow me to give its background: Mid-June last year was the 25th Silver ROV(Renewal of Vows)/Wedding Anniversary of the younger sister of my wife from America. The grand affair was held in Manila.
The couple chose Cebu for their "honeymoon" together with all the members of the immediate family. For the purpose of enhancing family relationships (we call it "bonding"), the 17-family member-tourist stayed in our humble home.  We had sweet chaos during their stay.Hah! Part of the one week itinerary was a visit to the famous Kawasan Falls some 2.5 hours drive from the city to the west side of the island.
Our one-day stay there was pure enjoyment. The two V-Hires (tourist-van type air-conditioned vehicles) were prompt for our return trip to the city by 530pm. The trip seemed normal to my observance except that we arrived home 9pm, that is, 1.5hours more than the normal trip.

At first, I didn't mind the prolonged return trip. But, when the 90% of the group got ill(fever)one by one, the prayer warrior in me started wondering. My eldest sister who visited us the following day was also surprised about the long return trip. My wife who was present during the discussion likewise, couldn't figure out the reason . Both of us felt the trip was in our words, "heavy"...as if we were in a sense "overloaded".

My sister is a prayerful person and she too prays  for the Souls in Purgatory regularly. While we were discussing, her eyes widened. She felt a whisper from a "presence". The message she got was: The prolonged return trip was caused by the numerous souls at Kawasan who rode with us back home. These were the souls of the number of people who drowned there. Aside from being a famous tourist destination, the falls was also known for several drowning incidents.  Immediately, all three of us had goose-bumps. We realized that our being prayer warriors for the Souls in Purgatory created a big impact during our short visit to that wonderful place.  It was a spiritual trip for the neglected Souls...their way of telling us they needed prayers. It took my sister to read their needs. So, we said a prayer and promised to include their group in our family's list of the Souls in Purgatory for prayers and mass offerings. The following day was filled with good news as the sick family members started recovering in a swift manner.

That's the background. My trip last Monday was again prolonged. The distance of the cemetery from my home is only a 30-minute brisk-walk. So, if I take a ride, it will only be 10 to 15 minutes tops, traffic included. I left my home at 425pm.  The ride to the cemetery was normal. Yet, I was 5 minutes late for the mass,  I can only smile with the Souls of Kawasan in the list that I brought for the mass offering.  The altar boy acceded to my request for him to place the list at the altar box for the priest's holy water blessing after the mass.

Friends, may I request again for a short prayer from you for the Souls of Kawasan Falls.  May our good Lord bless you and your family...most especially the Souls whom you pray for.

It was Monday yesterday

What a day! I almost forgot what day it was...my weekly attendance at the local cemetery mass for the Souls in Purgatory.  Who reminded me? The late Artist, Gustave Dore. This was my first encounter for the day.

A prospective client requested me to make samples using the style of Dore's art. It was a big challenge as the artist's style was exceptional. Deep in my heart, I knew I couldn't give a perfect match.  The least I could do was to study his style through the link of images provided by the client...and hope the client was not looking for Dore's twin. Hah! While I was doing this, I came across Dore's biography. He was famous during the mid 1800's. In my humble way of paying respect to him and my being a loyal prayer warrior for the souls in Purgatory, I included him in my family's list of the Souls whom we pray for regularly...promising him prayers and mass offerings.

Over the weekend I made the first sample. The final piece didn't come close to Dore's unique style. My eldest son commented I need to do another one and apply improvements even if the client asked only for sketches. So, I complied. Like the first sample, I made again an original concept and layout. While working on the 2nd sample, I prayed silently asking for Dore's assistance so I could do justice to his style. Early yesterday morning, I was doing the finishing touches.  Maybe he heard me as in a little while, I was experiencing ease in my pencil strokes. I even felt his hand guiding me especially in difficult corners. At this point, I was aware that the pencils strokes were different from mine.  My son was amazed of my progress.

The work continued towards lunchtime. I was completely engulfed with the satisfaction of the results until I felt Dore whispered from the back over my left shoulder(no actual voice, but just the feeling), "Today is Monday, it's mass day for the Souls at the cemetery." I was completely stunned by the reminder. I whispered back my thanks and told "him" that his name will be included in the mass offering...which I did for the 5pm mass.

The 2nd sample:

          

 The Light of Love

Copyright: Ramie

The first sample is at my website, www.artsehub.com, Gothic Gallery.

Tomorrow, I will post my 2nd encounter yesterday.  Friends, please say a short prayer for the repose of the Soul of Gustave Dore.  May God bless you and your family and most especially the Souls whom you pray for.

07.01.10 Encounter

It never ceases to amaze me of God's ways in allowing the needy souls to communicate with those who are devoted to praying for the Souls in Purgatory.
The subject date was the day when I visited a priest's office.  The meeting was short and ended before noon.  By about 4pm my mobile phone rang and the priest's secretary, Ms. T was on the other line. She was asking me if I noticed Fr.G carrying a brown envelop when I went with him at his office for our meeting. I gave a negative answer to her question.  Then I was surprised to hear her ask if I believe in dwarfs. I said, I do, giving reference to the passage in the Bible, Colossians 1:16, Quote "For in him were created all things in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisisble, where thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things were created through him and him." End of quote.
I asked Ms T why she asked. She said that her office had been encountering some occurrences of lost things.  There were also some cases when a "lady" answers their phone's extension at Fr. G's office at the mezzanine floor. She further said that at one point last year, she heard vividly the "lady's" voice at Fr. G's office saying, "Hello!" when she(Ms T) was unable to reach the phone on time  to answer the incoming call.
My conversation with Ms T lasted for about 15 minutes. I was trying to convince her to just "talk and ask" with the suspected "prankster" at their office to return the lost brown envelop. After that, I went back to my drawing board to continue my work.
So, I thought I was free after the conversation. While doing my work, "somebody" was at behind my left shoulder, a lady, whispering, "It was I at Fr. G's office and please tell Ms T, I need prayers.". At first, I disregarded it but, later as the voice became repeatedly persistent, I gave in. So, I called Ms T and told her my encounter.
I was glad during my 2nd round of conversation with Ms T as she was very receptive to the message relayed by the needy soul. As to who could that be, I'm still excited up to this writing how God will reveal the name of the person so I can include her in my list of the Souls in Purgatory for my regular prayer and mass offerings.

The Mass for the Souls in Purgatory last June 28 2010

It was Monday...and once again, by God's grace, I was able to attend the 4PM mass at our local cemetery's chapel.  Having skipped two Mondays early June because of my health, I added another batch of 10 names as I did the other Monday to catch up. I observed that most of the names were those of my wife's deceased office mates. As I wrote the names prior to the mass, I could hear a great commotion of joy and happiness around me. All I could do was close my eyes, smile and offered too my happiness to the Lord for being granted the privilege to offer the mass for the souls in the list that I submitted.

Don't wait

I'm sharing with you part of the priest's sermon at the Sunday mass. It reflects the need for us to hasten in extending help to the Souls in Purgatory. The children's choir aptly sang the song that carried this line, " I will hurry to serve you, Oh, Lord!".  The Apostolate to become a prayer warrior to empty Purgatory is serving the Lord. Relieving the Souls means relieving also our Lord from the pain of seeing his children in Purgatory because of His Divine Justice.The end result of our service is bringing the Souls to the feet of our Lord in Heaven to sing eternal praises to Him.
Teaching states that the duration of the Souls in Purgatory is not the same as on earth.  It's longer beyond human comprehension. The long stay that seems eternity, the rigors and the pains the Souls undergo during their long captive situation in order to satisfy Divine Justice is utterly hard to endure. We are the only ones who can help them. Hurry then, my friends. Take part of this Apostolate. Offer prayers, masses and say regularly  the 30-Day Novena for the Souls in Purgatory for their relief. Let's do it now!