All Souls Novena, Day 5

(Act of Faith:) My God, I believe in You, because You are Truth itself; I firmly believe the truths revealed to the Church.
(Act of Hope:) My God, I hope in You, because You are infinitely good.
(Act of Love:) My God, I love You with all my heart, and above all things, because You are infinitely perfect; and I love my neighbor as myself, for the love of You.

MEDITATION FOR THE FIFTH DAY, TUE. OCT 29
DURATION OF PURGATORY
God does not measure time as man does.  “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2Peter3:8)  The People of God waited thousands of years for the promised Savior.  Dare we assume that Purgatory is somehow short by human standards? How swiftly the memories of the living fade away.  The rush of the days and the cares of the world fill the minds and hands of those still on earth.  In her wisdom, the Church yearly reminds her flock of the beloved deceased.  With the feast of All Souls, our hearts and our love and our generosity are expanded again to include even those we can no longer see with our eyes.  Jesus Christ, Savior of the World, out of compassion for those who have no one to love and pray for them, we pray:


DE PROFUNDIS (Ps. 130)
Out of the depths I cry to You, O Lord;
Lord, hear my voice!
Let Your ears be attentive
to my voice in supplication:

If You, O Lord, mark iniquities,
Lord, who can stand?
But with You is forgiveness,
that You may be revered.

I trust in the Lord;
my soul trusts in His word.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than sentinels wait for the dawn.

More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
let Israel wait for the Lord.
For with the Lord is kindness,
and with Him is plenteous redemption;
And He will redeem Israel from all their iniquities.


DIVINE MERCY PRAYER
Eternal God--in Whom mercy is endless, and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible--look kindly upon us, and increase Your mercy in us, so that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to Your Holy Will, which is love and mercy itself. Amen.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord; and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed for whom we offer this novena, rest in peace. Amen.