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It is tragic not only that some Catholics forget the Holy Souls in Purgatory, but that many Christians are told by their leaders that prayer for departed souls is unnecessary or useless. Well-meaning people leave their friends and relations in Purgatory, without offering a single prayer to God for them, and imagining that every kind of person will speed straight into Heaven, even when laden with sinful habits and attitudes.

It's as if the Holy Souls are invited to wait, on a ledge, able to see the Abyss from which God has saved them. They cannot yet enter Heaven. Some people need a lengthy purification because, when on earth, they made compromises with the world which were scandalous or shameful, in the sight of God, Who sees everything. When our attempts to 'fit in' lead us to scorn or disobey God's Commandments, we shall have a prolonged Purgatory to endure, to be made worthy of Heaven, even when we have confessed our sins before we die.

Whether a person becomes careless about his spiritual life, or deliberately sinful, his soul can become like a neglected garden: unpleasant for God to look upon. That person is loved by God, yet appears horrible, compared with holy souls. It's as stark and tragic a contrast as between a neglected garden, full of rubbish and rotting woodwork, and a renovated garden which has flower-beds, trees, and all sorts of features to delight the eye and to bring peace.

Though we cannot see them, the other members of the Church, of Heaven and Purgatory, are united with us in praise of the Father, through Jesus Christ, at every Mass. We can take comfort from the truth, that we are already doing, on earth, in our prayer, what we hope to do in Eternity, when we are perfectly joyful in God's Presence.

The power of prayer, offered in the name of Christ, is extraordinary, especially the greatest prayer: the Sacrificial prayer of Christ in the Mass, offered for the faithful departed as well as the living. A soul in the depths of Purgatory can find himself brought suddenly, swiftly, towards the light of Heaven, as he cries out with joy because he has not been forgotten, but has had a Mass offered for him by a fellow Catholic.

Some good souls cannot go straight to Heaven. It is common to hear people say, with a smile, that they will have to go to Purgatory, that they know they are not saints. Yet it is a tragedy, in their eyes, when they arrive, to be held captive there, as they see at last what lack of love for God, or laziness, kept them from achieving real holiness. What remorse they feel there, when they see that they could have become worthy to leap straight from earthly life into the embrace of their Saviour, Jesus.

It is true that Holy Souls in Purgatory are safe in God's care, and certain to go to Heaven when they have been made ready to enter. But some are so long in Purgatory that they look on, over and over again, as other souls speed away to Heaven. It's as if those guilty of grave sin, but saved at the last moment of life by the Last Sacraments, have to watch one train after another go to Heaven without them. Their purification is very lengthy. They, especially, need our prayers.

We should remember that the Holy Souls are still members of the Church. We can picture the forgotten souls in Purgatory as being in the deepest valleys, between mountains, in a vast underground area that we cannot enter but that we can penetrate by our prayers. We can help the Holy Souls by the prayers we offer for them in Christ's name; and we can assure them that they are not forgotten.

The Church is a Divine Institution composed of sinful human beings on earth as well as Saints in Heaven and Holy Souls in Purgatory. To refuse to believe in the Church or the Papacy because some Popes were very sinful is as strange as to refuse to believe that public transport should be abolished because some conductors are immoral or that all schools should be shut because a few head-teachers prove unfit to be in charge of children.

Helped by our prayers, offered in the name of Christ, the Holy Souls make their way towards Heaven. All those who are about to be welcomed into Heaven are by now carefree, purified, and no longer remorseful or saddened by their sins. They see Heaven as an undeserved free gift, so their hearts and minds are full of thanks and praise - just like the Saints whose company they are about to enjoy.

We should not forget our departed friends and relations. The Holy Souls in Purgatory are safe in God's care, as their purification prepares them for the glory of Heaven; yet they yearn to benefit from our intercessary prayers. They are helped to move closer to Heaven, by our prayers for their souls, as we pray in the name of Christ, Who wants everyone to act, to help them.

The fact that the Catholic Church is persecuted is a sign that she shares in the sufferings of her Master, as the True Church that has been criticised in every age. If the people of the world were to march past us, criticising Catholics, even the very last of the persons would have something bad to say about the Church; but the Church consists of the Saints and the Holy Souls too. We must not lose heart, but trust in the promises of our Saviour, and in His graces.

Whenever we offer up our sufferings, willingly accepting them in union with Christ in His Passion, we can know that we win graces for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, or for people on earth who are trapped in sin. We enable someone, somewhere, to leave gloom behind and to move towards the light of Heaven. We do their penance, for them.

Through the goodness of God the Father and the merits of His Son, our Lord, we can help the Holy Souls by our prayers, including those who usually have no-one to pray for them. We can help them towards Heaven, where they are greeted, and welcomed into glory, to join the Saints at God's Heart. It was with a similar welcome that Christ greeted the Saintly Souls, such as prophets and patriarchs, in the underworld, after His death and before His Resurrection; and He told them that their long wait was nearly over.