Archbishop Burke writes in his weekly column:
The month of November is our annual time to celebrate, in various ways, our communion with the Saints in Heaven and the Poor Souls in Purgatory. The two liturgical celebrations with which the month begins concentrate our attention on our relationship with our brothers and sisters who have gone before us in the faith and have been called by our Lord from this life to the life which is to come. On Nov. 1, the Solemnity of All Saints, we recall all of our brothers and sisters who are with our Lord in Heaven and are awaiting the resurrection of the body on the last day...
On Nov. 2, All Souls Day, we recall to mind all of our brothers and sisters who have died and are in Purgatory, being prepared to be admitted to the company of the saints. They depend upon our prayers, so that the temporal punishment due to their sins will be satisfied and they may enter the kingdom of Heaven. We call them "Poor Souls" because of the purification which they are undergoing, but they are indeed blessed souls because their purification is preparing them for Heaven. They, too, await the resurrection of the body on the last day...
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