St. Margaret Mary recommended the daily pilgrimage to purgatory to bring solace and relief to souls detained therein. If it cannot be done daily, at least give it a try for the duration of the octave of the Feast of the Holy Souls. As two souls released by the prayers of St. Margaret said, “Ingratitude has never entered heaven.”
I have a little booklet with seven days of prayers for this purpose, the following being the first of the series (I have edited for brevity):
Consecration of the Day
Divine Heart of Jesus, in making this pilgrimage with Thee as my Companion, I consecrate to Thee all my thoughts, words and actions of the entire day. I pray Thee to unite my small merits with Thine and to apply them to the Poor Souls, especially the soul of…N.N.
Likewise do I entreat you, holy souls, to help me obtain the grace to persevere in love and loyalty toward the Sacred Heart, by submitting readily and without complaint to whatever designs He may have in my regard.
St. Joseph, model and patron of those who love the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for us!
Ist Day: “Holy Souls in Purgatory, is there anything you regret when you think of your life on earth?”
“I deeply regret wasted time…I did not consider it so precious, so fleeting, so irretrievable. For this reason my life was worth only half of what it might have been. Oh, had I but realized it then! Would that I could return to earth, how differently I would use the time given to me!
“Precious time!…Today I know how to appreciate you. You were purchased with the blood of Christ; you were given me for the sole purpose of loving God, sanctifying myself and edifying my neighbor. But alas! I have abused you by committing sin; I have craved vanity, pleasures and trifles; I have been dreaming dreams which now cause me bitter reproaches and remorse. Precious time….Wasted time… How heavily you weight upon me now! How it grieves me to have lost you through my own fault!”
Resolution for Today: Today I will do everything possible to assist the souls of priests, religious and all those in Purgatory who have been faithful to this devotion all their lives. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.
Thought For the Day: The sufferings of the souls in Purgatory are so great that a single day appears to them like a thousand years.
Exercise: Use a few moments of your time to offer prayers to the Divine Heart for the relief of the Poor Souls, e.g. “May the Sacred Heart of Jesus be loved everywhere.”
Special Intention: Implore the Divine Heart of Jesus to grant relief to the most forsaken soul in Purgatory.
Motive: The greater the abandonment of a soul, the greater will be its gratitude towards you. It will obtain for you the privilege never to be forsaken by God through the withdrawal of His grace, and never to abandon Him by committing sin.
Prayer: O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in the Garden, deliver the souls in Purgatory and especially that soul which is most destitute of spiritual aid; and vouchsafe to bring it to Thy glory, there to praise and bless Thee forever. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary.
2nd Day: “Holy Souls in Purgatory, is there anything you regret when you think of your life on earth?”
“I deeply regret my extravagance in the use of earthly possessions….My fortune, my health, my talent, my position in the world, the influence I had, my relatives, my servants, in a word, everything could have been of spiritual benefit to me if only I had known how to use it for the greater honor of the divine Heart. How many graces could I have drawn upon myself! This I neglected to do, and at the hour of my death all my possessions have come to naught.
“Oh, were I but rich today in these my former possessions! Would that I could use them to hasten, even for one moment, the hour of my deliverance; to increase, even by one degree, the glory which God has in store for me; to awaken if only in one soul now living in the world, the devotion to the divine Heart of Jesus.
“My friends, whose fortunes are still at your disposal, use them for the support of your neighbor by generously giving alms to the poor. Use them for the greater honor of God as pious offerings designated for the propagation of the devotion to His Sacred Heart throughout the world.”
Resolution for Today: I will do everything possible to assist the souls of the faithful departed from all parts of Europe. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.
Thought For the Day: “The gates of heaven are opened by alms.” (St. John Chrys. hom. 32 in Ep ad Heb.)
Exercise: Give an alms for the propagation of the devotion to the divine Heart of Jesus.
Special Intention: Pray for the soul which is nearest to heaven.
Motive: The closer a soul is to the end of its sufferings, the more ardently will it long for union with the Sacred Heart. Remove, therefore, by your prayers, the obstacles still in its way. In return, it will obtain for you the grace to sever the ties which now prevent you from giving yourself entirely to God.
Prayer: O Lord God Almighty, I pray Thee, by thy Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in His cruel scourging deliver the souls in Purgatory, and that soul especially which is nearest to its entrance into Thy glory; that so it may forthwith begin to praise and bless Thee forever. Amen.
Pray one Our Father, one Hail Mary.
3rd Day: “Holy Souls in Purgatory, is there anything you regret when you think of your life on earth?’
“I deeply regret my neglect of so many splendid graces! They have been offered to me in such abundance, at every moment of my life and with such loving admonitions…Spiritual regeneration, vocation and sacraments; word of God, holy inspirations and good examples; graces to protect me in danger, to help me in temptations; the grace of forgiveness for my sins, of indulgences so easily gained….What an incalculable number of the most varied graces!
“Some of them I have refused; others I have accepted with coldness; unfortunately, I have misused most of them. I have preferred earthly possessions to the eternal . How I have deceived myself!
“Oh, could I but for one moment quench my thirst at the fountains of mercy, flowing from the Sacred Heart! Unfortunately these fountains are spurned by sinners, as they were by me.
“You, who behold the inexhaustible stream of graces flow by, why do you not draw from it a few drops for yourself?
“Consider what St. Margaret Mary says: ‘It is certain that everyone on earth could obtain salutary graces without number, if he but had a grateful love for Jesus Christ, such as is manifested by those who love and venerate His Sacred Heart.'”
Resolution for Today: Today I will do everything possible to assist the souls of the faithful departed from all parts of Asia particularly Palestine and from countries infested with idolatry, schism and heresy. I also recommend myself to those who are entering heaven at this moment.
Thought for the Day: “The benefits of a single grace is greater than all the material value of the whole world.” (St. Thomas 1, 2, P, 113a IX ad. 2)
Exercise: In order to relieve the Poor Souls of their sufferings, I shall offer them today, by way of suffrage, the benefit of some indulgence gained by prayers or some devotional exercise in honor of the divine Heart of Jesus.
Special Intention: Pray for the soul in Purgatory which is farthest from eternal rest.
Motive: Let yourself be moved by the abandonment,, resignation and humility with which that soul bears its long suffering; it will be grateful to you. Happy will you be, if it obtains for you the virtue of humility in this world, so that you may be exalted in the next.
Prayer: O Lord Almighty, I pray Thee by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son Jesus shed in the bitter crowning of thorns, deliver the souls in Purgatory, and in particular that soul which would be the last to depart out of this place of suffering, that it may not tarry so long before it comes to praise Thee in Thy glory and bless Thee for ever. Amen.
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ in satisfaction for my sins, and in supplication for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and for the needs of the Holy Church.
Our Father….Hail Mary
