Happy Thanksgiving! Thank God for the Memory of Our Departed Ones and Pray for Them!

First off I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! I truly hope it is a restful and peaceful one. Let us give thanks to God for all the good things we can rejoice in Him about and even the challenging things that we offer up to Him in His Son so that we can obtain graces for souls especially the souls souls of the faithfully departed. And let us thank God for the memory of our dead and pray for them, for this month is also the month traditionally dedicated to the Holy Souls in Purgatory. All this came to mind after I served a requiem Mass for Father in my parish earlier today.

Father let me know that priests can celebrate a requiem Mass for the dead on ferial days (weekdays without a special feast or celebration) during Ordinary Time. He celebrated one yesterday as well. These do not have to be celebrated for any recently deceased. A priest can offer one for any of the departed or holy souls of the dead in purgatory in general. And the black vestments and veils get to come out!

A lot of you might have never seen a priest wear black vestments because white or sometimes violet might be chosen for funerals. Black vestments were more prevalent before Vatican II for funerals, while white was typically reserved for baptized children who died before the age of reason, because they were presumed to go straight to heaven due to not having committed any personal sin. Permission for wider use of white for funerals were granted. BUT black vestments were never abrogated and can still be used. It’s always sweet to seem them!

Happy Thanksgiving!