Holy Family

08/11/2026

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Praying for the Dead In November we remember and pray for the dead.

The November Dead Lists are in the church here at Holy Cross so that you may inscribe the names of your loved ones.

Their names will be included in the prayers of our daily Mass during this month.

We remember them fondly but also pray for them because we recognise that every person who has died is in need of God’s mercy.

It is a relationship of love that we have with them; we love them on earth and therefore wish for them to now enter heaven to enjoy God’s mercy.

The concept of time beyond the grave is difficult to comprehend.

However, the Catholic practice of praying for the dead is to ask for God’s mercy in their lives, to purify them so that they may see God face to face.

We can think of praying for the dead in terms of the relationship that God has had with a person in life, which continues in death.

Our prayers and the celebration of the Mass can help them to know God’s mercy and be carried up into the embrace of God.

The prayer ‘Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace, Amen’ summarises our prayer.

It is an invitation to the gift of God’s mercy so that the person may know peace and joy in the company of the saints in heaven.

The Church has always urged us to pray for the dead.

She invites believers to regard the mystery of death not as the final word on human fate but as a journey towards eternal life.

It is an important duty of ours to pray for the dead because, although they may have died in grace and in friendship with God, they may still be in need of a final purification in order to enter into the joy of heaven.

We are all one body in Christ; we are part of the communion of saints - a belief which we express whenever we recite the Apostles Creed.

Because of their closeness to God, the saints in heaven can intercede with Him for both the living and the dead, especially those who have died and are still in purgatory.

St John Vianney said, “We can assist the dead through our prayers, our good works and, above all, the holy sacrifice of the Mass. ” As the Scriptures state, “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me ” (Matthew 25:40).

Purgatory is not a place but a process of purification for souls who die in God’s grace but are not yet perfectly holy.

Pope Benedict XVI stated, “ Purgatory essentially means that God can put the pieces back together again.

That he can cleanse us in such a way that we are able to be with him and can stand there in the fullness of life.

Purgatory strips off from one person what is unbearable and from another the inability to bear certain things, so that in each of them a pure heart is revealed, and we can see that we all belong together in one enormous symphony of being. ” It is important to remember however the Mercy of God.

One of the most repeated sentences in the Scriptures is the words: MERCY OF GOD ENDURES FOREVER. It is said twenty-six times in Psalm 136 and can also be found in Jeremiah 33:11 “Give thanks to Yahweh Sabaoth, for Yahweh is good, for his mercy is everlasting ”. The word for mercy, “chesedh”, is used one hundred and fifty times in the Old Testament.

For example from Numbers 14:19 we find Moses praying: “In the abundance of your mercy forgive the sins of your people”. Father Charles The Mass for all those who celebrated a Funeral in Holy Cross from Oct 2025-October 2026 will take place on

Monday 2nd November, Feast of All Souls at 7pm. Eternal Rest, grant to them Olord and let perpetual light shine upon them, may they rest in peace Amen. +++++++++++++++++++ November Dead Lists: a re available in the church and the Parish Office in The Houben Centre.

They can be left in the box provided or handed in at The Parish Office.

We thank you for your cooperation at this time of the year. +++++ Meeting Wednesday night at 7pm in the Houben Centre.

Holy Cross Choir: 7:30pm Wednesday. In the Houben Centre Wednesday 7pm – 8:00,

Saturday 11 – 1pm Houben Centre NA:

Sunday 7:30 – 8:30pm in the Houben Centre Prayer Group: 8pm Sunday in the Houben Centre Legion of Mary: 7pm Thursday in the Houben Centre.

First Friday Film: 8pm in The Houben Centre.

Old School Café: 9:30am – 1:30pm. Monday – Friday We Welcome new volunteers Weekly Bingo each Tuesday: From 7pm Flax Room +++++ The Listening café at the Houben Centre: Do you dabble in poetry, songwriting, or storytelling?

Join us for an evening of homegrown, original works in a warm, inviting space.

Friday 13h November 7:30 – 9:30pm. (Registration for performers opens at 7pm).

Café open for light refreshments. (No alcohol event, Donations voluntary). +++++ Knock All Night Vigil:

Monday 7th December , Departure from Clonard Monastery 1pm returning to Belfast 8th December at noon.

Price £75. This includes Dinner & Breakfast. To book Phone Brendan on 90 665 211. 9am – 5pm. Monday – Friday. £20 deposit required.

Feast Days this Week: 2nd The Commemoration of all the Faithful departed.

All Souls, 3rd St. Malachy, 4th St. Charles Borromeo, 5th St. Martin de Porres, 6th All the Saints of Ireland, 7th St. Willibrord.