Holy Mass: Most Powerful Intercessory Prayer

"Once we have left this world, there is nothing we should want done for ourselves as much as providing for the celebration of Holy Mass for our souls. The Holy Sacrifice of the Altar is the most powerful intercessory prayer. It surpasses every prayer, every penance and every good work. It should not be difficult for us to understand this, if we recall that the Sacrifice of the Mass is the same Sacrifice as that which Jesus offered on the Cross and which He now offers on the altar, with its infinite expiatory value. Our immolated Jesus is the true Victim satisfying, or "propitiating, for our sins" (1 John 2:2), and His Divine Blood is "poured out unto the remission of sins" (Mt. 26:28). Absolutely nothing can be equaled to Holy Mass, and the saving fruits of this Sacrifice can be extended to an unlimited number of souls."

"...the great St. Jerome wrote that "for every Mass devoutly celebrated, many souls leave Purgatory and fly to Heaven." The same must be said for Holy Masses devoutly heard. St. Mary Magdalene de’Pazzi, the well-known Carmelite mystic, was in the habit of offering the Blood of Jesus in suffrage for the souls in Purgatory. In an ecstasy Jesus showed her that many souls in Purgatory indeed were liberated by the offering of the Precious Blood. St. Bernadette was also full of compassion for the souls in Purgatory, and would often say to her religious sisters: "I have heard Mass for the souls in Purgatory: nothing but the Precious Blood of Jesus applied for them, can liberate them." Nor could it be otherwise. In fact, as St. Thomas teaches, just one drop of that Blood [if duly applied], with Its infinite value, can save the whole universe from every guilt.

"Let us, therefore, pray for the souls in Purgatory and free them from their pains by hearing many Holy Masses and having Masses celebrated. "All good works taken together," said the holy Curé of Ars, "cannot equal the value of one Holy Mass; because they are the works of men, whereas Holy Mass is the work of God."

~ Excerpts from Jesus Our Eucharistic Love by Fr. Stephano Manelli, FI ~