Dear ,

When we lose a loved one, the pain we experience is unbearable. We remember all that touched us so deeply. Prayer and time help to ease our hearts but they do not take away their memory.

On All Soul's Day, we remember that death is a natural part of life and we lift our loved ones in prayer.  The Catholic Church teaches that our prayers and sacrifices for our deceased helps them in great ways. In fact, Holy Mother Church names 

praying for the dead as one of the spiritual works of mercy.

It is for this special need that I have asked Msgr. Sebastian Odong, General Spiritual Director at the Sacred Heart Seminary, Archdiocese of Gulu, to offer this special Novena for our loved ones. 

During the month of November, the Church invites us to consider our own mortality by reflecting on the Four Last Things - Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Likewise, it is also the month the Church specifically designates for us to pray in earnest for our dearly departed loved ones.

And in a world that is quick to implicitly "canonize" the deceased, never has the need been greater.  St. Ambrose reminds us, "We have loved them dearly during life, so let us not abandon them until we have conducted them by our prayers into the house of the Lord."

We are told the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the highest form of prayer and the most efficacious prayer we can offer for our dearly departed. What a blessing and privilege it is and what a special opportunity for our loved ones who have preceded us in death!

I am so eager to have Father remember your departed family members and friends that I do NOT want you to delay in getting their names to us. I'll be joining you by submitting my mom, my son, Simon, my husband, Anthony and all whom I have loved and lost. As we pray for them, God will be giving us special blessings as well. St. Thomas Aquinas said, "Of all prayers, the most meritorious, the most acceptable to God are prayers for the dead, because they imply all the works of charity, both corporal and spiritual."

This November, I invite you to give your dearly departed the best gift you can: a Novena of Masses.

May the souls of the faithful departed through the Mercy of God rest in PEACE!

Simply click here to submit the names of your dearly departed to be included in this special spiritual opportunity.

In His Service and with gratitude,

Johnnette S. Benkovic

Eternal Father, I offer You the most precious blood of thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, for those in my own home and in my family. Amen.