I wanted to bring flowers to church today for St. Patrick. I didn’t have time to pick them up before Mass so I went to a nearby store right after Mass, but by the time I returned, the church doors were locked. How I long for the good old days when churches remained open all day.
I brought the flowers home to bring to Mass tomorrow. I didn’t want St. Patrick to wait till then, so I sought out my grandfather’s funeral prayer card that I recalled had an image of St. Patrick and I placed it on the table next to the flowers. I decided to pray for the happy repose of my grandfather’s soul. I started to pray a Hail Mary, but the prayer on the back of the card caught my attention, so I prayed that instead. I hope people pray for my soul when I pass.
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women,
and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of death.
Amen.
I pray at Holy Mass for all of my deceased loved ones and beseech God that if any of them are not as yet with Him in heaven, He extend further mercy upon them by diminishing the severity and duration of their purification and raise their souls to heaven as soon as possible.