July 2 is the anniversary of the death of Paul Janasik, my uncle and godfather.
Many of the readers of the About.com Catholicism site were generous in your prayers for Uncle Paul, both before and after his death, and I will be forever grateful to you.
Partly in response to that outpouring of support, in November 2010 I announced the About.com Purgatorial Society, so that we could all pray for one another's departed friends and relatives.
If you've never heard of a purgatorial society before, check out What Is a Purgatorial Society? And if you haven't enrolled your friends and loved ones in the About.com Catholicism Purgatorial Society, why not take a minute to do so today? There's no cost or obligation, other than your promise to pray for those who have been enrolled.
In this Month of the Precious Blood of Jesus, we recall the supreme act of mercy that Christ performed when He shed His Blood for the remission of our sins. As we keep the faithful departed in mind, we can commemorate that act by praying this short Prayer to the Eternal Father, offering the Precious Blood of Christ for the sake of the holy souls in Purgatory.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
(The photo above of me and Uncle Paul was taken in Bay City, Michigan, in September 2009, at the celebration of the 50th wedding anniversary of Uncle Paul and Aunt Molly.)