The power of the holy souls in purgatory

     I was standing at my back door in the bitter cold of winter. It was 1° outside. For some reason I got an overwhelming thought about my dear Grandma Susanna. I pray nightly for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. I tell them I love them and she is one that is so very close to my heart. She was such a good Grandma, such a good mother and wife. She didn't speak a lick of English but every time my family visited her home when I was little, even though I was young, I could feel the presence of God in their home and in her. I didn't really pay attention to her demeanor except for the fact of her great respect for prayer and love of Jesus and Mary. Grandpa Antonio was a strict stern man (husband), but oh so loving. He delivered all nine babies, my mother and her siblings in a home he built himself in Kansas that's still stands to this day. He also was a good Grandpa, father and husband to Susanna. 

     I looked so forward to our Summer trips to Kansas every year. I was able to see many of my cousins, as it seemed everyone lived nearby. We would make our ritual stops to each house where we played and made lasting memories. Grandma and Grandpa's house was a place of comfort to me, as the rich smells of good food and conversation were heard every time. My mother talked in German, along with her brothers and sisters and mama and daddy while the heat of the summer bore down, unnoticeably because of the delight of the company. 

     Grandma Susanna would be busy with her apron on, hair pulled back in a bun, short in stature, cooking and baking and smiling. Very silent as her limitations of language in English were slight. Before every meal, she led a decade of the Rosary, and all of the many people around the table had to recite before we dug into that delicious food. 

     Anyways, back to my memory of her that day. I came to think so deeply about her. I noticed the frost and the ice on the door. I shook with cold as I looked up. My overwhelming feeling of joy thinking about her and then telling her that I loved her was caught with a glimpse of a single drop of water running down from the middle of the door. I looked up and couldn't tell where it was coming from for it was in the middle of the door. I immediately felt that it was a teardrop of Joy from Grandma, telling me she loved me back and that my prayers for her were beloved to her. My heart and body was filled with such joy as I closed my eyes and told her" thank you" for this sweet gift 

     The power of the Holy Souls in Purgatory is great and powerful to us. They depend on us, the living to help them achieve their final crown and in praying for their Holy Souls they reward us with intercession to God. They intercede for us when called upon and the power of their intercession is heard so lovingly by God and Mary our Mother. 

     Never forget the Holy Souls in Purgatory. They will never forget you. Pray daily for them and you will feel their intercession. 

     Oh Grandma Susanna, I love you. Thank you Almighty Father for giving me this sweet lady as part of my life, my memories to hold within me forever. 

     They may be gone in body, but their Souls remain alive, waiting for rescue, from us. 

     Eternal Rest dear Holy Souls in Purgatory. May Eternal light shine upon you. And may you all rest in Peace.