Remembering the Forgotten

A nun gave me a card with this prayer during the Holy Week a few years back. Soon after, I started saying the prayer daily. I would like to think that, in doing so, I am able to help ease, aid, or maybe even hasten the passage of souls into heaven -- especially those for whom prayers are no longer said.

In May last year, my husband revealed that he had had a sighting -- a ghost sighting, that is -- of a woman and a child in the centuries-old apartment where we had been staying in Krakow. They looked, he said, as though they were asking for help.

That got me thinking... Maybe I should make special mention of them whenever I say the prayer for forgotten souls. So I did.

Months later, I just had this strong sense that it was okay to stop praying for them, that somehow they had moved on to a better place and were finally enjoying the peace that had evaded them for so long. I have no way of verifying that, of course. But by faith, I believe it to be true.

Today I share the prayer with you in the hope that you will take time to say it -- for the many lost, restless and forgotten souls who continue to yearn for everlasting repose. The prayer won't take a minute, but I am certain its fruits will reverberate into eternity.

What Inspires You?

The more I think about it, the clearer my answer to this question becomes.

It is God's faithfulness that inspires me. It is seeing how wonderfully He works in the lives of people, including my own.

I am inspired by the struggles of those who are in difficulty -- or rather by their perseverance and persistent hope.

I am inspired by how God answers prayers, especially in the most unexpected ways.

I am inspired by the relationships that are healed, the conflicts that are resolved, even after many years of heartaches and distress.

I am inspired by the change of heart I witness in people -- especially in the most hardened and calloused individuals.

I am inspired by the love and compassion within and among families, friends, acquaintances, communities, and even total strangers.

What about you? What inspires you?