NOVEMBER CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS & PRAYERS | Catholic Hymns to Sing in Latin, English and Spanish | FREE Sheet Music

See the traditional practices Catholics follow in November, including devotions, prayers, indulgences and even free hymns in Latin, English and Spanish!

Grab my liturgical board printable HERE ->

November is a special month in the life of the Church.

It is traditionally dedicated to the Poor Souls in Purgatory since All Souls Day, a feast day dedicated to praying for those holy souls, is celebrated on November 2nd.

Let’s begin with the most important – why even pray for the faithful departed?

The BEST Catholic devotions to practice for the faithful departed

It’s a comforting thought to think our loved ones are in heaven…but what if they’re not? Wouldn’t it be better to assume they need our prayers than otherwise?

The doctrine of the Church is clear: those who have died in the state of grace, but have not satisfied for the temporal punishment for their sins must undergo a period of atonement in purgatory.

Think of the greatest of saints, the severe penances they willingly underwent, the passive suffering they participated in with the utmost joy and reserve, the tears they shed for their past sins…do you know ANYONE like this?

My guess is that it makes VERY FEW Catholics who die in a state of grace have done the necessary penance required to atone for their sins…and this includes me too!

Remember that our ways are not God’s ways, and that God’s justice requires great atonement even for the littlest sins – because THE SMALLEST SIN (even venial) is a great offense since it is offending an ALMIGHTY God. This theological concept is not my own, but that of the Church Fathers.

Thus we Catholics must pray for the faithful departed to expiate their time in purgatory!

Catholic devotion to the poor souls in purgatory goes as far back in recorded history as the Maccabees (Maccabees 12:39-46), and in the early days of the Church during and after Christ’s time on earth.

The Catholic Church has granted mercy and clemency to the souls in purgatory by allowing the intercession of the living on their behalf.

The best way we can intercede for the faithful departed is through SUFFRAGES – “prayers, alms, fasts and penances of any kind, indulgences, and above all the holy sacrifice of the Mass.” (See sources)

A *very brief* primer on indulgences

One of the best Catholic devotions to partake in is indulgences.

An indulgence is “the remission in whole or in part of the temporal punishment due to sin.” (Baltimore Catechism, question 231)

PLENARY indulgences are the most powerful, fully remitting the temporal punishment due to sin (BC 234). This means all the penances you would have to do in your entire life to make up for all the sins of your life would be lifted.

We can offer indulgences for ourselves, or on behalf of others, living or dead. Here are 2 POWERFUL plenary indulgences you can gain this November*:

1. Visit a cemetery between November 1 to 8 and pray for the dead (any mental prayer will suffice)
2. Visit a church or an oratory on November 2 (All Souls’ Day) and recite one Our Father and one Apostles Creed 

BEFORE you perform your plenary indulgenced act or prayer, be sure the following conditions are met:

1. Be in a state of grace at least when performing the indulgenced act
2. Have complete detachment from sin, even venial sin
3. Go to Confession (20 days before or after the indulgenced act)
4. Go to Communion (20 days before or after the indulgenced act)
5. Pray for the intentions of the Pope (20 days before or after the indulgenced act)

More Catholic Devotions for November

There are also many little prayers we can offer for the Holy Souls in Purgatory – many of them called “ejaculatory prayers”.

One prayer we’ll be including in our family devotions this November is the following:

“DIVINE Heart of JESUS, convert sinners, save the dying, set free the holy souls in Purgatory. ”(300 Days. T.Q. Pius X, November 6, 1906. Raccolta #179)

You can find this prayer on my November Catholic liturgical board here! ->

What’s a Catholic liturgical board?

The term has been coined by others but it can also be called a Catholic prayer corner, devotional board or family board.

It houses all the Catholic family’s devotions for the week, month or year and includes special prayers and reading.

The liturgical board I’ve created contains our family’s Baltimore catechism reading plan, major feast days, a Bible verse, an ejaculatory prayer, another common prayer of the faithful, 3 hymn suggestions in Latin, English and Spanish, a Gregorian chant Mass from the Kyriale, and an original virtue poem based off the Baltimore Catechism and the Summa Theologiae by St. Thomas Aquinas.

You can download and print this liturgical board printable here ->

*N.B. This liturgical board uses feast days from the pre-1955 and 1962 Roman missals.

November Catholic devotions and prayers freebie below!

And since you’re reading this, I wanted to give you something you can print out and use for your family – FREE sheet music for the 3 hymns (Latin, English, Spanish) I suggested in my liturgical board for November, as well as singing tips! The text for all the hymns is related to the dedication for the month of November – the Holy Souls in Purgatory.

You can download this free sheet music below, I hope it serves you and your family well! God Bless you, PAX!

Sources: 
Baltimore Catechism
sspx.org
“Purgatory” by Fr. Shouppe, S.J.
*Enchiridion of Indulgences



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