November is the month of Holy Souls and brings us to recollection of the Church Suffering, of the souls who endure the refining fire that will restore them to complete purity and the everlasting joy of the Beatific Vision. We live in communion with these souls and bear responsibility to that community that literally reaches to heaven.
When I am restoring vestments so much more goes into every stitch than a simple needle and thread. Like all work there is an opportunity for prayer and penance, for charity and grace. The benefit of offering any work for a greater intention makes it a source of divine peace and comfort. It is easy to pray for the priests who have or will use the pieces you are working on, and the souls to whom they will minister while using those pieces, but working on Requiem vestments, while praying for the Holy Souls, is a particularly profound source of peace and comfort. The prayerful intentions of our quiet work for them gain merit that we cannot comprehend until it is revealed beyond the veil of this world. It is a secret between you and the Lord that He treasures and uses for His beloved souls. It is a pure offering that seeks nothing in return, a true act of worship. What we accomplish here on earth has an eternal impact beyond comprehension. All photos in this article provided by, and depict the excellent work of, Bob Trump.
