"If you want to die well, live well". This was the admonition of Bishop Gabriel Reyes of the Diocese of Antipolo to the PWHS members last July 19, 2008 in a mass that capped the 16th Foundation Day and First General Assembly of PWHS. This short statement summarizes succinctly the essence of the twin celebrations and supports the second part of the PWHS vision statement: a Catholic apostolate of committed, prayerful members involved in activities to uplift suffering souls and to assist the living on how to avoid purgatory. It complements the call to action of Dr. Arnold Monera in his punchy exhortative talk on the theme "Moving On to Higher Ground" when he challenged everyone to "collectively act and actively move".

In his lucid and straightforward homily, Bishop Reyes gave the context for the need to pray for the Holy Souls. He said the devotion to the Holy Souls is founded on the doctrine of the communion of saints, which means that all the baptized who have not rejected Christ in their hearts are in communion with one another. All who believe in Jesus are called to be holy, to be saints. Because we belong to Jesus, we are united. Anything we do, good or bad, affects the rest of the members (of the community of saints); that is why the latter can help one another. He elucidated:

"When we were born, we received human life from our parents – thus we were called children of men. However, in Baptism, through the water poured by the priest on our foreheads, we received a second life, the life of God Himself. This is the most wonderful thing in the life of human beings – to become members of God’s family – one in God. Because of this divine life we received in Baptism, we are sons and daughters of God the Father and brothers and sisters of God the Son, Jesus. We are one in Christ. We become members of the mystical body of Christ and each of us becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit."

So how is the communion of saints lived? The Bishop, who exuded an aura of holiness, mentioned three critical ways:

1. Prayer. The Church Triumphant or the saints, the Church Suffering or the Holy Souls, and the Church Militant or those alive in this world, can help one another through prayer. The saints and the Holy souls can pray for us. We can pray for the Holy Souls and pray to the Holy Souls for intercession. The Bishop mentioned that when he is in difficulty, he prays to the saints (like St. Therese, St. Anthony and St. Teresa of Calcutta). But, he added, they do not know us personally, unlike our dead relatives (e.g.. his saintly grandmother). We must pray for the forgiveness of their sins and pray to them for a beautiful, good and happy death.

2. Holy Mass. The best prayer we can offer for the Holy Souls is the Holy Mass. Christ, the one saying the Mass, is also interceding for them. All the saints in heaven, the Holy Souls and the mystical body who are still alive offer the Holy Mass. We come to Mass and offer Mass to be with our beloved dead. We have become one with the Holy Souls in Holy Communion in some sense.

3. Good Life. "If you want to die well, live well". (This was a constant reminder of my grade school teacher.) Everyday, do your best. Love God and fellow human beings and be ready to attain eternal salvation.

Bishop Gabriel’s encouragement to the PWHS members to "do your best everyday" was reiterated by Dr. Arnold Monera in his talk on the theme "Moving On To Higher Ground". While the former mainly focused on a personal response for the benefit of the Holy Souls, the latter addressed concrete ways of enhancing their involvement in the apostolate.

Using the metaphor of a sixteen-year old adolescent who is ready to embark on university studies, he challenged the members to seek more creative ways to be more active and responsive. "Do not be content with the status quo," he asserted. He suggested moving ahead with vigor and vitality through the following:

· More aggressive recruitment through one-on-one invitations or creation of chapters (every member is a recruiter. Every person you meet is an opportunity to talk about PWHS. If you are shy, who will pray for you when you are already in the afterlife?)

· Identifying potential areas of involvement based on their skills, talents, and hobbies (e.g., writing for Fore and Aft, facilitating, public speaking) and serving the apostolate through these

· Donating cash to PWHS to support its activities and the construction of the Holy Souls Oratory

· Praying, attending Masses and other spiritual activities

Calling PWHS as God’s project and God-inspired, he shared his belief that the apostolate will continue to grow for God. "God", he averred, "will draw people to Himself and will bring it to completion. The gates of hell shall not prevail against it."

Why is PWHS God’s project? He gave three reasons:

1. PWHS is liberative. It is God’s will to free more souls in Purgatory. Our apostolate frees more people to eternal happiness. Our role is a liberating act (mapagpalaya). God’s design from the beginning is original blessing. Because man is a sinner, God provides opportunities to realize His original plan.

2. PWHS is redemptive. It is God who redeems. We are merely instruments. PWHS shares in the redemptive activity of God.

3. PWHS is restorative. God wants all people to be restored to the original blessing intended by God. St. Paul prays: to restore all things in Christ, specially those who die without grace- restore all people to their original dignity – union with God.

He concluded his inspiring talk with a call to be daring for God, in spite of difficulties: "The road may be rugged, tiring, costly, demanding, difficult, uphill, but we have to move ahead with vigor and vitality. The Lord expects us to be daring." He submitted a blueprint for this revitalized kind of involvement to the PWHS: DARE, which means:

D – Dream of an active PWHS. (This echoes the text of an Argus poster which reads: Hold fast to dreams, for life without dreams is like a bird with broken wings that can no longer fly.)

A – Accept your place or role. Each drop of water is important to the ocean of humanity.

R – Respond to the challenge given to you.

E – Execute it. Translate your dreams to reality.