Praying for the Propane Tank Holders

November is the month of All Souls. October 31st is the Eve of All Hallows (Saints). November 1st is All Saints Day. November 2nd is All Souls Day. We pray for the souls of the departed. We believe if they are still in Purgatory, our prayers will help them to leave Purgatory and go to Heaven. We pray for the Holy Souls throughout the month of November and always. It is a pious custom to pray for the souls of those buried in a cemetery, both in November and all of the time.

We pray for the souls of the faithful departed every time  sometimes when we pass a cemetery. We pray irregularly and without much devotion, but we try. We often pass many country cemeteries. These are often small unlabeled cemeteries that were once part of someone’s homestead. There is one such cemetery right down the road from our house.

We often pass another such cemetery when we go to Genoa. We actually don’t do too much traveling as a family. It is rare that our entire family is in the vehicle at the same time because of my husband’s complicated work schedule. One day we were all in the minivan driving by the cemetery south of Genoa AND I remembered to pray for those holy souls.

“What are you doing?” my husband asked, as I was going through an “Eternal Rest”.
“I’m praying for the souls in that cemetery,” I explained, with the pride of a Pharisee.
“What cemetery?” my husband and lifelong resident of our county asked.
“That cemetery right there,” I again beamed with that Pharisitical pride.
He started laughing. “That’s not a cemetery.”
“Yes it is.”
“No it isn’t. So&So used to own that land when I was a kid. He stored his propane tanks on those bricks.”
“You mean those aren’t grave stones?!” I questioned him.
“No, those are propane tank holders,” he repeated.

For years I had been praying for the propane tank holders, and not the souls of the faithful departed. Oops.

Here are the propane tank holders on a cool November prairie day south of Genoa.

“Eternal Rest Grant onto them, O Lord and May Your Perpetual Light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed forever Rest In Peace. Amen.”