Holy Souls Mountain (which name reminds one of purgatory) is Spider Lovers Heaven (of course!). I’m always interested in the multitudinous variety of spiders, which you don’t even have to find, since all of them will surely find you. I don’t go looking for spiders; they come to me.
The first thing I look for is if this or that spider is a Brown Recluse. Then I look to see what kind of fangs it has. Of course I do! The venom delivery system is always fascinating. Let’s take a closer look:
As you can see, unlike the fangs of a snake, there is no need for the entire “syringe” of the spider to pierce the body of it’s victim. Instead, just the “needle” if you will. It’s curved, I suppose, so that there’s a good grip. No venom will be wasted. You can also see the amount of venom they carry around is rather sufficient for the day of battle.
The beady eyes are the third thing I look for. There are different numbers of eyes, variously arrayed.
The fourth thing I look for are the chickens. They love to eat spiders.
And… and… spiders are delicious in the form of a chicken egg!
Did I mention purgatory? Orthodox Jews and — how else to say it? — Catholic Catholics pray for the souls of those who have died. Too bad that in the “Reformation”, the very biblical doctrine of purgatory was thrown out with so many books of the bible, along with so many other doctrines, even those spoken very plainly by the mouth of our Lord. Who will pray for the repose of the souls of such non-Jews and non-Catholics?
It’s really terrible to go to a Catholic funeral, only to find out that no one is interested in praying for the repose of the faithful departed. They are “celebrating the life of” whoever it happens to be that our Lord called to judgment then and there. Celebrating? Grieving comes from love. So, celebrating…?
If anyone was ever so foolish as to want to celebrate my life, DON’T DO IT! I don’t want anybody celebrating anything about me, except how the Lord has deigned to grant me this or that mercy. I want prayers for the repose of my soul! I don’t want to be in purgatory until the end of the world, thinking the whole time — and that might be a very, very long time — how useless it was for people to celebrate my life! What a purgatory!!!
If there are those who would want to celebrate my life, I think I’ll ask our Lord to send spiders into their lives, you know, the kind with huge fangs and lots of venom, that is, until repentance is had and prayers for all the faithful departed become a way of life. O.K. Not that. But I might ask the Lord to inspire them to pray for repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, including me. That, I think, He would do. Perhaps the souls of the faithful departed wanted our Lord to inspire me to write this post, so that a pray or two from the readers might head up to heaven along with the souls of many who were, until that moment, in purgatory. Think about it. What a great act of charity that one little prayer is that you say: Hail Mary…
But Father! But Father! You’re such a meanie! You’re so judgmental! Stop saying that Hail Mary! STOP IT! We’re going to celebrate the lives of those who have died. They were so nice. And they’re not dead anyway! They’re still as alive as ever in memory! And I have a good memory! Nyeah nyeah nyeah nyeah nyeah!
Sigh. And when you die, and your memory with you? Whoever started and continues to push this “nice memory” bit is guilty of shoving the most depressing, despair inducing attitude down the throats of people who are already hurting enough. It’s good to have good memories, but don’t reduce life to a passing thought! What a fright that acts as a catalyst for only the darkest thoughts.
It’s not thinking ill of the dead to pray for the repose of their souls. Who among us absolutely perfectly always and in every way was generous enough to live the will of our Lord with no selfishness, ever? Nobody. So, we pray for everybody. It’s a great act of charity.
Also, if you think you need a selfish reason to pray for the souls in purgatory, know that they pray for those who pray for them. It is they and they only who will welcome you into the eternal habitations. If you have no one to welcome you, will you dare to approach the gates of heaven? Think of their situation from their perspective. They cannot help themselves. They depend on us. Totally.
There are dozens of stories of the souls of the faithful departed accomplishing favors for those who pray for them. So, just to say, if you’re having difficulties with spiders, you might just ask them for their intercession as you pray for the repose of their souls. 
Accompany me, Father George David Byers, S.S.L., S.T.D., as I begin life as a Catholic Priest-Hermit by choice. Holy Souls Hermitage is dedicated to the sanctification of my fellow priests, bishops, deacons & seminarians going through the purgatory of this life or the next. Prayer and sacrifice go up, of course, for both Benedict XVI and the next Successor of Saint Peter. 
Many years ago I remember that after names of parishioners who had recently died that week were read out in the bidding prayers we used to say the beautiful prayer:’May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace.’ It was always accompanied by the Sign of the Cross by all present which to me made it all the more personal. I don’t remember when that was discontinued but I do miss it. Even in my very ‘orthodox’ parish it is no longer said.
On my way to and from work I pass literally through a cemetery most everyday. The original old yard is on one side of the road and the newer expanded yard is on the other. I’m very fortunate to have this reminder and pray for the souls in purgatory everyday.
About the spider – I was in Boy Scouts and Explorers growing up. Because of this I was blessed with the opportunity of hiking and camping Glacier Park, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and the Appalachian Trail just to name a few. In all these experiences, I don’t ever remember running across any spider as fierce looking as this. I suppose the picture makes it look bigger than it actually is, but what is it?
Dunno. First time I’ve seen this one I think. I saw another today, fed to the chickens.
You’ll see a few more ferocious spiders on the faunae page. Keep scrolling down:
http://holysoulshermitage.com/faunae/
When we lived in Rome in 1983 ,in the area of Casal Paloco ,we had the biggest spiders ever. They are the size of my husband’s hand. I was terrified of them. Today by God’ s grace and mercy I am terrified of those who can kill the soul with all the false nonsense preached as gospel truth, such as we all go straight to heaven when we die because of niceness .
If St Francis of Assisi wanted masses for his soul after death ,you bet I want them too.
This is an emailed comment from a reader:
This is one of the testimonies of the powerful intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, which was sent to me to share with others, so that they will pray more for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Help with trip back home
This is my testimony of the intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory for their benefactors. My sister had to travel about 800 km from the capital city of Namibia, from Windhoek to Rundu, but she did not have the money for the transport, which costs N$ 150- Namibian dollars.
Our other sister and brother did not want to help her. I had no means of helping her to go back home, but something happened for her through the intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
On the second day of my prayers for them, I heard that some of our sisters were coming to Windhoek for a superiors’ meeting, so I called one of the superiors who came from Rundu, at first she told me that they were coming to Windhoek by public transport, then later on she changed her mind and came by car, therefore my sister had a free lift back home. I thank the Lord for his wonders and love through the intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory. (Sr. Elizabeth, Namibia.)
The powerful intercession of the Holy Souls in Purgatory for their benefactors
The Holy Souls in Purgatory are not able to pray for themselves or do anything at all to relieve their suffering: They rely on our prayers and efforts to help them. It is permissible to believe that they can pray for their benefactors. St. John Vianney said: “If one knew what we may obtain from God by the intercession of the Poor Souls, they would not be so much abandoned. Let us pray a great deal for them, they will pray for us.” St. Theresa of Avila (Spain) said that she always obtained the favours, which she asked from God, through the intercession of the Poor Souls in Purgatory. We must help the Holy Souls in Purgatory. In the bible it says that he, who stops (closes) his ears to the cry of the poor, shall cry himself and shall not be heard.
The teaching of St Therese of the Child Jesus, on avoiding Purgatory
St. Therese of the Child Jesus (who is a doctor of the Church) has taught extensively on Purgatory. She teaches us how to avoid it entirely and go straight to heaven. Father Dr. Hubert van Dijk has written a summary of these teachings. They are really worth studying. Read the teachings carefully until you understand them and review them from time to time. Apply them.
You can find Father Dr. Hubert van Dijk’s article on the teaching of St Therese on Purgatory at the following location: http://www.franciscan-sfo.org/ap/litfwrpu.htm
When praying for a particular person’s soul, I make it a practice to ask God to apply the prayer to another in most need of His mercy if that person doesn’t need it – if they are already in heaven or -gasp- hell. Do you think the souls can really influence a person? Cuz for some crazy reason I’ve been praying for Andy Warhol for quite a while. Out of the blue-I knew nothing about him other than that I disliked his art. Found out that he was raised Catholic.Weird.
Hello Rebecca Alexis,
Just continue to ask our Lord to use your prayers in the way He thinks best. Trying to figure out who is or is not there gets very dangerous for us very quickly.
So, just to say, even when the prayer R.I.P. is said for someone, it is also recited in the plural.
R.I.P. = requiescant in pace (may they rest in peace), not requiescat in pace (may he/she rest in peace).