Catholics are being asked to commemorate those who have died and remain in Purgatory this month, with November being the month of the dead.

“This All Souls’ Day, as we remember the faithful departed, let us renew our commitment to loving God and loving one another,” Archbishop Jose Gomez, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCS), posted on Twitter. "And let us, once again, set the goal of our life on going to heaven.”

The Church teaches that, during November, Catholics must pray for those who have departed this life but have not yet entered Eternal Life, the Catholic Culture says.

It references the Old Testament, which says alms and prayers were offered for the dead. The Liturgical Meditations from the Sisters of St. Dominic says, "They who had fallen asleep with godliness had great grace laid up for them" and "it is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says Jesus opened the gates of Heaven to believers through his death and resurrection, the USCCB says.

Paragraph 1030 says, “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation, but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven.” The place of purification the Church calls “Purgatory.”

The teachings on Purgatory are based on Scripture. Paragraph 1032 says, “the Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance on behalf of the dead.”

Nov. 2, All Souls Day, is the main focus of the month, according to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR). The practice of praying for the dead began with St. Odilo of Cluny in the 10th century and still continues. Burying the dead is one of the Corporal Works of Mercy.

“The bodies of the dead are not discarded vessels, but integral parts of a human being that will be reunited on the last day,” Clare Coffey writes for NCR. “The separation is temporary, and they are still worthy of our respect and our love.”

My Catholic Prayers includes a common prayer Catholics say for those loved ones who have died: “Eternal rest grant unto him/her, O Lord, and let Your perpetual light shine upon him/her. May his/her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.”

Crosiers — members of the Canons Regular of the Order of the Holy Cross, one the Roman Catholic Church’s oldest religious orders — tweeted earlier this month: “Today we celebrate All Souls' Day. As you remember your loved ones who have gone before you, we Crosiers share in your prayers for them. If you are in Arizona or Minnesota, visit our Day of the Dead altars (Día de los Muertos ofrendas) at our respective priory churches!”