If prayed with devotion, Jesus promised a multitude of souls will be released each time, using 1,000 as a number that refers to innumerable souls. It could be more or less regarding how you offered the prayers to the Eternal Father.

The Origin of the Prayer:

St. Gertrude the Great was a holy mystic and saint of the 14th century, who received many heavenly visions as a Benedictine nun. Among her numerous private revelations were short glances into purgatory. One such vision is described in the book The Life and Revelations of Saint Gertrude and highlights the power of prayer for the souls in purgatory.

On Wednesday before the Feast of the Ascension, at the elevation of the Host during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, she begged our Lord for the souls in purgatory, that Jesus would free them from their pains by virtue of His admirable Ascension; and she beheld our Lord descending into purgatory with a golden rod in His Hand, which had as many hooks as there had been prayers for their souls; by these, he appeared to draw them into a place of repose. She understood by this that whenever anyone prays generally from a motive of charity for the souls in purgatory, the greater part of those who during their lives have exercised themselves in works of charity, are released.

We will not outdo Jesus in generosity. Our prayers, if devoutly offered, will release innumerable souls- which could be more than 1,000 souls. The exact number of 1,000 is simply stating that many souls will be released. Tradition states that the "Eternal Father" Purgatory Prayer was given to Saint Gertrude the Great by Jesus Himself. Remember to pray frequently for the dead, especially when you pass by a cemetery or when you recall a person you knew who has died.

Pray also for the most forgotten and abandoned souls that have no one else to pray for them, and for any souls you who may be suffering in purgatory due to our poor example or some fault of ours. “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from sins.” (2 Maccabees 12:43-46)

“Eternal Father, I offer Thee the most precious blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory,* for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family.”

*The original prayer was only intended for those that had died and were already in purgatory. The Church later changed it to include sinners that are still alive in the hope of helping them to avoid purgatory altogether.

When prayed with true devotion, Jesus has promised that countless souls will be released from purgatory. The number “1,000” is symbolic, signifying a multitude, though the actual number depends on the devotion with which the prayers are offered.