Homily: November 2 - All Souls' Day - Praying for the Dead

In the year 386, St. Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose, the bishop of Milan in northern Italy.  His mother, Monica who had prayed for her son’s conversion for 32 years, had come to Italy from Africa, and the family waited to return home to Africa by ship in the port city of Ostia few miles from Rome.  As they waited for a ship to bring them home, Monica became quite ill and it became evident that she would soon die.  As she lay dying, St. Monica told Augustine: “Lay this body anywhere, let not the care for it trouble you at all.  This only I ask, that you will remember me at the Lord’s altar, wherever you be.”

“Remember me at the Lord’s altar” was Monica’s request. 

And today, on this commemoration of the faithful departed, we, too, remember our loved one’s at the Lord’s altar.  In fact, we don’t just remember our loved ones.  As Augustine prayed for his mother Monica, as Christians have done for 2000 years, we pray for them, we offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass for the faithful departed.

Remembering our loved ones is sometimes painful—sorrowful.  For this reason, the priest wears the color black today, as was the custom at funerals for many centuries.  Yet, we do so, as an act of love.  Deeper than our sorrow, is our faith, that prayer is powerful, it helps them. 

Yesterday, on the Feast of All Saints, the Church celebrated those who died in exemplary union with Jesus.  The Saints imitated Jesus in some exemplary way—through self-sacrifice, generosity, courage in witnessing the faith.  The saints show us what loving Jesus with our whole minds, hearts, and souls looks like.

Today, on the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed, known familiarly as All Souls Day, we pray for those who died in friendship with Christ, but whose souls still need to be purified from the effects of their sins in purgatory.

In purgatory, God lovingly purifies and heals his children from the damage their sins inflicted on their souls while they were still on earth.  We rightfully refer to the souls in purgatory as the holy souls, for they are destined to join the ranks of the saints in heaven.  We also rightfully call them the poor souls because they are in need of our prayers.

The poet Dante Alighieri depicted purgatory as a holy mountain, much like the holy mountain in our first reading where God provides for his people.  In purgatory, God provides the purification the holy souls need in order to enter that place prepared for them in Heaven.

This isn’t a difficult concept.  As a kid, I’d occasionally find a nice pit of mud to fall into.  And before I was allowed to come back into the house, I’d have to be hosed down.  Similarly, the souls in purgatory, need to be cleansed of the mud of their sin before entering the immaculate house of God.  You might say, why can’t we enter into heaven, mud and all.  The souls in purgatory want to be there, for once you see heaven in the distance you want to get cleaned up before entering.  

One of the most devastating and tragic effects of the Protestant Reformation in the 16thcentury, is that the Protestant Reformers so watered down the importance of praying for the souls of the dead, that many Protestants do not believe in Purgatory.  Yet this contradicts Scripture and Sacred Tradition, the practice of the church from the very beginning.

Many of the Saints urge us to pray for the souls in purgatory.  St. Augustine when asked why he prayed so much for the dead, he replied: I pray for the dead in order that when they reach Heaven they may pray for me.  St. Padre Pio would pray many many rosaries every day for the souls in purgatory.  he said, “The holy souls are eager for the prayers of the faithful…Pray unceasingly. We must empty Purgatory.” 

So many souls have no one else to pray for them, either because their family members have ceased practicing the Faith, or all of their family members are also deceased.  Sometimes, when people see ghosts or think their house is haunted, it is really a soul in purgatory asking for our prayers.  Holy Mass should be offered for them. 

St. Thomas Aquinas said that prayer, particularly the offering of Holy Mass, is the greatest act of love we can perform on behalf of the dead.  This is why we have Mass offered even in the years after the passing of our loved ones.  We believe that prayer truly helps them. 

We also acknowledge the importance of preparing our own souls for the end of life, of which we know not the day nor the hour.

One of my favorite movie scenes is from the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  Indiana Jones’ father had been kidnapped, and he is pursuing who he thinks are the kidnappers on a boat chase through the water ways of Venice Italy.  Finally, Indiana and the kidnapper are in a boat being drawn towards the propeller of this huge steam ship, and the propeller starts to chop up the boat they are in.  The kidnapper says, if you don’t let me go, Doctor Jones, we’ll both die.  He reveals a cross around his neck and says, “My soul is prepared Doctor Jones, how is yours?”

Every time I see that, I think, is my soul prepared?  When was the last time I went to confession?  If we can think of a mortal sin that we have not confessed, it’s way past time.

Prayers, fasting, obtaining indulgences, almsgiving and works of charity can heal the effects of our own sins, and can be offered up for our loved ones in purgatory.

We remember today the great responsibility of caring for our own soul, and praying for the souls of the dead. 

We who are members of the Church Militant here on earth, can help the members of the Church Suffering in purgatory, arrive more quickly to their destination: the Church Triumphant in heaven.

May we be faithful to those great work of love, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.