Yesterday, All Saints' Day, we celebrated the great multitude of saints: the ranks of martyrs, apostles, confessors, virgins, and holy souls who upon their earthly death were judged by God to be immediately worthy of entrance into heavenly glory.
Today Catholics join in praying for the faithful departed, who died in friendship with Christ, but were judged by God to still be in need of some purification prior to their entrance into heaven. Instead of entering heaven immediately, these souls were taken by God to the spiritual hospital called purgatory.
As the old Roman Martyrology puts it: Holy Church, our good Mother, after having exalted with fitting praise all her children who now rejoice in heaven, strives also to help all those who still suffer in purgatory, and to this end intercedes with all her power before Christ, her Lord and Spouse, in order that as speedily as possible they may join the society of the elect in heaven.
Today is a day of sadness as we remember our dear loved ones who have died. And yet, our grief is tempered by hope in heavenly glory for the faithful departed. Our Lord in the Gospel is presented as the Good shepherd who does not want to lose even one of His sheep. This is the will of the Father who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me. Our loved ones who have died in friendship with Christ are not lost.
And yet, we also acknowledge that those who die with vestiges of sin and selfishness must be cleansed before entering that place prepared for them in heaven. There is some suffering in purgatory. It is like when we were children and were got full of mud and grime while playing outside. Before entering the house we had to be sprayed down with the hose, maybe even scrubbed with harsh bristles.
Well our sins of pride and lust and selfishness are a lot more grievous than mud. So the suffering of purgatory is also serious. But, the holy souls in purgatory, and they are holy souls, as they have been saved by Christ, the holy souls want to be in purgatory as long as they need to be. If I were to visit the Pope, I would want to get cleaned up, put on my absolute best clothing, out of respect for his Holiness, how much more would we want to get our souls cleaned up for God in heaven.
The souls who would refuse purgatory, obstinately, refuse heaven.
Just as our prayers, penances, and sacrifices can aid souls in this life, obtaining for them help from God, so too our prayers, penances, and sacrifices aid the souls in purgatory. Again, just as a mother offers prayers for her son as he commences on a journey, we pray for the souls of the dead, as they make the journey from earthly life to heavenly life. The mother doesn’t stop praying until she receives notice that her son has safely reached his destination, so we do not stop praying for the souls in purgatory until we obtain from God some definitive proof that they have reached heaven, like their canonization. Until a particular soul is canonized, we do not err in praying for them.
And we pray because we love. It is an act of love, an act of mercy to pray for the souls in purgatory. We love them, and we want them to reach their heavenly destination. That which you did for the least of my brethren, you did for me. A prayer for a soul in purgatory helps them take one step closer to heaven, and brings them comfort, relief, and assistance on their journey.
And so, 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 eternal destination: the Church Triumphant in heaven.
May we be generous in our prayers and acts of charity toward our beloved dead, that with them, we may come to see God face to face in heaven, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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God, the Almighty Father raised Christ his Son from the dead; with confidence we ask him to save all his people, living and dead.
That Christ, Son of the Living God, who raised up Lazarus from the dead, will raise up to life all the dead who have been redeemed by his precious blood. Let us pray to the Lord.
That Christ, consoler of all who mourn, who dried the tears of the family of Lazarus, will heal the pain and dispel the darkness and doubt that comes from grief….. Let us pray to the Lord.
That Christ, our Savior, will destroy the reign of sin in our earthly bodies, and grant us eternal life. Let us pray to the Lord.
That Christ, our Redeemer, will look on all those who have no hope because they do not know him, and bring them to faith in the resurrection and in the life of the world to come. Let us pray to the Lord.
For all those who have died. For our beloved dead who we pray for in a special way today, this All Souls day and during the month of November. For all of the poor souls in purgatory, for those who have fought and died for our country’s freedom; that those we remember in prayer may pass over to a dwelling place of light and peace. Let us pray to the Lord.
God our shelter and our strength, you listen in love to the cry of your people: hear the prayers we offer for all those who have died. Cleanse them of their sins and grant them the fullness of redemption. We ask this through Christ our Lord.
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