Question:

Dear Father, can we pray for the departed or not? Protestants at my workplace tell me that this is against Scripture.

Answer:

Dear brothers and sisters:

I am going to tell you about something that happened to me some time ago. One day a friend of mine died who, as far as religion was concerned, was neither one thing nor the other: sometimes he went to Mass and at other times he went to the Evangelicals’ service. When he died, the Evangelicals held his wake with many hymns and praises, and the next day they took him to the cemetery. Since he was my friend, I wanted to go to the cemetery to pray for him. Once there, I asked the pastor whether he would let me say a responsory for him, and he answered: “The deceased was a sheep of our flock, and we do not pray for the dead because, at this point, prayers are of no use to him.” In the end, they did not allow me to pray the responsory for him, and I had to content myself with praying in silence.

This anecdote gives us occasion to ask ourselves: Can we pray for the departed? Do our prayers help them? What is the Catholic doctrine, and what is the Evangelical doctrine, on this matter?

Catholic doctrine is biblical

The Bible tells us that after death comes judgment: “It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27). After death comes the particular judgment, in which “each one receives according to what he has done during his mortal life” (2 Cor. 5:10).

At the end of the world the “universal judgment” will take place, in which Christ will come in glory and majesty to judge peoples and nations.

It is Catholic doctrine that, in the particular judgment, each person is assigned to one of these three possibilities: Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell.

-Those who during life accepted and responded to the offer of salvation God makes to us, and were converted to Him, and who at death are free from all sin, are saved. That is, they go directly to Heaven, to be united with the Lord, and begin a life of indescribable joy: “Blessed are the pure in heart,” says Jesus, “for they shall see God” (Mt. 5:8).

-Those who rejected the offer of salvation that God makes to every mortal, or who were not converted while their soul was in the body, will receive what they chose: Hell, where they will be separated from God for all eternity.

-And finally, those who during life served the Lord but who at death are not yet fully purified of their sins will go to Purgatory. There God, in His infinite mercy, will purify their souls and, once cleansed, they will be able to enter Heaven, since it is not possible for anything stained by sin to enter glory: “Nothing unclean shall enter it (the New Jerusalem)” (Rev. 21:27).

Here a question arises spontaneously, and its answer is very enlightening: What are we in this world for? We are in this world to know, love, and serve God and, by doing so, to save our soul. God places us in this world so that we may collaborate with Him in the work of creation, as caretakers of this “earthly garden,” and so that we may also care for men, our brothers, especially those who perhaps have not received as many gifts and “talents” as we have. This is the purpose of every man’s life: to love God above all things and to save our soul for all eternity.

What happens, then, to those who die?

We have already said it: those who die in the grace of God are saved. They go straight to Heaven. Those who reject God as Creator and Jesus as Savior during this life and die in mortal sin are condemned. Here too the answer is clear and is shared by Catholics and Evangelicals.

-But what happens to those who die in venial sin or who have not made full satisfaction for their sins? There lies the difference between Catholics and Evangelicals. We Catholics believe in Purgatory. According to our Catholic faith, Purgatory is the place or state by which, in view of the merits of Christ, the souls of those who have died in the grace of God, but who have not yet made full satisfaction for their sins, are purified. Purgatory is not a definitive state but a temporary one. And only those go there who, at death, are not fully purified of the impurities of sin, since nothing stained or sinful can enter Heaven.

Now, according to Evangelicals, there is no Purgatory because it does not appear in the Bible and Christ saves everyone, except those who are condemned.

For us Catholics, there is Purgatory, and regarding its duration we can say that after Jesus comes a second time and an end is put to the history of humanity, Purgatory will cease to exist and there will be only Heaven and Hell.

The Apostle Paul also says that on the day of judgment each man’s work will be tested. This testing will occur after death: “The fire will test the work of each one. If his work withstands the fire, he will receive a reward; but if that work is turned to ashes, he himself will have to pay. He will be saved, but only as one passing through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). The phrase: “will have to pay” cannot refer to the condemnation of Hell, since no one can leave from there. Nor can it mean Heaven, since there is no suffering there. Only the doctrine and belief in Purgatory explain and clarify this passage. But, in addition, the Bible shows that already in the Old Testament Israel prayed for the departed. This is explained in the Second Book of Maccabees (12:42-46), where it says that Judas Maccabeus, after the battle, prayed for the combatants who had died in battle so that they might be freed from their sins. It says: “And they prayed to the Lord that He might completely forgive the sins of the dead companions.” And also in 2 Timothy 1:1-18, Saint Paul says with reference to Onesiphorus: “May the Lord grant him to obtain mercy on that day.”

Therefore, according to our Catholic faith, when the Bible is read attentively, prayers, sacrifices, and Masses can indeed be offered for the dead, so that their souls may be purified of their sins and may enter as soon as possible into glory to enjoy the divine presence. Evangelicals insist that the word “Purgatory” is a pure invention of Catholics and that not even this name is found in the Bible. We argue that the word “Incarnation” is not in the Bible either, and yet we all believe in it. Nor is the word “Trinity” there, and all of us, Catholics and Evangelicals, believe in this mystery. Therefore, their argument proves nothing.

In short, the reason for this difference is very simple. They accept only the Bible; by contrast, for us Catholics, the Bible is not the only source of revelation. We have the Bible and Tradition. That is, if a truth has been believed continuously and uninterruptedly from Jesus Christ down to our own day, it is a dogma of faith, because the People of God in its entirety cannot err in matters of faith, since the Lord has pledged His assistance. It is the same case as the Assumption of the Virgin into Heaven: although it is not in the Bible, Christian Tradition has believed and celebrated it from the earliest times, and therefore it becomes a dogma of faith. In addition, this has been reaffirmed by the doctrine of the Magisterium throughout the two thousand years of faith of the Catholic Church.

The Tradition of the Catholic Church=primitive Christianity

The constant Tradition of the Church, which goes back to the first years of Christianity, confirms faith in Purgatory and the fittingness of praying for our departed. Saint Augustine, for example, said: “A tear evaporates, a rose withers; only prayer reaches God”. Moreover, Jesus Himself says that “whoever sins against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven his sin, either in this age or in the age to come” (Mt. 12:32). This clearly reveals that there must be some expiation of sin after death, and that is what we call Purgatory. Consequently, after death there is Purgatory and there is purification from venial sins.

In summary, then, let us say that with our prayers we can help those who are in Purgatory so that they may soon be freed from their sufferings and see God.

Nevertheless, since in practice, when a person dies, we do not know whether he is saved or condemned, we should always pray for the departed, because they may need our prayer. And if they do not need it, it will serve other people, since by virtue of the Communion of Saints there is a sharing of spiritual goods between the living and the departed. This explains the popular custom of praying “for the soul most in need in Purgatory.”

The catacombs

In the catacombs or cemeteries of the first Christians, many primitive prayers are still carved, which shows that Christians of the first centuries already prayed for their dead. From the second century comes this inscription: “O Lord, who are seated at the right hand of the Father, receive the soul of Nectarius, Alexander, and Pompeius, and grant them some relief”. Tertullian (year 160-222) says: “Every day we make oblations for the departed”. Saint John Chrysostom (344-407) says: “Not in vain did the Apostles introduce the commemoration of the departed into the celebration of the sacred mysteries. They knew that those souls would obtain great benefit and great usefulness from this feast” (Homily on Philippians, No. 4).

My friends and brothers, I believe this very important point of our faith will be quite clear to you. Whoever professes to be Catholic not only can, but must, pray for his departed.

And here a question is in order: How do we want our friends and relatives to remember us when we die: with prayer or without prayer?

At least among Catholics, everyone will say that their desire is that people pray for them and remember them with the Holy Mass, because even if a Catholic dies with all the sacraments, some stain of sin may always remain in his soul (Rev. 21:27), and for that reason it is fitting to pray for them. This has been the mind of the Catholic Church from its beginnings.

With regard to Purgatory it must be added that it is not like a second opportunity for the person to establish a right relationship with God. Conversion and repentance must take place in this life.

We Catholics, then, are not content merely to sing praises and glorify God, but we raise prayers to God and to the Blessed Virgin for our departed, all the more in the days immediately following their death.

Prayer for the departed

The first missionaries who evangelized America introduced the custom, which still endures in some places, of gathering and holding a wake that lasts for a week or nine days. A Novena is still prayed in which relatives gather to accompany the bereaved and offer prayers to God for the deceased. The Church, too, from time immemorial, introduced the custom of celebrating November 2 as the day dedicated to the faithful departed, a day on which Catholics go to cemeteries and, along with bringing flowers, raise a prayer for our loved ones.

Evangelicals, in general, only praise God for the favors God granted to the deceased. Few sects pray for them. In doctrinal matters, there is great variety from one sect to another, since, as they interpret the Bible according to their own free judgment, each church and each person has his own criterion.

By contrast, among Catholics we know that no text of Scripture should be the object of personal interpretation, but that the Church, inspired by the Holy Spirit, reveals to us through her pastors the true meaning of each text. And in this sense, the Pope is the guarantor of revealed truth, that is, of the deposit of Faith. Thus, the Pope confirms us in the fact that our Faith is the same as that of the first Christians, and the same Faith that will endure until the end of time.

Let us say, in conclusion, that Catholics not only can pray for the departed, but that this is a Christian duty that obliges especially relatives and closest friends. (Eph. 6:18)

Praying for the living and for the departed is a work of mercy. In the same way that we would help their sick bodies in life, so, after death, we must have compassion on them by praying for the eternal rest of their souls.

Among Catholics the tradition is to pray for the departed and, insofar as possible, to have the Holy Mass celebrated for their eternal rest. Eph. 6:18-20

The Liturgy says: “Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them”

And Saint Augustine, a Christian bishop of the first centuries, said: “A tear evaporates, a flower withers; only prayer reaches the throne of God.”

 

Author: Fr. Paulo Dierckx / Fr. Miguel Jordá

Source: Defiendetufe.org