by Rev. Richard Barker
My dear parishioners, the human soul’s greatest longing is to dwell with God in the fullness of his eternal glory. With this in mind, we annually remember our beloved deceased in a special way throughout November. We pray for the souls of the faithful departed to be granted a favorable judgment by God and a heavenly rest at the last. Praying for the dead is a venerable Christian obligation. At the time of his crucifixion, Christ himself descended to the dead to minister to Abraham and his holy descendants who had “all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” [Heb 11:13]
Our Catholic devotion to the spiritual welfare of departed souls reflects a healthy awareness of the Mystical Body of Christ. It is a beautiful thing to pray for our dead. Indeed, the Mystical Body of Christ encompasses faithful Christians who persevere in this present life (Church militant), holy souls which need spiritual cleansing in purgatory (Church suffering), and the joyous saints praising God in his heaven (Church glorious). Purgatory is part of the temporal order, situated, so to speak, between the material creation and God’s spiritual heaven. The souls in purgatory possess the confidence of knowing that Christ has reserved a place for them in the heavenly city Jerusalem:
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. [CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH (CCC) 1030]
Any and all sins a person commits after baptism are offenses against God’s transcendent holiness. Therefore, a soul must be perfectly cleansed from these offenses before that soul can be welcomed into our loving heavenly father’s mansion. [cf. Jn 14:2] This is the imperative of righteousness, a divine reality that is never lazy, watered down, forgetful or abandoned. The souls in purgatory experience an exquisite, extraordinary spiritual awareness and suffering for “unfinished business,” that is to say, for sins not confessed and reparation not made while in this earthly life.
After burial, no ministry is directed to the mortal remains of the deceased until Our Lord returns in glory, summoning the dead from their graves. In the meantime, however, the souls of the faithful departed are in need of considerable ministry under the guidance and direction of Christ the Divine Teacher and the purifying fire of the Spirit of Pentecost. By intentional prayers, works of penance and mercy, indulgences, and most especially Masses offered on behalf of the dead, we ask God to release the Holy Souls from purgatory into heaven. God gifts the merits of our spiritual works to the souls in purgatory to cleanse them from sins not confessed or atoned.
Until the last soul is released and purgatory is no more, Our Lord’s ministry to immortal souls must continue with the Church’s help. For there are not two baptisms but only one administered to the living at the beginning of Christian life as a divine help to overcome sin. Accordingly, after receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, the Christian faithful are obliged while in this life to regularly confess and make satisfaction for their sins. This is nothing less than an act of justice to God himself, giving to God what God has determined to be his due for the sake of his own glory. This way of penance is in imitation of Christ who, while suffering crucifixion, unleashed the power of his Divine Mercy on earth and in purgatory. That which I imperfectly express may be perfectly summed up in these words of Our Lord: “He who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” [Mt 10:38]
Sincerely in the hearts of Jesus and Mary. Your pastor, Reverend Richard Barker. +++
My dear parishioners, the human soul’s greatest longing is to dwell with God in the fullness of his eternal glory. With this in mind, we annually remember our beloved deceased in a special way throughout November. We pray for the souls of the faithful departed to be granted a favorable judgment by God and a heavenly rest at the last. Praying for the dead is a venerable Christian obligation. At the time of his crucifixion, Christ himself descended to the dead to minister to Abraham and his holy descendants who had “all died in faith, not having received what was promised, but having seen it and greeted it from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.” [Heb 11:13]