Why we Pray for the Dead

Whenever November draws near we reflect on prayer for the dead because November 2 is All Souls Day. We often pray for the faithful departed. Christians have prayed like this since the earliest times, as anyone who has seen tomb inscriptions in the Roman Catacombs knows. This was noted by the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council (cf. Lumen Gentium 50). Beyond Christianity, there is a natural instinct to try and "do something" for the dead. This was evident in much of the outpouring of grief for the late Princess Diana and it is now customary for people to leave candles and flowers at the site of a disaster or accident, signs of their memory and also tangible attempts at prayer.

But why do we pray for the dead?

THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS

The practice is contained in our belief in the "Communion of Saints", affirmed in the Apostles' Creed. The Catholic understanding of the Communion of Saints is a two way traffic between ourselves and the faithful departed - the saints pray for us and we pray for the dead. Death is no barrier to prayerful communion with the dead. Certainly we must never to try and interfere with the dead by way of seances, magic etc. But we do remember them and thank God for their lives. We also do something more for them when we reach out in prayer across the change of death.

The Communion of Saints is a rich way of describing the whole Church, here and beyond death. The Church is "militant" or "pilgrim" on earth, but "expectant" and glorious in eternity. The Second Vatican Council recognized these distinctions when presenting the Pilgrim Church in the beautiful seventh chapter of the great Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. Christians are disciples of Christ on pilgrimage: "But at the present time some of his disciples are pilgrims on earth. Others have died and are being purified, while still others are in glory, contemplating 'in full light, God himself, triune and one, exactly as he is.'" Lumen Gentium, Note the Council Fathers' words "others have died and are being purified", echoed later in " Lumen Gentium 51. That means purgatory. Therefore no one dare claim that "purgatory went out with Vatican II". But what is purgatory?

CHURCH TEACHING

The Church's official teaching on purgatory is simple and does not explore fine details: there is a purgatory and the souls therein detained are helped by the prayers of the faithful. (Council of Trent). In Lumen Gentium 50-52 purgatory is seen in the broader context of salvation and heaven. The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes purgatory as "This final purification of the elect, which is entirely different to the punishment of the damned" (no. 1031).

Heaven is much more important than purgatory. The eternal goal is more important than the process involved in attaining that goal. But the Communion of saints must always be kept in mind. While we seem to die alone, in fact we do not make the final journey into eternity alone. We do it "in communion" with the whole Church, surrounded by the prayers of all the faithful, living and departed. This is why we pray for the dead. It is simply part of being an active member of the whole of Christ's Church. It is another way of putting into practice his command to "love one another…."

PURGATORY - THE DIVINE MERCY

The key to understanding purgatory is the divine Mercy. God's fathomless mercy extends beyond death. Perhaps "mercy" is the most characteristic Catholic word. It could be posted over the doors of all our churches, certainly over the place where the sacrament of reconciliation is celebrated. Mercy also offers a gentle and positive way for children to grasp what God is doing to those who are imperfect and who still need his mercy.

The Catholic doctrine of merciful purification beyond death comes to grips with reality. Most people do not die in a state of perfection, at the same time they are not set against God, making the choice of total separation from God, recently described by Pope John Paul II. The merciful prospect of purgatory avoids the fear and rigidity of some other Christian traditions which consign most people to hell. This is the darker side of fundamentalism, coloured by Calvinism.

However, we may ask how our merciful God purifies the dead? The purifying or refining fire of purgatory has been the standard medieval imagery in theology and art. This has often been discussed by theologians, especially to distinguish it from hell fire, for it is more like the refining fire of God's love. But this is not the only imagery for the "intermediate state" of purification. There are other understandings of purgatory which may make more sense to us, helping us to see final purification more as a process, dimension or "state of being" than a place.

In his poem The Dream of Gerontius Cardinal Newman proposed a deep pool, in which an angel gently and slowly immersed the soul of Gerontius. This is a high point in Elgar's musical setting of the poem. Newman offers us a marvelous renewal of baptism, dying and rising with Christ, washing and purification from sin, found in the texts of the sacramental rites. C.S. Lewis used the same symbol in his children's novel The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, where Eustace, a particularly obnoxious boy, has to undergo a painful immersion in a pool of purification.

MODERN THEORIES ABOUT PURGATORY

Modern theologians have speculated about whether there is time in the process of purgatory. Perhaps still being bound to the dimension of time is to be "detained" in that "prison" where Jesus Christ said the "last penny" has to be paid (cf Matthew 5:26). But it has also been suggested that purgatory may be an "instant" of purification, varying in intensity from soul to soul, depending on the state of each individual. This would occur at or after the moment of death.

This new speculation may involve our "knowing as we are known". Such a psychological understanding of purgatory suggests that God imparts a cathartic self-awareness that few of us can ever attain in this life. Therefore an intense light may be an appropriate image of purification. A blazing enlightenment penetrates and perfects our very being. Purgatory may well be the fringe of heaven, a stage where heaven's eternal light has a refining effect on us.

LOVE AND COMPASSION FOR THE DEPARTED

We are called to express our love and compassion for the departed hence the evocative expression "poor souls in purgatory". Personally, I am not comfortable with that language, better to say "holy souls" or "blessed dead", for as Saint Catherine of Genoa observed, they rejoice in their sufferings because they know they are saved. Purgatory is a one way process, onward, upward, into the bliss of heaven. No one can be lost who is held in the arms of the divine Mercy.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1032, presents prayer for the dead with emphasis first on offering the eucharistic Sacrifice then on "almsgiving, indulgences and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead". All these prayerful acts are carried out in faith. They are not magical. The greatest act is to offer Mass for the dead, for here the One Sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is applied or focused on the needs of particular human beings. The reconciling offering of the Lord is the greatest and most perfect prayer, as we see when reading through Eucharistic Prayer III.

"Eternal rest," "pardon", "peace", "refreshment" and "perpetual light" are words we use when praying for the dead. Each has its own tradition stretching back to earliest Christian times. Each has its own nuance, always pointing to our eternal goal - union with God in the beatific vision. But each word reminds us that God wants us to play an active part in his mercy to the departed who are one with us in the Communion of Saints.

When November draws near, let us not forget to pray for our dear departed, to have Mass offered for them, to say an extra prayer, visit the graves, or make some little sacrifice in daily life for them. What a great opportunity this is to reach out to those we remember with the greatest gift God has lavished on us, a gift far stronger than death - the gift of love.