20211102 THE CASE FOR PRAYING FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
02 November, 2021, Tuesday, All Souls
Isaiah 25 : 6-9
6 On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wine on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wine on the lees well refined. 7 And he will destroy on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He will swallow up death for ever, and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.
9 It will be said on that day, “Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”
Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 22(23) © |
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
The Lord is my shepherd;
there is nothing I shall want.
Fresh and green are the pastures
where he gives me repose.
Near restful waters he leads me,
to revive my drooping spirit.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
He guides me along the right path;
he is true to his name.
If I should walk in the valley of darkness
no evil would I fear.
You are there with your crook and your staff;
with these you give me comfort.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
You have prepared a banquet for me
in the sight of my foes.
My head you have anointed with oil;
my cup is overflowing.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
Surely goodness and kindness shall follow me
all the days of my life.
In the Lord’s own house shall I dwell
for ever and ever.
The Lord is my shepherd: there is nothing I shall want.
or
If I should walk in the valley of darkness, no evil would I fear, for you are there with me.
Second reading | Romans 5:5-11 © |
Now we have been reconciled by the death of his Son, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son
Hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners. Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son? Not merely because we have been reconciled but because we are filled with joyful trust in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have already gained our reconciliation.
Gospel Acclamation | Jn6:39 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
It is my Father’s will, says the Lord,
that I should lose nothing of all he has given to me,
and that I should raise it up on the last day.
Alleluia!
Gospel |
Mark 15:33-39,16:1-6 © |
Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last
When the sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?’ which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood by heard this, they said, ‘Listen, he is calling on Elijah.’ Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink saying; ‘Wait and see if Elijah will come to take him down.’ But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said, ‘In truth this man was a son of God.’
When the sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices with which to go and anoint him. And very early in the morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb, just as the sun was rising.
They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ But when they looked they could see that the stone – which was very big – had already been rolled back. On entering the tomb they saw a young man in a white robe seated on the right-hand side, and they were struck with amazement. But he said to them, ‘There is no need for alarm. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See, here is the place where they laid him.’
THE CASE FOR PRAYING FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ISAIAH 25:6-9; ROMANS 5:5-11; MARK 15:33-39]
Life is a mystery but death is even more mysterious. We do not know exactly what is on the other side of life after death. For atheists, we are reduced to atoms and return to the earth. There is complete annihilation because there is no life beyond death. Others believe in reincarnation or the transmigration of souls. In the Old Testament, the Israelites believed that upon death, we enter into a stage of a shadowy, lifeless, half-existence which they called “sheol”, regardless whether we have done good or evil. Some non-Catholic Christians believe that upon death, the person “sleeps” and waits for the resurrection on the last day and then is assigned to hell or heaven. As Catholics, we elaborate further what happens to the person who has died and awaiting the resurrection. It is the Catholic teaching that upon death, the soul will be immediately judged and either go to hell, heaven, or purgatory. In other words, Catholic Faith teaches the immortality of the soul and the intermediate state of life.
This doctrine of purgatory is denied by most non-Catholic Christians. The first objection is philosophical. It is claimed that the Catholic Faith has been influenced by a Greek understanding of the human person as body and soul, a dualism not found in the Old Testament. In the latter, the human person is always one, constituted of body and soul. Hence, they deny the existence of a soul without the body. Hence, the person “sleeps” until the resurrection on the last day when the body is raised. It is true that there is no dualism in the human person because we are embodied souls. Nevertheless, there is a distinction. St Paul prays, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Th 5:23) Even the Lord said, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Mt 10:28) And to the Good Thief who said to the Lord, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, He replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:42f)
The second objection is theological, based on the doctrine of justification by faith and grace alone. The doctrine of purgatory, which suggests that a person has to undergo further purification, gives the impression that salvation is through the merits of the person when salvation is a free gift given to those who have faith. In other words, we cannot earn our salvation. Eternal life is a free gift of God. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” (Eph 2:8-10) In today’s reading, St Paul reiterated, “Having died to make us righteous, is it likely that he would now fail to save us from God’s anger? When we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, we were still enemies; now that we have been reconciled, surely we may count on being saved by the life of his Son?”
This is also our Catholic belief. We also believe that salvation is a free gift from God given to those who have faith. But faith is not a univocal term, there are degrees of faith. St James underscores this fact when he wrote, “But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe – and shudder.” (Jms 2:18f) As St Paul says, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12f) Even if we have faith, our love for God is not perfect and we are still growing in holiness. St John in no uncertain terms wrote, “What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” (1 Jn 3:2f) And on the last Judgement, the Lord warned us, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Mt 25:45f)
So the question is, what happens when a person who has some faith in the Lord but is not yet fully committed to Him enough to surrender his life? What happens to someone who loves the Lord but loves the world even more? Isn’t this the case for most of us? How many of us can claim that we love God with our all heart, soul, mind, and strength? How many of us would put our loved ones and even wealth and position aside so that God would be the first and foremost love in our lives? The reality is that, except for the martyrs who gave their life to the Lord in witnessing to Him and some exceptional Christians who truly put the Lord above everything else including their life, security, wealth, and health, for most of us our love for the Lord is neither perfect not pure.
This is why the Church speaks of the doctrine of purgatory. It is that intermediate state where our diminished being, soul, continues to exist and be purified in love and grace. St Paul implied this need for purification when he wrote, “the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire.” (1 Cor 3:13-15) Indeed, some might be lost but some might be saved through fire, that is, further purification. St John also made a distinction between mortal and venial sins. “If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one – to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal.” (1 Jn 3:16f)
On this basis, we are called to pray for the souls in purgatory who are undergoing purification not from mortal sins but from the lack of intense and total love for the Lord. The souls in purgatory are already saved but still not fully entered into the life of God. Purgation of their attachment to the world, letting go of their anger, hurts and pride, seeing God as their ultimate cause of happiness, accepting His unconditional love and mercy will help them to embrace God totally. The inability to let go and let God take over is the pain that they suffer, so near to God and yet not fully with Him. Hence, we must give them support by our prayers and our love, especially offering Masses for them. This ability to pray for them is rooted in the doctrine of the communion of saints which we celebrate yesterday. The saints on earth, in heaven and in purgatory are in communion and we can assist each other in our prayer.
However, we must exercise this devotion with great sensitivity, lest it gives a wrong impression of our faith. This was why the Protestants in the Middle Ages reacted so strongly against the doctrine of purgatory because of the abuses in the dispensation of indulgences often connected with donations received. And worse still, indulgences were qualified in terms of days and years when they were meant to be graphic expressions of the intensity of grace given to the souls. We must never give the impression that we can buy graces from God through offering of Masses or donations to the church and the poor, otherwise, only the rich can get to heaven! This is why under the revised rite, the Church has removed indulgences as defined by days, but just classify it as plenary or partial indulgence.
Finally, lest we get carried away by visionaries and seers claiming to see the souls in purgatory suffering great torments under intense fire, let it be made clear that although the doctrine of purgatory is an article of faith, the Church has never defined the nature, the place, and the duration of a soul in purgatory. The Church does not teach that there is fire in purgatory, or in hell, as these are merely earthly images to describe what we do not really know and have seen. So let us be circumspect in exaggerating what purgatory is like.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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