Why Pray for the Dead?

 

O Lord God Almighty,

I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy Divine Son shed upon the wood of the cross, especially from his most sacred Hands and Feet, deliver the souls in purgatory, and in particular family members for whom I am most bound to pray; that no neglect of mine may hinder them from praising Thee in Thy glory and blessing Thee for ever.

Amen.

November is the month the Catholic Church traditionally dedicates to prays for the those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified;” for those who are undergoing the purification necessary to enter the joy of Heaven.

Purgatory, while it may seem to be a place where souls go to, is much more complex, as explored below, though we will never know fully what it is like until we experience it ourselves.

Catholic teaching is contained in three short paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church – here.

Some argue there are different ‘models’ of purgatory/purification based on ways of understanding its purpose. On one end of a spectrum is said to be the ‘satisfaction model,’ which understands purgatory primarily as punishment for sins for which adequate penance was not done in this life. On the other end of the spectrum is said to be the ‘sanctification model,’ which understands purgatory as primarily a matter of completing the process of moral and spiritual transformation. Other models are said to include elements of both 'satisfaction and sanctification'.

‘OthodoxWiki’ has an overview of Eastern Orthodox beliefs and its history - here

Purgatory is not a place/process everyone experiences, but exists through the Divine Mercy of God, who offers us a state to pass through where we can be purified before we reach the glory of Heaven.

Some use the analogy of a “white garment”. At baptism we are given a white garment and at our death, we are to present to God this same white garment unstained. However, if that garment still has "stains" on it, it needs to be purified. Souls that can present that white garment without any spot or wrinkle are able to enter Heaven immediately. On the other hand, souls that do not want to be in the presence of God and who reject Him are not allowed to enter purgatory and choose to enter Hell.

When imagining the afterlife, it can be tempting to think of purgatory as a specific “place” or “location,” where all the souls are sent before entering into Heaven. However, as doctrine developed, the Catholic Church came to teach more clearly that purgatory is not a place, but more of a process. St. John Paul II gave a (for some, controversial) catechesis on purgatory during a general audience in 1999, John Paul II explaining what the Church teaches regarding purgatory - here

"Purification must be complete, and indeed this is precisely what is meant by the Church’s teaching on purgatory. The term does not indicate a place, but a condition of existence. Those who, after death, exist in a state of purification, are already in the love of Christ who removes from them the remnants of imperfection,

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."

For the souls in purgatory, this time is a time of hope. They eagerly await the moment, when washed clean of the stains of sin, they will be welcomed into God's Presence.

Christians do not grieve like others. Filled with hope, we look forward to the day when Christ will raise up our loved ones who have "fallen asleep in Christ." Let this hope animate our prayers for the dead, and help us live here and now for what is to come.

For those interested, he is a more ‘academic’ analysis of Catholic doctrine in relation to the "satisfaction – sanctification" models - here. It’s long, covering Protestant and Catholic doctrines of salvation and our differences in understanding concerning Christ’s atonement - but worth a read.

It concludes:

"The relevant sections of the Catechism of the Catholic Church is straightforwardly equivalent to the Sanctification Model, not something that stands in sworn opposition to it. Notice, for example, that it is precisely the “unhealthy attachment to creatures” (i.e., a sinful disposition) which is said to result from sin and issue in “temporal punishment” for it, and, moreover, that purgatory is identified as the process by which the individual is purified from such attachment:

Accordingly … the ‘temporal punishment’ a person suffers in purgatory “serves as a ‘medicine’ to the extent that the person allows it to challenge him to undertake his own profound conversion,” which is at bottom “the meaning of the ‘satisfaction’ required” of him before he attains to the beatific vision."

 Pray for your loved ones!