Well, this is where some of our non-Catholic friends will get a little miffed. But here goes!
Yesterday we celebrated all the holy souls who are rejoicing in the presence of the Lord.
Today is All Soul's Day. This is the day we remember and pray for all the holy souls who are still waiting to enter heaven; they still need some final purification before they can make that last step past the metaphorical pearly gates.
We call the condition they are in now purgatory.
Yes- I know the word purgatory is not in the Bible. But then again, neither is Trinity- and it most certainly is a tenet of the Christian faith. Like Trinity, purgatory is a word assigned to something that is very explicitly described in scripture- yet never named.
First, know that at the moment we die, we have only two choices: heaven and hell. I say choices because God does not decide where we spend eternity, we do. Choose wisely.
Souls in purgatory are saved. That is a very important thing to remember- they will get to heaven. Eventually...and with a little help from those of us still working out our salvation with fear and trembling ( Philippians 2:12).
If you would like to read about the scriptural evidence for purgatory, you can find it HERE, along with evidence from the early Church fathers. There is simply far too much to go into here. As you read, remember- purgatory is proof of the grace, mercy and justice of God! And- as I said before- the souls in purgatory are saved, purgatory contradicts nothing in the Bible.
A few years ago I attended a non-Catholic funeral. The thing that surprised me was that nowhere in the funeral service was a single prayer offered for the souls of the deceased ( a father and his young son). Not a one. Only prayers for the wife/mother and siblings. Top that off with the fact that both preachers emphasized the separation from the two who had, how sad it was that it will be so long until they are together. You get the idea. It is, I'm sure, how many people feel about the death of a loved one.
How sad! How terribly sad to wallow in your own sense of loss, when that is the last thing one should be doing.
You see... as Catholic Christians, we believe that when someone we care about leaves this life, WE have work to do, we have our marching orders....and we are still connected to those we love through the Communion of Saints.
So, we pray for them because we believe our prayers have value and are efficacious (meaning, they actually accomplish something) . We say prayers for their souls. We have Masses offered for them.
We offer up our own sufferings. We might obtain an indulgence for them ( more on that next week).
When I picture a metaphor for purgatory, I think of a great, flat wall. No foot or hand holds, nothing to grab. We are below, boosting up the souls in purgatory, and the saints are above, reaching for their hands to pull them the rest of the way. Those above and those below are there by the grace of God for those who need the help to get up the last bit of the wall. The purification itself has often been called the refiner's fire- an expression found in the Bible. It is not pleasant, and sometimes it does take place here on earth. God can do that if he wants. And he allows us to maintain that sense of connection with each other by offering prayers and good works on their behalf... boosting them the rest of the way.
Not long ago, the brother of an acquaintance passed away from a heart attack. He had suffered great physical and mental anguish over the years from PTSD. Before the funeral Mass, I was talking to a mutual friend and told him that I thought this man had done his purgatory here on earth and God would be merciful to him...but I was still planning to pray for him every day.
Another friend passed away this summer, and I have no idea what her relationship with the Lord was at that time. None of us can ever even know the answer to that question about ourselves. ( if you say you do, that is presumption, and it is a sin) So I pray for her. Every day.
Imagine the additional sorrow of a soul in purgatory who has no one to pray for him! Imagine being so close to heaven, yet unable to enter because no one will pray for you because they mistakenly believe that once you take your final breath, you are in heaven.
So, when I pray for the holy souls, I pray for those I care about by name. But I also pray for people I have never met.
The soul closest to heaven.
The one farthest from heaven.
The one who most deserves it.
The one who least deserves it.
Just for fun, the 5387th from heaven.
...and- most importantly- all the souls who have no one to pray for them.
One day, I hope to look up and see their hands reaching down to pull me up that wall.
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