Praying for the Dead

Yeah, it’s been quiet around here recently. Between the beginning of a new semester for two writers, the end of the fiscal year for another, and the loss of a grandmother for a fourth . . . naturally, prayers for all, especially the last, are appreciated.

Which brings up a question I’ve run across a time or two, so I might as well address now:

Why do you Catholics pray for the dead? I mean, they’re already dead. . .
their fate is already sealed. What’s the point?

Yes, praying for the dearly departed is a grand old tradition for us Catholics. For many Christians, the belief is that upon death, one is immediately judged and sent straight to Heaven, or Hell. Prayers for these people are certainly part of the funerals, but aside from that, it’s not really considered a special duty to pray for those who have passed, certainly if you never knew them or they weren’t family. Many Catholics, on the other hand, consider it very important to pray not just for one’s loved ones, but for all those who have passed on, no matter who they are. Why are we, as Catholics, supposed to pray for the dead?

The first is that with the exception of a few extraordinarily holy people, we assume Pugatory. Now, this in itself is a huge sticking point for many people, especially for sola scriptura protestants. I’ll let the scripture fiends fight over that one (or, devote an entire other post to purgatory later), but the essential point is this: While the Canon of Saints is the list of people we’re pretty darn sure are in Heaven (Mary, Michael, the apostles, etc. . .), aside from that, we don’t know anyone’s fate, because there’s always the chance for last minute repentance. We certainly don’t believe that any specific people are in Hell, which leaves Purgatory.

For illustrative purposes, let’s take the now classic example of Hitler. Hitler, as we all know, was about as rotten as they come, personally responsible for the death and torture of millions of people. Now, that said, let’s consider the possibility that, at the last possible moment in that bunker, Hitler literally saw the light and repented for all the horrible, terrible, downright abominations he was responsible for. I’m not saying he did, or that he didn’t. Let’s just, for the purposes of illustration, assume he did. Now, God being infinitely merciful, would not consign a repented soul to Hell but, such a soul, though repented, would likewise be unfit for heaven. God is also infinitely just and besides, that’s a lot of repenting to do. Purgatory is where God’s Infinite Mercy and Infinite Justice meet, and also functions as the sanitizer of our souls, making them ready for Heaven.

Naturally, a soul like Hitler’s would have quite a bit more rehabilitation and scrubbing needed than someone like the sainty rosary-grannies you see at the back of so many churches. So, Granny gets some touch-up work and gets to go on, but someone like Hilter has to be scrubbed, rinsed, sanded, scrubbed, rinsed, shampooed, dipped in various chemicals, scrubbed, rinsed. . .you get the idea.

So, when a person dies, we assume Purgatory. We don’t know exactly what Purgatory is like (it’s the afterlife, after all), but the reports various saints and apparitions have given us are rather intimidating. It is not pleasant (though I imagine the graduation from there isn’t so bad), and these are, after all, our brothers and sisters. [Yes, even the ones we don’t like too much.] But we pray for them because those saints that have given us what we know about purgatory also inform us that prayer helps these souls with their progress, and even helps them spring out earlier than they otherwise might. Even more, that those souls are aware of who prays for them—for instance, there are stories that several courteous souls visited St. Padre Pio to thank him for his prayers after they got out of Purgatory.

Now, I’m not really sure as to the mechanics of how my praying for a soul in Purgatory helps them, but again and again, the saints and apparitions of Our Lady say that praying for the souls in purgatory does actually help them. Moreover, we are told that there are many souls in purgatory that have no one to pray for them and finally, if they’re in Purgatory, then the only thing we can do for them is pray. To go back to our example—who’s going to pray for the soul of Hitler? Precious few people, is who. But simple charity inclines us to do what we can for who we can. At this time, there are many things I cannot do—I cannot stop terrorism, I cannot stop hurricanes, I cannot cure AIDS. But, if my poor prayers can help one soul to Heaven, then I would have to be the most completely lame person on the planet ever to not do so. I mean, it’s not like it’s hard or anything. Naturally, I’ll pray for my loved ones and friends who’ve gone on ahead. . . but I also remember all the other souls in purgatory. I don’t need to know their names, I just need to offer my prayers for them.

So, why do we pray for the dead? Because no matter that their sins, or who they are, they are still made in the image and likeness of God. If a stranger comes up to me and says “My cousin just died”, the response I will give is “Then I shall remember them in my prayers”, and never “Who the heck are you?!” If I was taking a hike in the Afghani wilderness and stumbled across a certain cave, and Osama Bin Laden said (through a translator) “My long-lost auntie died last week’, my response would be the same. [And hopefully, I’d be allowed to continue on my hike toward the nearest US troops. Unlikely, with that bunch, but miracles sometimes happen.] The point is, we are all called to call for all those who have died—no exceptions.

[For this reason, I now have a little spiral bound black notebook, for all the intentions I’ve been asked to pray for. My poor brain can’t always remember them all, and then I feel like a schmuck when I forget. That said, most people also include phrases like “And for all those in need of prayer. . .” which covers our bases pretty well, though trying to remember specifics is useful.]

And finally, it doesn’t even take much time. When I was a kid, we included it in our nightly “God blesses”, where at some point or another my brother, mom, dad, or myself would say [usually sometime after “God bless Gramma” and “God bless Huan” (our dog)], “God bless everyone who needs it!”



Nowadays, it might be the Fatima prayer, or during my morning coffee break prayers, something like: “God, thank you for coffee, tea, chocolate, and caffeine in general. Thank you for all things that help me wake up in the ways I need it. May the world be woken up to your presence and love. And may the souls us purgatory wake up in your shining presence sooner than they expect. Amen.”

[You think I’m kidding? Nope . . . I’m grateful for all the good Lord has blessed us with.]

Gah, getting back to the subject of this long winded post. We pray for all the dead because they are all our family, and we wish for them to be in Heaven’s joy as soon as possible. And further, the Catechism adds that

“Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.”

When a soul is released into heaven, then that’s one more person who can intercede for us.

So, all around, we’ve got some good reasons to pray for them, and no reasons not to. So, if you could, remember the departed in your prayers. We all need all the help we can get.

Aw, Hell!

This is an uncomfortable subject for many, and is one of the ways popular culture tries to call traditional Judeo-Christian traditions into question, often picking on Catholics as they do so. The question is usually posed thus:

How do you reconcile the idea of a Loving God with the idea of Hell? Aren't the two mutually exclusive?

To which my reply, if asked personally, is: Well, no, because the idea of a Loving God implies that of Hell. Allow me to explain. . .

First, let's address the questions of what Hell is and how one ends up there. The popular interpretation is that 1) Hell is a fiery abyss of sadistic torures, a la Dante's Inferno(you'll need a Flash plug-in for that link), and 2) you did something very bad, something that pissed God off so He sent you to Hell as punishment. But, interestingly enough, this is not what the Catholic Church teaches about Hell.

The church's teaching on Hell is first, that Hell is the complete and utter absence of God, and second that is it actually not that God condemns one to Hell, but rather, that one does that for oneself. People wind up in Hell who reject God, His Grace, His Mercy and Forgiveness. This is, in fact, the definition of Mortal Sin-- anything that constitutes a denial or rejection of God. Sin is the turning away from God, repentance is the turning back to God. Those who wind up in Hell are those who die and never, even in that last instant, repent of their mortal sin. It is, in that last moment, a choice: turn back to God and throw yourself on His Mercy, or reject Him.

Because there is that last moment to repent, the Church never teaches that any specific person is in Hell--not even Hitler. Now, we can certainly suspect that his Fuhrerness (and his buddies Mengele, Himmler, et al) are roasting merrily to the cackling delight of Asmodeus and the rest of the infernal pack, but ultimately, we do not know. It is theoretically possible that, at that last moment, Hitler (literally) saw the light and so is now spending a slow millennium or three in Purgatory, listening to "It's a Small World" over and over again. . .(Far better to repent during one's life, to Confess and do penance now, and skip the pain of purgation. It'll likely be several centuries of Stair Master for me. . . *shudders*).

What this all means then, is that Hell is a choice. People who are in Hell have chosen it. It may baffle us why anyone would be so. . . stupid as to choose Hell, but unfortunately, I've met a few people in my time who wouldn't surprise me if they did. All of them share certain traits in common-- they are unbearably Pride-full, and they are very, very angry at God. Those most angry at God tend to claim to be atheists, but their attitude proclaims quite clearly that they are actually anti-theists. [Mind you, I'm not saying all atheists are so, just some of them]. They literally hate God, and any suggestion that maybe they could see things from other perspectives is greeted with scorn, derision, and more predictable anger. They are sad, sorry cases for whom we must all pray, because there is little else we can do for them, and Hell is worse than even the worst things we can imagine, and it is not God's desire (nor should it be ours) that anyone, no matter how bad, end up there.

Ultimately, the ability to choose Hell is itself a proof that God is Loving. God created us with Free Will, and all choices (well, all moral choices at least) boil down to God/ not-God. While we live, we are constantly given the opportunity to choose again--and so the righteous can always fall, and the sinner can always find redemption. We just choose again. That final choice, given at the moment if death, is the last choice, the final decision between God or not-God. It is the most important of them all, and the ultimate proof of our freedom. For if we have free will in all other things, but no free will to choose God (or not-God), then all the other freedoms are fake, pretend choices in illusory freedom. Complete freedom demands that we have the ability to choose God or not-God, and so complete freedom therefore demands the existence of not-God, which is to say, Hell.

And this, finally, is how Hell and a Loving God are linked. God, loving us into existence, created us in His Image, including Freedom. That Freedom is only worth anything if it includes the ultimate freedom, to choose God or not. So, this is why the two ideas are not mutually exclusive--the existence of Hell and the ability to choose it are themselves evidence of God's Love.

For more reading: What the Catechism says (scroll down to part IV)
An article on "Radical Liberty"