Posted on 06/20/2015 4:06:31 PM PDT by Salvation
Pray for the Living and the Dead – A Meditation on the Seventh Spiritual Work of Mercy
Msgr. Charles Pope • June 15, 2015 •
What is the value of one prayer? I suspect it is far greater than any of us imagine. Prayer changes things, sometimes in obvious ways, more often in subtle and even paradoxical ways. But prayer is surely important, even when we don’t experience its immediate effects. Perhaps this is why Jesus taught us to pray always and never to lose heart (cf Luke 18:1). St. Paul echoed this with the simple exhortation “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:17). St. James also warned, “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2).
Perhaps one of the greatest joys of Heaven will be seeing how much of a difference our prayers made, even the distracted and perfunctory ones. Perhaps our simple utterance at the end of a decade of the rosary to “save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven” will reach the heart of one lost soul, prompting him to answer the gentle call of God to return. Imagine that in Heaven that very sinner comes up to you and says, “Though we never met, your prayer reached me and God applied His power to me.” Imagine the joy of many such meetings in Heaven. Imagine, too, whom you will joyfully thank for their prayers, people you know and some you never met. But they prayed and the power of their prayers reached you.
So, to pray for the living is a great and wondrous spiritual work of mercy; its value is beyond gold or pearls. Yes, what is the value of one prayer? The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man is powerful in in its effects (James 5:16). Prayer can avert war, bring healing, cause conversion, bestow peace and serenity, and call down mercy—sweet, necessary, and beautiful mercy. Prayer is inestimable; its value can never be told.
Praying for the dead, however, is a spiritual work of mercy that has suffered in recent decades. Too many Catholics today “miss a step” when loved ones die. There are often immediate declarations that the deceased are “in Heaven” or are “in a better place.” But Scripture doesn’t say that we go right to Heaven when we die. No, indeed, there is a brief stopover at the judgment seat of Christ.
The Letter to the Hebrews says, It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment (Heb 9:27). And St. Paul writes, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad (2 Cor 5:10).
So, our deceased loved ones go to the judgment seat of Christ. And that is worth praying about!
But what is the judgment in question for those who lived faithful lives? In such cases, the judgment is not merely about the ultimate destination of Heaven or Hell. The judgment in question would seem to be “Is My work in you complete?”
Indeed, the Lord has made all of us a promise: You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mat 5:48). Such a beautiful promise! And yet most of us know that we are not in such a state now; if we were to die today it is clear that much work would still be required. And thus when we send our faithful loved ones to judgment, though we send them with hope, we are aware that finishing work may be necessary. Purgation and purification are necessary before entering Heaven, of which scripture says, Nothing impure will ever enter it (Rev 21:27).
Again, this is worth praying about. It is a great work of mercy we can extend to our deceased loved ones, to remember them with love and to pray, in the words of St. Paul, May God who has begun a good work in you bring it to completion (Phil 1:6). Pray often for the souls in Purgatory. Surely there are joys there for them, knowing that they are on their way to Heaven. But surely, too, there are sufferings that purgation must cause. St Paul says of Purgatory, Each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire (1 Cor 3:13-15). Yes, there is fire, but thank God it is a healing fire. There are tears, too, for Scripture says (regarding the dead) that Jesus will wipe every tear from their eyes (Rev 21:4).
How consoling and merciful our prayers must seem to our beloved who have died! How prayers must seem like a gentle wind that speeds them along, onward and upward toward Heaven!
Praying for the dead, then, is the last and greatest spiritual work of mercy. For by the grace of it, and through its help, souls attain the glory God has prepared for them from the foundation of the world.
http://blog.adw.org/2015/06/pray-for-the-living-and-the-dead-a-meditation-on-the-seventh-spiritual-work-of-mercy/
I promise my posting will get better as my computer gets fixed more and more.
I didn’t have to pay the fellow today since he said he wasn’t done and wanted me to let the 8.1 updates come in.
Thanks for your patience everyone!
Just one more "extra biblical " practice ... there is no scripture to support the idea of a "stop over" that needs a bail out..
2 Cor 5:8 But we are confident, and have a good will to be absent rather from the body, and to be present with the Lord. (Douay-Rheims Bible)
I don’t have the link right now. But in the Book of revelation, our prayers soar aloft to the saints as if they were incense.
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>> “But in the Book of revelation, our prayers soar aloft to the saints as if they were incense.” <<
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Yes, to the Father, not to dead “saints.”
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That strikes me as odd - Catholics claim to have written and given the world the Bible. Did you forget to keep a copy for yourself?
Saints are not dead to prayer. They live with The Father. Why wouldn’t they want to help those of us still in the world? They are close to God so they would gladly ask Him to bless us.
What a miserable existence to think that the sacrifice of the Son of God wasn’t good enough. To think that you must depend on some miserable sinful human saving you from Hell is just scary. I will pray for you that you will pick up your Bible and read it for yourself with eyes wide open. The first three paragraphs hit the nail on the head, but the rest is straight from Satan’s playbook of doubt and distrust of the Saviors finished work on the Cross.
At the Transfiguration in the garden, Jesus met with two dead saints, Moses and Elijah. If he thought it important to speak with them, I do not have a problem seeking their assistance either!
If you are in purgatory it is the trip to heaven. No one in purgatory goes to hell. They may suffer a little. Just so you know what you are debating towards Catholics.
Those are living saints Sal
Rev8:1 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. .
As you know Sal... the believers are called the saints in the NT.. and this angel brings the prayers of the saints on this earth to God
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Everyone but the Father is “dead to prayer.”
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Those that pray to dead creatures are Dead to the Father and the Son.
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Those that think they are in “purgatory” will be mistaken; they will be in Hell.
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Another wrong statement. Only God can judge.
That does not even make sense! Sounds like you just want to be contrary to anything you think sounds Catholic.
Just so you know that Scripture doesn’t support any such thing as purgatory. So if your not in Heaven with Jesus Christ at death then you are in Hell. I stand by my comment that it’s a miserable existence to think you can pray someone’s way out of Hell.
2 Corinthians 5:8 New American Standard Bible (NASB)
8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.
“Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®,
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission.” (www.Lockman.org)
No your actually wrong, IAW Holy Scripture Jesus Christ will be the judge of the living and dead. I’ll give you some examples to support this statement there are more if you want to research.
Matthew 25:31-33
Acts 10:42
2 Corinthians 5:10
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