Prayers for the Dead

Catholics set themselves apart from many other Christians through their practice of praying for the deceased. This practice stems from the belief that the souls of the departed may be in purgatory, and the prayers and sacrifices of the living on Earth can aid their journey to Heaven.

The practice of praying for the souls of the departed had been a part of Christianity for far longer, from the early centuries of the Church. Inscriptions found in the Roman catacombs include prayers for the individuals buried there, including the prayer that they may “rest in peace.” The early Church father Tertullian described Christians in the 200s offering sacrifices on the anniversaries of their loved ones’ deaths. St. John Chrysostom preached in a homily: “If Job’s sons were purified by their father’s sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our prayers for them.”

The Council of Trent in the 1500s reiterated the Catholic belief in purgatory and instructed bishops to encourage that “the sacrifices of Masses, prayers, alms, and other works of piety, which have been wont to be performed by the faithful for the other faithful departed, be piously and devoutly performed.” All Souls Day, celebrated each year on the day after All Saints Day, and this year falls on Sunday, November 2nd, is set aside in the Church as a particular day for the entire Church to pray for all the souls in purgatory.

When a person passes from this life to the next, we cannot deprive their soul of our prayers. We need to pray for them in our daily prayers, we say personally, as well as offering Masses for the repose of their soul. To simply say “they are in a better place now” and then do nothing else is to rob them of the mercies we can gain for them. Purgatory is not a permanent place; every soul that enters it eventually enters Heaven, but it is still an arduous process for them. While they are unable to affect their condition in purgatory, we can.

When someone dies, pray for them; pray for the repose of their soul into heaven, both at their funeral Mass and as often as you remem-ber. A simple and easy way to do so is to incorporate it into the prayers at mealtime: “May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.”