My elderly mother always has Masses offered for
deceased relatives on the anniversary of their deaths. Where
did this practice come from and is it important? A
reader in Annandale.
The offering of Mass for the
repose of the soul of the faithful departed is linked with
our belief in Purgatory. We believe that if a person has died
fundamentally believing in God but with venial sins and the
hurt caused by sin, then God in His divine love and mercy
will first purify the soul After this purification has been
completed, the soul will have the holiness and purity needed
to share in the beatific vision in heaven. While each
individual stands judgment before the Lord and must render an
account of his life, the communion of the Church shared on
this earth continues, except for those souls dammed to hell.
The Vatican Council II affirmed, "This sacred council accepts
loyally the venerable faith of our ancestors in the living
communion which exists between us and our brothers who are in
the glory of heaven or who are yet being purified after their
death..." (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, No. 51).
Therefore, just as we pray for each other and share each
other's burdens now, the faithful on earth can offer prayers
and sacrifices to help the departed souls undergoing
purification, and no better prayer could be offered than that
of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
Pope Leo XIII in his
encyclical Mirae Caritatis (1902) beautifully
elaborated this point and emphasized the connection between
the communion of saints with the Mass: "The grace of mutual
love among 'The living, strengthened and increased by the
Sacrament of the Eucharist, flows' especially by virtue of
the Sacrifice [of the Mass]' to all who belong to the
communion of saints For the communion of saints is simply...
the mutual sharing of help, atonement, prayers, and benefits
among the faithful, those already In the heavenly fatherland,
those consigned to the purifying fire, and those still making
their pilgrim way here on earth. These all form one city,
whose head is Christ, and whose vital principle is love.
Faith teaches that although the august Sacrifice can be
offered to God alone, it can nevertheless be celebrated in
honor of the saints now reigning in heaven with God, who has
crowned them, to obtain their intercession for us, and also,
according to apostolic tradition, to wash away the stains of
those brethren who died in the Lord but without yet being
wholly purified."
Think of this point: The Holy Mass
transcends time and space, uniting the faithful in heaven, on
earth and in purgatory into a Holy Communion, and the Holy
Eucharist Itself augments our union with Christ, wipes away
venial sins, and presences us from future mortal sins (cf.
Catechism, No. 1391-1396). Therefore, the offering of Mass
and other prayers or sacrifices for the intentions of the
faithful departed are good and holy acts. This practice is
not new. The Catechism asserts, "From the beginning the
Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers
in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic Sacrifice, so
that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of
God" (No. 1032).
Actually, this "beginning" has roots even
in the Old Testament. Judas Maccabees offered prayers and
sacrifices for the Jewish soldiers who had died wearing pagan
amulets, which were forbidden by the Law; II Maccabees reads,
"Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed
might be fully blotted out" (12:43) and "Thus, [Judas
Maccabees] made atonement for the deed mat they might be
freed from sin" (12:46). In the early history of the Church,
we also see evidence of prayers for the dead. Inscriptions
uncovered on tombs in the Roman catacombs of the second
century evidence this practice. For example, the epitaph on
the tomb of Abercius (d. 180) Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia
begs for prayers for the repose of his soul' Tertullian in
211 attested to observing the anniversary of death with
prayers. Moreover, the Canons of Hippolytus (c. 235)
explicitly mention the offering of prayers for the dead
during the Mass.
The testimony of the Church Fathers
beautifully supports this belief: St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d.
386), in one of his many catechetical discourses, explained
how at Mass both the living and dead are remembered, and how
the Eucharistic Sacrifice of our Lord is of benefit to
sinners, living and dead. St. Ambrose (d. 397) preached, "We
have loved them during life; let us not abandon them in
death, until we have conducted them by our prayers into the
house of the Lord." St. John Chrysostom (d. 407) stated, "Let
us help end commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by
their {ether'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 disc and to offer our
prayers for them." Finally, Pope St. Gregory (d. 604) said,
"Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer
our prayers. for them. "
One may wonder, " What if the
person's soul has already been purified and gone to heaven?"'
We on earth know neither the judgment of God nor the divine
time frame; so, there is always goodness in remembering our
departed and commending them to God through prayer and
sacrifice. However, if indeed the departed soul has been
purified and now rests in God's presence in heaven/ then
those prayers and sacrifices offered benefit the other souls
in purgatory through the love and mercy of God.
Therefore, we
find not only the origins of this practice dating to the
early Church but we also clearly recognize its importance.
When we face the death of someone, even a person who is not
Catholic, to have a Mass offered for the repose of his soul
and to offer our prayers are more beneficial and comforting
than any other sympathy card or bouquet of flowers. Most
importantly, we should always remember our own dearly
departed loved ones in the Holy Mass and through our own
prayers and sacrifices to help in their gaining eternal rest.
Fr. Saunders is dean of the Notre Dame Graduate School
of Christendom College and pastor of Queen of Apostles
Parish, both in Alexandria.
Copyright 1997 Arlington
Catholic Herald, Inc. All rights reserved.