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Do Our Deceased Loved Ones Need Our Prayers?
In the
tradition of the Catholic Church we have always believed in the
necessity of praying for the dead. While the word “Purgatory” is not
found in holy scripture, Purgatory as a place of penance and
purgation, is well rooted in Catholic tradition, which flows from
Jewish tradition, (See 2 Maccabees 12: 42-46). We know that the
spirit of life, which has left the bodies of our deceased loved
ones, lives on. With this knowledge, we have an instinctual need to
pray for them; and so we do. In 1985, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now
Pope Benedict the XVI, spoke about the Catholic concept of
purgatory, he said:
“My view is that if Purgatory did not exist,
we should have to invent it. Why? Because few things are as
immediate, as human and as widespread-at all times and in all
cultures-as prayer for one’s departed dear ones. The happiness or
unhappiness of a person dear to me, who has crossed to the other
shore, depends in part on whether I remember or forget him; he does
not stop needing my love.”
The
above quotation to me says it all. I pray to my deceased loved ones,
and I feel at times that I can speak to them in the spirit. They are
not gone; they are just in another stage of their lives. If that
stage is Purgatory, I hope my prayers will be of some assistance to
them. As our Holy Father says, our deceased loved ones do not stop
needing our love. Our Holy Father also needs our love. Please pray
for him as well.
Deacon
Gene LaBelle |
