Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
We cannot deny the pain and sorrow of death. When someone we love dies, we know that we won’t see that person on earth again. And in the face of that harsh reality, tears naturally follow. But as those who know that Jesus rose from the dead, our grief should be eased a bit by the fact that death is not the end. That’s the power of the Resurrection of Christ: death is not the end. That’s the power that the martyrs held as they didn’t fear to suffer for Christ, because they knew that the world threw all pain and suffering at Christ in His crucifixion, but Christ came out victorious in the end on Easter Sunday.
But it’s also the power that should help us who remain after someone dies, because our faith tells us that they simply have gone on a long journey to a place where we can’t stay connected through a meet-up, phone call, text, FaceTime, or Zoom, but where we can stay connected through prayer. Just as we are somewhat sad, but still have hope when a family member or friend goes on a cruise and we can’t contact them with earthly technology, so we should have the same hope when someone we love dies, because death is not the end, but a transition to a new form of life.
But as Catholics we can often act like non-believers who treat death as the absolute end. We forget our faith and the central teaching of our religion, the resurrection, and we do what St. Paul tells us not to do: weep as those who have no hope. I’m not saying we need to celebrate every time someone dies, though some saints have reminded their family and friends that life will be better for them in heaven, since they followed Christ on earth. Really, we should only mourn when someone was not prepared to die and did not follow Christ, though even then we commend those people to the mercy of God.
Purgatory also gives us hope because while we strive for perfection, if you’re anything like me, you sometimes fall short. God is perfect holiness, and if you ever read through the Old Testament, you’ll notice that no one is really excited to see God. It’s not because they disliked God, but because they knew, often better than we do, that the holiness of God destroys any sin, like light destroys darkness. So to be in heaven, in the presence of God’s perfect holiness, means that we have nothing sinful left in us, otherwise we would be destroyed. Or, if we think about God’s holiness like heat, it’s so hot that our sinfulness would immediately burst into flames.
So if we die in a state of grace, that is, not aware of any mortal sins or any rejections of God, but we still have sin, we have the opportunity to still make it to heaven after we have been purified in Purgatory. It’s not perfect holiness (and heaven) or hell. We have the chance to still make it to heaven even if we have not fully configured our life to Christ.
Having said that, Christ still calls us to put sin behind us and make His life our own while on earth. Our goal should always be heaven. If our goal is Purgatory, then we’re aiming too low, like a sports team that only hopes to make it to the playoffs, not win the National Championship. Plus, we often don’t achieve the goals we set for ourselves. If we set our goal as heaven and fall short, we do have Purgatory. But if we set our goal as Purgatory and fall short, there’s no safety net, and our eternity could be the eternal suffering of hell.
What is also worth celebrating on a Sunday is that, because of the Resurrection and death is not the end, just like we can help each other while on earth to get closer to heaven, we can help those who have died and whom God purifies in Purgatory by His grace. The souls in Purgatory are not just left to be purified until God has perfected them. We can assist them in a variety of different ways and speed their way into heaven.
And this is something that we have also forgotten as Catholics. Not only are we worse, after COVID, of even going to funerals (and I know that some employers are less willing to allow employees to attend funerals), but we especially drop the ball after the funeral. We take on the mentality either that the person is dead and there’s nothing else we can do, or that the person has certainly made it to heaven and no longer needs our help. Both of those approaches are antithetical to our Catholic faith.
Because death is not the end, we can suffer for the benefit of souls in Purgatory. Maybe it’s an illness, or pain, or just a frustrating situation, but we can offer it up, as the sisters used to say, and speed someone’s path to heaven. During these first days of November we focus on special opportunities to gain indulgences for the souls in Purgatory, but there are numerous opportunities throughout the year to gain an indulgence, not only for our own salvation, but to help a soul in Purgatory get to heaven a bit faster. For example, under the usual conditions, spending 30+ minutes in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is a plenary or full indulgence; saying the Canticle of Mary (the Magnificat) is partial indulgence; using an object of religious devotion that has been blessed by a priest is a partial indulgence; the vocal recitation of the Rosary in a church or as a family, or a partial indulgence anywhere else; reading Sacred Scripture to grow in holiness is a partial indulgence, unless it’s 30 minutes or more, in which case it’s a plenary indulgence. None of those require going to Rome or a Jubilee Year (though there are also indulgences attached to the Jubilee Year).
Lastly, Masses can be said for the soul of a person who died. When a Mass is said for a deceased person, the merits of Jesus’ salvific work is applied to purify the soul of that person. The practice of saying Mass for a person enjoyed popularity with older Catholics, but is important for every person. And the cost to schedule Mass for the intention of a person is only $10. So it’s not outside the range for even a young family with kids. But what a powerful way to help a person in Purgatory!
As we celebrate All Souls’ Day today, it’s good to have reminders about our faith in the Resurrection, and the effect it has upon how we mourn those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith. May our faith in the Resurrection of Christ not only remain in our minds and hearts, but truly affect how we live our lives as Catholics and the choices we make to assist the souls in Purgatory.
