Making a gathering, he sent twelve thousand drachms of silver to Jerusalem for sacrifice to be offered for the sins of the dead, thinking well and religiously concerning the resurrection. For if he had not hoped that they that were slain should rise again, it would have seemed superfluous and vain to pray for the dead. And because he considered that they who had fallen asleep with godliness, had great grace laid up for them. It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from sins.
2 Maccabees 12:43-46 (Vulgate)
All Souls… Who?
All Souls Day commemorates those who have passed on from this life in the hope of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the people who died bound for Heaven but haven’t crossed the threshold into the Lord’s Kingdom. Today is also called the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed because that’s who we remember! In overly-simplistic terms, today we pray for the people who made it into purgatory so that they may cross into Heaven.
The gospel was preached even to the dead, that though judged in the flesh like men, they might live in the spirit like God.
1 Peter 4:6
God’s dearly departed haven’t just finished one journey; they’ve started another. Jesus died for us that we may love Him, but one needs to be holy to see the Lord, and only the pure of heart shall see God. God wants us all to choose Him, to choose Life, and be saved and brought into Heaven to feel His love perfectly, but how many of us are holy and completely pure? I’m going to venture this number because, again, we’re all human here:
(That’s zero – a big ol’ goose egg.)
The thing is, God knows this. God knows we’re fallible, and He knew when He gave us freedom to choose that we would need His help to be able to choose Him, to see Him – so He made a way for us to return to Him after The Fall.
Purgatory
Let’s reel this in.
Many of us understand that the spirits of our loved ones go somewhere after being done with their bodies, but we typically talk in terms of Heaven and hell; purgatory can be a difficult place to wrap our heads around. Purgatory is the final absolution of sins before souls meet God in Heaven. God is so pure that He is separated from us by our sins. But God loves us! He wants to be with us! He loves us so much that He wants to be with us to love us personally! Therefore, God put a mechanism in place to completely wash us clean after death so we can be with Him: purgatory.
If you made it into purgatory, you made it.
Gus Planchet, lay theologian
Take comfort in this: God loves us so much that He made purgatory so that if we decide that we want to love Him back, we can still meet Him in Heaven. This means you! (And, quite thankfully, me!) In a previous post, we discussed that we’re all sinners, and as Saint John wrote in Revelation 21:27, “nothing unclean shall enter” Heaven. That’s why God made purgatory – to invite those of us who are flawed but still love Him to join Him after purification.
Our prayers can shorten the distance across purgatory and quicken the pace of the saints suffering (“All Souls”) into Heaven. This is awesome because our cleansing in purgatory can take a long time, and it isn’t a cakewalk; the word “purge” connotes pain and other unpleasantness. I’ve heard purgatory described as worse than hell because you’re close to God, yet (for the duration of your stay) infinitely separated from Him, your dearest love; in contrast, those in hell have rejected God and His love, so their infinite separation from Him is less painful because they rejected Him and there is no intention, let alone hope, of rejoining Him. (There are other theories, too.)
The fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
1 Corinthians 3:13-15
Personally, I don’t need to know just how painful the procedure is. I know that if there’s any hope of me getting to Heaven, I will have to endure purgatory. That means I’ll have to go through the fire to burn off the excesses – and if those excesses weren’t of some kind of comfort to me right where they are, then they wouldn’t be there ’cause I’d’ve already cast them aside.
Staying the course: those who love God but tripped along the path to Him have to go through purgatory to get to Heaven. The saints and Saints made it to Heaven, but the faithful souls who left this world are still on their way through purgatory. We can help.
Paying the Last Penny
“You have heard that it was said to the men of old, ‘You … shall be liable to judgment.’ Truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny. You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Jesus speaking in Matthew 5:21, 26, 48
The way I picture this uses the Les Misérables plot with a modern-day backdrop and a forgiving shopkeeper: someone steals a meal from a restaurant, but they get caught, so they have to scrub the dishes until their time has paid for their meal. (To extend the analogy, God the Father is the shopkeeper providing the opportunity for the thief to pay for the meal with elbow grease instead of cold, hard purity – err, cash.)
Plot twist. Think about this for a moment: if your loved one went to a restaurant, ate a meal, and reached for their wallet only to find their pocket picked clean, if they called you for help, would you swing by to help them out? With cash, with the dishes, or even just to be near them so they knew they weren’t alone as they washed the dishes?
Sure, they can get through it alone, but it would be better for both of us if we intercede on their behalf. When we pray for the souls in purgatory, we’re joining them while they wash dishes, rolling up our sleeves to help. When we offer a Mass for them, we’re offering the best currency ever: Jesus Christ, His life, His suffering, His death, and His resurrection.
A Dose of Empathy
Some of us are tempted to wag a finger and say, “Well, that’s too bad; you stole the meal, you can clean your own dishes.” But we’ve all been there: we wanted something, knew it was wrong, but decided that we’d rather be wrong than not have it. What’s more, Satan probably picked their pocket, misdirecting them into choices they shouldn’t have made or providing opportunities too alluring for standard willpower (and even sliding in slander about God to prevent them from asking for help), leaving them unable to foot the bill.
Here’s an analogy specifically regarding the temptations contrived by Satan.
I know my weak spots when it comes to grocery shopping. Specifically, I have a list and can meander a bit, but I avoid the aisle with Oreo cookies. There is nothing inherently wrong with Oreo cookies; I simply lack the willpower to eat them at a healthy rate. (If I buy a package, regardless of size, it might last three days.) My solution is to not purchase them by avoiding the aisle.
However, this plan fails if I get redirected into the aisle: spills, obstacles, or large crowds may alter that plan. Once I’m in the aisle, there’s about a 40% chance I’m buying Oreo cookies (my willpower has increased over the last couple of years – I’m pretty excited about being under 50%), and, if I buy them, I’m hovering around 90% chance of accepting defeat and gobbling them all up at a ridiculous rate of consumption.
In other words, if I stay away from the aisle of temptation, I’m in good shape to not make a decision which I know would be unhealthy for me. However, if I end up in the aisle, I stare at oblivion trying to say “no” when I want to say “now” – and sometimes the “w” just tacks itself on to the end of my “No.”
What would happen if I found myself in that aisle, staring down the countless packages of Oreo cookies, and a friend bumped into me, jolting me out of my internal battle? I’d win that fight because the treats no longer have a hold on my attention. With my power returned to me from a friend who may not even know about the assistance provided, I am again able to turn away from that temptation.
On that note…
“The righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee? And when did we see thee sick or in prison and visit thee?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.’”
– Jesus speaking in Matthew 25:37-40
Final Thoughts
Today is an opportunity to pray for those who are between this world and God’s Kingdom. We’re asking God to grant His mercy to the souls undergoing the purification process. “They love You, Lord! Please bring them nearer You!”
How do you celebrate All Souls Day? Are there any particular loved ones you pray for who have passed from this life, whether today or other days? I tend to offer prayer for my departed loved ones on the anniversaries of their birth- and death-days; my mother prays for people all the time and offers Mass for them randomly (or at least it seems like it – I don’t know the method to the madness). How do you remember your loved ones who have gone to their rest in the hope of rising again in Jesus?
Music to Celebrate All Souls Day
- We Are Called – David Haas – performed by the Notre Dame Folk Choir
- Christ Be Our Light – Bernadette Farrell – performed by the Notre Dame Folk Choir
- You Alone – Sarah Hart and Dwight Liles – recording by OCP
- At the Hour of Our Death – power ballad by Servant Song
(As several songs are listed on the page, Ctrl+F to find this one easily) - O Bless the Lord, My Soul – Saint Thomas (Williams) – recording by OCP
- You Are Mine – David Haas – performed by Walkers to Heaven
