THE TEACHING
When asked why Catholics do
something as a part of the practice of their Christian faith, often the simplest,
true response is “because Jesus did it and/or commanded us to do
it.” When it comes to praying for the
peaceful repose of the dead, however, there is no account in the Gospels of
Jesus explicitly commanding such prayer.* The Church teaching on the prayers
for the dead is intrinsically bound up with the teaching on purgatory. Prayer
for the dead necessarily infers the existence of purgatory. If there were only heaven and hell after
death, praying for the dead would be
pointless: praying for those in the glory of heaven (think: praying for Bill
Gates to win the lottery) and for those in in hell (think: praying for the Cubs
to win the pennant).
SCRIPTURAL BASIS
The scriptural basis for the
practice of praying for the dead is first found in 2 Maccabees 12:38-46. After
a battle, Judas and his company returned to the battlefield to collect and bury
the fallen. When it was discovered that the fallen had worn pagan
amulets during the battle. "They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden... Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out." This an explicit reference to the faithful
praying for the forgiveness of those already dead. Further, it is presented by
the author as a normal course of events, without any language in the text
seeming to imply that this was out of the norm. It is reasonable to expect Judas to perform deeds inside the law or common
practice.
In 2 Timothy 1, Paul prays for his apparently deceased friend,
Onesiphorus. (It is implied but not explicitly stated that Onesiphorus is
actually dead.) In 1 Corinthian 3,
Paul states:
If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire [itself] will test the quality of each one’s work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone’s work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.
The only "wage" or reward Paul could be
speaking of as a return for labor must be an eternal one, for the Apostle would
not preach the benefit of any earthly reward. When a man’s work is tried, it is
not pass/fail, with the passes leading to heaven and the failure leading to
hell. The Apostle tells us that those whose work is insufficient may still be
saved “yet so as by fire.” Therefore the faithful may be assured that there is
a place short of heaven for the imperfect faithfully departed to be perfected
in order that they may be with God.
THE BODY OF CHRIST
We are alive spiritually as
we partake in the grace of God’s love. It is in his love that we are
united to each other as one Body in Christ (1
Cor. 12). “Neither death, nor life...shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus Our Lord.” (Rom. 8:38-39) Since death cannot separate the faithful from the
love of Christ, neither can it separate them spiritually from each other, as
this love is what binds them together. Therefore, the glorified in heaven, the
holy souls in purgatory, and those baptized and faithful on earth make up one
Body and one Communion of Saints. It is only natural and fitting that we pray
for those who need our prayers, and ask prayers from those who may help us.
*Quick Thought: John 11 recounts the raising of Lazarus from the dead. It is
affirmed that Lazarus is not merely asleep, but is truly dead. Jesus tells the apostles
this before they return. Upon returning and seeing where Lazarus lay, “Jesus
wept”. If Lazarus was truly dead, his soul must have been separated from his
body. Why would Jesus weep if He knew what he was about to do, which the texts
make clear He certainly did? Could He have wept because He knew that the soul
of his dear friend was suffering in a place not of this world but short of
heaven?
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