Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed,Joh 6,37-40

The meaning of prayer for the dead … › for youth … 

A certain monk’s father died. A council of condolences stood by the monk over his fresh grave. The well-known priests whispered, “Accept the expression of our pain.” And then he raised his head and blurted out, “Sir, and you don’t believe in an afterlife?” “The joke that the priest allowed himself may seem out of place. However, it shows what the essence of today is: belief in life after death. Certainly, many of our deceased loved ones have already achieved the glory of heaven and enjoy living near God. However, some of our deceased loved ones may still need to repent of their sins, which is why they live in purgatory.

The Church, as a community of believers, consists of three groups: those who are already in heaven; the dead who still need purification; and us living on earth. A profound difference exists between us and them, but it does not hinder spiritual union—this is the so-called communion of saints. Namely, the point is that the saints in heaven intercede for their brothers and sisters living here on earth and encourage them by their example. On the other hand, we pray for the dead in purgatory in order to hasten their eternal glory. We do not know which of the dead are in heaven and which in purgatory; therefore, we pray for all. Here, the meaning of our Holy Masses offered for the dead, as well as private prayers, remembrances, and indulgences offered for the dead, becomes clear to us. At this point, we must also know that heaven is not the only possibility after death. There is also hell, as a state of doubt, because it is a state without God. We can observe that today many people, including Catholics, have stopped believing in hell, and this is actually the greatest victory of Satan. It is not a matter of frightening us with hell, but of recognizing, as the Church teaches, that it exists. A person dying in mortal sin and not repenting of it, when he rejects the merciful love of God, condemns himself to eternal separation from Him. One of the Church Fathers—John Chrysostom—said that God did not threaten us with hell in order to throw us into it but to incline us to liberation from the tyranny of hell. In other words, God does not want anyone to be in hell; however, since He gave man free will, He risks that someone will be there.
 

Finally, let us listen to a story that will help us to entrust ourselves to God with confidence: A seriously ill man took the doctor’s hand and asked, “Tell me, I am so afraid of death; what will life be like on the other side?” “I don’t know,” the doctor replied. “You don’t know?” whispered the terrified patient. Instead of answering, the doctor got up and opened the door leading to the hallway. And then a dog ran in, jumped up, and in this way showed how happy he was to see his master. The doctor asked: “Sir, have you looked at the behavior of that dog?” He had never been in this room before; he didn’t know the people who lived here, but he felt that you were on the other side, so he ran in joyfully as soon as the door opened. Sir, you see, I also don’t know anything about what awaits us after death, but I just need to realize that my Lord and Master is on the other side. Therefore, when the door opens one day, I will cross the threshold of eternity with joy. I wish that, when we think of the death of our loved ones and our own, we remember that someone on the other side can make us happy for all eternity.