"Church Tradition has always urged prayer for
the deceased, in particular by offering the Eucharistic Celebration for them:
it is the best spiritual help that we can give to their souls, particularly to
those who are the most forsaken. The foundation of prayer in suffrage lies in
the communion of the Mystical Body.
As the Second Vatican Council repeats, “fully
conscious of this communion of the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the
pilgrim Church from the very first ages of the Christian religion has
cultivated with great piety the memory of the dead” (Lumen Gentium, n. 50).
Remembering the dead, caring for their graves and prayers of suffrage, are the testimony of confident hope, rooted in the certainty that death does not have the last word on human existence, for man is destined to a life without limits, which has its roots and its fulfillment in God. Let us raise this prayer to God: “God of infinite mercy, we entrust to your immense goodness all those who have left this world for eternity, where you wait for all humanity, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ your Son, who died as a ransom for our sins. Look not, O Lord, on our poverty, our suffering, our human weakness, when we appear before you to be judged for joy or for condemnation. Look upon us with mercy, born of the tenderness of your heart, and help us to walk in the ways of complete purification. Let none of your children be lost in the eternal fire, where there can be no repentance. We entrust to you, O Lord, the souls of our beloved dead, of those who have died without the comfort of the sacraments, or who have not had an opportunity to repent, even at the end of their lives. May none of them be afraid to meet You, after their earthly pilgrimage, but may they always hope to be welcomed in the embrace of your infinite mercy. May our Sister, corporal death find us always vigilant in prayer and filled with the goodness done in the course of our short or long lives. Lord, may no earthly thing ever separate us from You, but may everyone and everything support us with a burning desire to rest peacefully and eternally in You. Amen” (Fr Antonio Rungi, Passionist,Prayer for the Dead).
With this faith in man’s supreme destiny, we now
turn to Our Lady, who suffered the tragedy of Christ’s death beneath the Cross
and took part in the joy of his Resurrection. May She, the Gate of Heaven, help
us to understand more and more the value of prayer in suffrage for the souls of
the dead. They are close to us! May She support us on our daily pilgrimage on
earth and help us to never lose sight of life’s ultimate goal which is Heaven.
And may we go forth with this hope that never disappoints!" (Pope Francis
Angelus message Nov 4 2014.)
Written by Nicolette
