Can we pray for a specific soul of someone who has died?

[c4csp]

Yes. Their death happened in realm of time but their soul is now outside the realm of time. You can pray and offer masses for souls who have died because God can provide those graces to them before they had died.

 

[Anesti33]

Anesti33:

It seems chipper and pious to automatically canonize the deceased at his funeral, but that is not Catholic teaching. If we truly believed their souls were in Heaven, then they wouldn’t need our prayers, would they?

However, they may be in Purgatory and we pray for those souls.

But they can’t be in Purgatory because Grandma was a really great person and we’re all so positive she went straight to Heaven. How could you suggest such a horrible thing during her funeral?

 

[Irishmom2]

Is that really what you would want someone to say to you as you are grieving, @Anesti33? “Hey, I hope your Mom made it to heaven, but there is always a chance she didn’t.”

Think about it. Have you lost anyone really close to you, and would you want to hear that or something more compassionate?

 

[runningdude]

We can absolutely pray for the soul of a specific individual, and anyone who says otherwise is seriously mistaken. A funeral mass, for instance, is a public prayer offered by the holy church herself for the repose of the soul for an the deceased individual.

 

[Anesti33]

Is that really what you would want someone to say to you as you are grieving, @Anesti33? “Hey, I hope your Mom made it to heaven, but there is always a chance she didn’t.”

Think about it. Have you lost anyone really close to you, and would you want to hear that or something more compassionate?

Yes. I would like to hear them say that they are praying for my mother in order to release her/ease her suffering in Purgatory. If someone tried to tell me that my mother positively went to Heaven, I would correct them. It is not compassionate to claim someone is in Heaven, it is a disservice.

 

[Irishmom2]

Why must it be either/or though? Yes, it is nice to hear that people will pray for our loved ones, but no need to tack on the part about them not getting to heaven.

 

[Anesti33]

Why must it be either/or though? Yes, it is nice to hear that people will pray for our loved ones, but no need to tack on the part about them not getting to heaven.

I didn’t say anything about “not getting to Heaven” it’s just that we don’t know. We can’t have certainty. It is hubris for us to judge the state of their souls. It is second-guessing the Church, who is the arbiter of canonizations.