Praying for Protestant Deceased

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I have a reoccurring thought; one of those that we usually recognize as God’s actual grace that calls us to Him. The thought is that I go to Protestant cemeteries to pray for those that have passed who are there memorialized. In this thought, I walk up and down the rows, praying for the repose of their souls, sprinkling holy water as I go. A sadness wells up in me: “There is no one praying for them; no one.” Being that I am a convert to the Faith from pentecostalism, all of my deceased family were protestant. While I pray for the repose of their souls, I cannot help but think that there is no one praying for the millions of other Protestant brothers and sisters that have left this life. Is this not a work of mercy?

Thoughts and comments, please. Also, if there are actual practices and prayers already associated with such a work.

Thanks
 
Lots of Catholics pray for Protestants. It’s an okay thing to do. Of course it’s a work of mercy to pray for the dead, regardless of the faith of the dead person. Again, a lot of us do it.

It is incorrect that no one prays for Protestants. I am sure that every time a Catholic says one of those general prayers “For the Holy Souls” it is benefiting some dead Protestants and other non-Catholics as well as Catholics. Some of us also pray specifically for groups of Protestants in general. In early November when you can visit cemeteries to pray for the dead and get an indulgence, I make a point of visiting cemeteries of many different denominations and non-denominational. I also pray each time I pass any cemetery and that includes huge numbers of Presbyterian, Methodist, Quaker, Episcopalian, Jewish and every other denomination of cemetery out there.

Be careful with the holy water sprinkling and such. If a Protestant sees you they might think it’s disrespectful because they don’t believe in praying for the dead. Of course if no one is around you can do what you want as long as you don’t hurt anything.

Also, remember that as St. Therese of Lisieux, a Doctor of the Church, said, “The soul receives exactly what it expects from God.” Some Protestants may have a great faith that God will take them straight to Heaven if they qualify for salvation. Who knows, God may honor that request and not send them to Purgatory.
 
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I would not sprinkle holy water on the graves. Many Protestants would consider that disrespectful, and if anyone saw you do it, it could lead to an uncomfortable confrontation.

Other than that, I don’t see a problem with what you plan to do.
 
Thanks for the response. I understand the general intercessions for the faithful departed at Mass and believe it effectual. Thanks for the warning on the holy water. There was a bit of chuckle to that original comment anyway. 😉
 
As far as the avoiding Purgatory point: How would you reconcile St. Therese statement with the perfection requirement for entry into the “beatific vision?” (Not being argumentative)
 
We believe that it is possible, if God chooses, for the purification of purgatory to be instant.

We arrive at this conclusion because of Revelation, which says that immediately after the second coming, the good will be split from the bad and the final judgment will commence. The language seems to indicate that there will be no time for the purification of the elect at that point, so any remaining effects of sin on their souls will have to be removed immediately.
 
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The point I was making about Protestants and no one praying for them is that none of their loved ones pray for them. Nor do the members of their church families that’s all…
 
I personally do prayer for all deceased friends and family, no matter their faith, and discretely sprinkle holy water upon their grave when visiting so as not to be noticed by anyone who might be offended. I’ve never run across any Protestant that was offended by it - they usually just think it’s a wasted action because they see holy water as just regular water with no effect.
 
bsbene said:
The point I was making about Protestants and no one praying for them is that none of their loved ones pray for them. Nor do the members of their church families that’s all…
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You’re solely mistaken.
 
Why would you think no one is praying for them? I’m sure in this life they knew people who weren’t Protestant.
 
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JMMJ said:
Why would you think no one is praying for them? I’m sure in this life they knew people who weren’t Protestant.
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And many Protestants do pray for the dead.

Anglican Churches pray for the dead every service.
 
bsbene said:
A sadness wells up in me: “There is no one praying for them; no one.”
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Don’t be sad. It’s the Catholic tradition of praying for the souls in purgatory, so yes, there have been people praying for them through the centuries.
 
We also need to remember that even the Protestant sects that do not believe in praying for the dead will often pray for people during their lives. For example, pray for them to come to Jesus, or pray for God to help or protect them.
God could certainly apply some of those prayers at the point of the person’s death.
It doesn’t mean that Catholics should not also pray for the dead, and especially for any dead who had no one to pray for them, but these Protestants may well have received some prayers from their loved ones even if the prayers were made during their life and not specifically when they died.

Probably a larger concern are the people who do not have anyone in their lives to pray for them at all, either because they were estranged from others or because the whole family did not have any belief in God or any faith tradition of prayer, or just didn’t bother with praying. I would worry more about them than the average good practicing Protestant or even good practicing non-Christian.
 
One of my regulars is to pray for those in Purgatory who have no one to pray for them. I figure that covers the prematurely-beatified, the ones who outlived everyone who might have prayed; the ones who had no close friends or relatives; the ones from different faith traditions. I leave the specifics up to God to do the best with it that he can.

When I drive past a cemetery, I pray. On occasion when I have the time/opportunity, it’s also nice to stop by a cemetery and do the prayers-for-the-dead there. In my area, we don’t have a dedicated Catholic cemetery.
 
What you are doing is great. I like the Fatima prayer too:
‘O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy.’
 
My experience is that we do pray for them, but it’s a “different” prayer. We would thank God for their life, their witness, and “welcome into your kingdom,” believing they are in Heaven with God at death - if they are saved. We continue to think about them, talk with God about them and thank Him for them. This would be considered prayer. I understand the difference you are making. Also, my former church bulletin lists the names of those who have died (and their families) for one year. The idea is that you pray for the family.
 
bsbene said:
Also, if there are actual practices and prayers already associated with such a work.
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I usually pray this:

Oh gentle heart of Jesus, ever present in the Blessed Sacrament, ever consumed with burning love for the poor captive souls in purgatory, have mercy on them.
Be not severe in your judgments, but let some drops of your precious blood fall upon the devouring flames, and, merciful saviour, send your angels to conduct them to a place of refreshment, light, and peace. Amen.

A thought came to me that if there is a prison cemetery near you, that could be a good place to go. Or maybe a very old, nearly abandoned cemetery as well.
 
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