Praying For The Dead.

[E.E.N.S]

Lilyofthevalley:

EEENS thank you very much, I will be saying those prayers for my aunt.

You are more than welcome! (I am sure that your aunt will be the one thanking you! )

 

[mosher]

Lilyofthevalley:

Also, the candles in the church is that part of the prayers for the dead? Or is for a special intentions?

I am sure you are speaking of votive candels that you find before a particular image. Those are lit for a variety of reasons. In particular it is a symbol of a prayer petition you make to that saint or Jesus. One such intention could be to have that saint pray for your deceased loved one. Those in heaven can intercede for those in purgatory as well.

 

[imroc]

Lilyofthevalley:

EEENS thank you very much, I will be saying those prayers for my aunt.

And you are a very un-selfish person. God Bless you!



imroc

 

[The_Iambic_Pen]

Like:

I don’t think a Catholic could have defind it as simple as you did! VERY GOOD!
And God Bless you!

PS: Are you any closer to Rome?

I’d say I’m closer, yes. I’ve only been back in the States for a few weeks, so I’ve sort of been adjusting to life back here. I have been to Mass a couple of times at the base chapel, though I think I would prefer to go to a regular church in a nearby town. I did get a chance to see the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Savannah, which is an amazingly beautiful building. Still, for weekly Mass, I think I would prefer a smaller, more intimate setting. God bless!

You may now resume your regularly scheduled discussion.

 

[levi86]

39
On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his men went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral tombs.
40
But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had been slain.
41
They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden.
42
7 Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.
43
He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view;
44
for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
45
But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
46
Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.

These passages (2 Maccabees 12:39-46) are often used to support Purgatory. However seeing as these people had no knowledge of purgatory doesn’t this indicate that praying for the dead is unrelated to purgatory?

 

[NotWorthy]

E.E.N.S.:

You are more than welcome! (I am sure that your aunt will be the one thanking you! )

Lily, think of it this way. When your Aunt is purified and sitting in heaven, she is surely going to be returning the favor, so to speak, and praying just as earnestly for her niece here on earth!!! Think about that and take comfort that you have one more ally in heaven!

Notworthy

 

[Thal59]

levi86:

These passages (2 Maccabees 12:39-46) are often used to support Purgatory. However seeing as these people had no knowledge of purgatory doesn’t this indicate that praying for the dead is unrelated to purgatory?

No. The Jews at that time had a concept of purgatory, though they did not give it that name. At the time, all souls, righteous and unrighteous went to sheol, a place of temporary punishments. The place of the righteous was referred to as “Abraham’s Bosom” while the unrighteous where “pressed hard about the lake of fire.”
(Josephus’ discourse to the Greeks.)

Thal59

 

[NotWorthy]

The Sadducees had no concept of any afterlife. Their Scriptures were simply the Pentatauch.

The Pharisees who included the Prophets had an inkling of a Purgatory of some type, maybe sheol, as demonstrated in Maccabbees.

Notworthy

 

[Philthy]

Hi Lilly!

Lilyofthevalley:

Thank-you, for answering. Are some people apt to spend less time in purgatory?

You should think of Purgatory as a process and not as a “place” where people go for a period of time. The process is less difficult for some and bypassed altogether for others, but nothing imperfect shall enter heaven.

Lilyofthevalley:

Can one go to hell from purgatory? That’s just a question that popped into my mind while posting.

Good question in that it reveals something you need to understand better. Everyone “in” Purgatory has been Judged an eternal member of the Mystical Body of Christ and is Heaven bound! Yeehaw! Here’s the deal:
We live and then we die. Then we are judged.
The result of the judgement is your ultimate destiny: Heaven or Hell. All who are bound for Hell take a non-stop, direct route there. Those bound for Heaven usually go through the process of purgation first before entering Heaven. Some, however, go to Heaven directly.

Phil