So who prays for the Protestants in Purgatory?

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My husband was telling me about a “friend of a friend” who happens to be a protestant and recently passed away. When my husband told his friend that he would pray for this person, his friend responded that there was no need to do so. He explained that the person is already in heaven and we don’t need to pray for anyone who has passed on and accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior during their life on earth.

This started a discussion between us in wondering who prays for the protestants once they die?? Since purgatory is an issue for most of them, it’s not like they have their families or congregations down here praying for the repose of their soul.

(Yes I know that we pray for ALL souls in Purgatory but there must be special graces afforded those whose families and friends pray for them specifically by name and with fervor.)

Do you think protestants spend more time in Purgatory because they don’t have people praying specifically for them?
 
I think it’s a good idea to include all the deceased, both Catholic and not, in our prayer petitions. In the prayer box at our parish for monthly intentions I normally list all the deceased of my family whether Catholic or non-Catholic. One can even have Masses said for non-Catholics.
 
In the thread Re: Protestants in purgatory…

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Originally Posted by trumpet152
I think people willingly go through purgatory. My guess is they know what they’re going through. In fact, they will choose to go through it. But, think about this: Nobody’s praying for them; No Mass is being offered for them. Personally, I’ve made them part of my prayers.

And this was my answer:

At the All Souls Mass, father in his sermon spoke on how much we needed to pray and make sacrifices for souls in purgatory, even for the ones we think already to be in heaven. But then, he also said to pray especially for the souls of Protestants for they are going to be in purgatory for a much longer time since they did not believe there is a purgatory

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?p=1076317#post1076317

However, I just thought of that prayer right after the Glory Be when reciting the Rosary:

O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls into heaven, especially those who are most in need of thy mercy.

I believe the souls of Protestants are included in the part of this prayer that I boldfaced.
 
Our nightly family prayers and petitions always end with “…and we pray for those whom have no one to pray for them. Amen”
 
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rayne89:
Our nightly family prayers and petitions always end with “…and we pray for those whom have no one to pray for them. Amen”
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Yes, I have also used this type of wording in my prayers many times.
 
I’m not exactly sure we have the power to dictate where our prayers go. If they are good intentioned, they will go to everyone. It seems it would be a sin if one were to refuse to pray for someone while praying to another. Can you imagine? “Dear God, please help Bob get to Heaven… but not Bill” :eek: I don’t think such a prayer would help much!

So we pray for everyone in purgatory, whoever they may be. We have no idea. We can not know how God judges everyone, including Protestants.
 
Princess_Abby said:
(Yes I know that we pray for ALL souls in Purgatory but there must be special graces afforded those whose families and friends pray for them specifically by name and with fervor.)
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I’m not so sure about that… after all, it’s not as if we love our family and friend more than everyone else, is it? :eek: (uh oh, maybe it is)
 
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InSearchOfGod:
I’m not exactly sure we have the power to dictate where our prayers go. If they are good intentioned, they will go to everyone. It seems it would be a sin if one were to refuse to pray for someone while praying to another. Can you imagine? “Dear God, please help Bob get to Heaven… but not Bill” :eek: I don’t think such a prayer would help much!

So we pray for everyone in purgatory, whoever they may be. We have no idea. We can not know how God judges everyone, including Protestants.
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That wasn’t what I was referring to. I would never offer a prayer that indicated I didn’t want someone to get out Purgatory.

Many saints talk about the importance of specifically praying for our loved ones in Purgatory and there have been a variety of apparitions from those who have passed directed at those they love still here on earth–exhorting them to pray specifically for their release from Purgatory.

I name all my deceased loved ones and my husband keeps a list and simply refers to his list in his prayers–which he feels God will understand he is naming all of those people.

Have you never heard of those whom you champion in Purgatory then get out and go to Heaven and spend their time praying for YOU, here on earth?

I don’t think it’s a wild concept that we pray specifically for those who are in Purgatory and personalize the intention for those we happen to actually know. Why wouldn’t we do that?

I’m only considering that those Protestants who don’t even know or believe that Purgatory exists are incapable of continuing to pray for their loved ones’ release, since they assume their loved one is automatically in Heaven already.

I do know that God can apply our prayers where they are most needed if we are praying about someone in hell
 
When we pray the Rosary…O my Jesus, forgive us of our sins, send all souls to heaven, espically those in most need of thy mercy:gopray2: …I don’t think we are excluding Protestants.:eek:
 
I pray for all my family members and offer the Mass daily for them, whether they are living or dead. Our pastor uses the “we pray for all those, living or dead, who have no one to pray for them,” so I started doing so as well in my prayers. I think the Church is incredibly mericiful in how she deals with these things. I’m glad I’m a Catholic.
 
What can I say? :o I must have misunderstood your initial post… sorry! :o

But even when we name the loved ones we know who are deceased (though we may not know where they are), I believe God applies those prayers to everyone.

That way, anyone who has ever said a prayer for those in purgatory has also prayed for even the Protestants. 🙂
 
Isn’t it great that we have families? With a family we have a particular concern for each other and in that sense it provokes us to pray for our deceased family members with fervor and continuation. Now with each family member praying for their deceased members in the family, technically the whole world would end up praying for their deceased members…something that would be difficult without family. This is perhaps only one reason as to why the Lord would create a family, as opposed to the concept of an isolated individual.
But the sad truth is that many people don’t know about praying for their loved ones, and many people also come from broken families.
Let us pray for the building up of the Family because it is the source of God’s life and love. Amen.
 
In my opinion, I do not believe that there are Protestants in purgatory. I think they somehow “convert” because why would they still hold there past beliefs? There is only one true religion created by Christ and it is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Now, this is just speculative Theology which some Theologians also believe.
 
To whom much is given, much is expected. It is our job as Christians fully in communion w/ His Church and have a greater understanding of the Truth to pray for our separated brethren.
 
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SummaTheo:
In my opinion, I do not believe that there are Protestants in purgatory. I think they somehow “convert” because why would they still hold there past beliefs? There is only one true religion created by Christ and it is the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. Now, this is just speculative Theology which some Theologians also believe.
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I doubt there are any reputable Catholic theologians who ascribe to this theory. Catholic teaching is that the preponderance of souls (Catholic, Protestant, and non-Christians) not condemned to Hell likely go to purgatory for cleansing before going to heaven.

And to address directly the question of htis thread:

To whom much is given, much is expected. It is our job as Christians fully in communion w/ His Church and have a greater understanding of the Truth to pray for our separated brethren.
 
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