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TerryPaul
Guest
Is it wrong that I ask God to let me suffer for my father who just died?
Love,
Terry
Love,
Terry
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thistle
Guest
We should never seek suffering but accept it if it comes our way.
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Batjacboy
Guest
Not at all, if done with the right intention. That’s the basis of indulgences applied to the souls in Purgatory.
In addition to prayers for the dead, we can offer up any and all suffering we go through for the souls in Purgatory, and many saints spent their entire lives doing just that. Every inconvenience, pain, annoyance, whatever, was offered up for the poor souls. It’s basically taking the temporal punishment that God sends you for your sins and applying it to someone who has died. It is, in fact, an extremely generous act.
“Consequently, by interceding for the dead, the Catholic Church expresses the belief that there is a Purgatory and that the souls detained there are helped by the prayers of the living. Furthermore, the Catholic Church has also made several explicitly doctrinal pronouncements, which bind the consciences of the faithful to accept these same teachings. Confronted by the heresy of the Protestant Reformers, the Council of Trent, for example, solemnly declared: ‘The Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Spirit, from the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient traditions of the Fathers has taught in Sacred Councils that there is a purgatory and the souls detained there are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar.’”
Hope that helps.
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Batjacboy
Guest
Or, as St. Augustine put it, “One of the holiest works, one of the best exercises of piety that we can practice in this world, is to offer sacrifices, alms, and prayers for the dead.”
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Batjacboy
Guest
But, Terry, keep in mind that the Church has always taught that the single best thing that you can do for your father is to have Masses said for the repose of his soul.
You can contact your local parish about this.
You can contact your local parish about this.
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