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PeaceBeWithYou
Guest
If you pray for souls that you believe are in purgatory but actually are not are the prayers wasted? For instance if a soul was in Hell would the prayers do no good?
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C
CRV
Guest
No. God applies the merits & intentions of your prayers to another soul in purgatory.
Z
Zach
Guest
No not wasted. If the departed soul is not in Purgatory the prayers don’t benefit that soul. The prayers do benefit the person praying. By praying and lifting our hearts to God we bring ourselves closer to him. By putting our trust in God and his graces we strengthen our own faith.
M
Mtatum1958
Guest
Prayers are never wasted. God applies them as fitting.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
All three answers are correct.
In addition, if the soul is already in Heaven, it may be that God would apply your prayers to them during their life on earth or past time in Purgatory when they needed prayer. Since God is outside time, he can apply a prayer at any point, not just at the moment when you say the prayer. Therefore, your prayers could help the person get to Heaven even if the person was already there by the time you prayed.
Many of us believe there’s a good possibility that our loved ones are already in Heaven, but we still pray for their souls because of this back-dating of prayers.
In addition, if the soul is already in Heaven, it may be that God would apply your prayers to them during their life on earth or past time in Purgatory when they needed prayer. Since God is outside time, he can apply a prayer at any point, not just at the moment when you say the prayer. Therefore, your prayers could help the person get to Heaven even if the person was already there by the time you prayed.
Many of us believe there’s a good possibility that our loved ones are already in Heaven, but we still pray for their souls because of this back-dating of prayers.
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s.cono
Guest
When I direct an indulgence towards a specific person in purgatory through the Blessed Virgin Mary, I humbly ask that if the indulgence is not applicable to the person I had in mind, that she apply it to any other individual she desires. I think she’d do that automatically, but I got in the habit of asking.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
- It’s Catholic teaching that no prayer is wasted.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/our-prayers-are-never-wasted-pope-benedict-says - Many of us who pray for the Holy Souls express to God our wish that if a prayer or indulgence doesn’t help the person we designate, that God use it to help someone else. Some of us just give all the benefits of our prayers to Mary and let her distribute them. If we have a special request then we make it and she honors it if possible, but if the soul we are praying for is in Heaven or Hell already they can’t honor it so the prayer will help someone else…for all we know it might be ourselves.
- If we don’t designate a backup then God will still apply the prayers where needed and it’s a reasonable thought that he would apply them to another holy soul in need. We don’t “know” for sure what he does with the prayer, it’s his decision, but it’s traditional to think he helps another soul. Again, the soul could even be ourselves after we die and go to purgatory, since God is outside time.
C
CRV
Guest
Firstly because God is a good God and not petty. So if the soul we are praying for is already in heaven God is not going to say “Too late - doesn’t count”. Prayers or any good work of ours comes from the inspiration of God, so He is not going to let the merit of us doing His Will be lost.How do you know this?
St. Faustina – An Apostle of Purgatory “Tassone, a champion of the souls in purgatory, concludes that we should never stop praying for the deceased, because no prayer is ever wasted with God. “In fact, if a deceased no longer needs purification, your prayers can increase their intimacy of God’s love and increase their own intercessory power. St. Thomas Aquinas called this ‘accidental glory.’””
And as to the merits of our prayers being applied to another soul in purgatory if the soul we are praying for is no longer in need of our prayers, I read that somewhere sometime in the past 10 yrs or so, which I don’t remember now, sorry.
@Tis_Bearself explained it well when she said God can apply a prayer at any point.
C
CRV
Guest
@MasterHaster
Thanks to Tis_Bearself for that info!
Thanks to Tis_Bearself for that info!
- It’s Catholic teaching that no prayer is wasted.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/our-prayers-are-never-wasted-pope-benedict-says- Many of us who pray for the Holy Souls express to God our wish that if a prayer or indulgence doesn’t help the person we designate, that God use it to help someone else. Some of us just give all the benefits of our prayers to Mary and let her distribute them. If we have a special request then we make it and she honors it if possible, but if the soul we are praying for is in Heaven or Hell already they can’t honor it so the prayer will help someone else…for all we know it might be ourselves.
- If we don’t designate a backup then God will still apply the prayers where needed and it’s a reasonable thought that he would apply them to another holy soul in need. We don’t “know” for sure what he does with the prayer, it’s his decision, but it’s traditional to think he helps another soul. Again, the soul could even be ourselves after we die and go to purgatory, since God is outside time.
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