Having honored yesterday the saints who are already in heavenly glory, today we pray for the souls of those who have died but do not yet experience the glory of God. Yesterday we read from the Beatitudes that those who “will see God” are “the clean of heart.” We know, therefore, that purity of heart, purity of faith, and purity of love are required before we are granted the Beatific Vision of God. For this reason, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of Heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1030 31).
Our commemoration of the faithful departed, especially our prayer for our departed loved ones, is an expression of the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Indeed, these virtues underlie and give meaning to what we are doing today. The Scripture readings proposed for this solemn day are meant to deepen our faith in God who loves us, strengthen our hope for the glory of Heaven, and increase our charity towards our departed loved ones, so that we will pray more fervently for their eternal repose.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus assures us of the Father’s unfailing love, revealed through him. “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.” These reassuring words of Jesus undergird our faith that the faithful departed who are not yet in the glory of Heaven will indeed arrive there, for they have believed in Jesus and have been given to Jesus by the Father through Baptism. We have real hope that they are not lost.
This hope is expressed in the reading from the Book of Wisdom. Rightly does the Church describe those in Purgatory as the “suffering Church.” They suffer from a great yearning to be with God in his glory, a yearning that is not yet fulfilled. But they are consoled by their hope of being finally united with him. This hope pervades today’s reading: “For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed.”
St. Paul speaks compellingly of the virtue of hope, upon which today’s Liturgy is based. He says: “Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” This hope is based on what Christ did for us on the Cross that we may have eternal life. His Death on the Cross is the supreme and most powerful expression of God’s love. It is through his Death that he has drawn us into life with him. Greater still, he died for us “while we were still sinners,” reconciling us with the Father. Paul declares that since God has already thus proven his love for us, all the more can we now have confident hope that we will “be saved by his life.” We can even “boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”
The faithful departed have an appreciation of God’s immense love for them. This love has also been poured into their hearts. Though their love here on earth was not yet perfect, it is being purified through his mercy, and they can be sure that nothing will separate them from the love of Christ.
We, the militant Church here on earth, have had the love of God poured into our hearts. Today’s Liturgy is an expression of God’s love at work in us. Imbued with the theological virtue of charity, we are empowered to love God and love our brothers and sisters for the glory of God. In Christian charity, moved by faith and inspired by the hope of Heaven, we offer prayers and sacrifices today that all the members of the suffering Church will join the triumphant Church in Heaven.
What helps me remain aware of my own need for purification as I journey each day? How do I express my love for the souls in Purgatory? For whom is the Lord asking me to pray today? How well am I accepting my earthly trials so that I – and others – can join Christ in heavenly glory?
Excerpt from The Anawim Way, Volume 21, no. 8. More information about The Anawim Way may be found here.