Pray for the Dead!

Homily for the Mass of Remembrance, Nov 3, 2019, http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110319.cfm 
The first reading from Wisdom tells us that before God the whole universe is like a grain from a balance or morning dew, something small, seemingly insignificant. Now imagine us, we are like a grain to the earth, which is like a grain to the universe which is like a grain to God. Sounds like we are very insignificant so I think we need to hear this quote from the great Star Wars Jedi master Yoda:

“Size matters not. Look at me. Judge me by my size, do you? Hmm? Hmm? And well you should not. For my ally is the Force, and a powerful ally it is.”

Our ally isn’t the Force, our ally is God who has mercy on us all and will overlook our sins if we repent. There is significant hope in those verses from Wisdom, hope in our own salvation and also for those that have gone before us. In our second reading, Paul is writing to Thessalonians and it begins with such an important line.

Brothers and sisters: We always pray for you that our God may make you worthy of his calling.

Paul’s words are so very true for us and for those who have gone before us. We must always pray for them to help them reach that final destination, that final calling of God and that is to spend eternity with God in Heaven. He wants nothing less of us than all to be saints with him at the end of our earthly journey. Even today’s gospel from Luke is about salvation. Zacchaeus and I don’t have a lot in common, he was a wealthy man who extorted money from his subjects, a thief, a cheat and short of stature. I, however, am tall. Yet, Zacchaeus knew there was something about Jesus worth climbing a tree for. Zacchaeus didn’t know what he needed or what Jesus could offer at that time, he probably had just heard some amazing stories about a man named Jesus. What Jesus would give Zacchaeus that day was so much more than he could have imagined. Zacchaeus received Jesus with great joy and furthermore repented, offering to give half of his possessions to the poor, repay the money he stole from others with four times interest and Jesus, who cannot be outdone in generosity, gives Zacchaeus the best gift ever when He says to him:

"Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost."

Do we believe that? Do we believe that Jesus was sent for our salvation? Do we believe that Jesus came to save all of our friends and relatives who have died before us? I certainly do! A wise Directory of Religious Education who was very ill once replied, when I asked if she needed anything replied: "yes, prayers, and pray for me when I am gone, don't assume I'm in Heaven". I thought about that a lot. It made me realize that our job now is to pray for our friends, neighbors, fellow parishioners, and beloved family who have gone on before us and the greatest thing is that these prayers will never be wasted. God doesn’t get our prayers, look at them and think, “Oh this person is in Heaven already” and then throws the prayer in the trash, no, that prayer will be used for somebody else who needs it. Perhaps, that prayer will be what one soul needed to get them into the gates of heaven that same day. When it comes to praying for the departed souls my wife Allison was the one who taught me the necessity of this devotion. Quite a few years ago she started dragging me along to the cemetery visits she does annually. I initially thought this was an odd devotion, cemeteries didn’t scare me, I worked in one for 8 years, but going there for a devotion, well, I have to be honest, it struck me as odd but a lot of things Allison does strike me that way so I just went along. Boy was I wrong! What a powerful devotion this is and it’s so great to know that we can help our departed loved one’s spirits attain eternal glory with God if they have not achieved that yet! The holy souls that were not fully ready for Heaven now reside in Purgatory and they also cannot earn their own way out of Purgatory and that’s where we come in! I’m stealing this directly from Allison now, it’s ok, I have her permission, but here are some ways we can help: ● Attend Mass, as often as you can, from Nov.1-8 to pray for the Holy Souls. ● Visit a cemetery, as often as you can, from Nov. 1-8. My family makes field trips out of this devotion, visiting a different cemetery each day. We will travel (usually on the days that fall during the weekend) to cemeteries uncommon in our area such that honor the military, primarily serve non-Catholics, or just because we thought it was architecturally fascinating. ● Attend Mass Nov. 2, the Feast of All Souls’ to pray for deceased family members, for those who have no one to pray for them, and for all of those who have died this year. ● Pray the rosary during the entire month of November for the Holy Souls. ● Pray the novena for the Holy Souls, written by St. Alphonsus Liguori, followed by the Prayer to Our Suffering Saviour for the Holy Souls in Purgatory. Allison also found a prayer she likes to pray while visiting cemeteries as she walks up and down the rows, looking prayerfully at each name while reciting: ● Five Apostle’s Creeds ● One Hail, Holy Queen ● One Our Father (Lord’s Prayer), Hail Mary and Glory Be ● Conclude with the Requiem: Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them, and may they rest in peace. Amen. Not only are you praying for the Holy Souls but you might just hit your step goal while you are at it!

St. Augustine said “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 prayer for the dead”

 Confused by Purgatory? Fr. Mike Schmitz Explains All!