A Fresh Understanding of All Souls Day, and Purgatory

All Souls Day

November 2^nd is All Souls Day, sometimes called the Day of the Dead. On this day, and during the month of November, the Church prays in a special way for the souls of the faithful departed, and individuals pray especially for those whom they have known and loved. The Holy Souls in purgatory died in the mercy of God, thus they are called "holy." However, because they still had attachment to sin at the time of their death, they must undergo the spiritual purification of their souls before they are able to fully love God with their whole heart, mind, and soul for all eternity. As they are nevertheless part of the communion of saints, they depend upon us to help ease their suffering and quickly advance them through their purification so that they can join the saints in heaven. Those in purgatory cannot pray for themselves, this is why they are also called "poor." They can no longer merit anything for themselves and rely entirely on living souls to pray and make sacrifices on their behalf.

Since becoming a Catholic, I have learned that those who die in the grace of God do not just go to heaven. They are not ready to see the infinitely perfect and holy God. He is so bright that our eyes will go blind! Our sins have been forgiven but we need to learn from our sins to become perfect and ready - it's called the Reparation for Sins. It explains one of the most mysterious passages of scripture: "Now I rejoice in my suffering for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the Church...." (Colossians 1:24). Dr. David Anders of the Called to Communion radio talk show gave this wonderful analogy:  if my son throws a baseball in the kitchen and breaks a vase; tells me he is sorry; I forgive him; but for his benefits I give him a bloom and a dust pan to clean up the mess... This is reparation! And they do the reparation in Purgatory. Catholic Answers has a beautiful explanation on Purgatory.

I never know and cannot know what is the final destiny of those who died. God is the judge.  But with the hope I have in a merciful God I pray for those who have died - my parents, my older half-sister, and many of my patients, that they may share the eternal home with all the angels and saints.

Oh what a glorious calling to partner with God in helping my loved ones to become saints!