Romana

Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. How many times do we repeat this prayer for the dead, which takes on a special significance today? We join with the whole Church in praying for the immense number of souls who have already departed from this world. We do not know who is already enjoying heaven or who is in purgatory, but the faith of the Church assures us of the existence of this state of purification. Jesus himself suggests this in the Gospel when he speaks of a certain forgiveness in this world or in the next. Already in the Old Testament, there is the famous passage in which Judas Maccabeus offers a sacrifice of atonement for the dead for the forgiveness of their sins (cf. 2 Macc 12:43-46). And St. Paul, writing to the Corinthians, says that some will be saved, but only as through fire (cf. 1 Cor 3:15).

Christian piety has often tried to imagine this state of purification. St. John Paul II said that purgatory does not indicate a place, but a condition of life. It is truly life, although marked by suffering, but with the certainty of salvation and the awareness of being the object of divine mercy: a mercy that is love. Our Father teaches in Furrow (no. 889): “Purgatory shows God’s great mercy and washes away the defects of those who long to become one with Him.” Our Lord wants us to share in that mercy, which is to carry the wretchedness of others in our hearts. Specifically, we should feel their suffering and, at the same time, the certainty of being able to collaborate with souls. This is how the Church has always understood it: our suffrages and sacrifices cooperate in the purification of the souls waiting to see God face to face.

Mystery of faith, hope and love

Benedict XVI, reflecting from the perspective of faith on the mystery of God’s love, said that the soul in purgatory is aware of God’s immense love and perfect justice. It suffers, then, for not having fully reciprocated all the good it has received. That same love for God becomes a flame, purifying it from the traces of sin. It is beautiful to think that what purifies them there is love itself, which transforms the soul until that love is more perfect. The liturgy for this day, in the second reading, reminds us of the words of St. John in his first epistle: Videte qualem caritatem dedit nobis Pater, ut filii Dei nominemur, et sumus! (1 Jn 3:1). As we contemplate the existence of this purgation before entering heaven, we try to see it always in the light of God’s love for us.

God has loved us so much that he calls us his children, and we truly are. It is wonderful to see how the liturgy allows us to always contemplate reality in the light of God, which gives meaning to our lives, even to its most painful times. The only thing that explains everything is precisely God’s love for us. It is a state of purification, but one full of hope and love: of sure hope for future glory and of love that is ever increasing. If all of us in this world can think now of heaven – and in one way or another we often do – the souls in purgatory do so in a more vivid and certain way.

We can recall some words of our Father: “I ask myself many times a day: what will it be like when all the beauty, all the goodness, all the infinite wonder of God is poured into this poor clay vessel that I am, that we all are? And then I understand well what the Apostle means: no eye has seen, no ear has heard... It is worth it, my children, it is worth it” (Notes taken from a family gathering, 22-X-1960). Every effort at purification in this life is worth it, sustained by the certainty of God’s love for us, which gives authentic meaning to everything. Often it is a love we have to believe in, because we do not always see it.

We can sense it or see it in creatures and in our own lives, although there comes a time when faith is essential, believing in God’s love. Like St. John’s exhortation, which is as it were a summary of Christian life: “We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us” (1 Jn 4:16).

United by the communion of saints

We can collaborate in the purification of souls awaiting entry into heaven in a more vivid way during this month. It is truly an opportunity to renew our faith in the communion of saints and to exercise it by helping those who have already left this world. In this way, we contribute to shortening the sufferings of that joyful waiting – because joy is compatible with suffering – until souls can see God face to face in glory.

In today’s Gospel, we contemplate Jesus on the Cross, surrounded by the two condemned thieves. One of them offers a humble and heartfelt prayer: Iesu memento mei cum veneris in regnum tuum (Lk 23:42). Today, we join in that plea, thinking of those who are waiting for our Lord’s response: Come, today you will be with me in paradise. Sometimes we may ask ourselves: what good is it to pray for this? It is good because you want it, Lord; because you await our plea; because you are the one who gives strength and effectiveness to our prayer. Increase our faith, Lord, so that we may appreciate the power that you yourself give to our prayer.

We do not know how long purgatory lasts, because time no longer exists there. Theology has attempted to understand this mystery: some speak of something similar to eternity, although it is not quite the same; others understand it as a certain period of time. In any case, it is a step prior to eternal life and glory. We know that, although the sins of those in purgatory have already been forgiven, they still have what the Church calls temporal punishment. Perhaps we remember the image that our Father liked so much: if there are so many souls in purgatory and some receive abundant suffrages and others nothing, it would appear that some advance more than others. He preferred to see it as a queue: prayers and sacrifices benefit everyone and everyone in the queue moves forward.

What is certain is that our prayer is effective. It is not just an act of personal piety, but a practical manifestation of the communion of saints through which we are closely united and our prayer benefits everyone, both living and dead. Therefore, during November, let us take great care to offer the suffrages that our Father instructed us to offer. And, as far as we can, let us offer our Mass, Holy Communion and the part of the Rosary of the day for the various intentions.

We can also have recourse to the souls in purgatory. Our Father had a distinctive view of them, for we tend to think only of helping them; however, they also intercede for us. And so we read in The Way: “The holy souls in purgatory. Out of charity, out of justice, and out of excusable selfishness – they have such power with God! – remember them often in your sacrifices and in your prayers. May you be able to say when you speak of them, ‘My good friends the souls in purgatory’” (no. 571). Indeed, they can do much before God for us as well.

During this month, it makes sense that the reality of death and the need for purification should also be present in our prayers. When we think of the souls in purgatory, we realize that through our mortification, sacrifice and prayer, we can advance part of this process of purification. Also through indulgences; the grace that our Lord has entrusted to the Church is striking: through plenary indulgences it is possible to avoid purgatory. During this month, we can be more aware of the reality of death in the world, of the souls in purgatory and also of our own death, in order to grow in our desire for purification and to value more highly the small mortifications of ordinary life.

At the foot of the cross

This is a question of faith, in which darkness is present alongside light. Sometimes we may think, what is the point of delaying what I like or making this small sacrifice? And then we make an act of faith: it is for the love of God. The source of our love for him is his love for us. Because we, Lord, could not love you if you did not give us the capacity to do so.

Let us walk through this life with our eyes set on eternal happiness, to which the deceased are called and which is already guaranteed to the souls in purgatory. We can collaborate in their journey with our prayer and our mortification. All our strength comes from the cross of Christ. As we proclaim in the liturgy for Holy Thursday: In quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra. In him and in his Cross we find life, salvation and future resurrection, both for ourselves and for all the dead.

The Cross of Christ is present in many ways, but most truly in the Eucharist, in the Holy Mass. That is why this is precisely the best way to help the dead. In the Mass, life and resurrection are found for all. Lord, increase our faith, a virtue that impels us to pray more, to hope, and, sustained by your grace, to love.

Let us return to the Gospel that will be proclaimed today. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” We offer this prayer on behalf of all the dead, that it may be a suffrage, a push forward, and a relief in the sufferings of so many souls who await glory. At the foot of the Cross, we contemplate our Mother with St. John: full of grace, united with the immense pain of her Son, cooperating in the work of Redemption. Therefore, all the help we offer to the souls in purgatory is joined, at the foot of Christ’s Cross, to our Lady’s sufferings. By contemplating Mary at the foot of the Cross, it will be easier for us to be generous in our mortification.

When we think of the salvation of the whole world, so in need today of peace and of recognizing God’s loving presence, we remember that the souls in purgatory, as our Father taught us, also intercede for us. Let us ask them to help us sow peace in the world, to bring Christ there and to do God’s work in our own lives.

We ask our Lady in a special way, as we usually do at the end of our prayer, to unite us in the Mass to Christ’s redeeming sacrifice, remaining close to him, with Mary, at the foot of the Cross.