GOSPEL MATTERS: ‘Our Departed Brothers and Sisters’
By Dr Christine E. Wood, Director of the Office of Evangelisation & Catechesis
An Australian Cardinal once summarised Christ’s call to conversion as, “Turn or burn!” Although this may startle many, and seem rather mediaeval to some, in reality, it’s true.
Jesus, the Good Shepherd, clearly warns us that there is a choice that we all must make between heaven and hell, and that choice is borne out in our actions. Those who are welcomed into the kingdom of heaven, are those who feed the hungry, visit the imprisoned, and clothe the naked, while those who are cast into the fires of hell neglect doing these things.
God’s work of salvation aims at conforming us to Christ, his Son, who suffered unto death. The Catholic view of salvation is not a ‘Prosperity Gospel,’ but a Gospel that transforms us into members of Christ, who is the crucified and risen one. This means that our suffering has both punitive and restorative value. There is meaning to be found in our sufferings.
Reading through Christ’s parables about the kingdom of heaven, we discover that those who enter the kingdom must be purified of all imperfections. This is the work of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies us both in this life, and in the next. We should be wary of reducing salvation to a once-off act of God’s justification. Rather, salvation also requires an ongoing purification and sanctification in order to become perfect in Christ.
Rooted in Scripture, the Catholic doctrine of purgatory takes seriously the teaching that salvation involves becoming perfect in Christ, that suffering has purifying value, that Jesus speaks about a place of temporal punishment for sin, and that St Paul writes about purification through fire.
As we approach November, the month particularly dedicated to praying for our faithful departed, let’s remember the holy souls in purgatory. Catholics believe that those who die with faith and love of God, but who are not yet fully purified from their sinful imperfections, will undergo a final purification in purgatory.
At Mass, we pray for those “who have fallen asleep in the hope of the resurrection” that God will “welcome them into the light of [his] face.” Here we are praying that the souls in purgatory may be swiftly purified before entering heaven.
In God’s mercy, our prayers and actions, particularly in offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, can relieve the suffering of the souls in purgatory. This November, then, let’s double down on our prayers for our departed brothers and sisters that they may be loosed from their sins.
Photo: Fr Lawrence Lew OP