By Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ
For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their
hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because
God tried them and found them worthy of himself. Wisdom 3:3-4
Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has
been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to
us. Romans 5:5
“Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and
I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not
to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” John 6:37
Piety
The Mystical Body of Christ
is where our piety gives us a home. We belong to the faithful departed as
family and friends. How we continue to reach out to those we loved who have
died before us is part of our Spirituality. How we remember those who we shared
our life with is in the reliving of moments shared as life goes on as we walk
toward our destiny in Christ. Christ will not let any of those that belong to
him fail to arrive at heaven, which is the goal of all of us. Those who have
gone before us have shown us the way.
Study
Our friendships are built
around the intimacies of life. What we have done with others comes alive in the
repeats that we now live out with new people. What remembrances do is bring
back old friends to our memory and allow us to pray for the faithful departed even
as we miss their participation in what we are doing with new friends. Friends
are an essential part of life and without them we are incomplete in what we do
now that we used to do with missing friends. Missing good friends we shared
vacation with makes vacation in old ways hard to repeat. Good friends cannot be
replaced. They can only be remembered. It is not hard to see why they
were important when we miss them in what we did together. It is too easy to
forget that they could still need our prayers. I think of Purgatory as the
powder room of heaven where we can pretty up ourselves for heaven. None of us
are perfect and we need others to help us make up the difference between what
we did and what we should have done. Remembrance of the Faithful departed
includes remembering all they did for us and offering what they need from us in
our prayers for their wellbeing that they might be accepted into heaven. Christ
atoned for our sins and we are part of his atonement when we make up the
differences missing for their readiness for heaven.
Action
This is the perfect time to
pray and offer sacrifices for the Souls in Purgatory. It is a wonderful thing
we do when we pray for those who have no one to remember them. Prayer, fasting
and good works can open the gates of heaven to those who need an earthly boost.
What we do for others will be done for us.
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