Today we remember the faithful departed. I must admit that purgatory was one of the teachings of the church I did not understand right away. For as a Protestant, I was taught that once I was a child of God, that I had the righteousness of Christ; and if I had the righteousness of Christ, why would there be a need for purgatory? A careful study of the scriptures corrected my thinking on this matter. I realized that the "righteousness of Christ" given me was not Christ's own personal righteousness, but was the righteousness that comes from Christ through the Grace he purchased for us by his life, death and resurrection which now His church pours upon us by way of the sacraments. I realized it could not be that His own personal righteousness was given us because Jesus has a name that is above every name, His is the preeminence above all creation, and that would not be so if everyone was made equal to Him in righteousness.
So then I saw that purgatory was the very love of God. Rev 21:27 tells us this about heaven "Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life." Is it required to go through purgatory? No it is not. But I daresay most of us
Being responsible before God
Given by Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde on Nov. 2, the Commemoration of the Faithful Departed during Mass at St. Robert Bellarmine Chapel at George Mason University in Fairfax
The liturgical name for today’s celebration is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed; the more popular name is All Souls Day. On this day, we both relearn the teaching of the Church on the doctrine of purgatory and offer prayers, especially here the most perfect prayer we have: the Mass, for all the faithful departed including relatives and friends. In fact, we should pray for the souls in purgatory daily all year long. In the Church’s tradition, November is the month when our focus is particularly directed to all the faithful departed, assisting them through our prayer, penance and good works.
On this day, let us relearn the doctrine on purgatory, a doctrine rooted in both scripture and tradition. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven” (n. 1030). Pope Benedict XVI put it this way: “I would go so far as to say that if there were no purgatory, then we would have to invent it, for who would dare say of himself that he was able to stand directly before God? And yet, we don’t want to be, to use an image from Scripture, ‘a pot that turned out wrong,’ that has to be thrown away; we want to be able to be put right. Purgatory basically means that God can put the pieces back together again. That he can cleanse us in such a way that we are able to be with him and can stand there in the fullness of life” (Magnificat, November 2008). Purgatory has been called “God’s Masterpiece of Pity” because had He not created it, how would most of us enter into His presence free of all the residue of sin, what we call “temporal punishment”?
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
Reading 1
Wis 3:1-9
The souls of the just are in the hand of God,
and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead;
and their passing away was thought an affliction
and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
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.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them,
and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine,
and shall dart about as sparks through stubble;
they shall judge nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth,
and the faithful shall abide with him in love:
because grace and mercy are with his holy ones,
and his care is with his elect.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want..
He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
with your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Rom 6:3-9
Brothers and sisters:
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death,
so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead
by the glory of the Father,
we too might live in newness of life.
For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his,
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him,
so that our sinful body might be done away with,
that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
Gospel
Jn 6:37-40
Jesus said to the crowds:
“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.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
For this is the will of my Father,
that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him
may have eternal life,
and I shall raise him on the last day.”
No comments:
Post a Comment