Wednesday Liturgy: Follow-up: Saints' Prayers for Souls in Purgatory
ROME, APRIL 15, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.
In the wake of our theological musings on the saints' praying for souls in purgatory (see April 1), a couple of readers asked for further reflections.
One asked: "If a person on earth needs prayers, does he himself need to request these prayers from a soul in purgatory, or can a soul in purgatory pray for that person without the request?"
Usually we refer to purgatory as a passive state, and we pray for the souls in purgatory and usually never think of the souls in purgatory praying for us (see Catechism, Nos. 1030-1032).
However, while there is little or nothing in Church tradition regarding this point, I believe that it cannot be totally excluded. If someone requests the prayers of a deceased person who happens to be in purgatory, God might well make that person aware of this request.
Thus, in a way that is analogous to the spiritual good we inevitably do to ourselves whenever we pray for others here on earth, performing the act of love of praying for others could quite well form part of the process of purgation for our lack of perfect love during our lives.
It is harder to affirm with any certainty that these souls can do so out of their own initiative. However, if someone, while still alive, promises to pray for another after death it is likely that God, who inspired the original promise, will find a way to allow its fulfillment even if the person spends some time in purgatory.
A Toronto reader inquired: "Perhaps the pious tradition of patron saints indicates that the saints can take some initiative in intercession, at least in their 'patronages.'"
I would say that this could be true only in part because patronages do not stem from the initiative of the saints but from the initiative of those, whether individuals, groups or the universal Church, who invoke their patronage.
In this way a patronage is a kind of stable or permanent request for the saints' mediation in a particular field or for a specific category. Just as God makes saints aware of individual requests for their intercession, he will make them aware of these more general and stable invocations for their mediation.
In the wake of our theological musings on the saints' praying for souls in purgatory (see April 1), a couple of readers asked for further reflections.
One asked: "If a person on earth needs prayers, does he himself need to request these prayers from a soul in purgatory, or can a soul in purgatory pray for that person without the request?"
Usually we refer to purgatory as a passive state, and we pray for the souls in purgatory and usually never think of the souls in purgatory praying for us (see Catechism, Nos. 1030-1032).
However, while there is little or nothing in Church tradition regarding this point, I believe that it cannot be totally excluded. If someone requests the prayers of a deceased person who happens to be in purgatory, God might well make that person aware of this request.
Thus, in a way that is analogous to the spiritual good we inevitably do to ourselves whenever we pray for others here on earth, performing the act of love of praying for others could quite well form part of the process of purgation for our lack of perfect love during our lives.
It is harder to affirm with any certainty that these souls can do so out of their own initiative. However, if someone, while still alive, promises to pray for another after death it is likely that God, who inspired the original promise, will find a way to allow its fulfillment even if the person spends some time in purgatory.
A Toronto reader inquired: "Perhaps the pious tradition of patron saints indicates that the saints can take some initiative in intercession, at least in their 'patronages.'"
I would say that this could be true only in part because patronages do not stem from the initiative of the saints but from the initiative of those, whether individuals, groups or the universal Church, who invoke their patronage.
In this way a patronage is a kind of stable or permanent request for the saints' mediation in a particular field or for a specific category. Just as God makes saints aware of individual requests for their intercession, he will make them aware of these more general and stable invocations for their mediation.
posted by Chipi Buenafe at
10:31 AM
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