Prayer for the Dead

As we pray for our dearly departed family and friends, we are reminded of our ultimate goal of union with God. We ask the saints to pray for us, and likewise, we pray for those who have died.

By our prayers, we support and help those who have died to achieve our final goal -- union with God. So it is an act of love to pray for those who have gone before us. Those in purgatory join those on earth and those in heaven in the communion of saints. This communion forms one loving unity in Christ.

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine on them. Amen.
May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed
through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

The bonds of love among the communion of saints are not broken by death, because of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Praying for the dead is one of the Spiritual Works of Mercy. Such prayer is a help to those who have died and are undergoing the final purification (purgatory). Those on earth can help the dead by praying and offering works of mercy on their behalf. Although November is a special month of remembering the dead in prayer, any time is appropriate.

The practice of praying for the dead is taught in scripture:

• II Maccabees 12:43-44: "He (Judas Maccabeus) also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. For if he were not expecting that those who had fallen would rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. But if he was looking for the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."

• The thousands of inscriptions from the catacombs asking God to bless the dead is evidence of this.

• As the Church prays, so it believes (lex orandi, lex credendi). The Eucharistic Prayers, some of ancient origin, remember all of God's people, the living and the dead.
• The Church prays for the dead, especially at funeral liturgies.

• “For this reason there certainly exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth a perennial link of charity and an abundant exchange of all the goods by which, with the expiation of all the sins of the entire Mystical Body, divine justice is placated. God's mercy is thus led to forgiveness, so that sincerely repentant sinners may participate as soon as possible in the full enjoyment of the benefits of the family of God” (Indulgentarium Doctrina, 5).
• See also, Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1032.