Video Transcript

When someone we love dies, the last thing we want to do is be suspicious about whether or not they are in heaven. We’re hurting and grieving. And we’d welcome anything that would provide a little relief and comfort. One thing that is sometimes said by well meaning people is that the deceased person “Is in heaven now.” It may be hard to hear, but none of us can ever know if our family member is in heaven or not. We can never know the heart of our family member or know everything about their personal struggles with sin or faith. 

But, we can and should hope they are in heaven. And it is still helpful to pray for them. Why?

The catechism reminds us in paragraph 1032, “This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: “Therefore [Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.” From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead.”

Even if our loved ones are on their way to heaven, they probably weren’t perfect. Purgatory is the last purification we go through before entering heaven, so that we can be in heaven with God without any weaknesses or imperfections.

We can pray for the dead by asking God to remember them in His mercy. We can also offer up to Jesus our own little sufferings for our loved ones in purgatory. This is why the catechism reminds us in paragraph 958, “… it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ she offers her suffrages for them.” 

Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective.

We need to avoid the temptation to think that if we DON’T pray for our loved ones, they will not go to heaven. Only God can judge our loved one’s hearts, and we are not trying to change God’s mind. We are joining in loving communion with our loved ones in the Body of Christ and are able to care for them, even after death. 

We hope our loved ones knew Jesus throughout their life, at the moment of their death, and we pray for our loved ones to be with Jesus after death in heaven. This is one reason we say that to live in Christ means to die in Christ at the end of our sacramental life.