Native American tribes are known for their elaborate and colourful quilts. Often the memories of the tribes are woven into large quilts used in religious ceremonies. Native American peoples are believed to be among the best quilt makers in the world. What many people do not know is that they have an unwritten law governing the art of quilting: every quilt must have some flaw. Even when they could easily produce the perfect quilt, they go out of their way to introduce a flaw into it. Since the quilt for them is basically a representation of human life and the human condition, the symbolism is clear: no human life is perfect. In a way, the feast of All Souls which we celebrate today echoes the same message: no human life is perfect, not even the Christian life. The Good News we celebrate today is that God loves us even when we are not perfect, and that the love of God does not abandon the souls of our departed brothers and sisters in the faith even when they did not measure up to the ideals of Christian perfection.
In the feast of All Saints which we had yesterday, we, the saints who are still struggling on earth (the church militant), celebrate fellowship with the saints who have already arrived in heavenly glory (the church triumphant). Today we celebrate our fellowship with the saints in purgatory, a state of temporary suffering for departed souls who are not yet fully ready for full fellowship with God in the glory of heaven (the church suffering).
All Christians believe in the Four Last Things: death, judgment, heaven and hell. Purgatory is not mentioned as one of the “last things” because, strictly speaking, purgatory is a part of heaven. Purgatory is the remedial class for heaven-bound souls. Souls who go to purgatory are those who have been judged worthy of heaven, but not straightaway. They still need some purification (purgation) before they are ready for heaven because, according to Revelation 21:27, “nothing unclean shall enter it.”
Some Christians have a problem with the teaching on purgatory because purgatory is not mentioned by name in the Bible. Yet the same Christians believe in the Trinity even though the “Trinity” is not mentioned by name in the Bible. We arrive at the doctrine on purgatory the same way we arrive at the doctrine on the Trinity, by making a logical inference from what God has explicitly revealed. We shall take three examples:
(1) The Parable of the Unfaithful Servant, which teaches the need for disciples to be faithful to their tasks till the coming of Christ on judgment day, concludes with these words: “That slave who knew what his master wanted, but did not prepare himself or do what was wanted, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating” (Luke 12:47-48). This shows that in the last judgment, even though the results will basically be either pass or fail, go to heaven or go to hell, there may be those who are not bad enough to be thrown into hell and not good enough to be admitted right away to heaven. These then will receive some remedial purification to make up for what is lacking in their faith and good works before being admitted to heavenly bliss. That period of interim punishment before being admitted to eternity with God is what we call purgatory.
(2) Paul compares the different ways in which Christians live their lives to different builders all building on the one foundation which is Christ. They build with different materials: gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. On judgment day what each person has built will be tested with fire. “If what has been built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a reward. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:14-15). How can the soul after judgment “suffer loss” and still get saved “but only as through fire?” The answer is what we call purgatory.
(3) The Apostle John reminds us that a Christian can commit two types of sin: mortal sin which kills one’s relationship with God and venial sins which does not. “If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask, and God will give life to such a one – to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal” (1 John 5:16-17). Believers who die without sin go to heaven. Believers who die in mortal sin go to hell. Where do believers who die in a state of venial sin go? The answer is purgatory, where they can make up for their imperfection before being admitted to the company of the saints in heaven.
Even though officially Catholics believe in purgatory and Protestants do not, unofficially almost everyone seems to believe in an interim state of purification before heaven. When we lose loved ones, Catholics and Protestants alike pray for the dead. We all say, “May their souls rest in peace.” Wait a minute. If the souls of are in hell, why pray for them? Our prayers cannot help souls in hell. And if they are in heaven, why pray for them? Our prayers cannot help those in heaven either. They are already in heaven. Any sort of prayer for the dead has meaning insofar as the souls of the dead are in an interim state where they have not yet reached perfect union and peace with God, and where our prayers can help them get there. That is purgatory.
In the feast of All Souls we pray for the souls of the faithful departed who are being purified in purgatory. In this we profess our belief that, just as God has not stopped loving these poor souls because of their imperfections, neither have we. For us the belief in purgatory is Good News: even though we may not in this life be perfect as our heaven father is perfect (Matthew 5:48) we can still hold fast to the hope that there are mansions for us in the kingdom of heaven.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, yesterday, we were gathered to commemorate All Saints’ day. Today, we are celebrating All Souls’ day, also known as the “Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed.”
Since both of these liturgical celebrations concern the departed, some of you may ask yourselves, “What is the difference between these two days?” On All Saints’ day, we commemorate those who are in Heaven, those who are presently enjoying the beatified vision of God in their eternal glory.
All Souls’ day, the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed is based on the theological basis that some of those who have departed from this world, they have not been perfectly cleansed from venial sin, or have not fully atoned for their past transgression. As such, being temporary deprived of the beatified vision until such time as they have been completely sanctified in Christ, these departed souls are to remain in Purgatory. To assist them so that they may be freed from Purgatory, we, their spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ, can help the Faithful Departed who are also members of the Body of Christ, through our prayers, our alm deeds and most important of all, through the sacrifice of the Holy Mass.
As members and living stones of the Mystical Body of Christ, we as the saints on earth, alongside with the saints in Purgatory and those in Heaven, await the glorious day when our Redeemer shall make His final appearance on earth, at which time the resurrection of the physical bodies shall take place.
Each is resurrected in his own order. Christ was the First Fruit to be raised from the dead. Then at His coming, those who belong to Him. For Christ is the first of many to follow. As death came upon the world through Adam, eternal life comes upon the saints through the Lord Jesus.
In the Gospel of John, verse 12:24-26, we read, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Those who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honour.”
In this parable of the grain of wheat, Jesus was speaking of spiritual death. Because death came into the world through Adam, all human beings, contaminated by the ugliness of sin, are called to spiritually die. But, by being born again through Christ through the Sacrament of Baptism, they inherit the promise of eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
During the Sacrament of Baptism, the believer dies alongside Jesus to be raised with Christ as a new creation of the godly seed. Then the believer is adopted into the Body of Christ, this qualifying him to receive the salvation that comes through Christ.
As the grain of wheat falls in the earth and dies, the believer must die through the water of Baptism and the power of the Holy Spirit. As the grain of wheat bears much fruit after death, those who are born again in Christ are called to persevere in their living faith so they may shine in spiritual works through the power of the Holy Spirit, this labour being the fruits of their holiness. Having received the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, a new heart and a new spirit, a believer is no longer the same anymore.
Through the gift of the new life that we have received in Christ, we now belong to Christ. Before, we were slaves to sin; now, we are slaves to Christ. Before, we were worldly; now, we are spiritual. Before, we strived for the better things of the world; now, we strive for the glory of God in all things.
To strive for the glory of God in all things, we must renounce the world and its imperfect ways. For the worldly ways oppose the spiritual ways. As saints and children of God through our new birth, our eyes must be fixed on Jesus and the invisible Kingdom of God. We must live as members of the invisible Kingdom of God so we may shine as bright lights in the world. If we love our lives and the worldly ways, we will lose our salvation. But if we reject the worldly ways by setting our eyes on Jesus, we will keep our life in Christ who is our assurance of salvation.
To keep our life in Christ, we must persevere in our living faith. We must remain loyal to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. We must obey the teachings of the Church. We must receive the Sacraments of the Church. We must love our brothers and sisters as we love Jesus. In all our thoughts, words and actions, we must shine in humility, obedience and servitude. Through such, it will be witnessed by others that we follow Jesus where He is. In the end, because we have served Jesus, God the Father will seal our adoption as children of His eternal Kingdom.
Today, the Church commands us to remember the faithful departed. In obedience, we do so, praying that when we have departed from this world, others will remember us, pray for us, make sacrifices on our behalf, and most important of all, have Holy Masses celebrated on our behalf so we may quickly be assured the eternal beatified vision of God. But for now, let us remember the faithful departed so what we do on their behalf may be done on our behalf when and if ever we are in need of our earthly brothers and sisters in Christ.