Daily Retreat 11/02/07
2007 Nov 2 Fri: ALL SOULS’ DAY
2Mac 12:43-46/Ps 129(130)/Rom 8:31-39/Mark 15:33-39
(Many options are provided for the readings today)
From today’s readings: “Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.... Out of the depths I call to you, LORD; Lord, hear my cry!.... For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.... When the centurion who stood facing Him saw how He breathed His last he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’ ”
The Communion of Saints (Part 2)
The Communion of Saints is comprised of those in Heaven, the faithful on Earth, and those in Purgatory, which is the state of those souls undergoing purification in preparation to enter Heaven. I often explain Purgatory with the following analogy: A “welcome mat” serves two purposes: first, it offers a message of hospitality even before a person enters the house; and, second, it reminds guests to wipe their feet, so that dirt is not tracked inside. Purgatory is simply Heaven’s welcome mat - it is a state of hopeful hospitality, since every soul that enters Purgatory afterwards enters Heaven, and it is the opportunity for souls to be cleaned and purged of all stain of sin before entering Heaven.
Although the word “Purgatory” does not occur in the Bible, that doesn’t imply that the concept itself is foreign to Sacred Scripture. The word “Trinity” does not occur in the Bible either, but no one objects to the established use of that word as an accurate “handle” for the biblical belief in the one God in three divine Persons.
A passage in the Second Book of Maccabees (2Mac 12:39-46) is particularly explicit about the efficacy of praying for the dead:
On the following day, ... Judas [Maccabees] and his men went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral tombs. But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had been slain. They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden. Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers (amounting to two thousand silver drachmas) which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice.
In doing this, he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who have gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.
Now, if those who had died fighting in the battle were already in Heaven with God, there would be no point in praying for them. Likewise, if they were in Hell, no prayers could help them. Their fighting and dying for the cause of the Israelites proved their overall faith and goodwill, but the presence of the pagan amulets revealed that their faith was somewhat compromised by the sin of idolatry. It thus made sense to pray for them only by concluding that, after death, they needed to and could undergo some sort of purification for their sins before being admitted into Heaven.
Partly because of the implications of this passage, Martin Luther rejected the two books of Maccabees as sacred scripture, and to this day, Protestant versions of the Bible do not include those books. There are, however, several other passages in Scripture which support the doctrine of Purgatory, such as Rev. 21:27; Mat 12:32,36; 1Cor 3:15; and 2Tim 1:16-18.
2Mac 12:43-46/Ps 129(130)/Rom 8:31-39/Mark 15:33-39
(Many options are provided for the readings today)
From today’s readings: “Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.... Out of the depths I call to you, LORD; Lord, hear my cry!.... For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.... When the centurion who stood facing Him saw how He breathed His last he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’ ”
The Communion of Saints (Part 2)
The Communion of Saints is comprised of those in Heaven, the faithful on Earth, and those in Purgatory, which is the state of those souls undergoing purification in preparation to enter Heaven. I often explain Purgatory with the following analogy: A “welcome mat” serves two purposes: first, it offers a message of hospitality even before a person enters the house; and, second, it reminds guests to wipe their feet, so that dirt is not tracked inside. Purgatory is simply Heaven’s welcome mat - it is a state of hopeful hospitality, since every soul that enters Purgatory afterwards enters Heaven, and it is the opportunity for souls to be cleaned and purged of all stain of sin before entering Heaven.
Although the word “Purgatory” does not occur in the Bible, that doesn’t imply that the concept itself is foreign to Sacred Scripture. The word “Trinity” does not occur in the Bible either, but no one objects to the established use of that word as an accurate “handle” for the biblical belief in the one God in three divine Persons.
A passage in the Second Book of Maccabees (2Mac 12:39-46) is particularly explicit about the efficacy of praying for the dead:
On the following day, ... Judas [Maccabees] and his men went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral tombs. But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had been slain. They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden. Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas warned the soldiers to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers (amounting to two thousand silver drachmas) which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice.
In doing this, he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death.
But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who have gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.
Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.
Now, if those who had died fighting in the battle were already in Heaven with God, there would be no point in praying for them. Likewise, if they were in Hell, no prayers could help them. Their fighting and dying for the cause of the Israelites proved their overall faith and goodwill, but the presence of the pagan amulets revealed that their faith was somewhat compromised by the sin of idolatry. It thus made sense to pray for them only by concluding that, after death, they needed to and could undergo some sort of purification for their sins before being admitted into Heaven.
Partly because of the implications of this passage, Martin Luther rejected the two books of Maccabees as sacred scripture, and to this day, Protestant versions of the Bible do not include those books. There are, however, several other passages in Scripture which support the doctrine of Purgatory, such as Rev. 21:27; Mat 12:32,36; 1Cor 3:15; and 2Tim 1:16-18.
posted by FrPitstick | 10/31/2007
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