32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

11/7/21

Dear St. Joseph Parish Family,

This past Monday was All Souls Day, where we pray for all the faithful departed. It’s good to remember to pray for the dead. We know through faith that the deceased have not simply fallen out of existence but instead go on to what’s next. We have immortal souls that continue after the death of our bodies. For those who die in a state of grace, as friends of God, they go to purgatory or straight to heaven. We pray that their time in purgatory may be completed and that they may soon enter heaven. 

But what is purgatory? We can’t say precisely; God has not revealed specifics. Yet that does not mean we know nothing. All in heaven are perfect for no one can stand before God otherwise. We are called to the perfection of our humanity and even raised above it to be like God as adopted children of God. However, not many die in a state of perfection. What then? It would be unfitting to cast those committed to God, but not perfect, into hell. But they are also not ready for heaven. Therefore, purgatory exists as the process whereby those who die in grace, but are not perfect, are rendered perfectly ready for heaven. I wrote process because it’s unclear whether purgatory is a place properly speaking, or an event, or something else. For a very good story that speculates on what purgatory may be like, read J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story Leaf by Niggle.

Because of purgatory we can still help the dead: our prayers can speed their journey through purgatory and help them reach their eternal home in heaven. It’s a spiritual act of mercy to pray for the dead and All Souls Day reminds us of its importance. 

One last note: I mentioned that our souls survive the death of our bodies. However, we are incomplete without our bodies. As humans God created to be a composite of matter and spirit. Thus, the real end we are waiting for is the Christ’s return and the end of this world. At that point the new heavens and earth will commence, and we’ll be reunited with our bodies, complete again, and more than complete because we’ll be perfected and filled with grace, with divine life. That is why Christians have always buried our dead: because we see the dignity of the body and know that we will be reunited with it in glory.