470. Thirty-fourth Tuesday of Ordinary Time

Meditations no. 414 (unofficial computer-aided translation)

Calmly accepting the death of our loved ones.

We continue praying about the Last Things. Death is the most tangible of these realities, since we hear about it and see it so often.

We’re human, and it’s only natural for us to feel sorrow over the death of loved ones: members of our supernatural family, relatives, friends. It’s not a lack of faith, but a sign that we have a heart. However, we can’t give in to sadness, as if there were no hope of final resurrection in Christ. A son of God, our Father wrote, fears neither life nor death, because his spiritual life is founded on a sense of divine filiation. So he says to himself: God is my Father and he is the Author of all good; he is all goodness.

Seen through the eyes of faith, the death of loved ones is only a temporary separation. How often it has been revealed to us, St Cyprian writes to his faithful flock, how frequently and manifestly I have been commanded, through God’s vouchsafing, that I should bear witness constantly, that I should preach publicly that our brethren who have been freed from the world by the summons of the Lord should not be mourned, since we know that they are not lost but sent before us; that in departing they lead the way; that as travellers, as voyagers are wont to be, they should be missed, but not lamented; and that mourning clothes should not be worn here, inasmuch as they have already assumed white garments there!…

Besides, the Apostle Paul censures, rebukes, and blames any who are sorrowful at the death of their dear ones: “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” He says that those who have no hope are sorrowful at the death of their dear ones. But as for us who live in hope and believe in God and have faith that Christ suffered for us and rose again, we trust that we abide in Christ and will rise again through Him and in Him.

Why are we ourselves either unwilling to depart hence from this world, or why do we mourn and grieve for our departing ones as if they were lost, since Christ our Lord and our God himself admonishes us and says: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die”? If we believe in Christ, let us have faith in his words and promises, that we who are not to die for ever may come in joyful security to Christ with whom we are to conquer and reign for all eternity.

True confidence in the future life will make us not lose our peace and joy when the Lord calls those whom we love into his presence. Let us make our Father’s words our own: When facing death, be calm. I do not want you to have the cold stoicism of the pagan, but the fervour of a child of God who knows that life is changed, not taken away. To die is to live!

Suffrages and prayers are the best way of showing affection for the dead.

When we die, St Cyprian says, when it is our turn, we shall pass through death to immortality. Eternal life cannot begin until we have left this present life. Certainly it is not a departure, but a transition, a passage to eternity, after running our earthly course. But to enter heaven, a soul must be completely purified. Therefore, God’s love has created purgatory, where the soul is cleansed of all venial sin and the remains of sins that have been forgiven in this life, and prepared for definitive union with God. But Scripture says that God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and repents of evil. Therefore, he permits those of us who remain on earth to merit forgiveness for the souls in purgatory. This has been the practice of all who have sought to be faithful to God.

In the liturgy for the dead, the Church reminds us that Judas Maccabeus took up a collection … to the amount of twelve thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to be offered for the sins of the dead … It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.

With what love the Church offers prayers for her deceased children! The souls in purgatory, the Council of Trent teaches, are helped by the suffrages of the faithful and particularly by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar. The infinite value of Christ’s sacrifice, St Cyril of Jerusalem says, greatly helps those souls for whom prayer is offered, while the holy Victim lies present.

Furthermore, the indulgences we gain on earth can be offered for the deceased as suffrages. Pope Paul the Sixth taught: a perennial link of charity 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. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all the goods by which divine justice is placated, as expiation is made for sins… and God’s mercy is led to forgive, and it becomes possible for sinners who have repented sincerely to share, as soon as they are capable of it, in the full enjoyment of the benefits of God’s family.

Prayers for the dead are the best way to show our love for our dear ones who have died. Our Father often advised us to pray for the holy souls in purgatory. Out of charity, out of justice, and out of an excusable selfishness (they have such power with God!) remember them often in your sacrifices and prayers. Whenever you speak of them, may you be able to say, “My good friends, the souls in purgatory…”

We should pray for our deceased brothers and sisters in the Work, for our parents, relatives and benefactors who have died.

We should pray for the deceased, and especially for our brothers and sisters. Our Father told us: God is not like a hunter who awaits his prey’s slightest slip in order to fire a shot. God is like a gardener who takes good care of his flowers and waters them, and only cuts them when they’re in their prime, in full bloom. God takes souls to himself when they’re ripe.

Therefore, our Father continued, I have no right to complain, to tell God “No,” when he takes a person who could have worked for him… He has taken that soul because it was ripe for God’s mouth, like a most beautiful fruit, and leads it to Paradise.

Before entering heaven, many souls, even those who have worked for God and struggled to fulfil his will, stand in need of purification in purgatory to be freed of everything in them that is not pleasing to our Lord. That’s why we pray for our deceased brothers and sisters: above all out of charity, since, in having the same vocation, we are all children of the same Mother, the Work; but also out of justice. The Work has made a commitment to give us the means to reach heaven. And as we too are Opus Dei, we share in this commitment to contribute to everyone’s sanctity by our prayer and mortification. We have a duty to pray for our brothers and sisters who have died.

The Work’s care for us is expressed in the abundant suffrages our Father established for his daughters and sons, and for our parents and benefactors. Now is a good moment to remember the dead of both Sections who rest in every region of the world, while they await the Resurrection, as we read on a plaque in our prelatic church in Rome. We ask our Lady to present our petitions to Jesus, fount of piety, so that one day we may all be reunited in his glory.

When Mass is said for the dead we pray: Almighty and merciful God, we have offered to you this sacrifice of praise for the souls of our relatives, friends, and benefactors. By the power of this sacrament free them from all their sins, and in your mercy grant them perpetual light and happiness. This is what we pray for through the intercession of our Lady and St Joseph. May these, and all who sleep in Christ, find in your presence light, happiness, and peace.