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CHURCH TEACHING
2 Maccabees 12:46: "Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from sin.
Matthew 5:26 "Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."
Matthew 12:32 says, "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come."
Many popular devotional practices involve veneration of the saints. The saints have a special place in the Body of Christ, which includes both the living and the dead. Through Christ we on earth remain in communion both with the saints in heaven and with the dead who are still in Purgatory. We can pray for those in Purgatory and ask the saints to pray for us. Through their prayers of intercession, the saints in heaven play an integral role in the life of the Church on earth. "For after they have been received into their heavenly home and are present to the Lord, through Him and with Him and in Him they do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, showing forth the merits which they won on earth through the one Mediator between God and man." The saints, the members of the Church who have arrived at perfect union with Christ, join their wills to the will of God in praying for those in the Church who are still on their pilgrimage of faith.
Besides what the saints can do for us by their prayers, the very practice of venerating the saints does great good for those who are devoted to the saints. By practicing love of the saints we strengthen the unity of the entire Body of Christ in the Spirit. This in turn brings us all closer to Christ. "For just as Christian communion among wayfarers brings us closer to Christ, so our companionship with the saints joins us to Christ, from Whom as from its Fountain and Head issues every grace and the very life of the people of God." Love of the saints necessarily includes and leads to love of Christ and to love of the Holy Trinity. "For every genuine testimony of love shown by us to those in heaven, by its very nature tends toward and terminates in Christ who is the 'crown of all saints,' and through Him, in God Who is wonderful in his saints and is magnified in them."
From Popular Devotional Practices
Catechism of the Catholic Church
1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:
As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.
1498 Through indulgences the faithful can obtain the remission of temporal punishment resulting from sin for themselves and also for the souls in Purgatory
1475 In the communion of saints, "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 good things." In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.
1472 To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the "eternal punishment" of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.
A MEDITATION ON SUICIDE
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Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup overflows … and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. — Psalm 23:5-6
“Peter was being tormented by the possibility that his younger sister committed suicide. If it was true, Peter knew that she would never attain heaven, for she had committed the unforgivable sin — despair. But was this prohibition accurate? “I had almost forgotten about Peter when he and a group of young adults showed up one evening. Peter was a changed man, and a little questioning revealed why. He had been having frequent dreams about his sister, he told us. In each, instead of her shabby gray wardrobe she wore lovely gowns, and a table behind her was set with banquet linens and fine china. “Peter’s sister seemed to understand. ‘Those of us here lost our opportunities to make the world a better place,’ she explained. ‘But there is no despair, and although we will need more time, we will eventually reach eternity. In the meantime, the banquet serves as a reminder of what lies ahead’ ” — Joan Wester Anderson, author. Reflection: Pray for a suffering soul who gave into despair. (From Susan Tassone "Day by Day for the Holy Souls in Purgatory")
We cannot know the mercy of God for another soul...let us always pray that our good God takes all of our emotional challenges into Himself...
