All Souls Day

So, today is the day we remember those loved ones who have gone before us and we pray for them!  Yes...I know this is a strange concept for many who might read this post but it is a Biblical...there are many times when people prayed their loved ones after death.

In 2 Maccabees 12:38-46, Judas Maccabee orders that sacrifices be offered in the Temple in Jerusalem for slain Jewish soldiers who had worn pagan amulets (good-luck charms).   In 2 Timothy 1:18, St. Paul prays for Onesiphorus, who has died.

There is also evidence early in Christian history of prayers for the dead.  The earliest mention of prayers for the dead in public Christian worship is by the writer Tertullian in 211 A.D.

We are connected to the saints in heaven, the saints-in-waiting in purgatory and other believers here on earth.  So, here we throw out a word that some would say is not Biblical.  However, most believe in the Trinity which the word does not exist in and of itself in the Bible.  Purgatory...the place to PURGE us of our sins...is to cleanse us of any sins that we had at death.  For nothing unclean can make its way into Heaven....the place of perfection.  Purgatory is a temporary state of being in which the soul is readied for Heaven.  Otherwise, many more of us would find ourselves in Hell!

From another source:  Jesus teaches us, “Come to terms with your opponent or you will be handed over to the judge and thrown into prison. You will not get out until you have paid the last penny.” (Matt. 5:26,18:34; Luke 12:58-59) The word “opponent” (antidiko) is likely a reference to the devil (see the same word for devil in 1 Pet. 5:8) who is an accuser against man (c.f. Job 1.6-12; Zech. 3.1; Rev. 12.10), and God is the judge. If we have not adequately dealt with Satan and sin in this life, we will be held in a temporary state called a prison, and we won’t get out until we have satisfied our entire debt to God. This “prison” is purgatory where we will not get out until the last penny is paid.

SO thankful for Purgatory when I think of my own sinfulness!  And I am also thankful that I can pray for those I love!  Because if you read my post yesterday...I have know way of knowing the fate of my loved ones but have the hope that they will be in Heaven and I will join them one day.

Eternal rest grant onto them o Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.