Reader Question: What Happened to Purgatory?

A reader writes:

On All Souls Day, our pastor discussed Purgatory during his sermon, but he said that we don't really know what it is or how long people stay there. He did say, though, that the Church teaches us that Purgatory exists, that he believes in it, that most people go there instead of directly to Heaven, and that he figures he'll probably wind up in Purgatory himself.

But then, after Communion, he announced that, in place of the final hymn, we would sing a litany, which would include the names of all of the parishioners who had died over the past year. Each line of the litany was "Saint [name of parishioner], pray for us."

That left me confused. If Purgatory exists, how can we refer to people who have died recently as "saints," when they might well be in Purgatory?

That's a very good question, and there's a simple answer: In most cases, we can't. Indeed, we can't even be certain that any particular person who has died isn't in Hell, a possibility that seems to have been left unmentioned by the priest.

It seems to me that the priest missed an important opportunity, and may even have unintentionally led some parishioners astray. Prayer for the dead (as well as for the living) is one of the seven spiritual works of mercy. But it is a work that has been increasingly neglected in recent years.

Indeed, many Catholics believe that Purgatory was tossed out with Vatican II, and since no one wants to believe that someone he knows has gone to Hell, we naturally tend to think that everyone who dies goes straight to Heaven.

In his homily, the priest was right to stress that Purgatory does exist and that most of those who don't go to Hell go there, rather than straight to Heaven. But the litany that he allowed to be sung undercuts that message. At the very least, treating all those who have died over the past year as if they are already in Heaven does nothing to encourage the living to pray for the dead. If the dead are in Heaven, there is no need to pray for them.

It would have been better if the priest had pointed out that the dead need our prayers and had informed the parishioners of the plenary indulgence attached to All Souls Day and the indulgence for a visit to a cemetery. It would have been good to remind them, too, that November is the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory, and that we should make a greater effort this month to pray for the dead.

Prayer for the dead is a vital part of our lives as Christians. Like prayer to the saints, it draws us into the communion of saints. And it benefits us, as well as those we pray for, because when the Holy Souls leave Purgatory, they will remember with charity those who prayed for them.

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