Our prayers assist the departed in their journeys
The author of this article, THERESE MILLS, is a Sister with Missionaries of God’s Love (MGL) and is currently based out of Canberra.
When I was a young girl my very holy grandmother taught me that the consecration and the moment we receive Jesus in the Eucharist was a special time to pray for those you love.
Since then I have done that at every celebration of the Eucharist.
Several years ago, I received the dreaded call from a family member to say that my brother (Christopher) who was very close to me in age and in relationship was going to be put on life support due to a car accident.
I soon learned that he had suffered a brain aneurism, causing a massive bleed whilst he was driving.
Christopher was on life support for one week and unfortunately didn’t pull through. Eight months after this nightmare my beautiful mother lost her battle with multiple sclerosis, that very same day my other grandmother also passed away.
Not long after they passed away, I remember the first time I came to my normal moment of praying for those I love after communion, especially for my mum and brother who were my best friends.
It was different now, how do I pray for them now? To be honest, I didn’t know what or how to pray for them. Then I recalled my mum’s constant reminder, ‘Therese don’t forget to pray for me when I go, pray that I will meet our Lord face to face – don’t stop praying’. So, I just kept praying for them knowing that was more essential than how I prayed.
Our prayers
Praying for the dead was one of Mum’s things, she would often remind me of how good it is for us to pray for the souls in purgatory to be purified to receive God’s loving embrace in heaven.
I would always tell mum that she won’t need my prayers and that she would be welcomed instantly in heaven and that she ought to pray for me.
Now I reckon it’s a two-way prayer situation. They get our prayers, but we also get their prayers. I am sure that my mum, brother, grandmothers and all my loved ones are busy praying for me, as I am for them.
In this time of November, let us remember that our prayers can be powerful in assisting the souls of our loved ones in their journey to eternal life, and in seeing Jesus face to face.
Source: Theresa Mills mgl
While I do not doubt that praying for our dead relatives is good for us, there is more than enough research now about near death and other such experiences to convince me that Purgatory does not exist. No one who has come back from this has reported anything like it. All say they experience a passing through light towards God and they are aware of wrong in their lives but experience no judgment, just love.