The many graces of praying for the dead

By Christina Gray

On All Saints Day on Nov. 1, Catholics recognize the holy men and women who lived, died and have already entered into eternal glory in heaven. One day later, on Nov. 2,  we remember and pray for the souls in purgatory on All Souls Day.

While November is traditionally a month of remembrance, praying for the dead needn’t be, even shouldn’t be, limited to once a year, according to the rector of the Shrine of Montligeon in rural Normandy, France. At Montligeon, Mass is celebrated daily for the souls in purgatory.

“When we pray for the dead, we are expressing our love for them,” Father Paul Denizot, CSM, told Catholic San Francisco. He is the face and voice of the shrine, which is described at montligeon.org as the “world center of prayer for the dead.”

“It is an ‘act of love’ to pray that the purification process of purgatory may come to completion in our loved ones and for God to welcome them into heaven,” he said. “Yes, our prayers for the deceased help remember and honor their memory.” But they also have a “prescriptive” power.

In one of the principal dogmatic constitutions of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI wrote in 1964’s “Lumen Gentium” (Light of the Nations) that “death does not sever the relationship between the living and the dead.”

Pope Benedict XVI also wrote in his 2007 encyclical letter, “Spe salvi” (Saved in Hope), that “the souls of the departed can obtain solace and refreshment from the Eucharist, prayer and almsgiving.”

“The belief that love can reach into the afterlife, that reciprocal giving and receiving is possible, in which our affection for one another continues beyond the limits of death — this has been a fundamental conviction of Christianity throughout the ages, and it remains a source of comfort today,” he wrote.

Our Lady of Montligeon

The Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Montligeon is dedicated to Our Lady of Montligeon. She is also known as Our Lady of the deliverance of the poor souls, or Our Lady of Deliverance.

The shrine was founded by a local French priest, Father Paul-Joseph Buguet (1843-1918) in 1876. After a series of personal losses, he set out to advocate for the souls in purgatory and to assist the bereaved. Today the shrine is a pilgrimage destination for the mourning and facilitates a worldwide fraternity of prayer for the concern of souls in purgatory.

People enrolled in the Fraternity of Montligeon are petitioned for during the shrine’s daily prayers, particularly in the daily Mass.

“Here, we are reminded that we, the living, can do something for our deceased,” said Father Denizot. “It is never too late, never, to say thank you or ask for their forgiveness and thus help them in their state of purification after death.”

“Purgatory is good news”

According to Father Denizot, in some parts of the developed world including the U.S. and much of Western Europe, the growth of secularism means “people don’t like to talk about death or the limitations of the human being.”

When it comes to the relationship between the living and the dead, some people believe it is “definitely finished” at death.

“If you are on that page, you have to think there is no future for love,” he said.

The teaching on purgatory in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 1030-1032) consists of three main points: (1) That there is a purification after death for those who die in the state of grace but whose love is not perfectly ordered to God; (2) That the purification process can be uncomfortable; and (3) That God assists us in our purification in response to the actions of the living.

“I understand a lot of people have a problem with purgatory,” said Father Denizot. The 19th century was a “dark period of time” with nightmarish depictions in artwork and literature representing nothing short of an image of purgatory as “hell-lite.”

These kinds of representations can be “toxic for the faith,” he said. “Here, we try to give a Catholic comprehension about purgatory. Purgatory is good news. When the souls are in purgatory, they are in God’s love, and God’s love cannot be dark. It is a cure from sin, to prepare us for heaven. That’s the representation we claim – a cure of the soul.”

Will even “good” Catholics face purgatory?

“If I died today, will I go straight to heaven?” Father Denizot asked. “I do not think so. I have some hate in my heart, even if I’m Catholic or a priest. I have to be purified of that.”

Extending forgiveness to a deceased person or asking them to forgive us can be an important exchange between the living and the dead, according to Father Denizot.

Purgatory teaches us that we need others, he said.

“We cannot be saved by our own works or acts of charity,” he said. “We need the prayers of others.”

How to pray for the dead

The Shrine of Our Lady of Montligeon is the only shrine in the world devoted to praying for the dead. It is not a mere pilgrimage destination, according to Father Denizot, but is also the seat of a vast “spiritual fraternity” of prayer for the dead.  Souls enrolled in the fraternity are petitioned for at the shrine’s daily Mass. The shrine website also offers a treasury of Catholic resources on death and dying, funerals and burial, mourning, purgatory, and how to pray for the dead. A special resource called the Way of Consolation is available for loved ones of children who died before birth.

Learn more about the Shrine of Our Lady of Montligeon by visiting visit montligeon.org.

Christina Gray is the lead writer for Catholic San Francisco magazine.