| Such a view cannot include the concept of saints. If
we accept this view it would follow that there is nobody in heaven
except God – not the prophets, not the apostles or evangelists,
not the saints – because till the second coming or the day of
resurrection when the bodies are resurrected the souls are also dead
or decaying. But I believe that St. Therese of Lissiux or mother Theresa
of Culcatta and all the saints ant the souls of those departed in
grace are now in heaven, with God, in their glorified bodies similar
to the bodies of angels as Jesus said. They do not have to wait for
a resurrection of the body to regain their full individuality. One
who believes in the immortality of the soul cannot speak of the unity
of body and soul. |
| Praying for the dead |
| “We know that our mother is in heaven. Why should
we pray for her? Anyway, she had been judged at her death. How is
any amount of prayer now or in the future going to make any difference?”
These questions came from the anguished hearts of my children while
we were mourning Ammini’s death. I said, “If you are sure
that she is in heaven now, if she was such a good person, it could
very well be, at least partly, due to God’s blessings on her
in response to the sacrifices and prayers that you offer now and are
going to do in the future. For, the Lord is, unlike us, above the
limitations of time. He could hear fifty years ago the prayers you
and your children are ever going to make.” |
| I often used to wonder how and why the good Lord had
been so kind to me and given me so many blessings. The only reason
I can offer for this abundance of mercy is that they are the result
of the prayers my children and grand children, my other relations
and friends shall be offering on my behalf even after I have left
this world. |
| Another reason for going to the graveside of a close
and dear one is to communicate. Even as we communicate with God in
spirit during prayer we can very well communicate with the spirit
of the deceased. This is not clairvoyance or black magic, just letting
him or her know that you miss him or her and letting that person know
that he/she is still very much in your thoughts. Being pure spirits
they will surely get these messages and shall be very pleased and
even intercede for you before the Lord. |
| This brings us to another dimension of our relationship
with the deceased. We could pray to them or through them even as we
pray for them. Even if my father, mother or wife are not canonized
by the church, if I feel that they are close to God in the next life
as a result of the good lives they lived, I could very well pray to
them even as I pray to the saints. |
| Yet another aspect of this prayer for the dead is to
thank the Lord for giving us the privilege of knowing and/or living
with this person. |
