Did you know the dead are actually alive?
Today’s Lenten Lesson: Lesson 30: The Eucharistic Prayer (5) Memento of the Dead
Did you know that the dead are actually alive?
At every Mass, the Church prays for the living and the dead. Just because a person has died does not mean he is no longer part of the living Church. And the Church always remembers the souls of the faithful departed. The body dies, but the soul lives forever. At the end of the world, the souls will be reunited with their bodies.
So why do we pray for the ‘faithful departed?’ Because if they are still in purgatory, they need our prayers. They cannot pray for themselves, but we can pray for them and we can apply the grace and fruits of the Mass to their souls for their purification.
It is very helpful to pray for the dead by name. For that reason, the rubrics state: “For N. and N.” Who should we pray for?
Family and friends who have died, and then especially for all those who have died anywhere or at anytime who have no one to pray for them.
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