The Catholic practice of praying for the souls of people who are in purgatory is not a medieval invention but an ancient Christian practice passed down from the Apostles down to their successors. Christians believe that souls in purgatory are already assured of their salvation (CCC 1030). However due to their imperfection due to venial sins and its consequences they are to be purified in purgatory because no defile can enter the Kingdom of God (Rev.21:27). In light of their condition Christians believe that we can help them through our intercession so that they can obtain the grace necessary for them to hasten their purification and finally enter the Kingdom of God. One of the misconceptions about this ancient Christian practice comes from the bigotry of Protestantism and that they believe that the Christian belief in purgatory is a second chance at salvation that by praying for souls in purgatory will save them. As stated souls in purgatory are already assured of their salvation we pray for them in order to hasten their purification so that they can finally enter the Kingdom of God.
In the book of Job the concept behind the practice of offering a prayer or sarcifice in behalf of another person for his purification is permitted by God.
And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Job 1:5 RSVCE
Another passage in the Old Testament which records this ancient practice can be read in the book of Maccabees (The book of Maccabees is one of the seven books of the Old Testament removed by Protestants from the Bible).
Judas rallied his army and went to the city of Adullam. As the seventh day was approaching, they purified themselves according to custom and kept the sabbath there. 39 On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his companions went to gather up the bodies of the fallen and bury them with their kindred in their ancestral tombs. 40 But under the tunic of each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to all that this was why these men had fallen. 41 They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to light the things that are hidden. 42 [a]Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen. 43 He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection in mind; 44 for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been superfluous and foolish to pray for the dead. 45 But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. 46 Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be absolved from their sin. 2 Maccaabees 12:38-46 NABRE
The book of Maccaabees and the Book of Job have two things in common concerning offering a prayer for the dead;
- There is an imperfection or sin
- A person can offer a prayer or sacrifices in atonement or purification of another person.
The Christian practice of praying for the souls in purgatory is not different from this Jewish practice in the Old Covenant. Jews and Christians share the belief in offering a prayer or sacrifice for another person’s purification whether they be alive or dead.
In the New Testament we see this belief in the heart of St. Paul’s teaching when he prayed for the dead.
May the Lord grant mercy to the family of Onesiphorus because he often gave me new heart and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 But when he came to Rome, he promptly searched for me and found me. 18 May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord[b] on that day. And you know very well the services he rendered in Ephesus. 2 Timothy 1:16-18 NABRE
In this passage St. Paul specifically prayed for Onesiphorus’ family and recounting the good deeds that he [Onesiphorus] done in the past. Then St. Paul prayed for Onesiphorus using a prayer that is intended for the dead “May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day”. Protestant Bible commentaries agreed to the fact that Onesiphorus was already dead and that St. Paul prayed for him.
On the assumption, which must be correct, that Onesiphorus was dead when the words were written, we have here an example, unique in the N.T., of Christian prayer for the departed. . . . the commendation of the dead man to the divine mercy. There is nothing surprising in Paul’s use of such a prayer, for intercession for the dead had been sanctioned in Pharisaic circles at any rate since the date of 2 Macc 12:43-45 (middle of first century B.C.?). Inscriptions in the Roman catacombs and elsewhere prove that the practice established itself among Christians from very early times. [The Expositor’s Bible, James Maurice Wilson (1836-1931), Sydney Charles Gayford (in 1905), John Henry Bernard (1860-1927), Charles John Ellicott (1816-1905), and J. N. D. Kelly (1909-1997), in A Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles (London: A&C Black, 1963, p. 171)]
This passage of praying for the dead in one of St. Paul’s epistles proves the fact that Christians did not invent praying for the in the middle ages but it was an ancient Christian practice that was passed down from the Apostles down to their successors the bishops.
The Catholic Truth Society 