ASK FATHER: “Is it proper to pray for the repose of souls who died before the Resurrection and the harrowing of Hell?”

From a reader…

QUAERITUR:

Given it is near All Souls Day, is it proper to pray for the repose of souls who died before the Resurrection and the harrowing of Hell?

The short answer is, yes, it is permissible to pray for those who died before the Resurrection of Christ, but we should make some important distinctions.

Before Christ’s redemptive Death and Resurrection, the souls of the just who died in God’s friendship could not yet enter Heaven. They awaited the Redeemer in what tradition calls the limbus Patrum, the Limbo of the Fathers, or else the Bosom of Abraham (Luke 16:22).

When Christ descended ad inferos, into the realm of the dead, He liberated these righteous souls and opened Heaven to them. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains in par. 633:

It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham’s bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell.

Thus, Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets, and the other righteous figures of the Old Testament who were among those liberated by Christ have already attained their heavenly reward. They do not need our prayers. Indeed, we can ask their intercession.   As a matter of fact, these great figures of the Old Testament are counted among the saints and they have their own feast days in the Roman Martyrology‘s calendar.

That said, those who died in the state of mortal sin and definitive separation from God cannot benefit from our prayers, whether they died before or after Christ. Their judgment is settled.

This leads to another point, related to the first.

What about the countless people who died before Christ whose eternal destiny is unknown to us?

The saving merits of Christ’s Sacrifice extend to the righteous of every age, including those who lived before the Incarnation. God is eternal, and His providence encompasses all human history.  We should commend them to God’s mercy.

Another distinction is helpful.

We should distinguish a) praying that God’s mercy was extended to someone at his particular judgment from b) praying for the release of someone who is presently undergoing purification in the state called Purgatory.  We have no reason to suppose that the righteous who were liberated by Christ at His descent remain in the Limbo of the Fathers, or that prayers offered today could change the definitive judgment of those who were lost.  Again, our prayers cannot help a soul separated from God through mortal sin.

Hence, although there is nothing improper about commending the ancient, pre-Resurrection dead to God’s mercy, the ordinary purpose of our prayers for the faithful departed, especially on All Souls’ Day and the days that follow, is to assist souls presently undergoing purification in Purgatory. They can benefit from our suffrages, especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  It is a work of mercy to pray for the dead and to have Masses said for them when possible.  Moreover, from 1-8 November, we can gain plenary indulgences for the Poor Souls.

To sum up, pray for the unknown dead of antiquity if you wish, entrusting them to God’s eternal mercy. However, keep in mind that the holy patriarchs and prophets, as well as the righteous who died in God’s friendship, whom Christ led forth during His glorious descent are already numbered among the blessed in Heaven.

November is the traditional month when we pay special attention to prayers for the so-called Poor Souls. When we pray “Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine” we perform a work of mercy for souls who can benefit from our charity.

We should be generous with those prayers. They may have no one else to pray for them.  I’m sure that you hope, as do I fervently, that someone will pray for you.