DEAD, PRAYERS FOR THE

This article surveys briefly the history of prayers for the dead and then gives the theological foundation underlying this practice.

History. The earliest mention of prayers for the dead in the Judaeo-Christian tradition is found in 2 Mc 12.39–45. After a battle in 163 b.c., Judas Maccabee, the Jewish leader, directed that the bodies of the slain Jews be gathered from the battlefield for burial. They found under the tunic of each of the fallen men a valuable amulet taken as booty from a pagan temple at Jamnia. This was in violation of the prescription of Dt 7.25 that such objects should be destroyed by fire. Judas and his men at once besought God in prayer that He would forgive the sin of these men, who had fought for His cause. Moreover, Judas took up a collection to send to Jerusalem for a sacrifice of expiation for sin on behalf of the dead. The inspired author praises the action of Judas as based on faith in the resurrection of the dead. The sin of these fallen men now stood between them and a share in that resurrection. The prayer and sacrifice offered by the living could serve to free the dead from the condition brought on by their offense.

The promptness with which they undertook to pray for these men, the generous collection taken up by Judas from his whole army, the presumed acceptance of the priests at Jerusalem, the praise of the inspired writer—all these point to the fact that this was not an innovation but an accepted part of Jewish religious life at this time.

The only passage in the New Testament that can be adduced as evidence of prayers for the dead is Paul's prayer for Onesiphorus in 2 Tm 1.18: "May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day." From the context it seems clear that Onesiphorus is dead and the Apostle begs God's mercy on him.

Patristic Period. Although the references to liturgical practice that have survived from the subapostolic period (e.g., in the Didache and Clement's Letter to the Corinthians ) contain no indication of prayers for the dead, the custom of Christians praying for their departed in the 2nd century is clear from inscriptions on tombs, notably in the Roman catacombs. Likewise, the epitaph of abercius (d. c. 180), Bishop of Hieropolis in Phrygia, concludes by asking those who understand and agree with it to pray for him (cf. H. Leclercq, Dictionnaire d'éologie chrétienne et de liturgie, 1:68–75).

The earliest mention of prayers for the dead in public Christian worship is found in Tertullian in 211 (Coron. 3.3; Corp Christ 2:1043). He speaks of Christians observing the anniversary day of their departed, and he expresses himself as if he were describing a long-standing custom and not something newly introduced (cf. also Monog. 10.4; Corp Christ 2:1243). The Canons of Hippolytus [33.1.169; H. Achelis, Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur 6.4 (Leipzig 1891) 106], which almost certainly reflect 3rd-century usage, explicitly mention prayers for the dead in the celebration of the Eucharist. Arnobius (Nat. 4.36; Corpus scriptorum ecclesiasticorum latinorum 4:171) toward the end of the 3rd century describes how peace and pardon are asked for all in Christian assemblies, both for those still living and for those freed from the bond of the body.

By the 4th century the evidence is universal and abundant. A few examples may suffice. Eusebius recounts (Life of Constantine 4.71; Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte 7:147) how after the death of Constantine in 337 the Emperor's body was placed before the altar and the people together with the priests prayed for his soul. St. Cyril of Jerusalem in a catechetical discourse in 348 [Catech. 23 (Mystag. 5) 9–10; Florilegium Patristicum 7.2:102–103] told the newly baptized that in the Eucharistic sacrifice, after the living are prayed for, the dead are also remembered. He then explained how Christ, offered in sacrifice on behalf of sinners living and dead, will be of great value before the merciful God. St. Epiphanius (c. 375) defends the usefulness of prayers for the dead against Aerius, a presbyter of Pontus (Panarion 75.7.1–5; Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte 37:338–339). St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, writing in 379 about the death of his brother, refers to the solemn anniversary celebration of the Eucharist for the departed [Exc. Sat. 1.80; 2.5 (Patrologia Latina 16:1315–16)]. St. John Chrysostom in the last decade of the 4th century regards the practice of praying for the dead, especially in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and of almsgiving to implore the divine mercy for the departed as established by the Apostles (Home. 3 in Phil. 4; Field 5.37).

St. Augustine in the first part of the 5th century resumes the whole of the previous tradition. He cites the testimony of 2 Mc 12.43 in favor of prayers for the dead, but appeals even more strongly to the custom of the Church (Cur. mort. 1.3). He stresses the fact that prayers for the dead will benefit only those who have so lived as to be able to receive benefit from them (Enchir. 110; Civ. 21; 24.2). Prayer in general, but especially the Holy Sacrifice, and almsgiving are of help to the departed (Serm. 172.2.2).

Succeeding Centuries. The same custom was received and confirmed in the times subsequent, but it was not until the 13th century that this became the object of a solemn magisterial pronouncement in an ecumenical council, Lyons II (1274), when there was question of a reunion with the Greek church. Then, in connection with the doctrine on purgatory, it was declared that souls undergoing purification after death could be assisted by the suffrages (i.e., the intercessory prayers) of the living faithful, namely, by Masses, almsgiving, prayers in general, and other devout practices according to the custom of the Church (H. Denzinger, Enchiridion symbolorum 856). The matter was repeated in almost identical language at another Council of reunion, Florence (1439), in the Decree for the Greeks (ibid. 1304).

With the development of the doctrine on indul gences a new element was added to the assistance the living could provide for the dead. In 1476 Pope Sixtus IV granted the first plenary indulgence applicable to the souls in purgatory (ibid. 1398). Since this caused some misunderstanding, the following year he issued a document explaining that this indulgence was of avail to the departed in the same way as other prayers and almsgiving, though in a higher degree (ibid. 1407). Against doubts raised by the reformers, the Council of Trent defined that "purgatory exists and that the souls detained there are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but especially by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar" (Decree on Purgatory, Dec. 3, 1563; Enchiridion symbolorum 1820). The Sacred Congregation of Indulgences in 1840 made clear an important distinction between an indulgence as it is offered to God as a suffrage by the Church and its actual effect for the soul for whom it is offered (ibid.2750). What is offered to God in the case of a plenary indulgence is fully sufficient to free the soul at once from purgatory, but what is actually effected will depend on the acceptance and the good pleasure of God.

Theological Foundations. The practice of praying for the dead rests upon two principal foundations. The proximate foundation is the communion of saints. The remote foundation is the meaning of creaturely activity within the plan of God.

Communion of Saints. Pope Leo XIII (encycl. Mirae caritatis, May 28, 1902; Enchiridion symbolorum 3363) explained in the following way the first of these foundations:

The grace of mutual love among the living, strengthened and increased by the Sacrament of the Eucharist, flows, especially by virtue of the Sacrifice [of the Mass], to all who belong to the communion of saints. For the communion of saints is simply…the mutual sharing of help, atonement, prayers, and benefits among the faithful, those already in the heavenly fatherland, those consigned to the purifying fire, and those still making their pilgrim way here on earth. These all form together one city, whose head is Christ, and whose vital principle is love. Faith teaches that although the august Sacrifice can be offered to God alone, it can nevertheless be celebrated in honor of the saints now reigning in heaven with God, who has crowned them, to obtain their intercession for us, and also, according to apostolic tradition, to wash away the stains of those brethren who died in the Lord but without yet being wholly purified.

This communion of saints is rooted in the creative intention of God. For He intends to communicate His goodness not to many isolated individual beings unrelated to one another in any significant way, but to one family that He establishes in Christ, His Son. He intends to achieve a social result: the heavenly Jerusalem, the City of God, the glorified Body of Christ. And men's acceptance of God's self-giving love is fundamentally their willingness to be members of this society. Whatever anyone in this communion freely and lovingly does is not simply his own possession and achievement, but belongs to the whole society, and to each within it according to his capacity to receive.

Creaturely Activity in the Plan of God. The second or remote foundation of prayers for the dead concerns the meaning of creaturely activity within the plan of God. God does not produce the heavenly Jerusalem by a simple Fiat! (Let it be made!), but through the efforts and toil of His creatures, so that it is their city as well as His. God never acts in the world as if the actions of creatures counted for nothing.

However, He does at times produce extraordinary results that are like a new creation, as when He first justifies a sinner in Baptism. In this case God in an instant fits a soul for immediate entrance into heaven, provided only it is willing and accepts His grace in faith. One who dies directly after Baptism goes at once to heaven. Yet even here God is not acting without taking created activity into account. For this result is due to the merits of Christ, to His loving, free obedience unto death whereby He passed to glory. The sinner in Baptism is buried with Christ in death and rises to a new life in Him (cf. Rom 6.4).

But once a person has been incorporated into Christ he must bear the responsibility for his actions in his new condition, whether these be good or bad (see incorpora tion in christ). The Church has always recognized that the justification of one who sins grievously after Baptism does not necessarily fit him for immediate entrance into heaven. His own deeds of life in the Spirit must put to death the sinful deeds of the flesh. He must act in the power of Christ to destroy the evil effects of his sin and to purify himself through works of penance, a task that may still remain to he done even after the actual guilt of sin is removed and he is once more restored to God's friendship. To suppose that God deals otherwise with man is to regard a man's acts as ultimately irrelevant. It is to affirm that God alone does everything and creatures even under divine grace do nothing. One who dies in the friendship of God but has not done full penance for the sins he has committed (unless he dies immediately after Baptism) is still in some sense bound by his sin. Purification remains to be done. God could effect this in an instant without any punishment being undergone by the sinner, as He does for the newly baptized. But this would be to disregard the intrinsic meaning of created action. Or He can exact full punishment so that the reshaping of the created will and of its disposition within the harmony of the divine plan be experienced as something painful, something against the selfishness of the will that committed sin.

But there is a third possibility that flows from the communion of saints. God can look upon the prayers, the almsgiving, the penances, and other good works done by the living, especially as united in worship to Christ's sacrifice in the Mass and offered on behalf of the departed, and in view of this remit their debt of punishment in whole or in part. For this both safeguards the meaning of created activity and recognizes the bond of union that joins all together in the love of Christ. It should be noted that it is more a work of the pilgrim Church than of the triumphant Church to intercede on behalf of the departed, for the saints in heaven are no longer in a position to merit or to do deeds of penance. Still their prayers also are no doubt of great assistance to those in purgatory.

See Also: intercession; poor souls; saints, intercession of.

Bibliography: a. michel, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al., 15 v. (Paris 1903–50; Tables générales 1951–) 13.1:1197–98, 1204–12,123037, 1301–10. a. j. maclean, j. hastings, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, 13v. (Edinburgh 1908–27) 10:209b–213b. c. v. heris, "Théologie des suffrages pour les morts," Maison-Dieu 44 (1955) 58–67. h. rondet, "La Prière pour les morts," in Le Purgatoire profond mystère (Paris 1957) 48–56. y. m. j. congar, "Le Purgatoire," in Le Mystère de la mort et sa célébration (Lex Orandi 12; Paris 1956) 279–336. b. bartmann, Purgatory (London 1936) 160–182. m. jugie, Purgatory and the Means to Avoid It, tr. m. g. carroll (Westminster, Md. 1949) 88–103. e. o'brien, "The Scriptural Proof for the Existence of Purgatory from 2 Mac. 12:43–45," Sciences ecclésiastiques 2 (1949) 80–108.

[j. h. wright]