A question I was asked...

[Spotty]

Hey all,

Well I was asked a question by a moderator over at a certain evangelical messageboard. She wants to understand the answer to the following:

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Well my question...it is not so much to learn but in order to understand.

Some of my close family are catholic......my moms sister became catholic many years ago when she married, and her children were raised in the catholic faith.

My question is because it is puzzling to me and a real concern.... my 90 year old aunt is a widow and 18mths ago lost her daughter.....now every 6 months the priest comes around to collect from her a cheque and this is to pay for prayers to be said for her husband..her son in law ... her daughter and my dad...... each time someone else has died the cost has gone up.

My question is...why does this happen, she says she does not know they just tell her how much and she gives it to them.............Why even pray for them they are long long gone. This greatly concerns me and I cannot say anything to my aunt because she is old and because I am not even sure where she stands with the Lord. This has gone on for many years now.

Thanks for listening to me

God Bless

Lesley

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As I am going out of town for a couple days, I thought I would run it by you all first for some help. Thanks a lot, everyone!!! God Bless!

-Spotty

 

[nyj]

My question is because it is puzzling to me and a real concern.... my 90 year old aunt is a widow and 18mths ago lost her daughter.....now every 6 months the priest comes around to collect from her a cheque and this is to pay for prayers to be said for her husband..her son in law ... her daughter and my dad...... each time someone else has died the cost has gone up.

My question is...why does this happen, she says she does not know they just tell her how much and she gives it to them.............

The priest probably comes around per his/her aunts request, as she wishes to have these Masses said in their honor. The check is a stipend that is paid for saying the Masses for the dead (specifically those in her family that have died and whom she wishes to have Masses said for). The stipend is voluntary, it is not mandatory. If the aunt could not pay, the Church would neither badger her into coming up with the money or refuse to say those Masses for her. The average suggested stipend is between $5 and $10 per Mass. To sound a bit technical, this stipend helps pay for the "over head" costs of running the parish. Even the priest needs to be able to put clothes on his back, food in his mouth and gas into his car. The parish needs to be heated so the faithful don't freeze in the winter time, cooled so the faithful don't cook in the summer time, maintained so the roof doesn't fall down on everyones heads.

Why even pray for them they are long long gone.

God is not bothered by such things as time. I'll allow someone else to elaborate on this.

 

[Michelina]

The priest is probably collecting the Mass stipends for Masses he says for the repose of the souls of the aunt's loved ones.

 

[thereselittleflower]

Why we pray for the dead has to do with the belief that our prayers affect the "time" that souls spend in purgatory, and that masses said for her will shorten her time and allow her to move into the fullness of the beautific vision, being before the throne of God completely pure sooner than if she was without those prayers . .


Peace in Him!

 

[Bastoune]

Ask her too about "baptising for the dead" (1 Cor. 15:29-30)

2 Tim. 1:16-18 - Onesiphorus is dead but Paul asks for mercy on him. But there is no need for mercy in heaven, and there is no mercy given in hell. Where is Onesiphorus? He is in purgatory.

www.scripturecatholic.com also states:

Cor. 3:10-15 - works are judged after death and tested by fire. Some works are lost, but the person is still saved. Paul is referring to the state of purgation called purgatory. The venial sins (bad works) that were committed are burned up after death, but the person is still brought to salvation. This state after death cannot be heaven (no one with venial sins is present) or hell (there is no forgiveness and salvation).

1 Cor. 3:15 - Paul says though he will be saved, "but only" through fire. The phrase "but only" in the Greek is "houtos" which means "in the same manner." This means that man is both rewarded and saved by fire.

1 Cor. 3:15 - when Paul teaches that those whose work is burned up will suffer loss, the phrase for "suffer loss" in the Greek is "zemiothesetai." The root word is "zemioo" which also refers to punishment. This means that there is an expiation of temporal punishment after our death, which cannot mean either heaven (no need for it) or hell (expiation no longer exists).

1 Cor. 3:13 - when Paul writes about God revealing the quality of each man's work by fire and purifying him, this purification relates to his sins (not just his good works). Protestants, in attempting to disprove the reality of purgatory, argue that Paul was only writing about rewarding good works, and not punishing sins (because punishing and purifying a man from sins would be admitting that there is a purgatory).

1 Cor. 3:17 - but this verse proves that the purgation after death deals with punishing sin. That is, destroying God's temple is a bad work, which is a mortal sin, which leads to death.

 

[Spotty]

Thanks everyone! I'll try to formulatethose into a coherent response and send it to her later. You guys are awesome!

-Spotty