Why Do We Pray for the Dead?

by Dcn. Wayland Moncrief

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “Judas Maccabee, the ruler of Israel, 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 of the dead in view.”

In the Order of Christian Funerals the Church reveals that ultimately we pray for the dead because our faith teaches us that “at the death of a Christian, whose life of faith was begun in the waters of baptism and strengthened at the Eucharistic table, the Church intercedes on behalf of the deceased because of its confident belief that death is not the end, nor does it break the bonds that we have forged in life.”

Catholics have a long tradition which emphasizes the importance, centrality, and power of prayer, particularly for those who have died. The Church explains in the Catechism that “from the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.”1,2