‘Pray for the departed’

MANILA, Philippines - All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are occasions to pray for the departed and the saints, especially those in purgatory and those who have been forgotten by the living.  

Fr. Roy Bellen of the Archdiocese of Manila’s Office of Communications said yesterday not all souls go directly to heaven when they die, as some souls have to pass through purgatory.

Bellen said part of Christian teaching is believing in purgatory, where the person who died gets purified to be worthy to enter heaven.

He added that some souls who have gone way ahead of the present generation – the great, great grandparents – are sometimes no longer included in the special intentions of their living families. This is why, he said, the living must also pray for them, especially on All Souls’ Day.

The faithful must also pray for the saints, he added, as some of them are simply forgotten because of their growing number.

“With the many saints in Rome, not all of them are remembered, and there is a day for them, so they will be remembered,” the Catholic priest said. “The same with the souls, there is a day dedicated for them… so we pray for all souls, whoever they are.”

According to Bellen, no one is sure the souls of the departed have gone up to heaven, thus, they need continuous prayers.

“We have no way of really knowing when they get there, but still we pray for them as much as they pray for us also,” he said. “Hopefully it becomes a habit for us that we pray.”

He said some of the traditions about the dead are not really for the deceased to reach heaven, but for the living to cope with their loss and feel that they have dutifully mourned the passing of their love ones.

He cited, for instance, the so-called “babang luksa,” when Filipinos wear only black and no red for a year after a close relative has passed on.

“Babang luksa” essentially means end of mourning. The word “baba” means to lower, referring to a veil customarily worn to mourn the passing of a loved one.

Same thing with the so-called “40 days,” which family and friends observe after the death of a person.

Fr. Bellen said 40 is a biblical number.

He related that a philosopher once said that death is actually an experience of the one living.

“Meaning to say that we are the ones still experiencing pain, emptiness and loss… The dead person no longer experiences these things. It is already between him and God,” the Catholic priest said.

“After 40 days, it gives you a sense of fulfillment that I have done my part, my obligations. It gives you peace, thanking God that you were able to mourn and it is now time to move on,” he added.

There can also be family reunions, he said, sometimes on the first death anniversary of a person, helping the family feel the support of their relatives.

“There might be superstitious beliefs, and they may not actually be true, but these help you. It makes you feel that you are doing something,” Bellen said. “These are ways for the family and close friends of the deceased to move forward in life.”

‘Satanic origin’

On the other hand, Fr. Alfred Viernes, assistant parish priest of St. Peter the Martyr Church in Pangasinan, urged Filipino Catholics to examine their faith on All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.

Viernes also expressed disapproval of Halloween parties which, he said, were of “pagan and satanic origin.”

“What do we see now in the cemetery?” he asked. “It’s no longer a feast of the departed but feast of the living.”

He said it’s a good thing drinking sprees are now banned inside the cemeteries, so people could focus on the needs of their departed loved ones.

“What the dead need is prayer, and the most effective prayer is the Holy Mass because it is where Jesus Christ, through His sacrifice on the cross, lifted all our prayers to God our Father,” Viernes said.

According to him, Filipinos are copycats, particularly in the holding of Halloween parties.

“It’s really unfortunate, that’s why we in the church try our best to catechize and educate our people,” the priest said.

He said shows on television or Halloween parties have demons, witches and vampire child, which are not helpful to people.

“The All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day happen only once a year, yet what is shown are frightening creatures,” the priest noted.

He said it is high time the Church taught the people through the mass something which he has been doing in his 13 years in the priesthood.

“I have been saying this, and hopefully, it will change our minds, our cultures about the real spirit of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day,” he said.

‘People not in control of everything’

Meanwhile, Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco has reminded the faithful of people’s vulnerability and the need to ask for God’s mercy. 

The Metro Manila-based prelate said yesterday the 6.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Italy last Sunday is a reminder that people do not have complete control of their lives.

The bishop said earthquakes are natural calamities that happen and affect the lives of people. It should be used as an opportunity to ask for God’s mercy, he pointed out. 

“Natural calamities are part of our lives and more important is how we react,” Ongtioco said. “These are occasions to care for others and to seek God’s guidance and mercy.” 

He said he hopes the quake would shake up people’s faith so they would have a stronger relationship with God. 

It brings the “reality that we are not in complete control of everything. There is a God who is with us and loves us,” he said.