Offering Holy Masses for the dead:

From the beginning the Church has honoured the memory of the faithful dead who have died in God’s grace and friendship but are still imperfectly purified to enter into heaven. These are the holy souls in Purgatory for whom the Church offers prayers in suffrage for them, so that thus purified, the souls may attain the beatific vision of God. Among all the prayers offered for the departed souls, the most powerful is the celebration of the Holy Mass because it is the memorial of Christ’s Sacrifice for us. During Holy Mass when the priest re-presents the Sacrifice of the Cross, our prayers are united with Jesus’ prayers of agony as He sacrifices Himself for us thereby making it of greater value than all our other prayers. Hence when we pray for our deceased loved ones during Holy Mass, our prayers are more powerful and effective.

We read about this in Para 1368 of Catechism of the Catholic Church “The Church which is the Body of Christ participates in the offering of her Head....She unites herself to his intercession with the Father for all men. In the Eucharist the sacrifice of Christ becomes also the sacrifice of the members of his Body. The lives of the faithful, their praise, sufferings, prayer and work are united with those of Christ and with his total offering; and so acquire a new value.”

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem wrote the following on praying for the departed souls during Holy Mass “Then, we pray for the holy fathers and bishops who have fallen asleep, and in general for all who have fallen asleep before us, in the belief that it is a great benefit to the souls on whose behalf the supplication is offered, while the holy and tremendous Victim is present....By offering to God our supplications for those who have fallen asleep, if they have sinned, we offer Christ sacrificed for the sins of all, and so render favourable, for them and for us, the God who loves man.” Saint Monica before her death is believed to have said to her sons St. Augustine and his brother “Put this body anywhere! Dont trouble yourselves about it! I simply ask you to remember me at the Lord’s altar wherever you are.” St. John Bosco also wrote “the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is what benefits the poor souls in Purgatory; infact it is the most effective means of relieving those souls in their sufferings, of shortening the time of their exile and of bringing them sooner into the blessed kingdom.”

The immense value of offering the Holy Mass for the dead was also revealed by St. Gregory the Great who insituted the 'Gregorian Mass" which are Holy Masses offered for 30 consecutive days for a departed soul. There is an incident related to the institution of this practice which is narrated in his book named ‘Dialogues’. The incident took place in his monastery at St. Andrew when St. Gregory was the Abbott of the monastery. There was a certain monk called Justus, skilled in medicine, who fell seriously ill. When he realised he would soon die, he confessed to one of the Brothers, Copiosus that he had hidden three gold pieces. This was a serious error against the rules of monastic life and the matter was reported to St. Gregory. In order to reinforce the discipline of the monastery and for the benefit of the soul of Justus, St. Gregory forbade all the brethren of the monastery from attending to Justus. When he would call for them, they would not come to his aid and it was pointed out to him why. Justus died in solitude, repenting for his sins. His body was not buried in the usual place reserved for the deceased of the monastery, instead it was buried in a dump heap and before earth was put on him, the monks cast the three gold pieces onto his body saying “Thy money go with thee to perdition!”

Several days later St. Gregory began to feel compassion for the soul of Justus and he summoned Pretiosus the Prior and told him sorrowfully: “Our brother is a long time dead, and is suffering in fire; we ought to show some charity to him, and so far as we can to help him, that he may be released. Go therefore and see that the Holy Sacrifice is offered for him for 30 days, starting from today, and let not a single day pass by without the saving Host being immolated for his absolution." St. Gregory writes “engaged over other things, we did not count the days as they passed, but one night the deceased monk Justus appeared to his friend Copiosus in a vision. Upon seeing Justus, he questioned him, saying, “What is it, brother? How fare you?” Justus replied, “Up to this I have fared badly, but now, indeed, I am happy, for this day I am received into the Communion of Saints.”

When Copiosus went to the monastery and reported this, they counted the days and found that it was exactly the 30th day since the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass had begun to be offered. Thus began the practice of offering 30 Masses for the dead called the ‘Gregorian Mass’.

Considering the merits that our prayers can do for the holy souls in Purgatory, let us offer as many Masses for our departed loved ones and also remember all the souls in Purgatory in every Mass that we participate in.