Wednesday, November 2, 2011

November 2

Colin,

I was simply going to acknowledge the anniversaries of your birth and death (10 months and 8 months, respectively), but in thinking about going to mass for All Souls' Day this evening, I decided to read more about the true meaning of the mass. Basically it is about helping those in Purgatory attain "Beatific Vision" in order to get into Heaven...in other words, you still have sins that need to be cleansed. WTF?!? You died at two months old! What sins do you have that need to be cleansed? For anyone believing in Heaven, how in the world can they think that an innocent little soul would not get a free pass? Below is a paragraph from the page to which Daddy linked, better describing this seemingly absurd religious loophole for not being quite "cleansed" enough to get into Heaven. 

"Along with the Feast of All Saints developed the Feast of All Souls. The Church has consistently encouraged the offering of prayers and Mass for the souls of the faithful departed in Purgatory. At the time of their death, these souls are not perfectly cleansed of venial sin or have not atoned for past transgressions, and thereby are deprived of the Beatific Vision. The faithful on earth can assist these souls in Purgatory in attaining the Beatific Vision through their prayers, good works and the offering of Mass."

Maybe Purgatory is for people like your Daddy who struggle with formalized religion (in part due to this kind of nonsense) yet try to live a good life...but not for innocent little souls who barely had a chance at life, let alone committing any sins worthy of hanging out in limbo until enough prayers are said or enough masses are offered so that God hands you the magic keys to the castle.

Maybe next time you Daddy will just stick to the simple acknowledgement of the second day of the month for all the positive and negative emotions it evokes. It is probably a safer and saner path.

I love you!
Daddy

1 comment:

  1. This is one of those Catholic Teachings that I have never liked or believed it. I can remember when my Nana died, the prayer card said something like "for every prayer said 10 years is taken off in purgatory" I couldn't understand, how my Nana that had raised 7 kids, taught school and had been sick for some many years, couldn't go straight into Heaven! If any one had ever even SUGGESTED that my Alexander spent even a second in purgatory, I am sure I would have smacked them (13 months out of his 21 months of life fighting cancer made up for any "sins" he may have committed!!)

    Keep the Faith and know that you boy was welcomed straight into the arms of God!

    Nancy - mom to Angel Alexander the Great
    http://thecookiegal.wordpress.com/

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