Prayers for the Dead and for Suffering Spirits

18. Suffering spirits beg for prayers. Prayer is useful to them because when they see that they are being remembered, they feel less forsaken and less unhappy. However, prayer has a more direct action on them: it rebuilds their courage and incites them with the desire to uplift themselves through repentance and reparation, and it can divert them from thoughts of evil. In this sense, it may not only alleviate, but shorten their sufferings. (See Heaven and Hell, pt. 2: Examples)

19. Some people do not believe in prayers for the dead, because in their belief system there are only two alternatives for the soul: to be saved or to be condemned to eternal punishment; and  in  either case prayer is useless. Without  discussing the value of such a belief, let us admit for a moment the reality of eternal and unpardonable punishment, and that  our prayers

are powerless to put an end to it. We would ask: if such is the case, is it logical, charitable and Christian to refuse prayer for the reprobate? As powerless as such prayers may be to deliver them, are they not for them a demonstration of pity that might soften their suffering? On earth, when individuals  receive a life sentence, even if they have no hope of having it commuted, is a charitable person prohibited from helping to alleviate the weight of their punishment? When someone is beset with an incurable disease because there is no hope for a cure, must he or she be abandoned without any relief? Imagine that, among the reprobate, there might be a person who used to be dear to you, maybe a friend, a father, a mother or a son, and although, according to you, they could not expect any mercy, would you refuse them a glass of water to quench their thirst? A balm to dress their wounds? Would you not do for them what you would do for a prisoner? Would you not give them a show of love, a consolation? If not, that would not be Christian. A belief that hardens the heart cannot ally itself with the belief in a God who places love for one’s neighbor at the head of the list of duties.

The fact that punishment is not eternal does not imply a denial of temporary punishment, because God, out of divine justice, cannot mix good and evil. Thus, to deny the effectiveness of prayer in  this case would be to  deny the  effectiveness  of consolation, encouragement and good counsel. It would be to deny the strength that one derives from the moral assistance of those who wish us well.

20.  Others  base their  opinion  on  a more deceptively attractive reason: the  immutability  of  the  divine  decrees. God, they say, cannot change his decisions at the request of his creatures; otherwise, nothing would be stable in the world. Therefore, man  cannot ask God  for anything; he can only submit to and worship him.

In  this  idea  there  is  an  erroneous application of  the immutability of  divine law, or  rather,  ignorance of  the  law concerning future punishment. This law has been revealed by the Spirits of the Lord now that humans are mature enough to understand what, within faith, is in conformance with or contrary to the divine attributes.

According to  the  dogma  of  the  absolute eternality of punishment, the remorse and repentance of the blameworthy are not taken into account. For them, all desire to better themselves is superfluous, for they are condemned to remain forever in evil. If they are sentenced for a determined period of time, their punishment will end when that time expires; but who is to say that by then they will have better sentiments? Who is to say that, based on the example of many condemned on earth, when they get out of prison they will not be as evil as before? In the former instance, it would be to keep under the pain of punishment those who return to the good; in the latter, it would be to pardon those who remained blameworthy. The law of God is more foresightful than that. Always just, equitable and merciful, it does not set any length on the punishment, whatever it may be; and it may be summarized  as follows:

21. “Humans always bear the consequences of their wrongs. There is not one infraction of God’s law that does not entail punishment.

“The severity of the punishment is proportional to  the gravity of the wrong.

“The duration of the punishment for any wrong is not set and is dependent  on the repentance of the guilty and his or her return to the good. The punishment lasts as long as the obstinacy in evil; it would be everlasting if the obstinacy were everlasting; it will be of short duration if repentance is not long in coming.

“Once the guilty beg for mercy, God hears them and sends them hope. However, simple regret for the evil committed is not enough; reparation  is required. That is why the guilty are submitted to new trials in which always by the use of their will, they can do good in order to repair the evil they have committed.

“Consequently, humans are always the arbiters of their own fate; they can shorten their punishment or prolong it indefinitely. Their happiness or unhappiness depends on their willingness to do good.”

Such is the law, an immutable law in conformance with the goodness and justice of God.

The guilty and unhappy spirit can thus always save itself: the law of God tells it under what conditions it may do so. What this spirit most often lacks is willingness, strength and courage. If, by our prayers, we inspire this willingness in it; if we uplift and encourage it; if, by our counsels, we give it the enlightenment it lacks, then instead of asking God to depart from the divine law, we become the instruments for carrying out God’s law of love and charity, in which God permits us to participate so that we might give proof of our own charity.