Will Anyone Pray for Me When I Die?

White vestments. A joyful atmosphere. A peppy, humorous eulogy in place of a homily.

Such observations seem to far too common at funeral Masses these days, sadly.

Do people even realize why a Requiem Mass is even being offered anymore? It seems priests, liturgists, and the lay faithful have forgotten.

The modern Catechism of the Catholic Church explains the Liturgy of the Eucharist, celebrated at a funeral Mass, should be offered to “pray for” the deceased (#1689). After all, “Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ” (CCC 1021). Those who have died can merit themselves nothing more toward eternal life.

For this reason, the Bible exclaims, “It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins” (2 Macc 12:46).

The Catechism also points out the offering of alms, indulgences, and works of penance can be sacrificed in aid of the dead (CCC #1032).

Yet, the greatest offering we the Church Militant (alive here still on earth) can offer on behalf of anyone in the Church Suffering (those in purgatory) remains the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass (cf. CCC 1689). Here the Church asks God to accept the faithful departed into the eternal banquet of Heaven.

Yet, the Church here on earth does not presume to know the final resting place of each soul. This is why praying for the dead is an act of charity. For, if any benefit can be gained for the deceased, then it ought to be offered.

“Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven—through a purification or immediately—or immediate and everlasting damnation,” explains Catechism 1022.

If the person went on to Heaven, then any prayers offered by those on earth would be unnecessary. And any prayers or alms offered on behalf of the dead for those who went to hell, likewise will merit the deceased nothing. However, in case the person was sent to purgatory upon His personal judgement, the Church implores us to pray for the aid of the deceased.

The Catechism explains the reason God instituted purgatory: “All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven (#1030, cf. 1 Cor 15:29).

For this reason, then, we offer the funeral Mass for our deceased friends and family members who died in union with the Church. This too remains the reason a Requiem Mass is celebrated in black vestments in the Rite of the Latin Mass. This is a somber time to ask God for pardon for the deceased. We must remember He is a just God, as well.

Yet, what does a funeral Mass celebrated in white vestments symbolize? I’ll tell you, to me, it says the deceased is surely in Heaven. It tells me this person is no longer in need of prayer. Yet, this directly contradicts the very attitude Scripture and Church teaching, including the Catechism, implore us to have.

In fact, the current Catechism gives an explicit warning against this—especially in lieu of whom all is likely to be attendance at a funeral Mass.

“The liturgy of the Word during funerals demands very careful preparation because the assembly present for the funeral may include some faithful who rarely attend the liturgy, and friends of the deceased who are not Christians. The homily in particular must ‘avoid the literary genre of funeral eulogy’ and illumine the mystery of Christian death in the light of the risen Christ” (#1688).

In other words, it is very common for non-Catholics and poorly-Catechized folks to attend a funeral Mass. This is a unique opportunity for the priest to explain to all those present just what it is that will be offered at this Mass. Why is a Requiem Mass even necessary?

The Church has devoted the month of November to emphasize the importance of praying for the dead. In particular, All Souls Day on November 2nd has been dedicated to praying for those souls remaining in purgatory. Praying for the Church Suffering, however, ought to be a daily habit for devout Catholics. And Requiem Masses ought to be reverent occasions to pray for the recently deceased.

Let the parish hall be the setting for eulogies. Let the fond memories and tokens of appreciation for the life of the deceased be shared over a meal following the burial rite. But let’s forego the eulogies and the white vestments for the Requiem Mass.

For, if we don’t soon stop, I am not sure anyone will remember to pray for me when it’s my turn to be buried six feet deep. Do you feel any better about your chances?