“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Matthew 5:16
We pray for the departed.
Jesus is the light of the world
Jesus said that He was the light of the world while He was in the world (Jn 9:5).
This light revealed to humankind the true nature of God. He is a caring Father, who forgets and rejects no one. He is a God of grace and mercy, who wants to save the sinner. He is love: He does not force humankind to come to Him, He shows them His love to draw them to Himself.
Jesus Christ did not just preach. His works, His whole existence, testify to the nature of God. His faithfulness to God and His trust in Him proclaim the love that God has for Him. Through His actions, He showed how God forgave and helped humankind.
He revealed to humankind the true nature of salvation: salvation is eternal life and perfect fellowship with God in His kingdom. Christ does not answer all our questions. He did not tell Martha why He did not prevent the death of Lazarus (Jn 11:21). He did not explain the death of the Galileans killed in the temple by order of Pilate, nor the death of the victims of the collapse of a tower in Siloam (Lk 13:1-4). The light of Christ shows us the way to be saved. We must repent, follow Christ, receive the sacraments and persevere in the teaching of the Apostles.
Christ made this light shine among the living and the dead (1 Pet 4:6).
We are the light of the world
Those who follow Jesus have the light of life (Jn 8:12). Christ asks His people to make this light shine in the world by doing His works. We show our heavenly Father’s care by our thankfulness to Him and our willingness to serve Him.
We proclaim His love and faithfulness by remaining faithful to Him and trusting Him, no matter what. Our patience and hope testify to the importance we place on the resurrection and eternal life.
By our behavior, we make it known that the way to salvation is that of love for God and our neighbor. And we set a good example by regularly attending divine services and persevering in the teaching of the Apostles.
We make the light shine in the yonder world
We believe that God is the same for the dead as for the living. He is for them a benevolent Father, a God of grace and mercy, who wants to draw them to Himself while respecting their freedom of choice. The salvation He offers them is the same: eternal life. He does not answer all their questions, but He shows them the way to salvation. And this path is the same as for the living.
Filled with the love of Christ, we desire the salvation of souls from the yonder world.
This faith and love motivate us to pray for the departed. We pray to God to grant them the opportunity for salvation. Our prayers are addressed to God, not to the departed. To what extent can the departed know the content of our prayers? We do not really know. But we trust God. He can do for the dead what He does for the living. It is not uncommon for the faithful who are going through particular trials to say that they are literally carried by the prayers of the congregation. They do not necessarily know the identity of those who pray for them, nor the number and content of their prayers. But God allows them to feel the effects of prayer. Surely, He can grant the same grace to the departed!
For our prayers for the departed to be effective, our works must be in accordance with our prayers. What is the use of praying for the dead who have committed this or that sin if we condemn the living who do the same? How can we claim to help the departed in a particular situation when we are indifferent to the living who are in the same situation?
Jesus is the light of the world. We make His light shine by modelling our lives after Jesus’s example. We believe that God loves the departed and prays for their salvation.