A Message from Father Nathan
My dearest people who are all close to my heart
Lots of love, blessings, and prayers to you all.
Understanding Purgatory
+ Praying for the deceased
When someone dies, we usually have flowers or candles to remember their passing. We do it to honor their memory, perhaps even as a way of offering a prayer for them.
TraDITION OF Praying for the dead
We all want to find a fitting way to remember those who have left us. Let us understand why we pray for the dead. There is a longstanding tradition in the Catholic Church to pray for the souls of the deceased. How did this tradition come about and why is it still important today?
The Reality of Purgatory
The custom of praying for the dead is rooted in the very nature of heaven. The Bible indicates that there can be nothing imperfect in heaven. When describing the vision of the New Jerusalem, God’s eternal kingdom, revelation 21:27 states,
“nothing unclean will enter it.”
Unfortunately, many people who have died have not lived as perfect humans, and do not die in the state of perfection. They are not yet prepared to enter heaven and behold God’s face. At the same time, they have not chosen to separate themselves from God. They may have expressed regret for their sins and been forgiven, but their love of God at the time of their death may not have been as profound and perfect as it should have been.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:
All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but are still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. (CC 1030).
God’s Mercy Endures after Death
The souls of these individuals have not yet been completely purified of their sins. They must undergo purification after death, a fact which demonstrates that God’s mercy does not stop after that moment of death.
Instead, divine mercy continues even after the moment to prepare a soul to receive God’s loving embrace in heaven. Hence, let us pray for the dead.
May our prayers rise up to them. Let them in turn be our intercessors.
God bless you all.
With lots of love and blessings,
Ever wanting to be faithful to your service,
— Fr. Sahayanathan Nathan
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Past Messages from Father Nathan
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 30, 2022
This week, we have two important feasts that we are going to celebrate. One would be the Solemnity of All Saints and the second ALL Souls Day. Let us try to understand what these feasts mean to us.
The Solemnity of All Saints commemorates all those holy men, women, children, martyrs,…
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 23, 2022
Important updates and information for the upcoming holiday season and welcoming our seasonal parishioners back to their Florida homes and the 2023 Pilgrimage tot he Holy Land.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 16, 2022
Parish Improvements update. Very many supported this in ten thousand, two thousand, thousands, and fifty dollar donations….every amount helps
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 09, 2022
We celebrate the Feast of Saint Teresa of Avila. The daughter of a Jewish convert and his second wife, Saint Teresa of Avila, was born on March 28, 1515.
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | October 02, 2022
“Francis, go and build up My house, which is falling into ruin”. To fulfill this command of our Lord, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) began by restoring physical churches and continued by building up the spiritual Church in souls…
From The Desk Of Father Nathan | September 23, 2022
International Eucharistic Congress 2022 – Miami! Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and Mary invite you to our IV International Eucharistic – Marian Congress Oct 7-9, 2022.