There
is a lady called Maria Simma (1915-2004) who became famous because
the Holy Souls apparently used to appear to her and ask her for
prayers for them. She lived in Austria as a peasant for most of her
life. She tried religious life but was unable to continue because she
was too weak physically. She actually tried three different convents
but had to leave each in turn. She ended up doing simple work and
living on her own. She only received education to the age of 12, but
her mother had great devotion to praying for the souls in Purgatory
and she seems to have inherited this too.
The
first time a soul appeared to her she was 25 years old (1940) and for
the following several years only two or three souls appeared to her
over the course of a year, but then from 1954 onward they continually
appeared to her. In reading about her I found it very interesting to
learn what some of the souls said to her. One case in particular is
as follows. She recalls how a young man appeared to her asking her to
pray for him. He told her the circumstances of his death. He lived in
a mountain village somewhere in the Alps. He wasn’t a very religious
man and in fact lived a pretty wild lifestyle. One year there were a
series of avalanches.
One
night while he was asleep there was another avalanche and he woke up
to hear the screams of people nearby who were trapped. He jumped up
and rushed out to help them. His mother tried to stop him screaming,
‘Don’t go out, you will be killed too!’ However, he went anyway
and he was killed. But he explained to Maria Simma that God in his
mercy had allowed him to die at a time when he was being most giving,
most self-less. This action had redeemed so much of what he had done
wrong in his life.
That
story has always stayed with me since I read it. God in his mercy
gives us the benefit of the doubt. He goes out of his way to make
allowances for us, even excuses for us, you might say, because that
is when all that we have believed in and struggled to be faithful to,
will make sense.
When
my Grandmother used to hear people using the expression, ‘rest in
peace,’ she would sometimes say, ‘I don’t want to “rest in
peace” I want to be alive and active!’ I think she had the right
idea. What God has created us for in the world to come is something
unimaginably wonderful and that is why God goes to such lengths to
make sure we get there. The greatest thing God has done for us after
giving us the gift of life, is making sure that we can reach that
happiness and that is only possible through the death and
resurrection of Jesus. God will do everything to make sure we reach
that happiness, but God cannot force us because of the free will He
has given us, so we must be careful to make the right choices
ourselves.
November
is the month where we traditionally remember those who have died and
it is good that we do. Starting with the feast of All Saints on Nov
1st we celebrate all those who are in heaven; probably
many if not all of our family members who are now saints. Anyone who
is in heaven is a saint. Even though we officially recognize just a
few of them, everyone there is a saint. Then on Nov 2nd we
have the feast of All Souls where we pray for all who have died.
Why
do we need to pray for the dead? Aren’t they all in heaven?
Hopefully most of them are, but if you think about yourself for a
moment, if you died today, do you think that you would be ready to
enter the presence of the all holy God straight away? I doubt if I
would. Most of us probably need a little refining, or being purified
before we are ready for that. A good analogy is of someone waking up
in the morning and being faced with the blinding light of the sun.
Initially even the bedroom light is too much and we have to slowly
wait until our eyes adjust; the light of the sun would be absolutely
unbearable at first. The funny thing is that we want to see the sun
in the morning because it is beautiful, but at the same time we are
not able for it straight away.
Traditionally
the Church teaches us about Purgatory, which is the last stage of
getting ready to be in God’s presence when we die. This is not a
punishment; rather it is a purification to make us ready for the
wonderful presence of God, which we will enjoy for all eternity. So
in fact it is a great gift from God and not something we should be
afraid of. The Church also teaches us that we can help those who are
still at that stage of Purgatory by praying for them. That is why we
pray for the dead in every mass we offer throughout the whole year
and we remember them especially during the month of November.
In
St.Paul’s first letter to the Christians in Corinth, he says the
following: ‘If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we
are of all people the most to be pitied’ (1 Cor 15:19). In other
words if we think that this life is what it’s all about, we have
completely missed the point of our faith. What God teaches us is that
we are all the time preparing for the world to come. This life is a
kind of school or training ground, where we are free to love or not,
to choose for God or not and the choices we make have consequences.
If we keep in mind that something wonderful awaits us, which is what
we will experience sooner or later, that helps us not to get too
immersed in the world. We all get distracted and bogged down with the
worries of this life, but we need to keep reminding ourselves of what
our life is about, so that we don’t waste it. If we keep in mind
the thought and hope of the world to come, where we will experience
life in a way we can never experience it here, it helps us to keep
the right focus. Death is not something for us to be afraid of;
rather it will be the beginning of something unimaginably wonderful.
I
leave you with this thought: Why do those who have died not come back
to tell us what it is like? I’m sure it is because they know that
it is not necessary for us to know. The ‘not knowing’ is part of
the struggle of faith. For now we try to believe and trust in what
the Lord has taught us: ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled or
afraid. There are many rooms in my Father’s house. If there were
not would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for
you?’ (John 14:1).
Eternal rest grant to them O Lord and may perpetual
light shine upon them. May they enjoy the happiness that awaits
us all.
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