TTSNBSIM 10: "We Know Our Relatives Are Looking Down at us From Heaven Right Now"

TTSNBSIM (Things That Should Never Be Said In Mass)

#10: "We Know Our Relatives Are Looking Down at us From Heaven Right Now"

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This series is on the subject of things that I've heard said at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which should, in reality, never be said there.  Often, it's because these things are incorrect, but occasionally, it's simply because the remark, as stated, is not explained well enough, and will inevitably be misinterpreted.  In the latter case, the post will also contain an explanation of why this is, as well as proposed -alternatives,- which make the intended statement a bit more clear.

In this case, the statement, as expressed, is clearly false.  We can't have any assurance that our relatives are in Heaven, but there's another reason why this should never be said in Mass; it does a disservice to our relatives.

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The teaching of the Catholic Church is that unless a person has been canonized, we can't have any assurance that they're in Heaven yet.  Some people, of course, will go to Hell, but for those who put genuine effort into their devotion to God, and try their best to follow his commandments, even when it's against their own desires, and seek forgiveness when they fall, Hell is not a likely destination.

However, that doesn't mean that these people will immediately ascend into Heaven.  We can -hope- that the faithful will go immediately to Heaven, but the fact remains that unless you've achieved a state of perfection in this life, that's simply not likely.  God must first put you through a process that will bring you to perfection, and this process is known as Purgatory.

Souls in Purgatory are, at the very least, fully assured of their salvation.  They -are saved,- and will one day be in Heaven with God.  However, the process, by all accounts, is not a pleasant one, and the sooner it's over with, the better.

Souls in Purgatory can't do anything to speed themselves towards Heaven any faster.  However, we on Earth -can.-  By offering our prayers for the souls in Purgatory, and by fasting and having masses said for them, we can greatly decrease the amount of time that souls need to spend in Purgatory before their release into Heaven.

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The first problem, therefore, with telling people that their relatives are in Heaven, is this; suppose they're actually in Purgatory, and their relatives are misled by the claim that they're in Heaven.  Will those relatives pray for their souls?  Will they fast for them?  Will they have masses said for them?

In most circumstances, the answer is no.  If a person is already in Heaven, they're saved.  They made it, and they don't need your prayers anymore.

We simply can't afford to be overly-optimistic about the fate of our relatives, or anyone else we know, because that's an injustice to those poor souls of the people -who were close to us in life,- and who, for all we know, are still desperate for our help.

Even if a particular soul does -not- need our help, however, prayers, fastings and masses said for them are not wasted.  If that soul happens to be in Heaven (or in Hell,) God will take the merit of our sacrifices and apply them to another soul in need; perhaps even someone else we know, and have forgotten about, or perhaps someone we've never met, but would like if we had.

However, there's another problem with claiming that our relatives are in Heaven; in some ways, an even bigger one.

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The fact of the matter is that many, many Christians today are guilty of the sin of presumption.  They presume that because of God's loving nature, he'll overlook a life of wretched, impenitent sin, and somehow get the person into Heaven, in spite of their utter indifference to God's will, over the entire course of their lives.  Even those who try to be holy are usually not as holy as they'd like to believe.

The first problem we discussed sort of assumed that the person being referred to generally tried to be holy and do right, but suppose that wasn't the case?  Suppose they made no effort to learn God's law, and just picked up their "morals" from television shows and popular opinions, and eventually, even started to complain about church teaching, or even actively oppose it.  Yet, they still claimed to be a good Christian.

If we try to claim that this kind of person (disguising themselves as a Christian, while all the while working to undermine Christ and his Church,) is in Heaven right now, we do worse than a disservice to him or her.  We sin against everyone who hears our words.  This sin is called "Scandal."

We're using our words, in this case, to mislead people into thinking that anyone can waltz through life, fight the Church's teaching at every turn, ignore the commandments, and live in opposition to -God himself,- and yet, because they enter a Church from time to time and desecrate the Eucharist by receiving in a state of impenitent, mortal sin, they somehow made it to Heaven.

-If- such people get to Heaven, it's -in spite of- these things, and -because of- sincere penance when nobody was looking.  To -tell the faithful- that they go straight to Heaven, however, is like telling them that -they- don't need to obey God, or respect him, or even love him.  It's hard to imagine a surer way to lead a soul to Hell.

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The fact of the matter is, no priest's job is to make people feel better.  Ever.  If you're ordained, it's your job to lead souls to Heaven, and that won't be done by telling them that their relatives were saints.  Avoid statements like this one as though they were made of cancer.