“When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance cease” (Sirach 38:23)
Every human being’s body depart from his soul, at his death is his day of judgment. For all the good and evil deed, shall be rewarded or punished standing before the creator; God. Fortunate, for the righteous, as they pleased their heavenly father and merit eternal life. But, inopportune for the heresies for they have disappointed the Lord facing ceaseless darkness and fire.
His mercy limitless, God willed our soul to await judgment day; and so, dead people seek our remembrance. We plead mercy for sinners in our prayer and ask for God’s forgiveness. Saint John has stated in his gospel, “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” (1 John 3:6)
Prayer has the power of saving lives. “We pray for the Christians we have known and loved, confident that our prayers will do them good. I am happy to also pray for anyone who has died, since I have no accurate knowledge of the condition of their hearts and their consequent state on the other side. I am content with my inevitable ignorance, and will faithfully commend them to the mercy of God. God loves them even more than I do and I trust both His love and His justice. At best my prayers will do them some good. At worst I am wasting my breath. But that’s okay: I usually waste it on things even less worthy,” says Minister Lawrence Farley of the Saint Herman of Alaska Orthodox Church in Canada.
Sinners, who have no probability for prayer in seeking for redemption, seek mercy. It is here that our prayer is of value; No human is ever redeemed without repentance after death. It is on earth he gets chastity within Christianity.
Bible scriptures illustrate about the resurrection of the dead which is the purification of soul. Passages in Scripture teaching about hope based not in fanciful thinking i.e., wishing but in the reality of the resurrection of Lord Jesus, who destroyed the power of death.
Saint Paul have said, “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you might not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Lord Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14)
He has also written, “But someone will ask, How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come? You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body.” (1 Corinthians 15:35-38)
On the resurrection, we will rise in glory, power, and spirituality just as the Apostle Saint Paul said, it is in glory, power, and spirituality. Then we will be brought before the judgment of Lord Jesus Christ. HIS resurrection has deceased the power of Death and instigated the beginning of a new life. However, as mortals’ death is without purification, he shall face eternal death entering hell; and so our payer is of the essence.
Christians in this world have the freedom to pray for us in the presence of God’s throne in heaven as they live in the order of the church. If they go to hell, they will want our prayers there. In the book of Sirach is stated, “My child, let your tears flow for the dead; as one who is suffering terribly, give voice to your sorrow. Lay out their bodies in accordance with their wishes, and don’t neglect their burial.” Subsequently, “When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance cease and be comforted for him when his spirit has departed” indicating that it is appropriate to commemorate those who died. (Sirach 38:16-23)
People who are in the flesh shall pray for the dead, for the sin cannot be forgiven after being death. In their remembrance, we could plead for mercy and forgiveness of their soul. God affirmed to Moses in his words; “The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. Then the priest shall stand the woman before the Lord, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse.” (Numbers 5:17-18)
The church also prays for mercy for the dead in prayer, and she will remember them in the day of their death. For our Lord Jesus Christ shed tears of grief over the death of his disciple Lazarus.
We memorialize them in prayer, sacrifice, lighting, incense, and almsgiving, enunciate enunciate prayers of Prophet David’s, donate money, raise the dead in prayer, sanctify the sacrament and offer the Eucharist.
May God have mercy on the souls of the dead, Amen!