Purgatory Altar, St. Dominic's, San Francisco

Praying for the Dead

    If we assent to the Bard’s famous phrase, that, “all the world’s a stage,” then I assert that the worldwide Dominican Order consists of, like any great play, a myriad cast of interesting characters. One of them I’m sure many of you have encountered, even if you do not know it: his name was Fr. Paul Henry O’Sullivan, O.P. You may not know the name, because he often wrote under the initials, E.D.M., which stood for, “Enfant de Marie,” or “child of Mary.” He was actually a driving force for the revival of the Catholic Faith in Portugal, but his works were globally popular. In a book about the Irish Dominicans, the author tells us that “Fr. Paul was a salesman for God of the first order. He used to travel throughout the country at intervals, bringing copies of his publications with him and there were few who could resist the eloquence of his appeals. He had no inhibitions about the value of the work he was doing. He never yielded to shyness when advertising any of his booklets as we learn from the following extracts, which he himself wrote: ‘This is one of the most attractive stories of the saints yet published.’ ‘This is truly a beautiful book.’ ‘An admirable book of enthralling interest, etc.’”

   I guess it doesn’t hurt to have yourself in charge of the marketing department. But he had a great, straightforwardly Irish way of writing, about as plain as his own book reviews. He wrote on many subjects, but perhaps his best title is “Read Me or Rue It” Well, now that he has got our attention… as a man once wrote, “After finishing one of his books the reader either will take Fr. Paul’s advice or – feel guilty for not doing so.”

   In the book, he tells many stories, especially of souls in Purgatory coming back and thanking a kind person for having a Mass said for them, or perhaps to serve as a warning for others. What is interesting to note is that most of his examples come from Dominican saints.  I think that perhaps the sin of presumption is not just for ourselves, but for others.   Oh, surely, that guy's in Hell, or my dear Aunt Bettie is in Heaven.  Who are WE to judge?  God alone knows the secrets of the heart.  God alone knows how much a facade one's life is.  

    And we Dominicans here, although neither in Heaven or Purgatory, continue the custom of praying for our dead friars, and of course, for all our deceased friends, family, benefactors, and last but not least, deceased members of our Confraternity of the Rosary. My province is but around 175 years old – our list of the dead isn’t that long, yet we pray for them on their anniversaries each year. We often kid that if Father so-and-so isn’t out of Purgatory by now, well, he better start thinking of buying, and not renting. Fr. O’Sullivan points out that “In the Dominican Order it is the rule to pray for the Master Generals by name on their anniversaries. Many of these have been dead several hundred years! They were men especially eminent for piety and learning. This rule would not be approved by the Church were it not necessary and prudent.” And then, as if not wanting to scare everyone off, he adds, “We do not mean to imply that all souls are detained equally long periods in the expiatory fires.”

   So who am I to judge such a distinguished friar? Let us then, by all means, continue to pray for our deceased sisters and brothers in St. Dominic, and all our Confraternity members, since it sounds like we especially above other souls might just need our help! But to add to Fr. O’Sullivan’s words, I would just like to highlight that in the Gospel, Our Lord uses words that are near and dear to the Dominican heart: “Consecrate them by means of truth – ‘Your word is truth…’ I consecrate Myself for their sakes now, that they may be consecrated in truth.” It is this that the Dominican hearts long for. Even one of our mottoes is, simply, “Veritas,” or “Truth.” But for us, Christ is no more a mere theological exercise than Purgatory is. Purgatory is real, and very personal. 

   Let us, therefore, brothers and sisters, continue without fail that great Spiritual Work of Mercy in praying for the dead.