Prayer for the conversion and salvation of sinners is in an important sense more valuable and necessary than prayers for the dead, because the salvation of the souls in purgatory is absolutely guaranteed. Not so for all the living, whose salvation is uncertain until the point of death. At the point of death, the decision of the soul for or against God can no longer be changed. When souls are lost to hell, it is forever. Surely, our prayers for the salvation of souls in eternity are more pleasing to God than our supplications for the relief and liberation of souls who are suffering in purgatory but whose salvation is absolutely guaranteed. We pray that no one is lost to hell, although private revelation indicates that hell is indeed not empty. All things considered, every prayer in charity is acceptable to God, whether for the living or the dead.
“The loss of each soul plunges me into mortal sadness. You always console me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, my daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered.”
—Saint Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1397
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ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
Prayer for the conversion and salvation of sinners is in an important sense more valuable and necessary than prayers for the dead, because the salvation of the souls in purgatory is absolutely guaranteed. Not so for all the living, whose salvation is uncertain until the point of death. At the point of death, the decision of the soul for or against God can no longer be changed. When souls are lost to hell, it is forever. Surely, our prayers for the salvation of souls in eternity are more pleasing to God than our supplications for the relief and liberation of souls who are suffering in purgatory but whose salvation is absolutely guaranteed. We pray that no one is lost to hell, although private revelation indicates that hell is indeed not empty. All things considered, every prayer in charity is acceptable to God, whether for the living or the dead.
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho
“The loss of each soul plunges me into mortal sadness. You always console me when you pray for sinners. The prayer most pleasing to me is prayer for the conversion of sinners. Know, my daughter, that this prayer is always heard and answered.”
Delete—Saint Faustina Kowalska, Divine Mercy in My Soul, 1397
Gonzalinho