“Indeed, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days of the Christian religion has honoured with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ (2 Mac 12:46), she offers her suffrages for them. These consist, primarily, in the celebration of the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, and in other pious exercises, such as prayers for the dead, alms deeds, works of mercy, and the application of indulgences to the souls of the faithful departed’ (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, 251).
Roman Catholic Diocese of Cloyne, County Cork, Ireland.
