WASHINGTON, DC (Catholic Online) - Today is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, more commonly known as All Souls' Day. While not a day of Holy Obligation like yesterday's Feast of All Saints, a day focused on the Church in Heaven, this is a day of holy opportunity to remember the souls of some of the departed, the Church in Purgatory.

The custom of remembering the faithful departed goes back to the early days of the church, when their names were posted in the church so they could be remembered. As early as the sixth century, monasteries held special days of remembrance for the dead from their community and by the ninth century they were commemorating all the faithful departed.
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, citing Pope St Gregory the Great, explains: "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven."

"The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. ( Cf. 1 Cor 3:15; 1 Pet 1:7).The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:

"As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come." (Pope St. Gregory the Great) (CCC#1030, 1031)

The days of commemoration varied although, over time, most began to use November 2.
In the fifteenth century, the Dominicans began offering three Masses on the Feast of All Souls. Then, in 1748, Pope Benedict XIV approved this practice, which caused it to quickly spread throughout Spain, Portugal and into Latin America.

The outbreak of World War I - the "war to end all wars" - provided Pope Benedict XV with a strong incentive to further define this feast day and he gave his priests permission to offer three Masses that day. He saw that it was hard to remember all the war dead, especially due to the number of churches that had been destroyed. The Pope instructed his clergy that the three Masses should be offered as follows: one for the particular intention of the day, one for the faithful departed and one for the intentions of the Holy Father.

Mexico, other Latin American countries and even other cultures observe the Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos), covering both All Saints and All Souls. On November 1 they honor departed children and adults are remembered on November 2. Spending the entire day at cemeteries, people build small shrines, with food, beverages, photos and other keepsakes of loved ones.

While it is good to remember the departed faithful as they were in this life during the Feast of All Souls, we must be sure that our main focus remains on their time of preparation for heaven in purgatory.

Purgatory - what a strange and scary sounding word to some. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of misunderstanding concerning this doctrine and what it means for us as Christians. Some have thought that we "go" to purgatory and then we are judged whether we go to heaven or hell. Others see this as a mini-hell for those who didn't quite make it all the way into heaven. Still others see purgatory as a second chance after death.

Along with other misinterpretations, these have been used by Protestants and others over the years as a reason to wonder about those of us who are Catholic. I know I was confused for several years!

So what about purgatory? Why, on this day, should we focus on the dead?

To begin with, let's look at the word "purgatory." This comes from the old Latin word "purgare," which means "to cleanse" or "to purge." So you can think of purgatory as a time of cleansing or final purification in preparation to spend eternity in the presence of God. In purgatory, as the Catechism explains, the faithful - that's right, those who are destined for heaven - "achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven." (CCC 1030)

The Catechism goes on to say: "The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire. (CCC 1032)

St. Paul writes of this in his first letter to the Corinthians.

"For we are God's ...