Prayers for dead find best expression in Eucharist, pope says

Published: 2004-11-08

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II encouraged Catholics to offer spiritual support through prayers at Mass to their deceased loved ones. Speaking at a noon blessing at the Vatican Nov. 7, the pope said early November marked an important time of popular piety dedicated to the remembrance of the departed. "We pray for them with trust, knowing that, as Jesus confirms in today's Gospel, God 'is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive,'" he said. Not even death can break God's covenant with man, the pope said. This covenant is highlighted in the Eucharist, where prayer for the dead finds its highest expression, he said. "Offering the holy Mass for them, believers support the final purification of the deceased. Receiving with faith holy Communion, they strengthen ties of spiritual love with them," he said.

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