Homily of His Excellency, Selim Sfeir, Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
“O Christ our God, when you reward those at your right hand and judge those at your left, may the faithful departed , who were clothed in you at baptism and received your Body and Blood as blessed Food on the path to eternity be worthy to meet you with radiant faces.” – HESED
The Sunday that precedes the Clean Monday, the beginning of the Great Lent, is, for the Maronite Church, dedicated to prayer for all the Faithful Departed. We believe that those who have died in the state of grace and friendship with God, but not having sufficiently atoned for their sins are now undergoing the merciful purification of Purgatory, and we who are still on pilgrimage can help them by our prayers, sacrifices and above all the offering of the Holy Mass, the Divine Liturgy. This doctrine is from the apostles who were formed and taught by Christ and it is also a precious inheritance from the liturgy of the Old Testament Temple.
There will come a time when no one will remember your mother, father, brother or sister. As time goes by, fewer and fewer of your descendants will even know their name. This is why we must take advantage of “today” and pray for our beloved relatives and friends. I encourage everyone to have Masses offered for the beloved dead. Someday you and I will need Masses for ourselves. It may be that we will have a long and painful Purgatory. We believe that in so far as we have been generous in our prayers and Masses for the souls in Purgatory, we can hope and expect the same help for ourselves if and when we need it. In the spiritual economy of Christ, no good deed goes unrewarded.
In the Maronite Archeparchy we are blessed with many faithful priests. When you have a Mass offered, it is customary to offer a stipend, a monetary donation. You are not “buying” a Mass, but rather you are making an offering for the support of the priest and the care of the Church.
On this Sunday I want to remind you how necessary it is to pray for the faithful departed and to clarify that the Mass offering is not the buying or selling of a spiritual good, but is simply a voluntary contribution for the support of priests and the upkeep of the Church. On behalf of our priests, I thank you for your support, and ask you for your continued support.
Catechism of the Catholic Church #1031
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:
“As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgement, 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 offences can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.” – St. Gregory the Great
+Selim Sfeir
Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus