The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1875-12-19

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It is Q IamentabIe fact that many Cafho-
lies have become 20 tainted with tie world
linens Of Professionalism ~ 70 omit altogether
the usual prayers said for the dead. Yet,
there is no offering that Catholics can pre-
sent at the throne Of God that is more ac-
ceptable 70 God than the fr, quent Eemem
bFanee Of our dear departed, as thereby We
perform not only an act OF faith, bot more
over We add to it an act Of charity that
surrounds With spiritual gTsees the souls
Of those who constantly pray for the dead
Unfortunately for themselves, great
many Catholics copy after the world when :
ever death visits their households They
seem 10 think that large funeral eoFfege,
and a DewEpaPer puf upon the virtues OF
the deceased are all sufficient To send the
poor soul speeding on its fight TO heaven.
The reqaiem MAS IL omitted, tie encoffned
corpse il inferred, and out Of sight out
Of mind" il is completely forgotten. How
seldom, alas! do ne hear Of requiem
nass being celebrated st the request of
widowe.s for their deceased relatives.
People seem to have become so absorbed
in the concerns of the living world that
those who 4" sleep the sleep that knows no
waking" are bereft entirely of those prec-
ions prayers so peedfui To the poor soul
and 30 acceptable TO Almighty God.
The precepts OF the church in regard to
prayers for the dead are the same now that
they ever have been. Eyea liberal
Catholics admit that "lt is a holy and
wholesome thought to pray for the dead
that they may be Ioosed from their sins,
but they seldom pnt this great precep;
into practice.
In Europe the beautiful custom prevails
Of praying for deceased relatives, not only
during the morning and night prayers, bur
also every time taat their names are men
toned. No matter where the place may
be, or what the time, the recurrence OF the
pane of the deceased is always followed
With the beautiful prayer: May the
Lord have mercy on his Tor heT) soul"
This is one of the holy religious
customs that are very prevalent in
Ireland, but which appears to have not
yet struck o chord in the hearts of the
Catholics of America.
And why is this L. it because the Cath
olies of our day are any better than tteiI
fathers7 Or is it that our dead do not re
qnire any prayersf Oh, no. We are moi
better Catholics than were the generation
that have gone before us, and our dead dc
| sadly require our suffrages, but-the cause
| is to be found in our own pride of heart
| in our forgetfulness Of the sacred duty
that we owe to our departed relatives, ane
| in the whirlpool of pride and selfisbness il
| which We daily move, we have become 81
protestantizsd that we have ceased to per
form the dearest duty that we owe to ou
deceased frieDds.
| This is a criminal neglect on our part
because we deprive the souls of the de
| parted of the only solace that we can Civ
them. We may decorate their graves
with all the vRriegated gems Of Flora VI
| may raise monuments over their dust em
biazoned with their virtues, we may eulo
gize our deceased in every journal in tn
land; bat as Catholics we should knoy
that a single requiem mass is more accept
able to the suffering souls than all the plat
itades Of praise that can be carved in mar
Bile, and more fragrant to heaven than al
the odorous plants in the floral kingdom.
Even on many of the monuments tina
stand over Catholic graves the beautifu
prayer, May God have mercy on the 500
Of the departed" is omitted, and thus tn
poor soul is deprived Of thousands @
prayers, as ali who read it would thereb,
perform an act of devotion. This Sin q
omission also arises from the Protestan
influences by which the Catholics are sur
rounded, and If what We have written ca
bring before the mind Of even one Cathoii
the sins OF omission that he may hav
com mitted in this growing neglect of tn
dead, then indeed has our labor not been i
vain.