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Can You Help the Dead?Awake!—2006 | October
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The Bible’s Viewpoint
Can You Help the Dead?
“From the beginning the Church has . . . offered prayers in suffrage for [the dead] . . . so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God.”—“Catechism of the Catholic Church.”
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Can You Help the Dead?Awake!—2006 | October
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On the other hand, it teaches that someone who enjoys God’s favor can hope to attain “supreme, definitive happiness” with God in heaven, but not before being perfectly purified. Purification may require his spending time in purgatory to endure a “cleansing fire” as punishment for errors that can be forgiven. While in purgatory, though, a person can be helped by suffrages—intercessory prayers offered through the office of the church—and also by Masses held for him. Such services are usually paid for by friends and relatives of the deceased.
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