All the graveyards were looking far more cheerful than they do the rest of the year. November 2 is All Souls’ Day, when the departed are prayed for.
Catholics believe that mortals die with imperfections, and after death, their souls spend time in purgatory before their eternal fate — heaven or hell — is decided. They believe that souls go through a process of purification and for that they need prayers to find favour in the eyes of the Lord. Usually two masses are held one for prayers for those departed near and dear ones, and another for those forsaken, who have no one to pray for them.”
Catholics also remember departed saints on November 1, All Saints Day. Halloween, on October 31, has pre-Christian origins, and is regarded as more of a fun secular festival.
Not all Christian denominations share these beliefs.
Members of the Orthodox church do pray for their departed, but around March, before Lent. “As per our faith, both the living and the dead are awake and conscious before the Lord,” says one of the believer. While we can pray for the dead, the dead also can feel the presence of god and can pray for us. Lent is a period when we embark on a spiritual journey for which we seek prayers from our forefathers, and that is the day when we also pray for them. November 2 is the anniversary of our patron saint, Gregorios of Parumala, and we celebrate it in a big way in our churches, especially in Kottayam.”
Many Protestant churches believe that prayers cannot influence the fate of souls in the hereafter. They believe that, Those who are dead have gone to heaven or hell; you can’t do anything about them. They do not encourage our parishioners to pray for the dead or dwell too much over them at the graveyards. But they could just visit them just for emotional reasons.
Some Protestant denominations do observe the day. The Anglican church (known as Church of North India and Church of South India in this country), holds special services, and priests pray for the departed. We believe souls go through a process of purification and need prayers to find favour in the eyes of the Lord.
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