...those in the room with him did not pray "the typical prayer" for a person dying [the prayer for the soul's salvation], instead they prayed "a prayer of gratitude" for him? Huh?
Watch the video at about the 9.35 mark he explains what happened...
I had never heard this before...I was not yet a Catholic when JPII died, so didn't follow closely the happenings at the Vatican.
Now, as a Catholic, I am wondering what other Catholics at the time thought of this?
No big deal? Weird? Odd? Nothing to see here?
Let me know your thoughts.
My own thoughts are...well it bothered me to find this out. You can pray a prayer "of gratitude" at any time...but when someone has just died, should we not pray for their soul first before all things?
To me, being an ex-Baptist this smelt a bit like Protestantism. You see, in most Protestant denominations once a person dies that's it. You don't pray for them or their souls [because there is no belief in Purgatory OR in prayers for the dead helping anyone].
To most Protestants, if the dead person had believed in God and lived "good" lives they were in Heaven with Jesus, no need to pray for them. Instead of praying for their souls, Protestants "celebrate" the life of the dead loved one and believe, as I said, that they are already in Heaven with Jesus because they believed in God and lived "good" lives. Done deal.
But as a Catholic...I do pray for the souls of the departed- even a pope because I don't know if that pope needed time in Purgatory or not and to assume he was so great and wonderful that he didn't need prayers for his soul...well it comes off as presumptuous to me. Am I wrong here?
Let me hear what you think about praying a prayer of gratitude when someone dies rather than for their soul.
In Christ,
Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner
