| Friday, 08 October 2010 Masses and Prayers for the Dead It is the day of the Monthly Memorial FOR BRETHREN, FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS The headline, ‘Masses and Prayers for the Dead’, makes a surprising ‘wild card’ on the NET. Astonishingly Google shows up About 279,000 results (0.19 seconds) . Among them, Wikipedia took up, ‘New TestamentA passage in the New Testament which may refer to a prayer for the dead is found in 2 Timothy 1:16-18, which reads as follows: May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain, but when he was in Rome, he sought me diligently, and found me (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy on that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well. From the LINK, 2 Timothy 1:16-18, lead to 75 versions of the Bible by Bible Ref Com, http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=2%20Timothy&verse=1:16-18&src=. We remember of St. Alphonsus Ligouri’s devotion to the Holy Souls. He may have established the Arch-confraternity of Purgatory (Purgatorium Archconfraternity), http://archconfraternity.com). The international headquarters is based at the address of the Transalpine Redemptorists at Golgotha Monastery Island, Orkney, Scotland. 2 Timothy 1:16-18 (Amplified Bible). . .18May the Lord grant to him that he may find mercy from the Lord on that [great] day! And you know how many things he did for me and what a help he was at Ephesus [you know better than I can tell you]. Briefest comment are two things about Paul and Onesiphorus. On the one hand is Paul’s moving affection for the man who cared for him, on the other Paul’s prayer for the soul of his friend. + + + After Mass of Monthly Memorial and the name of Onesiphorus raises great interest. By good fortune, the following Link addresses the question very clearly. Onesiphorus and Paul’s Prayer for the Dead No wonder William Barclay said, “Before we leave this passage we must note that in one particular connection it is a storm centre.” The Catholic conclusion has the incisive summary in the Anchor Bible. Here is what the widely respected six-volume Anchor Bible Dictionary writes, "2 Timothy also includes greetings to the household of Onesiphorus (4:19) and a prayer that the Lord might grant mercy to his household because of his service to Paul (1:16). Onesiphorus himself does not seem to be included, suggesting that he was either not envisioned as present among the (alleged) recipients of 2 Timothy, was with Paul, or was already dead. The latter is most likely since the author of 2 Timothy writes: “May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day” (1:18). If Onesiphorus had indeed died, then this prayer is the earliest one for the dead found in Christian literature. As such it has been cited as clear scriptural support (especially among Roman Catholics) for prayer for the dead. (Jewish precedent for such prayer is found in 2 Macc 12:43–45.)" I could supply myriads of such passages, including Protestant scholars, who believe that the passage is written in such a way as to leave little doubt that Onesiphorus is no longer alive and that Paul “seems to be praying for him”. Any attempts to interpret verses 16-18 differently are clumsy and tend to display a definite bias against prayer for the dead. So here Scripture itself we most certainly have a case where the Apostle Paul prays for the dead, in harmony with his earlier Jewish practice. This practice is certainly in line with the practice of the very first Christians as testified to by the graffiti in the catacombs, in the writings of the Fathers, and in the general practice of the primitive Church. Should we pray for the dead? Absolutely, we are in good company when we pray for those who have passed into the afterlife. |
Onesiphorus and Paul's Prayer for the Dead Does the Bible record ...
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Let's begin with Onesiphorus—a faithful Christian who cared for St. Paul ... But from all indications—certainly from the words Paul uses—Onesiphorus has ...
Let's begin with Onesiphorus—a faithful Christian who cared for St. Paul ... But from all indications—certainly from the words Paul uses—Onesiphorus has ...
www.catholic-convert.com/documents/Onesiphorus1.pdf
