lovebelize, would you elaborate a bit on your topic, please?
lovebelize
Posted on: 01/25/2009 21:42
My question is, that should we pray for, say, our mother and father, after they are deceased? Pray for their welfare and for blessings for them? I also mean, praying for those whose welfare in the afterlife may not be as assured (hard cases). Is it useful, and is it even proper?
Mendalla
Posted on: 01/25/2009 22:48
Depends on what you believe about the afterlife. If you subscribe to a notion of "hell" or even "purgatory", then praying for their welfare might, presumably, do them some good. If you do not believe in such a doctrine, then praying "for them" might be replaced by praying "for their memory" or some such. In this case, though, the prayer is as much for person praying as for the recipient.
Personally, I don't believe in either "heaven" or "hell" and am, in fact, something of an agnostic where the afterlife is concerned. When I get there, I'll know. Until then, it remains somewhat indefinite, although I do believe that we make our own Heaven and Hell here on Earth and that whatever afterlife we get will pretty much follow from that. So, I don't pray for my mother's soul to save her from Hell or anything like that (if I did hold conventional beliefs about H&H, I'm pretty sure she'd be in Heaven anyhow), but will invoke her in prayer because of her importance in my life and spiritual development.
Comments
crazyheart
Posted on: 01/25/2009 11:43
lovebelize, would you elaborate a bit on your topic, please?
lovebelize
Posted on: 01/25/2009 21:42
My question is, that should we pray for, say, our mother and father, after they are deceased? Pray for their welfare and for blessings for them? I also mean, praying for those whose welfare in the afterlife may not be as assured (hard cases). Is it useful, and is it even proper?
Mendalla
Posted on: 01/25/2009 22:48
Depends on what you believe about the afterlife. If you subscribe to a notion of "hell" or even "purgatory", then praying for their welfare might, presumably, do them some good. If you do not believe in such a doctrine, then praying "for them" might be replaced by praying "for their memory" or some such. In this case, though, the prayer is as much for person praying as for the recipient.
Personally, I don't believe in either "heaven" or "hell" and am, in fact, something of an agnostic where the afterlife is concerned. When I get there, I'll know. Until then, it remains somewhat indefinite, although I do believe that we make our own Heaven and Hell here on Earth and that whatever afterlife we get will pretty much follow from that. So, I don't pray for my mother's soul to save her from Hell or anything like that (if I did hold conventional beliefs about H&H, I'm pretty sure she'd be in Heaven anyhow), but will invoke her in prayer because of her importance in my life and spiritual development.