Sit in a quiet place and ask yourself if you were to die today, who will pray unceasingly for you to be released from purgatory? Sure, if your family or friends are religious, they may have that one mass offered for you and mourn for you. They will focus on the pain of the loss, the tears they shed, and the heartbreak. Then, as time passes, you will be but a distant memory. 

Do they even know the gravity of the prayers needed and how many? Most people believe you go straight to heaven. That is not necessarily the case. Not everyone goes straight to heaven. The time a soul spends in purgatory can be anywhere from a moment to hundreds of thousands of years. I encourage you to read about the holy souls according to the saints.

The Bible records scriptures about praying for the deceased. How many people have no one to pray for them? We have become a Godless society. 

My own children were brought up in the church and, in their early years, were active practicing Catholics. They become angry with God and don’t understand why God allows evil in the world. They have left the church. 

I know their foundation is there. But they are so consumed with the world that they wouldn’t even remember to have a mass said for me. I would be forgotten, a distant memory. This is a fact.

As I was making my will, living will, and power of attorney, I discussed my wishes with my children. They told me to write my wishes down in detail.

I have, therefore, indicated in My Last Will and Testament that I must have a Catholic funeral mass. I also wrote the name, address, phone number, and web address of where and what kind of mass and how often are to be said for me. I also requested no flowers, to have masses said instead of the flowers.

I highly encourage you to do so as well. You could even just write them down and attach them to your will. If you don’t have a will, any paper will suffice.

The great thing to ask is that instead of flowers for the wake, request that masses be said in your behalf. To make it easy, you could even supply the information. Because we live in the age of technology, many funeral homes now include virtual sites. Your wishes can be posted there. Leave instructions for your loved ones. 

Don’t put it off. We do not know the day or the hour!