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As a convert to the Faith whose few Catholic relatives are also converts, I find myself often at something of a loss when, in the Roman Canon, the priest reaches the words
Memento etiam, Domine, famulorum famularumque tuarum N. et N. qui nos praecesserunt cum signo fidei, et dormiunt in somno pacis.
(Remember, Lord, those who have died and have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especialy those for whom we now pray, N. et N. May these, and all who sleep in Christ, find in your presence light, happiness, and peace.)
I presume that most Catholics, striving to pray the Mass with the priest, will at this time remember their Catholic ancestors among the dead who died “marked with the sign of faith.” I, however, know no one particular for whom to pray who I can reliably presume died with the Faith! I can scarcely presume to call my freemason (I think), Episcopalian grandfather, who died well before I was born, “marked with the sign of faith,” for instance. Now, naturally, there are plenty of Catholics dying in the world whom I can pray for, yet it is hard to form much of an intention with such a vague object. Besides, filial piety and duty (in the sense that Dr. A could tell you more about) makes me long for family and friends for whom I could offer my humble prayers. Turning this over in my mind, it occurred to me that a natural object for such intentions could actually be found among my ancestors: the last Catholics who died with the Faith among my forefathers. For descendents of European Christendom can feel quite assured that, even if their family has been beset by heresy since Luther’s day or before, some pious great great grandfather was laid to rest by his parish priest with the eternal Sacraments of the Church. And for this man we can safely pray; and wisely, for if he truly was the last of his family to hold the Faith until our time, he was not prayed for properly by his children and descendents. Or indeed, one could devote these prayers to the faithful among your ancestry who entered religion, or died childless. But for me, seeking a definite mental image for the aid of my weak will in forming an intention for prayer, nothing answers so well as to think of some neglected gravestones laid, perhaps, in the mid-sixteenth century, upon concecrated ground near a collapsed, or vanished, or disused country Church that marked the resting-place of the mortal remains of a man who might recognize me as kin if he saw me now; and who will certainly know me as such in Heaven, if God’s mercy and grace can save my own poor soul from damnation; who died trusting in God and with the Faith that came to him from the Apostles.
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St. Louis-Marie de Montfort,
Pope St. Pius X,
St. Joseph,
St. Ambrose of Milan,
St. Thomas Aquinas,
St. Francis (and St. Clare),
St. Catherine of Siena,
St. Alphonsus Ligouri,
St. John Chrysostom,
Although I suffer not from the dilemma of heretical ancestors, I think this is a lovely notion.
That picture of Padre Pio is great
Could we take ’signum fidei’ as the seal of baptism? In that case you could include all your baptised relatives, heretical or not.
Note that the prayer also includes ‘omnes in Christo quiescientes’. It is not for us to judge whether heretics rest in Christ or not, is it?
And surely Catholics can pray that even pagans may enter heaven? We can’t declare that they will, but we can implore God’s mercy for them. Right?
Yes, I have seen it said in many places, and have been told by Opus Dei priests, for a start, that it is OK to pray for our separated brethren. That is what I do (since none of my relatives have converted).
It is, after all, an act of charity.
Quaestor,
Regarding the ’signum fidei,’ the same thing occured to me. However, a little research proved that thesis false.
From the Cathechism:
1274 The Holy Spirit has marked us with the seal of the Lord (”Dominicus character”) “for the day of redemption.”85 “Baptism indeed is the seal of eternal life.”86 The faithful Christian who has “kept the seal” until the end, remaining faithful to the demands of his Baptism, will be able to depart this life “marked with the sign of faith,”87 with his baptismal faith, in expectation of the blessed vision of God - the consummation of faith - and in the hope of resurrection.
Ambrosius, I commend you for being able to excite your imagination with the thought of ancestors whom you never actually knew. It is a nice thought that in paradise we might meet long-dead Catholics who will recognize us as kin. Of course, as you go back, the number of ancestors will double with each generation, so at some point Catholics will almost certainly be included. (Although, for my dear fiance, whose ancestors all hailed from Taiwan or China, he might have to go back pretty far.)
I must confess, though, that for me rememering the unknown ancestor isn’t much better than a general intention to pray for the deceased Catholics everywhere. It even makes me mildly resentful to feel that I’m not supposed to pray for my own deceased relatives (the ones I remember) at that time, so I just do it. Maybe I’m breaking with the larger intentions of the Mass at that point… oh, well.
To clarify from Raindear’s point: our “separated brethren” are still baptized. So deceased Protestants could still be marked by the sign of faith. That doesn’t help people like me or Dr. A, but Ambrosius should be in the clear!
Clara,
It seems to me there is a bit of ambiguity in that passage from the Cathechism, particularly if you read the passage immediately preceding. It is not clear to me that to die “marked with the sign of faith” is merely to die in the state of sanctifying grace. If that were the case, those words could possibly apply to our separated brethren as well. However, the “demands of Baptism” may be more than that.
1273 Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, the faithful have received the sacramental character that consecrates them for Christian religious worship.83 The baptismal seal enables and commits Christians to serve God by a vital participation in the holy liturgy of the Church and to exercise their baptismal priesthood by the witness of holy lives and practical charity.84
It’s the bit about participation in the holy liturgy that has me wondering.
Get a copy of the Catechism of the Council of Trent and stop living in ambiguity.
Sanctifying grace is the share in the divine life that is required to get to heaven. That’s it.
The baptized can and do go to Hell.
It’s all about sanctifying grace.
Raindear,
I see that, but it didn’t seem to me to be a necessary condition *of being marked with the sign of faith.* Just a desirable follow-up to it, which no doubt influences whether the faithful do in fact find eternal life, but shouldn’t necessarily influence whether we can *pray* that they do.
JSP,
I’m sure everybody knows that you need sanctifying grace in order to be saved. Everyone likewise knows that the baptized can lose sanctifying grace and with it eternal life. Neither was at issue in this post.