All Souls' Day: Unbiblical, Mere Invention, and Money-Making Festival

I was serving the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the St. Augustine Parish, Diocese of Surigao del Sur (Philippines) as a Sacristan from 1985 to 1991, and as Sacristan Mayor from 1991 - 1993. And during those times, the observance of the All Souls' Day was one of the busiest days for me. I was the one who prepared things which would be used in the celebration of Mass held in one cemetry to another.

When everything was done, I felt the happiness, the joy which strengthen my tired body, for I believed that what I did glorified God.

But when I discovered the truth recorded on the Bible, regret filled my heart. I was really sorry for my self for wasting my strength, my time and my life doing those vain things in front of God.

To let you know, never in the bible that All Souls Day mentioned and was observed by the first century Christian. Christ never taught doctrines behind this festival.

The observance of All Souls' Day is actually based on the invented doctrine of the roman Catholic church on Purgatory.

"All souls' Day, in the Roman Catholic Church, a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christian who are believed to be in purgatory because they have died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls, celebrated on Novermber 2 or November 3 if November 2 is Sunday..." (The New Encyclopeadia Britannica, Micropeadia, 15th Ed., s.v. 'All Souls' Day')

And those said souls in purgatory have nothing to do for themselves to shorten their sufferings:

"The poor souls in purgatory cannot do anything for themselves to shorten their suffering. But Christ, their Redeemer, is always speaking to the Father for them, and Mary and the other Saints are also praying through Christ and with Christ." (A Catholic Catechism, p. 337)

So Christ, Mary and the other Catholic Saints, according to the Catholic Catechism, are praying for the souls in purgatory. And not only that, the living should help those souls in purgatory too:

"We should be generous in helping the poor souls in purgatory, who long for God. The best thing we can do for them is to have Masses offered for them. The church puts no limit to the time during which we may pray or offer Masses for the suffering souls in purgatory. If we cannot have a Mass said, we should at least hear Masses for our dead departed. If God so wiulled, a single Mass could release all the souls in purgatory. We should offer Masses especially on All Souls' day and on the anniversary of the death of our relatives and friends." (My Catholic Faith by Louis LaRavoire Morrow, D.D., p. 258)

That's why Catholics observe the All Souls' Day to help the souls that are suffering in purgatory.

But what is purgatory? According to the book "A Handbook of the Catholic Faith", purgatory was derived from the word 'purgatoin':

"The word Purgatory is derived from purgation, which means purification as well as penance. It is consequently a state which purifies and cleanses the souls as with fire." (p. 460)

Catholic authorities are teaching this doctrine to the Catholic Church eventhough they do know that purgatory is not written in the Bible.

"Scriptures and Christian tradition undoubtedly affirm that heaven and hell exist, but what about that mysterious 'third state' that Catholics and some other Christias call 'purgatory'. The term itself is not found in the Bible..." (Catholic and Christian, by Allan Sckreck, p. 195)

The purgatory doctrine is based only on men's tradition:

"THE IDEA OF PURGATORY finds its roots in buddhism and other ancient religious system, long before the existence of the Roman Catholic Church. Evidences of its introduction in Christian thought are found in some of the writings of the early church Fathers, as far back as the third and fourth centuries of the Christian era, but it had no officially recognized place until the time of Gregory I." (Roman Catholism in the Light of Scriptures, p. 107)

Since this doctrine is not coming from Christ nor from the Apostles but from the tradition of men, we should condemn it because the Bible said so:

7 And in vain they worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.[a]
8 For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men[b]the washing of pitchers and cups, and many other such things you do.
9 He said to them, All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition. (Mark 7:7-9, NKJV)

The Roman Catholic Church couldn't condemn the doctrine of purgatory that they invented because through it they will earn much. The Bible, of course, know about this "Merchandise of Souls" of the Roman Catholic Church:

11 And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, every kind of citron wood, every kind of object of ivory, every kind of object of most precious wood, bronze, iron, and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, fragrant oil and frankincense, wine and oil, fine flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and bodies and souls of men. (Revelation 18:11-13, ibid)

This "Merchandising of Souls" is done through the marriage of Purgatory and Mass doctrines:

"Purgatory had been invented by Rome in A.D. 593 but it remained a very unpopular doctrine for many centuries. When Mass came into being however, these two innovations of the roman Church became inseparably connected with each other. The question came up in Roman circles: 'Can Mass of an alleged infinite spiritual value deliver the Souls in Purgatory?' The Pope soon accepted this new idea and the Mass imposture in connection with Purgatory was born. Today our readers know what a financial success the marriage of Mass and Purgatory has been. There is not a single product in the world today that has been more successful financially than these two religious doctrines, Mass and Purgatory." (I Was A Priest, by Lucien Vinet, p. 43-44)

This money-making doctrines became successful because all Catholics are told to help the poor souls in Purgatory by offering Masses for them, especially on All Souls' Day:

"We should be generous in helping the poor souls in purgatory, who long for God. The best thing we can do for them is to have Masses offered for them. The church puts no limit to the time during which we may pray or offer Masses for the suffering souls in purgatory. If we cannot have a Mass said, we should at least hear Masses for our dead departed. If God so wiulled, a single Mass could release all the souls in purgatory. We should offer Masses especially on All Souls' day and on the anniversary of the death of our relatives and friends." (My Catholic Faith by Louis LaRavoire Morrow, D.D., p. 258)

So, on November 2 or November 3, the Roman Catholic Church will again gain much money as Traders of Souls, merchandising the lost souls.

Sustines E. Laplana (SELaplana: http://www.selaplana.com ) is the first Pinoy Blogger and EMarketer in Southern Leyte, Philippines who blogs on Technology, Society and Reviews/Promotions of products and owns the Cellphones For Sale blog ( http://cellphones-for-sale.blogspot.com ). Writing articles is his passion. And writing religious articles is his love, so that everyone will learn the truth taught by the Bible.Gas Dryer Repair