The Bible, by denying purgatory, also denies any possibility of suffrage in favor of those who Catholic theologians say are in purgatory to atone for their debts. Suffrage, therefore, is a religious invention like purgatory.
The Word of the Lord reminds us that "each one shall carry his own burden" (Gal. 6: 5) and that no one "can in any way redeem his brother, nor give God the ransom price of him" (Psalm 49: 7). How, then, can it be believed that the living can somehow offer God an atoning sacrifice for the dead?
Suffrage is a doctrine contrary to the Lord's teachings. The only propitiatory sacrifice that has value is that made by Jesus Christwhen he offered himself on the cross for our sins; and it, as the Bible says, was accomplished once and for all and therefore is unrepeatable. And beyond that it can only benefit the living, in the sense that only the living can benefit from it, for those who accept it there is the remission of sins assured for eternity.
But as for those who have died in their sins, this sacrifice can no longer serve in any way since the time for them to believe in it and be forgiven is over. "If a tree falls south or north, where it falls, there it remains" (Eccl. 11: 3). No so-called atoning sacrifice (be it mass, or alms, or whatever) offered for them by those left on earth will ever be of use to them. Today is the day of grace, the day when you and your loved ones who are alive can turn to the Lord and receive salvation through faith in Him.
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