Connection between the Rosary and brother's death
I am a recent convert and began praying the rosary about 2 months ago. Having a Methodist background, I was unfamiliar and uncertain about the rosary but after reading the history of it along with the Scott Hahn book "Hail Holy Queen", I decided I should begin a devotion to Mary.
Like Scott Hahn, I decided to ask for something seemingly impossible in my prepatory prayer. I decided that before every rosary I would ask that my brother might have his heart turned towards God. My brother had been into drugs and alcohol since his teenage years and has never been able to hold down a steady job. He was still living with our parents at the age of 50. He certainly had a big heart but he couldn't seem to get out of his depression and turn his life around.
Anyway, 3 weeks ago he was killed in a car accident. I am having a hard time reconciling this. How could this relate to the rosaries offered on his behalf - does it even relate at all? Now I find myself asking God to have mercy on my brother's soul.
Your thoughts on this would be much appreciated.
Thank you.
QUESTION from Melissa on June 16, 2004
ANSWER by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM on June 20, 2004
|
Dear Melissa: I am so sorry for your loss. I will be praying for the repose of your brother and for your entire family. Before answering your question, let me take this opportunity to speak to some general truths about prayer. Jesus said about prayer, "you have not because you ask not; you ask and do not have because you ask amiss. This teaching means that we cannot expect to receive an answer to prayer unless we offer that prayer and if we offer the prayer we must pray a proper prayer to expect that prayer to be answered positively. God will not intrude upon one's free will. For example, Johnny may pray that God will give him Sally to marry. This prayer may not be answered positively because God will not force Sally to marry Johnny. God may or may not even try to convince Mary according to His good will. In addition, even if God wants Sally to marry Johnny, the marriage will not happen if Sally and Johnny, through their free will, do not choose to marry each other; and both have to consent, of course. When we pray prayers where the positive answer depends upon the free will of another person, then we may be disappointed not because God said no to the prayer, but perhaps because the other person did not cooperate with God's will in the matter. The other general principle of prayer is that God DOES NOT inflict material evil on anyone. God never zaps anyone with illness, injury, harm, or death to teach the person a lesson or even to punish the person. These things are natural consequences of our own free will actions, the free will actions of others, or the consequences of a fallen world as a result of original sin. God may use these negative things, if we let him, to teach a lesson or to bring some other good out of tragedy, but he does not inflict us with such material evil. In terms of the eternal souls of people like your brother we can be comforted that no person on earth is EVER allowed to die without being given 1000s of opportunities to turn their heart to God. No on ever dies without given all the chances possible to come to our Lord. Although what I am about to say is not official Church teaching, it is based upon the nature of a Father's desire for his Child. I believe that our Father in Heaven will do anything possible to give the gift of salvation to His children. I know I would for my children; how much more would God the Father, who is the perfect Father, do so for His Children. The Bible itself says that God does not want anyone to perish. Thus, I think, it is reasonable to believe, given God's total love for us and desire for us to be with Him, that He would try to save us even at the last nanosecond of our lives. Thus even those who go to the point of death rejecting God, I believe that in the last nanosecond of life, Jesus Himself will appear to that person and say, "Son/daughter, this is your last chance, will you not come to Me?" This is one reason why, with the exception of when the Church declares a Saint, we can never really know who goes to heaven or hell. Even Hitler may have repented in his last nanosecond of life; we just do not know. Based upon God's total and perfect love for all His children I think it is reasonable to believe in this last-chance, last-second scenario. Now to your specific question. Your prayer for your brother did not facilitate your brother's death. As mentioned above God does not inflict material evil on anyone and thus He would not answer your prayer by causing the death of your brother as a way to get your brother to turn to Him. You brother died in a car accident because he was in a car accident. The car accident was caused by whatever circumstances that caused the accident. There is nothing more sinister or mysterious than that to explain why it happened. However.... ... your prayers may have saved your brother's eternal soul. Because of your love of him and your prayers for him I believe that his heart was likely softened so that when Jesus came to him in that last nanosecond of his life to give your brother one more chance, that your brother will more likely respond by reaching out to Jesus, and by that follow Jesus into the heavenly kingdom. This is the basis of our hope for him. Since your brother has now passed, we need to pray for his soul that he will find his time in purgatory a short one and thereby enjoy the fullness of the heavenly bliss as soon as possible.
May God richly Bless you, |