My Grandmama passed away on Thursday evening, January 20, 2011 at 6pm. She was a staunchly religious person with a strong faith and a lifelong commitment to the Baptist church. In our Baptists belief system, my Grandmama is now with Jesus in heaven, reunited with all of the believing souls that went before her, including my other Grandfather, her parents, her infant son, Stephen, who passed away before any of us knew him, and all those friends and relatives who already passed, believing, to the other side.
My Grandmother lived a righteous life, and prayed to God regularly. She was not frequently verbal about her faith, but her example taught all of us more than her words what she believed. She believed in love and commitment. That is evidenced by her 69 year marriage to my Grandfather. She believed in forgiveness. She believed in the power of prayer and in the power of worship. She believed in God's presence and she had faith that he knew more than we did, and therefore allowed things to happen that we didn't always understand, but that he did. She believed in Amazing Grace. She believed in generosity and giving - evidenced by the little checks she wrote for years to any number of organizations that asked for her support. She always gave. It might be $5, but she sent them money because they needed it and she had it to give. She will be missed greatly.
Her passing made me wonder what the Catholics believe about death. From what I gather, Catholics believe that there are some souls that are pure and sanctified at death - they have asked forvgiveness for all of their sins and have been forgiven at their death. They go to eternity pure, and those souls go straight to heaven to spend eternity with their Maker.
Others have not been forgiven or asked forgiveness for every sin they have committed - they may not have known to ask, they may not have expected to pass away in the moment they did, their death may have taken them by surprise and may not have had the opportunity to ask forgiveness. The majority of people, I believe, fall into this category, and end up in "Purgatory" which is, from what I gather, an "in-between" place, where they can wait until their souls are purified enough to go on to heaven. Hell is reserved for those souls who understood God existed and blasphemed and disrespected him in their lives. They were blatant in their direspect and they are the ones sent to Hell to live an eternity separated from God.
An interesting thing that is similar to Islam, is that Catholics believe that you can pray for the soul of the person in Purgatory or in Heaven. Catholicism gives those of us left on earth something to do when those loved ones depart. You can speed their arrival to heaven by praying that God's grace will forgive their sins, and asking forgiveness for what sins they did not confess. Praying to saints and lighting candles for them assists in this transition from Purgatory to Heaven.
The tradition and ritual in Catholicism is comforting in times like this when you are at a loss of what to do, in letting go of a loved one. I find myself praying more, and speaking to her, and Catholicism encourages this active grief - doing something useful with grief.
As I have, in American tradition, written a rememberance of my Grandmother, the things that stood out to me told me that my Grandmother, catholic or not, is with her Maker now. She was a good woman, who strove her whole life to be close to God and honor Him.
Rest in Peace, Grandmama.
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