Acknowledgement: Rev. William Saunders, "Mass for the Dead" - (T)he offering of Mass and other prayers or sacrifices for the intentions of the faithful departed are good and holy acts... This practice is not new. The Catechism asserts, "From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic Sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God" (No. 1032).