I was serving the Roman Catholic Church, particularly the Parish of San Agustín, Diocese of Surigao del Sur (Philippines) as Sacristan from 1985 to 1991, and as Mayor of Sacristan from 1991 to 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 the things that would be used in the celebration of the Mass that took place from one cemetery to another.
When everything was done, I felt the happiness, the joy that strengthened my tired body, because I believed that what I was doing glorified God.
But when I discovered the truth recorded in the Bible, repentance filled my heart. I really felt sorry for myself for wasting my strength, my time and my life doing those vain things before 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 feast.
The observance of All Souls’ Day is actually based on the doctrine invented by the Roman Catholic Church in Purgatory.
“The Day of All Souls, in the Roman Catholic Church, a day for the commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they have died with the guilt of minor sins in their souls, celebrated November 2 or November 3 if November 2 is Sunday … “(The New Encyclopeadia Britannica, Micropeadia, 15th Ed., sv ‘Day of the Dead’)
And those said souls in purgatory have nothing to do by themselves to shorten their sufferings:
“The poor souls in purgatory cannot do anything by themselves to shorten their suffering. But Christ, their Redeemer, always speaks to the Father for them, and Mary and the other saints also pray for 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 must also help those souls in purgatory:
“We should be generous in helping the poor souls in purgatory, who yearn for God. The best we can do for them is to have Masses offered for them. The church does not limit the time during which we can pray or offer Masses for them. souls suffering in purgatory. If we cannot have a Mass said, we should at least hear Masses for our deceased departed. If God so commands, a single Mass could liberate all souls in purgatory. We should especially offer Masses in All Souls. ‘day and on the anniversary of the death of our family and friends. ” (My Catholic Faith by Louis LaRavoire Morrow, DD, p. 258)
That is why Catholics celebrate All Souls’ Day to help suffering souls in purgatory.
But what is purgatory? According to the book “A Manual of the Catholic Faith”, purgatory is derived from the word ‘purgatoin’:
“The word Purgatory is derived from purification, which means purification as well as penance. It is, consequently, a state that purifies and cleanses souls as with fire.” (p. 460)
Catholic authorities are teaching this doctrine to the Catholic Church even though they know that purgatory is not written in the Bible.
“Scripture and Christian tradition no doubt affirm that heaven and hell exist, but what about that mysterious ‘third state’ that Catholics and some other Christians call ‘purgatory’? The term itself is not found in the Bible … “(Catholics and Christians, by Allan Sckreck, p. 195)
The doctrine of purgatory is based only on the tradition of men:
“THE IDEA OF PURGATORY finds its roots in Buddhism and other ancient religious systems, long before the existence of the Roman Catholic Church. Evidence for its introduction into Christian thought is found in some of the writings of the early Fathers of the church, dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries CE, but did not take place officially recognized until the time of Gregory I. “(Roman Catholicism in the Light of Scripture, p. 107)
Since this doctrine does not come from Christ or the Apostles, but from the tradition of men, we must condemn it because the Bible says so:
7 And in vain do they worship me,
Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. ‘[a]
8 By setting aside the commandment of God, you maintain the tradition of men[b]- the washing of jugs and cups, and many other things like that you do. “
9 He told them, “Very well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition” (Mark 7: 7-9, NKJV).
The Roman Catholic Church could not condemn the doctrine of purgatory that they invented because through it they would gain a lot. The Bible, of course, knows this “Merchandise of Souls” from the Roman Catholic Church:
11 And the merchants of the earth will mourn and mourn over her, because no one buys her merchandise anymore: 12 merchandise of gold and silver, precious stones and pearls, fine linen and purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of citron wood, all kinds of ivory objects, all kinds of objects of precious wood, bronze, iron and marble; 13 and cinnamon and incense, aromatic oil and incense, 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 “Marketing of Souls” is accomplished through the marriage of the doctrines of Purgatory and the Mass:
“Purgatory was invented by Rome in AD 593, but it remained a very unpopular doctrine for many centuries. However, when the Mass began, these two innovations of the Roman Church were inseparably connected to each other. The question arose in the Roman circles: ‘Can a mass of supposed infinite spiritual value free souls in purgatory?’ The Pope soon accepted this new idea and the imposture of the Mass in relation to Purgatory was born. Today our readers know how financially successful the marriage of Mass and Purgatory has been. There is not a single product in the world today that there is been more financially successful than these two religious doctrines, Mass and Purgatory. ” (I was a priest, by Lucien Vinet, p. 43-44)
These money-making doctrines were 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 yearn for God. The best we can do for them is to have Masses offered for them. The church does not limit the time during which we can pray or offer Masses for them. souls suffering in purgatory. If we cannot have a Mass said, we should at least hear Masses for our deceased departed. If God so commands, a single Mass could liberate all souls in purgatory. We should especially offer Masses in All Souls. ‘day and on the anniversary of the death of our family and friends. ” (My Catholic Faith by Louis LaRavoire Morrow, DD, p. 258)
So on November 2 or November 3, the Roman Catholic Church will again make a lot of money as Merchants of Souls, trading lost souls.