We continue with the book about the afterlife, titled “Shocking Revelations about Eternal Life.”
In this section, Elder Ephraim of Arizona is speaking.
Have you ever thought to pray for the souls that are in God’s “holding place”? Have you considered that souls are suffering terribly because they have not entered the Kingdom of God? Who will pray for these souls? This is the greatest act of charity—to pray for those people who are in God’s holding place, awaiting the day of final judgment. They tremble as the hour of the great judgment approaches, when they will be judged forever, and that state will have no end.
They are in great misery. If you could see them, you would feel deep pain. Let us put ourselves in their place. This kind of charity is the highest that a Christian can perform.
We know that all our sins—everything—are known to God but also to the devil. The tempter records in detail all our deeds, our thoughts, and our words in his records.
Thus, at the moment we are about to depart this life, or as we ascend toward God, the aerial toll houses will present all this multitude of sins—those we have forgotten and have not confessed to our spiritual father. At that moment, repentance no longer has value, because the time for repentance has ended. There is no repentance after we leave this life. The difficulty is immediate.
Let us struggle, then, and hope that God will make us worthy to reach the great homeland that exists in heaven—the heavenly Jerusalem.
Let me also read something from Saint Luke of Crimea:
“Never forget that our earthly life was given to us so that we may prepare for eternal life. Our eternal future will be judged based on how we lived here. We must be faithful to God. We must tirelessly, every day and every moment, serve God.”
And something from Saint Nektarios the Wonderworker:
“The soul after death is unable to perform any saving work or to free itself from the bonds of Hades. Only the Divine Liturgies, the prayers of the faithful offered on its behalf, and acts of charity become the cause of salvation and liberation from the bonds of Hades.”
In other words, if we pray for our departed loved ones, we help them. Their condition can even change. As Saint Paisios used to say, even someone who is condemned can be brought out and enter Paradise—like Anastasios, about whom I have spoken before.
He appeared to his cousin Aphrodite—I have made a video about this—and he said that he could not see light. But after prayers from people who did not even know each other, praying daily for Anastasios, he began to see light.
His mother did not believe at first, but eventually she began to pray as well. I have told you this story before. Later, Anastasios appeared to his mother holding a prosphora (blessed bread) and said that now he could see the light.
We can help our own people even there. A father can pray for his child and a mother for her daughter. For all those we have lost—our loved ones—we must pray.
We should offer charity in their name, make prostrations, hold memorial services, and offer Trisagion prayers.
Charity in their name means giving something to someone—a meal, a plate of food—and saying, “This is for the soul of my grandfather” or “for my mother.” For example, we may buy some fish and give it to a family, saying, “Let them eat this for the soul of my loved one.” The departed receives this.
That is all, my brothers. Let us never forget our departed brothers and sisters.
