Sixty-seven people unexpectedly lost their lives late Wednesday, when an American Airlines regional jet from Wichita, Kansas, collided with a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter near Washington’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Joining the Pope, Catholic clergy around the country, including Wichita, offered prayers for the deceased and condolences for victims’ loved ones, but also took the opportunity to remind Catholics about Church beliefs on the afterlife and suggested ways they can help those who have experienced such a tragedy.
Marian Father Chris Alar of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, a religious community whose charism includes praying for the dead, stressed that the D.C. tragedy is an important reminder of how “we need to be prepared for death, always living in a state of grace, as the end may come upon us unexpectedly.”
Those among the 67 who died in the state of grace are likely in purgatory, a place of “detachment, purification and preparation” for entrance to heaven. But, Father Alar stressed, those in purgatory are unable to pray for themselves and can no longer merit grace, “so only we can aid them. That is why prayers for the dead are so important.”
Quoting his community’s founder, St. Stanislaus Papczyński, Father Alar said, “praying for the dead is the greatest act of charity one can do, as they cannot help themselves.”
Among the pious practices the faithful can do on behalf of the dead, Father Alar mentioned having Masses said for the deceased and praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, which the Marian Fathers promote, as well as lighting a votive candle for the deceased in one’s parish church.
Marian Father Thaddaeus Lancton, novice master of the Marian Fathers, said of votive candles, “These candles emit light, a beautiful symbol in the midst of darkness. They are a beautiful symbol of faith and that we entrust our loved ones [or others in need] into the hands of God, be they in purgatory or heaven.”
Father Alar noted that the deceased may also be entrusted to the care of a saint; one of his favorites is St. Stanislaus, “who stressed the importance of praying for the holy souls in purgatory.”
He continued, “He had personal experience of the holy souls and told his brothers in the community, ‘You have no idea how much they suffer.’”
As far as helping the families and friends of the deceased, Father Lancton stressed the importance of the human touch, “embracing them in their pain. Tenderness, closeness and being with them as they shed tears” is important to helping victims’ loved ones to recover psychologically and emotionally.
Father John Paul Zeller, of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word, is EWTN’s employee chaplain who has lived as part of EWTN’s Franciscan community in Alabama for 20 years but frequently visits the EWTN News office in Washington. His first thought upon hearing of the D.C. crash, he said, was shock: “I fly American Airlines in and out of that airport every month. I myself could have been on that plane. It puts you in touch with your humanity and the frailty of human life.”
While Washington, D.C., is populated by many politicians and VIPs who are well-known, he stressed that “every person on that plane or helicopter is important, equal in value and dignity in the eyes of God.”
He, too, believes in the importance of prayers for the dead, noting that praying for the living and the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. “Often when I’m saying Mass I pray for those who will experience an unexpected death.”
He recommends praying for the deceased at Mass, including offering up one’s Communion for a deceased soul, as well as praying the Rosary, the Divine Mercy Chaplet and the Fatima prayer (“O, my Jesus, forgive us our sins …”).
Over the years he had presided over many funerals, including those of people who died unexpectedly, and noted that a common emotion expressed by loved ones at the loss “is one of helplessness. They fell like they can do nothing.”
But spiritually much can be done, he said. Additionally, the bereaved may want to avail themselves of support groups, and he specifically mentioned Red Bird Ministries.
He, too, likes the use of votive candles with prayer, “as it gives the bereaved something tangible to do.” Among his favorite saints from whom to seek intercession at such a time is his namesake, Pope St. John Paul II, who lost both parents and siblings at a young age. Father John Paul recalled, “He turned to Our Lady when he felt abandoned.”
Other prudent practices, he believes, include going to regular confession, particularly before traveling, and praying before and during a flight.
Msgr. Stuart Swetland, president of Donnelly College in Kansas City, Kansas, said that in a time of such tragedy, our first obligation is to pray for the dead and comfort the bereaved. We should pray for victims and their loved ones at Mass, he emphasized, and offer up our own daily sufferings and penances on their behalf.
He recommended many of the same pious practices, as well as the St. Gertrude prayer for the souls in purgatory and the St. Joseph prayer for a happy death (see below).
He added, “We may not know why God allows such things as the D.C. tragedy to happen, but we have to prepare ourselves for the possibility of such an event in our lives and accompany those who are grieving after experiencing such a tragedy.”
RECOMMENDED PRAYERS
Father John Paul Zeller’s suggested prayer for the dead:
Lord, do not call your servant to account; for no one can stand guiltless in your presence unless you grant him forgiveness of all his sins. Therefore, we pray, that in passing judgment you will not let your sentence fall heavily on one who is commended to you by the sincere prayer of Christian faith. But with the help of your grace may this servant, who during life was sealed with the sign of the Blessed Trinity, be found worthy of escaping the doom of your vengeance. We ask this of you who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.
Suggested prayers of Msgr. Stuart Swetland:
St. Gertrude Prayer for the Souls in Purgatory
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the Masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal Church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
St. Joseph Prayer for a Happy Death
O Blessed Joseph, you gave your last breath in the loving embrace of Jesus and Mary. When the seal of death shall close my life, come with Jesus and Mary to aid me. Obtain for me this solace for that hour: to die with their holy arms around me. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I commend my soul, living and dying, into your sacred arms. Amen.