What does Masses for the soul of the dead mean?

Answer 1

The Holy Mass is at the centre of Christian life for Roman Catholicism. It is derived from the Jewish feast of the Passover whereby Jewish people celebrate the deliverance of their ancestors from Egyptian slavery by Moses. On the evening before His crucifixion, Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, offering them bread and wine thereby sealing a new covenant with himself and mankind for the remission of the sins of the world. He offered His disciples the customary bread and wine asking them to partake of His body and blood and bidding them to do this in His memory until He should come again. (Luke 22: 14-20) For Roman Catholicism this is not a representational celebration, it is an offering of the actual body and blood of Jesus. Roman Catholics are bound to attend Mass each Sunday or the Saturday vigil Mass and on obligatory feast days of significance to the Roman church. The Mass for the deceased is also known as the Requiem Mass ( requiem coming from the Latin word for rest or may they rest). When a Roman Catholic dies, their family arrange to have this special celebration of the Mass said, recited or sung to honour Jesus' bloodless sacrifice and herald the soul of the deceased as they enter the world beyond this physical one. Apart from The Anointing of the Sick, this is the last solace the Roman church can offer the deceased person and their family. It is also possible to arrange to have a person remembered in any Mass apart from the original Requiem Mass.