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2 Maccabees 12:37-39
New Catholic Bible
2 Maccabees 12:37-39
New Catholic Bible
37 Then, raising a battle cry in his ancestral tongue, along with hymns, he launched a surprise attack and put the forces of Gorgias to flight. 38 Thereupon Judas rallied his forces and advanced to the town of Adullam. Inasmuch as the seventh day of the week was at hand, they purified themselves according to custom and kept the Sabbath there.
39 The Sacrifice for the Dead.[a] On the following day, since the need had now become urgent, Judas and his men went to collect the bodies of those who had fallen and to bury them with their kindred in their ancestral tombs.
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- 2 Maccabees 12:39 Judas has a sacrifice of expiation celebrated that God may pardon the sins of the dead. From the viewpoint of the faith, this passage is of great importance. First of all, it bears witness in an explicit manner to belief in the resurrection of the dead. Secondly, it gives weight to the conviction of the Church concerning a purification after death, that is, during that provisional condition in which the deceased—before living fully in God—expiate their sins and can be aided by the prayer of the living. Thirdly, the passage also offers testimony on behalf of the communion of saints, that is, that spiritual exchange that unites all the faithful with one another.
