5 Mistakes to Avoid When Having a Mass Celebrated for the Dead According to Natuzza Evolo

How to Live a Mass Celebrated for the Dead in the Light of Natuzza Evolo

Anyone who approaches the figure of Natuzza Evolo, the mystic from Paravati and now Servant of God, immediately discovers a constant feature of her life: her deep bond with the souls in Purgatory.

For decades, Natuzza said she saw the departed “as we see the people around us”: they would come to ask for prayers, Masses, acts of reparation; they cared about their relatives, asked for consolation and conversion for those who had remained on earth.

One well-known testimony is that of Sister Bianca Cordiano. The religious sister asked Natuzza for news about her deceased parents:– Natuzza immediately said that her mother was in Heaven.– For her father, however, she didn’t answer right away. Some time later, the mystic told her:

The detail struck everyone: October 7 is the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and the sister’s father was named Rosario. Natuzza did not know his name.

Episodes like this appear often in her story: souls ask for Masses, they thank people for the ones already offered, and sometimes they even “correct” the way we, here on earth, live them.

From the biographies, interviews and testimonies of her confessors and those who knew her, a clear conviction emerges:

What follows are not “five rules written by Natuzza”, but five recurring mistakes that emerge from her advice, from the messages of the souls, and from the Catholic tradition that she embodied with great simplicity.

1. Delegating Everything to the Priest and Not Taking Part

One of the most common attitudes is this: you go to the sacristy, leave an offering, write the name of the deceased… and that’s it.Sometimes you don’t even attend the Mass that has been scheduled for that intention.

From the testimonies we know that the souls, through Natuzza, asked not only that Mass be celebrated, but that their relatives be present and pray for them during the Eucharist.

The sacrifice of Christ on the altar has infinite value in itself, but the love of the one who asks for the Mass is like a “privileged channel” for that particular soul.

For this reason, in the light of Natuzza’s experience, the first mistake to avoid is “bureaucratic delegation”:

• it is not enough to “have a Mass said”;

• it is important to be there, to follow with faith, to unite one’s own pain and hope to those of Jesus.

The Mass for a deceased loved one is not a paid service: it is an act of love in which the priest celebrates in persona Christi, but the family stands beside Christ to offer that soul to the Father together with Him.

2. Attending Without Confession and Without Communion

Natuzza constantly repeated the importance of frequent Confession and Holy Communion received with faith. Those who knew her recall that she always encouraged people to receive Jesus in the Eucharist and to offer Him for the sick, for sinners, and for the dead.

The souls in Purgatory, she explained, have a “hunger for God” that they can no longer satisfy through the sacraments; we can receive Communion also on their behalf.

Therefore, when we attend a Mass for a loved one and do not receive Holy Communion, even though we could, we deprive that soul of immense help. It is like preparing a banquet and then leaving the main course on the table.

The mistake to avoid is thinking that “sitting in the pew” is enough.The Mass for the dead, in the spirit of Natuzza, should be lived in this way:

• preparing ourselves, if possible, with a good Confession;

• receiving Communion and explicitly offering it for that soul, for example:“Jesus, I offer this Communion for…”.

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3. Spending on Flowers and Monuments, but Not on Masses and Charity

Natuzza was in full harmony with the tradition of the saints when she insisted on the value of acts of charity offered for the dead.

Testimonies often reflect this evangelical logic:

And yet, how many times do we see:

• large amounts of money spent on funerals, wreaths, headstones, decorations;

• but for that soul there is only one Mass, or none at all;

• no thought of giving alms to the poor, helping a struggling family, or supporting a work of the Church.

Natuzza reported that the souls rejoiced when, instead of spending on purely external things, someone made a hidden donation in their name.

Thus, in the light of her teaching, the mistake to avoid is measuring love by what can be seen at the cemetery, instead of by what is offered in secret:

• at least part of what we would spend on flowers could become? Masses,? concrete charity,? silent help to those who suffer.

That is what truly “speaks” before God on behalf of our deceased loved one.

4. Praying with Despair Instead of with Hope

Grief hurts, and Natuzza knew this well: throughout her life she listened to mothers, fathers, children crushed by sorrow. Crying is human, and the Gospel itself shows us Jesus weeping over Lazarus.

But the mystic of Paravati warned against a kind of despair without faith, which denies eternal life and considers the deceased as “lost forever”.

In her experiences, Natuzza saw souls:

• in waiting, when they were in Purgatory;

• in the light, when they were already in God’s joy;

never as “annihilated”.

The Mass for the dead, then, must become a moment of hope, not of mere tragedy:

• if we go to the altar only with anger, rebellion, resentment towards God,we close ourselves to Grace;

• the souls, said Natuzza, feel our inner state:prayer made with trust consoles them,prayer made with despair saddens them.

The mistake to avoid is living the Mass as pure “tragedy”, without an opening to the Resurrection.The right attitude is to say, even through tears:

5. Thinking “One Mass Is Enough” and Forgetting the Dead Over Time

From the testimonies gathered around Natuzza, another point emerges:many relatives remember their dead only on a few occasions:

• the funeral,

• the thirty-day Mass,

• the anniversary of death.

Then, gradually, the suffrage fades away.

Natuzza, however, spoke of forgotten souls who suffered precisely because no one prayed for them anymore. Some asked explicitly for more Masses, more Rosaries, more sacrifices offered in their favor.

Catholic theology teaches that “time” in Purgatory does not correspond to our earthly calendars; some souls may require a long purification.

For this reason, in the light of Natuzza’s experience, the mistake to avoid is stopping too soon:

• let us not limit ourselves to “official” anniversaries;

• have Masses celebrated on ordinary days too, simply out of love;

• keep remembering the dead in our daily prayer.

And if the soul is already in Heaven?No Mass is ever wasted: Natuzza recalled that, in that case, the grace is “redistributed” by Our Lady and by the Lord to other souls in greater need, or poured out as blessings on the very family that offered the Mass.

A Living Act of Love

In the light of the life of Natuzza Evolo, the Mass Celebrated for the Dead is neither a bureaucratic religious act nor a social custom, but a living bridge of love between earth and Heaven.

To sum up, the mistakes to avoid are:

1. Delegating everything to the priest and not taking part.

2. Being satisfied with merely “attending” without Confession and without Communion.

3. Spending on flowers and monuments, but not on Masses and charity.

4. Praying only in despair, without hope in the Resurrection.

5. Forgetting the dead after a short time, as if they no longer needed us.

Lived in this way, every Mass becomes a real embrace for our loved ones:we accompany them towards the full light of God, and at the same time, we ourselves find that peace which the world cannot give.

Natuzza often repeated: