Does praying for the dead do any good?

Before a grave, the heart asks to do something, yet it seems nothing more can be done. Faith says otherwise: pray. The Church has prayed for her departed from the beginning, because death does not break communion: those who die in friendship with God may still need to be fully purified, and your prayer truly helps them on that journey. It is neither superstition nor a way to fool grief. It is the final work of mercy toward those you loved: you can no longer visit them or hug them, but you can continue doing good to them. Love finds there its way to keep working. That is why a Mass for your grandfather, or an Our Father when remembering someone, is not just "to feel better." They reach them. And one day, perhaps, someone will do the same for you.