This teaching is also based on the Practice of Prayer for the dead, already mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore Judas Maccabeus] made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their Sin." 607 From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and Offered Prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic Sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. 608 The Church also commends almsGiving, indulgences, and works of Penance undertaken on behalf of the dead: