My Roman Catholic Friend and 2. Timothy 1:15-18, re: Praying for the Dead

2. Timothy, chapter 1:

15 You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me,including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

16 May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. 17 On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. 18 May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day! You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus.

From this passage my Roman Catholic friend of the previous post is intending to show that people--including as illustrious and authoritative a writer as the apostle Paul--do and ought to pray for the dead.

Specifically, he is attempting to show it from this short exclamation:  "May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day!"

As we can see from the context, nothing here indicates first of all, that Onesiphorus has died, second that Paul believes that a prayer for any person will be counted towards their righteousness.  

Moreover, we also see from the context, that Paul has suffered the loss of his leadership over a number of individuals in the church, even though he is an apostle, as he has just vigorously asserted with various preceding points.  In that sense, he is able to act as intercessor for these people who have turned specifically against him (and who are living).  Their faith in Christ may be in question now, but that is between them and God.  They have, however, rejected the messenger Paul without cause, having previously been dedicated to him and his message of the Gospel. This is an injury and injustice also to Paul, himself.  His own response is one of pious hope and forgiveness.  We see also Paul's Christ-inspired grace.  (He does not wish to  call down the fire from heaven, as certain disciples ones proposed to Jesus;  the "sons of thunder", as he nicknamed them.)  Yet, it will be the Lord himself who judges and dispenses mercy. 

Onesiphorus appears not have turned against Paul, but nothing further is explained regarding his present fate, just as we know nothing further about Phygelus and Hermogenes.  Anything more becomes a matter of conjecture.

We also note, that Paul attaches no invocation or affirmation to his pious hope of mercy.  Nor does he indicated that all should pray to the Lord for the mentioned individuals, living or dead, instituting here no Requiem Mass, so to speak.

This is the most flimsy passage imaginable, to burden Christian consciences with mandatory prayers for the dead and their achieving mercy.  People who have come out of Roman Catholicism, often speak about the heavy burden of guilt they carried, the hammer over their head.  This, here, would be another instance of burden:  the Christian struggles under the innumerable sins of others, when it is Christ who has born them all.  Let each come to repentance of his very own sins, instead, and turn to the Lord.