Being "visited" by someone who has died

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I don’t want to burst anyone’s bubble and maybe I’m misinformed but doesn’t the church teach us that upon death, the soul goes to one of three places – heaven, purgatory or hell?

Nowhere in church teaching have I ever heard that a person can spend part of of purgatory here on earth. Purgatory is a time of purification and the souls in purgatory are being purged of the stains of sin which were still left upon their souls at the time of their death. I can’t see how walking around here on earth and seeing loved ones would be a way of having their stains of sin purged away. The only possible reason that they MIGHT show up on earth is to ask for prayers and masses to be said to speed their release from purgatory. They wouldn’t just show up for a visit.

In the same regards, the poor souls that have been condemmned to hell are in a far worst place than purgatory and would also not be walking the earth.

Finally, the souls that enter into heaven, are in the presence of almighty God which is pure love. They are finally at “home” and this means that they are not free to go back to earth to take a walk around. God may allow a soul from heaven to return to earth but it is usually with a purpose relating to a person’s spiritual salvation and not merely just to stop by.

So, if it doesn’t fall into one of the two above categories (souls in purgatory seeking prayers and/or masses to speed their release from purgatory or souls from heaven with messages pertaining to a person’s spiritual salvation), then these “visit” could be one of two possible causes: [1] It is merely our subconscious mind longing for a departed loved one; [2] It is a demon pretending to be a departed loved one doing it for some evil purpose.
 
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Katie1723:
Has anyone had a similiar experience? My father passed away in July of '03, and several times since then I swear he came to me, in my dreams, on the way home from work, in church. I knew it was him because several times i could “smell” him, mostly by the aftershave he used.Once he even gave me a hug. Anyway, my partner’s church says “the dead know nothing and are dead…period.” Therefore they cannot “visit” us. What are your thoughts on this?
Kathy
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Yes, I do believe this is possible, the saints have appeared to others after they have passed on, and let us not forget the Holy Souls in Purgatory who may be able to appear to us in some way to remind us to pray for them…I do not to claim to know where your father is, but don’t forget to alwys pray for him if you are reminded of him for some reason.
About your friend/partner’s church saying the dead are dead period…they are “dead wrong”…and you can use scripture to prove this since they are usually “sola scriptura” or whatever they may be (them accpeting the tuth is a different story though) though I can not remember the passage…I can remember that the passage is Jesus speaking and He says “I am the God of the Living…” don’t remember where it is, but I will have to find it because I had a protestant try to get me on this one too when I mentioned praying to intecessors like the angels and saints. When I walked away, I remembered that passage.
We have to be careful as satan knows the truth and if people are in purgatory and need prayers, satan will try to convince us they do not exist so that we do not pray for them…being decieving is his buisness…
 
I’m surprised to read that so many have had similar experiences. I have always thought of them as “visits.”

After a former boyfriend died I was “visited” in dreams after. They were very vivid and unusual because I never dream about people I know. It’s also interesting because he told me when he was little he once saw Jesus standing at the foot of his bed. He was scared so he hid under the covers.
 
About a month ago, my girlfriend’s grandfather died suddenly. She had a dream that he had come to her and gave her a hug…five minutes before the call came to say he had died!

Also, you might want to have a look at this site:
saint-mike.org/library/brojp/7ghosts.asp

peace!
 
I was listening to a radio show on EWTN some time back and caught the tail end of a discussion on ghosts and whether or not they are compatible with Catholic doctrine. From what I heard the priest or theologian saying was that they are indeed compatible. However, I wish I heard the whole discussion so I knew what the reasoning was.

Here’s a link I found briefly talking about ghosts:

domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19980901/ARTICLES/GHOSTS.HTM
 
I have not been visited except in dreams, but I can tell you this. My parents are both deceased. They were married for almost 60 years, and they were both cradle Catholics who never missed Mass on Sunday. They also raised a large family with very little money. I decided that it is okay to pray to them because I don’t know why they wouldn’t be in heaven.

The amazing thing is how well these prayers get answered. I could give multiple examples. I had volunteered to write the thank-you notes for Mom’s funeral, and I had over 50 of them to write. I was frustrated because my return address stickers were lost. I spent days looking for them. Finally, in exasperation, I said, “Mom, if you want me to send these thank-you notes for your funeral, you’re going to have to help me find these address stickers!” About 5 minutes later, I found that they had slipped between the cushions on the couch.
 
Mt19:26:
I was listening to a radio show on EWTN some time back and caught the tail end of a discussion on ghosts and whether or not they are compatible with Catholic doctrine. From what I heard the priest or theologian saying was that they are indeed compatible. However, I wish I heard the whole discussion so I knew what the reasoning was.

Here’s a link I found briefly talking about ghosts:

domestic-church.com/CONTENT.DCC/19980901/ARTICLES/GHOSTS.HTM
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I don’t consider these visits ghosts. I’m not sure how I would explain it but not ghostly.
 
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Listener:
I have not been visited except in dreams, but I can tell you this. My parents are both deceased. They were married for almost 60 years, and they were both cradle Catholics who never missed Mass on Sunday. They also raised a large family with very little money. I decided that it is okay to pray to them because I don’t know why they wouldn’t be in heaven.
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One may ask for the intercession from those in purgatory as well. I hope you have continued to pray for them when you pray to them.
 
In 1978 we moved into the house where my wife’s aunt died. We often hear foot steps in the upstairs and doors opening and closing. One time we came home and all the lights had been turned on even all the burners and oven were turned on, on our electric range. We have things vanish and then find them again days later just where we left them. I prayed for my father after he died that he would find his way to heaven and would not have to stay in purgatory long, and one night after months of prayer, I got a great sence of peace that He was now in Heaven and enjoying the beauatific vision of God.
God Bless
 
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