Can the dead see what we do?

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KnightIHSV

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My beloved mother passed away in 2010. I miss her terribly. I am due to get married soon, and I would like to think that my mother can, in some way, see or understand what I am doing here and particularly that I am now getting married. I suspect she is not a spectator on my life but I just pray and hope she can see what I am doing.

I often feel quite upset towards God that I have lost my mother at a relatively early time, so hope that God could at least give me some indicator that my mother knows what is happening here.

Thanks to any who can answer and sorry if this seems a strange question.
 
I don’t know that there is anything official on the matter, but since you can pray to a saint and ask them for intercession, they must have some awareness of us here, even if the Spirit mediates. It also may help to consider the angels’ awareness. The angels in heaven observe everything about us and are aware of our activity (Ps. 91:11, Luke 15:10).
 
KnightIHSV said:
My beloved mother passed away in 2010. I miss her terribly. I am due to get married soon, and I would like to think that my mother can, in some way, see or understand what I am doing here and particularly that I am now getting married. I suspect she is not a spectator on my life but I just pray and hope she can see what I am doing.

I often feel quite upset towards God that I have lost my mother at a relatively early time, so hope that God could at least give me some indicator that my mother knows what is happening here.

Thanks to any who can answer and sorry if this seems a strange question.
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IMO and from listening to other people tell their experiences, yes and your mom will be there. I hope you’ll carry a picture of her or wear something of hers to honor her and expect her to be watching.
 
Why not ask God that she be witness to it? If he wills it, it can happen!
 
I worried about this for a long time. Finally put two and two together and found peace. Our parents who have passed away are experiencing perfect happiness (heaven by definition) and are not exposed to anything unpleasant. I don’t know if they can or do observe our behavior but regardless, nothing can interfere with their bliss. Our lives are our lives and as long as we** try **to follow in Jesus footsteps in everything that we do, we’re in good shape.
 
I read that the souls in Heaven can view anyone/anthing relevent to their former earthly life. I may have also read that this is the case of the souls in Purgatory. I think I read this in the Catholic Encylopedia one time when I looked up “preternatural.”
 
KnightIHSV said:
My beloved mother passed away in 2010. I miss her terribly. I am due to get married soon, and I would like to think that my mother can, in some way, see or understand what I am doing here and particularly that I am now getting married. I suspect she is not a spectator on my life but I just pray and hope she can see what I am doing.

I often feel quite upset towards God that I have lost my mother at a relatively early time, so hope that God could at least give me some indicator that my mother knows what is happening here.

Thanks to any who can answer and sorry if this seems a strange question.
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Yours is a most natural question. Yes, she can see you, and you have not lost her, you will never loose your beloved mom. She is by the Lord’s side, intercedes for you, and in accordance to the glory that God will choose to give her she will be able to shower blessings on you and your family.

Please remember that Christ is giving you the indicator you ask through his Bride, the Church. The Church teaches that there is a communion of saints, meaning that there is a spiritual union between the church militant (those alive on earth), the church penitent (those undergoing purification in purgatory in preparation for heaven), and the church triumphant (those already in heaven), for we are all members of the mystical body of Christ. Here, the word saint does not mean canonized, but is used to refer to all people consecrated to God, regardless of their personal sanctity.

Just like you can and will pray for her, she can and will pray for you; yet, how much more powerful will her prayers be, since she has the rejoicing of being at the presence of Almighty God! She will see Him face to face, and see how He is constantly helping you and your family even when you, amidst tribulation, may barely see God’s work.

This is the sign, the blessed indicator that God has given his little ones for their consolation. There is nothing more beautiful in this world than life and the love of our family, of our nearest and dearest. But when one of us is born to heaven and admitted into the eternal bliss of God’s presence, such great glory is worth rejoicing, even amidst tears of sorrow…

Blessed are you who weep now…do not let your hearts be troubled… rejoice that I am going to the Father…you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice!

God has destined us
for acquiring salvation
through our Lord Jesus Christ.
He died for us,
that all of us,
whether awake or asleep,
together might live with him.

http://www.cpcr.org/fr2/images/stories/documents/communion+saints_r.jpg
 
Thank you to everyone. I really appreciate it. I have struggled and still struggle with my mother’s passing, which occurred almost 2 years ago.

I do not regret that she is no longer in pain as she battled cancer. I do not wish her to be suffering. However, I feel she was taken from me and others long before I and we were ready.

My mother was a very devout and holy woman, she taught me to read by reading the Bible and she was a catechist teacher and regular Mass goer. She was an amazing woman who had already had numerous crosses in her life. I just feel that how she suffered and passed before her time was unfair and I have found it hard inwardly to trust God after this, even if outwardly I have kept up a facade that I am as happily Catholic as I once was.

I wish she was here for my wedding and for some of my life. Hopefully she can see me and know that I love her and think of her every day.
 
KnightIHSV said:
I just feel that how she suffered and passed before her time was unfair and I have found it hard inwardly to trust God after this, even if outwardly I have kept up a facade that I am as happily Catholic as I once was.
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I wanted to comment about this and I know it’s a sensitive subject. Your mom sounds like a wonderful woman and filled with holiness. Did you ever notice how often the holiest people have these very difficult passings? I think as hard as it was for her family to watch, God graces souls with the suffering they can bear and they become channels of Grace for us all and skip that whole Purgatory business. That is, I think she is happy she went through it. And I think she would like you to be as close to God as she. I also think both of them understand your anger.
I wish she was here for my wedding and for some of my life. Hopefully she can see me and know that I love her and think of her every day.
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She sees. She will be there. Expect miracles.
 
Thank you very much. Yes, my mother was a wonderful woman and I cannot stress how much I hate writing about her in the past tense. She was a saint and she lived her life for other people, never putting herself first, instead always helping others, no matter how much they pained or drained her. My mother was an infinitely better person than I am and I do worry that, if indeed there are degrees of heaven, then I will never see her in Heaven as she will be in a higher place than me!

It was not just that my mother passed before I think was a fair time but that she also had a long battle with cancer and by the end she suffered great pain.

I know all of the Catholic gumpf we tell ourselves about “the heaviest crosses are given to God’s best friends” but it is very hard to square with the suffering of someone you love deeply. It is hard to carry with you and I have found it intrude upon my ability to trust in God and understand what God wants.
 
Knight, I’m going to say a bunch of stuff, and I want to mention before I do, both my parents died of lung cancer. I say this because I might sound sort of hard, but I also get where you are coming from a bit.
KnightIHSV said:
Thank you very much. Yes, my mother was a wonderful woman and I cannot stress how much I hate writing about her in the past tense.
She was a saint and she lived her life for other people, never putting herself first, instead always helping others, no matter how much they pained or drained her. My mother was an infinitely better person than I am and I do worry that, if indeed there are degrees of heaven, then I will never see her in Heaven as she will be in a higher place than me!
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Okay, your mom is not in past tense, your mom is alive and well and happy and right here. She is still wonderful, still a saint, still serving others. We get to be who we are when we pass, only even better. If she was “better” than you while she was here and you were close to her, she will be close to you when you pass, too. Love is everything, you will be with those you love. The point I am making is: stop putting her in past tense. I’m afraid you are doing this in your mind because of…
It was not just that my mother passed before I think was a fair time but that she also had a long battle with cancer and by the end she suffered great pain.
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We get stuck on their deaths. My step-mother was stuck on my father’s terrible death for years and years. To them, it was a bare split second in time, and that suffering ensured a lot of wonderful things for eternity. If you get stuck on the death, on the suffering, you never move past it so you can have a new relationship with her now. Yes, you can. She’s fine. She’s right here. But you can’t perceive that because you are back on the suffering death part. She is WAY past it. Was a split-second after she passed.
I know all of the Catholic gumpf we tell ourselves about “the heaviest crosses are given to God’s best friends” but it is very hard to square with the suffering of someone you love deeply. It is hard to carry with you and I have found it intrude upon my ability to trust in God and understand what God wants.
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I know. I know you suffered watching her suffer. I know you were hurt by it and are angry about it. I truly get that. Here’s the question: you describe your mom as a devout person of enormous faith and charity. Do you honor her by allowing yourself to be distanced from the God she loves and her life of service? She’s okay. And she has been okay for a long time now. What does she want? Right now, what does she want for you? To hang on to your anger? Or to get past it and celebrate her life? She’s with God. If you block God, you block her. Love doesn’t stop because people pass.
 
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