Encounters with the Passed-on

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seremina

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Hi, all. I’m curious on how common it is to have an encounter with your passed-on loved ones? Any comments or thoughts on it? You could share your own and its up to you what level of personal stuff you share. Of course, you’re free to add the passed-on and me to your prayers.

In a nut-shell, I had a nap today. As I was falling asleep, I was hearing a whooshing wind but saw nothing. I figured perhaps my ears were just having a form of ringing going on. But when I was fully asleep, my grandfather came to me. We spend a lovely 24 hours together. He looked young but I knew it was him. We even fished together! He was nicely talkative and he was so normal than he was after I wasn’t a little girl anymore. I felt loved and we talked openly about various things. When it was over, it was like I was walking him home…but it was just sidewalk. The distance increased between us as we walked and I found I couldn’t keep up with him. I was starting to cry and I asked him if he had really passed on. He just smiled with a “you know” kind of smile and walked backwards in a happy fashion. Then I woke up. I didn’t want the visit to be over and it was nice seeing my hometown again. I could easily tolerate a visit from him even though I didn’t know what in the world to talk to him about. He was nicely choosing the topics for me and it was less awkward then. My reaction to this encounter is a mix of some tears but mostly numbness and wonderment.

A year or two ago, I had a similar encounter with my grandmother. It was different, but still along the lines of getting to spend time with her. I don’t remember if it was a 24 hour period or not, but I can vaguely remember that she did something she had never done in life. She asked me for forgiveness. Obviously, that got me crying. Of course I forgave her. But after resting on her chest as she hugged me, I woke up. I usually never liked to spend time with her, but I appreciated it that time and I wouldn’t want to miss out on the actual love and request for forgiveness. I didn’t know how to react to the encounter but I remember crying over it.

I’d appreciate sharing and feedback. I hope I’ve put this in the right area. I figured this would be part of Family Life, so I placed it here. If it gets moved, then that is fine. I’m going to submit this while I clean up my eyes. Thank you in advance for your replies.
 
I do not know how common it is, but I do know it happens. There is nothing beyond the ability of God. I have not seen physical manifestations but I have ‘felt’ the presence of grandparents at times. Whether it was them or the Holy Spirit in the role of comforter mattered little to me as it was just another sign of God’s love.
 
cthulhubryan said:
I do not know how common it is, but I do know it happens. There is nothing beyond the ability of God. I have not seen physical manifestations but I have ‘felt’ the presence of grandparents at times. Whether it was them or the Holy Spirit in the role of comforter mattered little to me as it was just another sign of God’s love.
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Or, maybe it was just a dream. :rolleyes:
 
I was nursing my son one night when I felt the presence of my deceased grandmother behind me, as though she was looking over my shoulder at him. She died before any of my children were born. I looked at the clock and noted the time. An hour later my aunt, GMs sister, called to say that their brother had died about five minutes after she visited me. I felt like she just dropped in to say hello before she went to pick up her brother.
 
Dear Seremina,
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    I  believe that God permits extraordinary  Gifts  to everyone.   I would pray for the repose of your loved ones who passed on and treasure the memory  of  the dream.   We are faced with so many terrifying things.  Why would not God permit something to encourgae  us?

    I  would talk this over with your confessor and have a disscussion perphaps at an appropiate time.
 
When people die, they go to heaven, to purgatory or to hell. There is nothing in Church teaching that would lead us to believe that our blessed deceased are permitted to interact with those on earth.

Pray for the soul of the departed, that is what we ARE supposed to do!
 
cthulhubryan said:
I do not know how common it is, but I do know it happens. There is nothing beyond the ability of God. I have not seen physical manifestations but I have ‘felt’ the presence of grandparents at times. Whether it was them or the Holy Spirit in the role of comforter mattered little to me as it was just another sign of God’s love.
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God can do amazing things - and continues to every day. I have also felt the presence of my dear parents in the years since they have passed away. Sometimes it’s in dreams that are wonderful, and other times it’s a “knowing” that they’re right beside me - and a heavenly peace accompanies the “visit”. I once was sleeping and had a “dream” or “visit”, whichever you choose to think, from my Mom. We were talking happily, and then we started to walk down some stairs. She had always had a great sense of humor, and it came right through. As I followed her down the stairs, I said, “Be careful so you don’t fall,” and she just laughed and replied, “It’s okay - I’m dead, remember??” We both got a big kick out of that, and I awoke feeling so happy to have “seen” her again.
She had always told me when she was alive that if you have a dream about some someone who has died, you should pray for the living. I do that now, but I also pray for the person who died who was in the dream - that God may embrace them in his eternal love until we meet again. I believe as we are praying for loved ones who have died that they are also praying for us and beside us helping us in this life to do as God would want.
 
I do believe some people are what is referred to as “gifted” but it’s not something to take lightly. I had several experiences as a young child that left me with the conclusion that maybe I was “gifted”. I read a great deal about the supernatural and decided it was too dangerous a path to mess with that stuff follows you around and you might attract something you don’t want. I made a deal with God while very young. I wouldn’t go near that path and he wouldn’t let me run across things that I didn’t want to experience. :eek: So far we’ve both suck to the deal and to be honest if I saw something or experienced something I wouldn’t stick around long enough to find out what it was anyway. 🤷 I’m a big coward when it comes to ghosts. Every now and then I do get a feeling I’m not alone or something strange happens but weather that’s God working behind the scenes or something else I just say a prayer and move on. 👍
 
If I recall correctly, the Church teaches that we can be visited by spirits of the deceased - but it should ALWAYS be something that God allows a spirit come to us. We should NEVER attempt to contact a spirit (other than God and His saints), because you don’t know what you will be getting. All of these “crossing over” TV shows are extremely dangerous, and it’s no wonder that possessions are way up.

That being said, assuming your experience was real (I have no reason to doubt it wasn’t), it seems that in your case the spirits came to you. In this case, there is nothing wrong with it. I would thank God for the gift you received, and ask that you may be guided to deeper holiness through the experience.

Peter Kreeft (a respected Catholic philosopher - just google him) has posited that there are three kinds of ghosts: happy, sad, and angry. Happy ghosts are sent by God from heaven to serve a purpose to help bring us closer to heaven. Sad ghosts are souls in purgatory who need to work something out, or have been allowed by God to send a message to someone. Angry ghosts are in Hell, and have been allowed to come to tempt us.

Your grandparents were happy. Rejoice, that is wonderful news! 🙂
 
Interesting view, Tedfay.

Never thought of ghosts in those categories.

Sierrah, you’re a smart one! 👍 Some “gifts” can be burdens. And it’s easy to be deceived by such “gifts.”
 
Liberanosamalo said:
Interesting view, Tedfay.

Never thought of ghosts in those categories.

Sierrah, you’re a smart one! 👍 Some “gifts” can be burdens. And it’s easy to be deceived by such “gifts.”
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Anyone who thinks that ghosts are glamorous or intriging should look up the movie “The Exercism of Emily Rose” it’s a great case study in what can happen. Even faith filled people can run into trouble with this stuff it’s better to just steer clear. 👍
 
Sierrah is right, best to stay clear; in other words, never invite ghosts. If God sends them to you, that’s another matter.

For the exorcism of Emily Rose, the Church was probably dealing with a demon and not a ghost; however, it’s possible it was a ghost. If a ghost, it almost certainly was a damned soul.
 
My experience came when I was about 12 years old. I received news from my father that my aunt, his sister, had died from a brain tumor a few days prior to me knowing. I cried alot that day, because I saw her as another mother in a sense. I dont remember if it was that same night or not, but I dreamt that my father, my aunt, and I were enjoying a car ride through some mountains. For those of you who are familiar with the area, it looked like we were driving through Santa Barbara Calif, with all the beautiful mansions. We were all happy and enjoying each others company. We then started to go down hill and ended up at this strip mall. My aunt got out of the car and I started to cry again. I told her not to leave to stay with us. She smiled and told me not to worry that she will come and pick us up.
 
smiles I’m appreciating everyone’s sharing of their experiences, and their thoughts.

It is true that we should not seek after these blessed experiences, because they must come from Jesus or Mary or our loved ones, not from our own doings nor requests.

I also appreciate that we’re all praying for each other’s passed-on loved ones. smiles
 
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