I believe in reincarnation. Question

[mrsdizzyd]

I’ve been searching and searching for something that will convince me that reincarnation doesn’t happen but the fact is I “knew” as a very, very young child that it is what happens and 40 years on I’ve not found anything that has changed that. My reasons for believing this are too personal to share on the internet.

So, my question: I believe there is something important offered by the Catholic church, and I am open to finding something that would change my mind about reincarnation (whatever that would be…)

Not knowing what that thing is that makes you believe in reincarnation makes it difficult for any of us to be able to help you. You are working with a specific set of experiences that none of us are privy to. Those experiences out way the word of God to you. We are in an impossible situation here.

The key for you lies in those personal experiences that make you believe reincarnation is true. Find someone knowledgeable about the faith who you would be willing to discuss all of those personal details with.

I think that you are constantly being drawn to the faith because God is calling you to follow him. He never leaves us nor forsakes us no matter how far or how long we stray from him.

Answer God’s call. Come home.

 

[adamhovey1988]

I know a Hindu guy, he goes to rcia classes, and I don’t know if he’s actually going to become a Catholic, and if he does that’s up to him. I fully expect him to believe in reincarnation, because he’s Hindu. I think before you say that you accept the idea of reincarnation, you need to look at the religions that believe in reincarnation, like Hinduism and Buddhism, and see what they believe about them, because they don’t even believe the same things about them. I think it’s admirable that you’re coming here and telling us about this, and you’re letting us dialogue with you about this, but, if you’re going to call yourself a Christian, reincarnation is not something you can believe in. By the way, why would I want to be reincarnated when I can spend eternal life with Jesus? I suggest, if you haven’t, that you read the book of Revelation. I know a lot of people think it’s kind of scary, but it’s actually a message of hope.

 

[mVitus]

Your candor is appreciated. Through all this it shows through that you’re being genuine. I do hope for you that you’ll be able to find tge thing that makes everything in Catholicism " click" for you. I’ll keep you in my prayers.

 

[catholic4ever]

To elaborate on the #sorrynotsorry part:

One time I had committed a particular sin that I knew I needed to confess, but I really didn’t feel all that sorry. Although I knew that what I’d done was wrong, I felt justified in doing what I did. I talked to a priest I knew well about it. I asked him whether my lack of contrition would bar me from having a valid confession. He told me that you do not need perfect contrition to go to Confession. God can take what imperfect contrition you do have and enhance it in the sacrament.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

1453 The contrition called “imperfect” (or “attrition”) is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance.

This is in contrast with “perfect contrition”:

1452 When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called “perfect” (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.

Given that you think you may have a tendency toward scrupulosity, I would advise just going to Confession. I don’t want the #sorrynotsorry consideration to scare you away from going. God can do a lot with any level of contrition–boy, do I know that from personal experience. Tbh, a really half-hearted Confession was what sparked my first true interior conversion. Just be frank with the priest about where you’re at with this. I know it’s hard, but try not to overthink it all too too much.

 

[Lee1]

I used to think about reincarnation before I became a Catholic but frankly what would it matter even if by some chance it was true. Each life would be lived not knowing about the last so why consider it? From that point of view I’d suggest just getting on with life, the only one you can be sure of and the only one which counts anyway.
God bless.

 

[otjm]

I did not say you got it directly from New Age or Eastern religions; only that they are the source of it.

I choose to be honest too, and follow God’s revelation. And I don’t recall saying that doing that was easy. I firmly believe in the prayer “I believe; God help my unbelief.”

 

[Erikaspirit16]

I know… could be imagination or simple delusion.

Yup. It is.

Finally, I unfortunately know that all of this is a conglomeration of beliefs from different world religions and that people often point to new age when they hear this kind of talk.

Yup. There’s a reason people “often point to New Age…” That’s because it is.

My only comment is that New Age people have a lot of “feelings” and “emotions.” But not much logic, if any. There is something of an issue of pride here. People that “feel” this way think they are special. Somehow they have been “chosen” (by whom?) or given a “gift” of “spirituality.” They are “better” than other people. The 99.999% who don’t feel the way they do are…what? Inferior beings? Normal? Logical?

As for Catholicism, or any other organized religion, you can’t just pick one or two things you like and then say “I am a Catholic” or “I am a Buddhist.” It’s a package deal. You can doubt or quibble with minor things, but if you can’t say the Nicene Creed and mean it, it’s hard to say you are a Catholic or a Christian. That’s the basics.

 

[woolycaterpillar]

Reincarnation wouldn’t be fun. There must be a better life in a more loving place than remaining here on earth to keep reincarnating. That could be pretty monotonous.

 

[Francis]

@Asthmalady

I’ve been searching and searching for something that will convince me that reincarnation doesn’t happen but the fact is I “knew” as a very, very young child that it is what happens and 40 years on I’ve not found anything that has changed that. My reasons for believing this are too personal to share on the internet.

Only God can take incarnation ,which he did ,the Word became flesh, John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.

Did your parents or did you visit any other religious place of worship,visits, other than the Catholic Church prescribes,have you gone to temples or prayed over by another person who belong to other religions,or participated in unholy pagan or gentiles rituals,watching videos, reading articles ,if so its a grievous mortal sin which has to be confessed in kind and in number,please do make an detailed Examination of conscience especially of sins against the 10 Commandments.as in Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.” it is said Jesus is the only way, John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This is the reason for your belief in reincarnation as a young child because of participating,is such gentiles practices. reincarnation can be only termed as possession by evil spirits eg: some say spirit of the gods are in that boy (2 Thessalonians 2: 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God.)or human dead spirits ,as an example ,some say their grandfather is living in my grandson.

so I’m wondering if I regularly went to confession and confessed believing in reincarnation with an openness to (but pretty much no actual expectation that) my mind might be changed would it then be licit to partake in the rest of the sacraments?

We cannot fool God Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.please do make an detailed Examination of conscience especially of sins against the 10 Commandments http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-wor...entals/penance/examinations-of-conscience.cfm

and I am open to finding something that would change my mind about reincarnation (whatever that would be…)

New Age are: ancient Egyptian occult practices, Cabbalism, early Christian gnosticism, Sufism, the lore of the Druids, Celtic Christianity, mediaeval alchemy, Renaissance hermeticism, Zen Buddhism, Yoga and so on.([15]
(http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p...pc_interelg_doc_20030203_new-age_en.html#fn15))

 

[Asthmalady]

Your memories might be wrongly interpreted by you. You might have seen or heard a discussion on reincarnation and thought, well there you go, thats me.

I suppose that is possible, but HIGHLY unlikely considering the environment I grew up in. It’s not something that would have been discussed by my family and I didn’t go many other places before age 5 because I had a stay at home mother. The few times I have brought it up to my parents I asked them if I ever talked of a past life when I was little… they’d freak out, get mad, once my mother said, “well, you were a weird kid.” but there’s never been any open discussion about it. So again, possible but highly unlikely.

But you are a cradle catholic. Have you been given the sacraments ?

Yes, I have received all of the available sacraments - baptism, reconciliation, communion and confirmation. I am also married in the church, went to Catholic schools for elementary and high school and as an adult have worked for Catholic institutions. I’m working for one now as a matter of fact. I was also a lector until I realized that this issue was something I had to grapple with before I could be an authentic lector.

Why not try this. Forget all the reincarnation stuff you have going on. And just start attending Mass and Praying to God.

That is exactly what I’ve spent my life doing before I decided I had to finally grapple with this. It is a nice suggestion, but it didn’t work out the way we hoped it would. I do pray daily, for myself and others. I talk to God. I embrace silence. I ask to not believe in reincarnation. I ask to be shown the truth. He has never shown me anything else.

We are Catholic because we love God. And to love God we must follow His commandments.
You don’t have to tell everyone you think reincarnation is real. just go talk to the priest where you would attend mass. Go to reconciliation there.

Ha! I don’t tell ANYONE I think reincarnation is real save a few individuals. One in the Clergy and one Sister who I thought I could trust to guide me… and they all stopped speaking to me. The Sister won’t return my phone calls. Occasionally someone will tell me they think it is and I usually play dumb which is a survival tactic because I live in a very small town and word travels fast.

Unfortunately this is not a simple problem. There’s a whole lot of, “Well, you’re wrong. Get over it…” which isn’t helpful in any way. When I ask questions I’m told I have a problem with authority. It is very, very frustrating.

 

[neophyte]

I am open to finding something that would change my mind about reincarnation (whatever that would be…)…

If you found yourself in front of the Apostle Peter, and he told you that you were wrong and must change your mind, would you?

 

[Asthmalady]

The reason this is becoming important now is that I’ve accepted that I have some traits that might be considered “charisms” in the Catholic church but would be considered “powers” by new age groups. I don’t have “powers” and I don’t want “powers.”

Catholicism is about losing our will and doing the will of God. Its not about powers . Did you know we consider new age a step into opening the door to the occult.

Respectfully, I feel what I said here might be being misinterpreted. And to be fair, I didn’t give much information so I will elaborate a tiny bit. To elaborate too much always results in me being ostracized, so this is scary to do. God created me with some traits that allow me to be keenly aware of what is happening in the lives of others. This happens without speaking to them and often without being in the same physical location. It can happen from thousands of miles away. It is not something I seek out, it is simply something that happens. It is as if God whispers, “hey - reach out to so-and-so and help them in this way…”

The world would probably call it “psychic” but that’s not how I see it since being a psychic is something that one cultivates and I certainly didn’t request or encourage this. However, I embrace it because allows me to do good in the lives of others. The closest thing I’ve ever found to what I experience is in a book called “Highly Sensitive: Understanding Your Gift of Spiritual Sensitivity” by Carol Brown.

Inevitably when I reach out to someone from the Christian world to talk about this they tell me I’m in step with satan or that I’m simply nuts/imagining things. Neither is true. I’ve spent copious amounts of time praying, in discernment and asking people I can trust if what God is telling me about them is true. I don’t have a foot in either camp. I’m not in love with myself. I am totally dedicated to using this for the service of humanity. However I am finding there are seemingly no resources in Christianity for this type if circumstance. Simply seeking community on this topic has caused much isolation in my life. It’s a cross.

Couple that with the reincarnation belief I’ve had since childhood and I am in a tough, tough circumstance. :woman_shrugging:t2:

 

[Asthmalady]

Yup. There’s a reason people “often point to New Age…” That’s because it is.

My only comment is that New Age people have a lot of “feelings” and “emotions.” But not much logic, if any. There is something of an issue of pride here. People that “feel” this way think they are special. Somehow they have been “chosen” (by whom?) or given a “gift” of “spirituality.” They are “better” than other people. The 99.999% who don’t feel the way they do are…what? Inferior beings? Normal? Logical?

As for Catholicism, or any other organized religion, you can’t just pick one or two things you like and then say “I am a Catholic” or “I am a Buddhist.” It’s a package deal. You can doubt or quibble with minor things, but if you can’t say the Nicene Creed and mean it, it’s hard to say you are a Catholic or a Christian. That’s the basics.

Yes, but my dear… I realize that is the stereotype… but you don’t know me. So you don’t know if I’m full of pride. Or all emotion with no logic. Or if I think I’m special. Or if I think I’m “chosen”. Or if I feel I’m better than other people. You and I haven’t met. I’ve not said to you that you’re inferior… and I’ve not claimed that I was once Cleopatra (sorry, I know you didn’t say that at all, but that’s where the line of thought often goes… and I’m attempting to be light hearted.) I am a simple person in pain. I am a simple person who is desperately looking for an explanation from the Christian community they desperately wish to fit in with… but don’t… and I can’t find help. I can only find a lot of, “Well, you’re wrong and if you weren’t so prideful you wouldn’t have this problem. Go pray harder, get over yourself, and stop playing around with satan.”

I know that Christianity isn’t a cafeteria… it’s the most painful thing I’ve ever known.

 

[Odilon]

Okay, I’ll agree - sometimes the idea of re-incarnation makes sense, but for me that is not the driving force of my spiritual life in the here and now. My driving force is Jesus Christ as God incarnated here on earth and the fact that I have received forgiveness for my sins through His death and resurrection. Being a “cradle Catholic” like yourself there is no other place except the Catholic Church where I can go and worship Him. I find peace every time I attend Mass where more time tested truth is offered than the simple concept of “re-incarnation”. If re-incarnation is true, we will find that out at the proper time, if not, it’s no big deal as long as heaven is my final resting place. The only advice I can give you is to accept the Catholic faith tradition as Jesus tells us - like a little child - and your spiritual life will blossom from there.

 

[Lee1]

So what about the charismatics? They would seem to be the best fit to me.

We talk about being guided by the Holy Spirit but if I say I am then I might get raised eyebrows at least.

I don’t see anyone agreeing in reincarnation but why would that be a block, you’ve said that you’re not entirely sure about that yourself, and frankly it’s not a concern to me since to be efficacious I wouldn’t need to know about a former life to benefit from this one …if it were true.

 

[Asthmalady]

So what about the charismatics? They would seem to be the best fit to me.

How can I find more information about the charismatics? Are you a charismatic?

We talk about being guided by the Holy Spirit but if I say I am then I might get raised eyebrows at least.

That’s 100% truth. Why do you think that is?

 

[Lee1]

No I’m not a charismatic, Ive seen posts by people who are or who have knowledge of that. Perhaps @Cloisters could help with that, she is very knowledgable in that regard. You can simply google it in the meantime, it’s quite popular I think.

There is a big difference between written fact or accounts and actual reality. We often talk about the saints and their lives but we see them as different to us, probably because in some ways they are. It can be a little frightening to actually experience the supernatural and we are taught to discern very keenly so as not to be misled. I have read of one or two saints who even though they were blessed were still unsure of whether they were saved or not at the end of their mortal lives, even though they had experienced the Holy supernatural.

Also with regard to reincarnation, the fact is that most people aren’t aware of having been reincarnated and so if it were true that indicates that we don’t need to know that. If it were true. Personally as I’ve said, I’m not bothered about it one way or the other due to my previous point. If the Catholic Church tells me it’s not true then fine, I take their word for it. You know the Catholic Church has had access to far greater knowledge than we are aware of I believe, they have a great deal of information from a wide variety of people spanning centuries. If they say something I accept their greater wisdom. Simple.

 

[Erikaspirit16]

Yes, but my dear… I realize that is the stereotype… but you don’t know me. So you don’t know if I’m full of pride. Or all emotion with no logic.

Exactly! Which is why I said “New Age people…” and NOT “you.”

 

[Asthmalady]

Exactly! Which is why I said “New Age people…” and NOT “you.”

Ok, no harm done. It’s just that I’ve known people who engage in new age and they don’t fit that description either. If you want to explain how you came to that conclusion I’d be open to listening. Otherwise no offense taken…

 

[Erikaspirit16]

explain how you came to that conclusion I’d be open to listening.

I’ve known several people (including a niece) who are into New Age stuff, and they fit the description. I’ve also seen several talks by New Age people (Mary Robinson, for example) and had a look at a few websites. So far, they’re all the same. Maybe there are exceptions somewhere, but I think it’s fair to generalize.