Is Christopher Reeves now in heaven?

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A sad event happened yesterday. The passing away of actor Christopher Reeves, Hollywood actor, famed for his role in Superman. If ever there was a perfect cast type for that role it was Chris. He was wonderful.

But yet Chris was more of a superman in real life than on film. Fighting his terrible paralysis, he showed unbelieveable courage that inspired millions throughout the world. He gave hope to those who suffer with a similar affliction. Could I have endured such courage under similar circumstances or would I wallow in self pity? I probably would wish for death itself. Seldom, is such courage displayed by great individuals. Chris was a courageous man.

Which leads me to my last and final point. There was no mention if Chris was even a Christian. Does anyone know? I sincerely pray he was. For now that Chris is free from his wretched body he can now walk and leap about in joy. I pray for the soul of Chris Reeves that he is now, in a much better place. He was in hell for nine years and surely he deserves a better fate. What are your thoughts.

Ron from Ohio
 
I found this article during a websearch: Christopher Reeve apologizes to Catholics

It seems from this article that he might be Unitarian. We should pray for him anyway, just as we pray for all the souls in purgatory and all of our departed, because who but God alone knows what God will decide for any human soul? Our prayers of intercession are powerful.
 
First, may his soul, and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Mr. Reeves certainly knew more than his share of difficulty and tragedy. One of the most tragic aspects of his post-injury life is the way he was manipulated by those who seek to sanction the murder of embryos for research.

He was, poor man, paraded in front of some congressional committee, where his scriptwriters had him declare that governments were obliged to ask for the good of the majority. Joni Erickson Tada pointed out that he could not, personally, have meant that. If he had, he would have been giving permission for someone in government to do the numbers on how much it cost to keep him alive, and decree his compulsory euthenasia, since the money could do more good for the majority if spent elsewhere.

I never consider whether or not anyone is in heaven. I only know, on the authority of the Church, that canonized saints are. For others, that judgement is God’s alone, and I commend them to His mercy.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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rarndt01:
A sad event happened yesterday. The passing away of actor Christopher Reeves, Hollywood actor, famed for his role in Superman. If ever there was a perfect cast type for that role it was Chris. He was wonderful.

But yet Chris was more of a superman in real life than on film. Fighting his terrible paralysis, he showed unbelieveable courage that inspired millions throughout the world. He gave hope to those who suffer with a similar affliction. Could I have endured such courage under similar circumstances or would I wallow in self pity? I probably would wish for death itself. Seldom, is such courage displayed by great individuals. Chris was a courageous man.

Which leads me to my last and final point. There was no mention if Chris was even a Christian. Does anyone know? I sincerely pray he was. For now that Chris is free from his wretched body he can now walk and leap about in joy. I pray for the soul of Chris Reeves that he is now, in a much better place. He was in hell for nine years and surely he deserves a better fate. What are your thoughts.

Ron from Ohio
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No one knows whether he is in heaven or not. We hope he is.

Antonio
 
My priest says that most of us end up needing a stay in purgatory anyways. Maybe, though, his suffering with his paralysis helped accomplish some of that. Anyways, I agree with my priest that most of us require further purgation after death…
 
I believe God puts a large emphasis on love. The love shared between Chritopher Reeves and his wife was truly inspirational.
His presence was calming and his courage moving.

The question is “Is Christopher Reeves now in heaven?”, I gather the original poster is looking for opinions. If so, my opinion is an enthuiastic yes! (or on his way)
 
I have no opinion on the on this as we can not really know.

But (even though this comment will be unpopular I am going to make it anyways) given his public comments and his reported support for stem cell research makes think the odds are against it.

But then again, we can not know.
 
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ByzCath:
I have no opinion on the on this as we can not really know.

But (even though this comment will be unpopular I am going to make it anyways) given his public comments and his reported support for stem cell research makes think the odds are against it.

But then again, we can not know.
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The thing you have to remember about that issue though is that it is really really difficult for people to see the Catholic side of it. I know it is hard for those who have been raised strongly in the Church to comprehend this, but think about how those outside see this issue. They cannot see that a bunch of cells in a freezer are human beings, cannot comprehend why anyone would think they are. These embryos are for the most part destroyed, so people think they might as well get some use out of them. It is really difficult for people to have more sympathy for a bunch of frozen cells than a man bound to a wheel chair. Luckly, we have the high moral athority of the Church to show us the right path here, and a lifetime of recieving grace as an aid to our moral compass. Others are not so lucky and never will be, and God understands that. I’m sure that Chris sincerly believed that he was promoting the most moral corse of action, and a sin can only be commited when a person knows he is commiting it. So I doubt that God would hold this against him. I’m not going to say whether he is in Heaven, but if he didn’t make it, i doubt it was for that.
 
When Jesus told us not to judge, this is what he was referring to - judging the state of someone’s soul. Speculation on this topic does no one any good.

I pray that he is in Heaven. I hope you all do the same for me when it’s my time to go.
 
Being disabled myself, though not quadraplegic or even a paraplegic, I do use a wheelchair and, having a degenerating disease of the nervous system, will probably be confined to one in the future, I always respected Reeves’ attitude. There was no “poor me/why me” about him. I share that attitude.
I disagreed with him strongly, however, on the fetal stem cell issue. If a cure for my condition were discovered tomorrow with the use of fetal stem cells, I would not use it.
Heaven? Who can say? I offered my Mass for him this morning.
 
I liked Reeves in Superman. I thought he was great.

I didn’t like Reeves the typical liberal activist, sellout to gun-grabbing politicians to brazenly exploit his disability to jerk heartstrings of people who wished to exercise their fourth amendment rights. I saw him behave at a political convention as if his disability were
directly due to handguns. It was pretty sad.

May he rest in peace.

Alan
 
ContraFool wrote:
a sin can only be commited when a person knows he is commiting it
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That’s not quite right. 😉 A sin is always a sin no matter if one knows it is a sin or not. What you mean to say is that one who does not know a sin is a sin may not be culpable of that sin. But, culpability is a matter for God to judge, not us.

That sin is always sin is shown in that we have to do penance/reparation for our sins, for the temporal punishment due to sin.
 
We also shouldn’t guess about other peoples’ salvation, because we can only pray.
 
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Della:
ContraFool wrote:

That’s not quite right. 😉 A sin is always a sin no matter if one knows it is a sin or not. What you mean to say is that one who does not know a sin is a sin may not be culpable of that sin. But, culpability is a matter for God to judge, not us.

That sin is always sin is shown in that we have to do penance/reparation for our sins, for the temporal punishment due to sin.
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Oh, actually you are very right about that. Yeah, I knew that, but sometimes my language doesn’t match my thoughts as well as it should when talking about religion. I forget the best way to word things. thanks for the correction.
 
If Reeves was, as he himself stated in that apology article linked to above, a practicing Unitarian, then, no, he is not in heaven now.

BouleTheou
 
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BouleTheou:
If Reeves was, as he himself stated in that apology article linked to above, a practicing Unitarian, then, no, he is not in heaven now.

BouleTheou
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Boule Theou,

I don’t think this can definatively be stated. I believe our Faith teaches us that only Jesus can judge our hearts and we have no way of knowing who is where. We can only hope and pray. Although, clearly you can cast an opinion or a speculation.

And, so can I. I believe Jesus judges our hearts with much love and mercy. My personal opinion of the Christopher Reeve I have seen on TV and read about, certainly seems to be a man of much love and courage. I hope and pray, and feel, He is comfortable and at peace.

😉
 
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BouleTheou:
If Reeves was, as he himself stated in that apology article linked to above, a practicing Unitarian, then, no, he is not in heaven now.

BouleTheou
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C.S. Lewis provided a good summary of the situation around judgement and salvation. He wrote: We know that all who are saved are saved through Christ. We do not know that those who do not know him cannot also be saved through him.

In God’s judgements, justice and mercy are never compromised one for the other. In a way we cannot imagine or accomplish, the needs of each are fully met. This is, in the end, a mystery to us humans – something to be apprehended, even though it cannot be comprehended.

It can’t be stressed enough that, by the will of God the Father, judgement of salvation is reserved to God the Son.

Blessings,

Gerry
 
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ContraFool:
Oh, actually you are very right about that. Yeah, I knew that, but sometimes my language doesn’t match my thoughts as well as it should when talking about religion. I forget the best way to word things. thanks for the correction.
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I do that too from time to time–don’t we all? 😉 And I rather supposed you knew the difference, but there are lurkers and seekers who don’t know, so I thought I’d just make what you were saying a bit clearer, that’s all! :tiphat:
 
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BouleTheou:
If Reeves was, as he himself stated in that apology article linked to above, a practicing Unitarian, then, no, he is not in heaven now.

BouleTheou
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Let me just say that I for one would NOT want to be a practicing Unitarian as I take my last breath.

😦 CM
 
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