E
Elene
Guest
My next door neighbor died a year and a half ago. She was 85. She was raised as a Catholic but didn’t practice her faith for most of her adult life. When she found out she had terminal cancer she briefly returned to the Catholic Church, but as she neared death she became very angry with God and refused to see anyone from the parish. She died at home without the sacraments and was cremated and her ashes scattered. Her children are all atheists, and they didn’t have a funeral for her (let alone a funeral Mass).
Her house has been vacant since she died and her children have made no attempt to either rent or sell it. Recently, I have been noticing unusual things, such as lights in the house randomly switching on and off late at night, and strange noises coming from the room in which she died (her bedroom window is only eight or ten feet from my own). I spoke to some other neighbors about these occurrences, and nobody has seen anyone coming or going from the house in months. We are stay-at-home moms on both sides, so we’re here all the time. Everything over there is tightly locked up, and there is a big iron gate out front, so I don’t know how anyone could get in there without making a huge scene!
I am wondering what explanation there might be for these events, and if there is something that I, as a Catholic, should do? I am thinking about having Mass said for her, but am not sure if I am overstepping my bounds as she and I were not related, she honestly didn’t really like me much when she was alive
, and I know her children don’t believe in our faith at all.
I am a little unnerved by the situation, so any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Pax Christi.
Her house has been vacant since she died and her children have made no attempt to either rent or sell it. Recently, I have been noticing unusual things, such as lights in the house randomly switching on and off late at night, and strange noises coming from the room in which she died (her bedroom window is only eight or ten feet from my own). I spoke to some other neighbors about these occurrences, and nobody has seen anyone coming or going from the house in months. We are stay-at-home moms on both sides, so we’re here all the time. Everything over there is tightly locked up, and there is a big iron gate out front, so I don’t know how anyone could get in there without making a huge scene!
I am wondering what explanation there might be for these events, and if there is something that I, as a Catholic, should do? I am thinking about having Mass said for her, but am not sure if I am overstepping my bounds as she and I were not related, she honestly didn’t really like me much when she was alive
, and I know her children don’t believe in our faith at all.I am a little unnerved by the situation, so any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Pax Christi.