Loved ones in Heaven?

[Decimvs]

If I make it to heaven, will I see loved ones there? My wife, parents, grandparents?
Should I be prepared to find out my loved ones did not make it to heaven?

Will it be like living as we do on earth? Walking around, activities, bodies? Or is it like a state of mind? Like, just a state of happiness?

Will we be able to spend time with jesus personally, will we have to share him or can he be with everyone at once.

I just want to know what heaven’s like, does anyone really know?

Is hell actually a place of torture? Or just the loss of god, meaning eternal non-existance?

 

[GEddie]

If I make it to heaven, will I see loved ones there? My wife, parents, grandparents?

Although your human relationships will not be the same, “Then [you] will know as [you are] known” (Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians).

Your wife will not be your wife anymore, because marriage is for this life only. But there is no reason you wouldn’t know her. If nothing else, JESUS will introduce you to everybody!

Should I be prepared to find out my loved ones did not make it to heaven?

That’s not something you need to think about during your human life. When you get there, you will be able to intercede for your living folks for their salvation, as well as for those in Purgatory. If anybody is permanently missing, our LORD HIMself will comfort you!

A priest I trust has said that Heaven does not reinstate our human relationships, only because we will have a perfect close relationship with everybody.

Will it be like living as we do on earth? Walking around, activities, bodies?

Absolutely! The Scripture calls your new form a “pneumatikon soma,” or spiritual body. A real body, like the one you’re breathing in now; but made for life eternal, in the same way your natural form is made for life in nature and time.

We will definitely be seeing, smelling, moving, etc, just like our LORD when HE came out of death. Possibly leaping and bilocating rather than walking, though

Or is it like a state of mind? Like, just a state of happiness?

Absolutely NOT! There can’t be any “state of mind” without your body; your “mind” needs your head to live in. You will be fully assembled in Heaven.

Will we be able to spend time with jesus personally, will we have to share him or can he be with everyone at once.

You don’t spend “time” with HIM, only because there is no time in Heaven; you will be in Eternity, where the rules of being are changed (that’s why you need a new Body). If time is seeing life bit by bit as though rolling down a highway; Eternity will be seeing (experiencing) life in its totality, like looking down from the space shuttle.

Because there is no time, you can be with HIM forever, and so can everybody else.

I just want to know what heaven’s like, does anyone really know?

Those who know aren’t here to tell us. We just know the bare-bones of it, from the writings in the NT.

Is hell actually a place of torture? Or just the loss of god, meaning eternal non-existance?

It’s not non-existence. It’s a frustrated existence, knowing you were made for LIFE Everlasting with our LORD, but now can never get there.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA!

 

[Decimvs]

Although your human relationships will not be the same, “Then [you] will know as [you are] known” (Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians).

Your wife will not be your wife anymore, because marriage is for this life only. But there is no reason you wouldn’t know her. If nothing else, JESUS will introduce you to everybody!

That’s not something you need to think about during your human life. When you get there, you will be able to intercede for your living folks for their salvation, as well as for those in Purgatory. If anybody is permanently missing, our LORD HIMself will comfort you!

A priest I trust has said that Heaven does not reinstate our human relationships, only because we will have a perfect close relationship with everybody.

Absolutely! The Scripture calls your new form a “pneumatikon soma,” or spiritual body. A real body, like the one you’re breathing in now; but made for life eternal, in the same way your natural form is made for life in nature and time.

We will definitely be seeing, smelling, moving, etc, just like our LORD when HE came out of death. Possibly leaping and bilocating rather than walking, though

Absolutely NOT! There can’t be any “state of mind” without your body; your “mind” needs your head to live in. You will be fully assembled in Heaven.

You don’t spend “time” with HIM, only because there is no time in Heaven; you will be in Eternity, where the rules of being are changed (that’s why you need a new Body). If time is seeing life bit by bit as though rolling down a highway; Eternity will be seeing (experiencing) life in its totality, like looking down from the space shuttle.

Because there is no time, you can be with HIM forever, and so can everybody else.

Those who know aren’t here to tell us. We just know the bare-bones of it, from the writings in the NT.

It’s not non-existence. It’s a frustrated existence, knowing you were made for LIFE Everlasting with our LORD, but now can never get there.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA!

thank you very much, appreciate it. What I really wondered is if heaven would be like something totally new compared to life on earth, that I would not beadle to handle such a dramatic change. Im glad to know we could hear, we will smell, taste, see and all that.

Another thing, since we cannot sin in heaven, are we going to still be us? Watch ourselves act as if watching a movie? Like robots? Will we have free will, do the things we once enjoyed on earth, like hobbies. I’m sure I will never understand now, as the Lord gave us human minds that aren’t capable of understanding certain things.

 

[garyhamb]

I wish there were more answers on what heaven will be like.
Just like some of the answers on here are upsetting.

What about our loved ones…what kind of relationship will we have with them
if everything is so changed?

oh and just for the record…hell IS a place. A real place.

 

[GEddie]

thank you very much, appreciate it.

You’re very welcome

What I really wondered is if heaven would be like something totally new compared to life on earth, that I would not beadle to handle such a dramatic change. Im glad to know we could hear, we will smell, taste, see and all that.

Indeed! In fact, you will have a much more powerful nose, eyes, etc, than you do now.

Another thing, since we cannot sin in heaven, are we going to still be us?

Of course, you’ll be “you.” There would be no point to talk about Heaven if you wouldn’t be! But a new “you,” since you will have a new body! You will preserve your human mind; you will remember your life; but once you have smelled Heavenly air, looked into our LORD’s eyes, been hugged by HIM; you will NOT be “the same.”

Watch ourselves act as if watching a movie? Like robots? Will we have free will

There will be free-will; but not the way we understand it. We will move around freely, as we do now. The only difference, really, is as you said, no sin; no desire for it, either. But there are plenty of “choices” our mind can make that do not involve sin.

do the things we once enjoyed on earth, like hobbies

I can’t tell you whether there will be hobbies in Heaven. My instinct is to say, no, they will not be needed. There will be no need for reading, when we can access our LORD’s mind directly! No need for running or hiking, when we can leap or bilocate. No need for collecting, when we can explore all of being and all the universes and never run out of sights to see. Etc.

But just because “not needed” does not mean such things will not be there, either

I’m sure I will never understand now, as the Lord gave us human minds that aren’t capable of understanding certain things.

It’s not that your mind is human, you will remain a human being in Heaven; it’s that your mind lives in a timebound body. There’s nothing like a noseful of Heavenly breath to set your mind free. But until then, we will not fully understand.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA!

 

[Gregory_I]

Remember, you guys are mixing up a few concepts here lol…

There are no bodies until the ressurection. THe state you experience after death, while blissful, is not the final last word, you won’t stay that way for all eternity. Eventually your soul will be reunited to your body and your joy will be MORE complete.

 

[Ed_Normile]

Although your human relationships will not be the same, “Then [you] will know as [you are] known” (Saint Paul in 1 Corinthians).

Your wife will not be your wife anymore, because marriage is for this life only. But there is no reason you wouldn’t know her. If nothing else, JESUS will introduce you to everybody!

That’s not something you need to think about during your human life. When you get there, you will be able to intercede for your living folks for their salvation, as well as for those in Purgatory. If anybody is permanently missing, our LORD HIMself will comfort you!

A priest I trust has said that Heaven does not reinstate our human relationships, only because we will have a perfect close relationship with everybody.

Absolutely! The Scripture calls your new form a “pneumatikon soma,” or spiritual body. A real body, like the one you’re breathing in now; but made for life eternal, in the same way your natural form is made for life in nature and time.

We will definitely be seeing, smelling, moving, etc, just like our LORD when HE came out of death. Possibly leaping and bilocating rather than walking, though

Absolutely NOT! There can’t be any “state of mind” without your body; your “mind” needs your head to live in. You will be fully assembled in Heaven.

You don’t spend “time” with HIM, only because there is no time in Heaven; you will be in Eternity, where the rules of being are changed (that’s why you need a new Body). If time is seeing life bit by bit as though rolling down a highway; Eternity will be seeing (experiencing) life in its totality, like looking down from the space shuttle.

Because there is no time, you can be with HIM forever, and so can everybody else.

Those who know aren’t here to tell us. We just know the bare-bones of it, from the writings in the NT.

**
It’s not non-existence. It’s a frustrated existence, knowing you were made for LIFE Everlasting with our LORD, but now can never get there. **

God Bless and ICXC NIKA!

Geddie, you seem to discount the whole burning in hell as just a place of non-existence? That is sure ignoring literally tons of scripture, yet you quote scripture earlier in your “spiritual body” reply? Are you inferring that some scripture is to be ignored while other passages beleived, isn’t that how the KJV was created.

This priest you trust, did he explain where he got his information from, or was this his personal opinion? I ask as there are priests that will give you all kinds of personal opinions, I met one who was opining during his homily that we needed to vote for then Senator Obama for president as he was going to provide healthcare for the poor and impoverished and the illegal immigrants, people who need healthcare and need caring for as God asks of us, he then went on to describe Joseph, Mary and Jesus as a family of illegal aliens.

I approached him after mass and explained that Senator Obama’s only record for voting while a Senator was on pro-choice or pro-abortion issues which he voted for a womans right to choose every time and that his plan for healthcare called for unlimited abortion on demand and euthanasia for those too old or too young to be viable as they may drain funds from the ones deemed viable. I also explained how he as a Senator publicly backed an abortion doctor who left a live born baby who was severely disfigured during an abortion he botched in a closet to die, it took three hours. Senator Obama convinced the judge presiding over the murder case to dismiss it as he did not want it to set precedent limiting a womans right to choose.

This priest became irate and stated that the need for healthcare for the living outweighed the needs of babies who are not even born yet! It seems you can find a priest who will say anything if you look hard enough, afterall they, like us, are only men and prone to human weaknesses and bad judgement too.

ed

 

[GEddie]

Geddie, you seem to discount the whole burning in hell as just a place of non-existence? That is sure ignoring literally tons of scripture, yet you quote scripture earlier in your “spiritual body” reply?

Huh??? I specifically said that Hell was not a non-existence?

I’m not pretending to know in full about Hell fires. Our objective as human beings is not to worry about Hell fires, nor even to avoid them, but to be so close to our LORD that we never see them.

It’s strange that you accuse me of saying what I specifically denied, though.

Are you inferring that some scripture is to be ignored while other passages beleived, isn’t that how the KJV was created.

Not in the least, as I have NOT ignored any scriptures.

This priest you trust, did he explain where he got his information from, or was this his personal opinion? I ask as there are priests that will give you all kinds of personal opinions, I met one who was opining during his homily that we needed to vote for then Senator Obama for president…ed

So, Ed, you met a priest who was an Obamian (I know such too) and therefore believe that everything priests say is doubtful? You’ve got to trust SOMEBODY in the Catholic Church, it’s not a “Lone Ranger” faith.

And do you really think all our relationships will be resumed in Heaven as they were? Humanly, that’s impossible. We change too much after we lose someone. Even our LORD’s friends did not get HIM back in their former relationship.

Oh, and BTW, the priest I referenced is particularly knowledgeable, has 25 years of ordination, and has studied Greek and Hebrew. And, no, he’s definitely not an Obamian.

God bless you Ed, and ICXC NIKA

 

[archangel04]

You don’t get a new body after you die! That’s a common misconception. Your Spirit leaves your body here on earth and it returns home (if you die within God’s grace). When Christ returns to earth and judges the living and the dead so to will our spirits return to our bodies. You see our spirits and bodies were always meant to be one, if we were only spirits then we would just be angels, but we are not we are matter and spirit. The only problem is that due to original sin our boddies are corruptible, meaning we have to go through death. Christ rose with the same body he was crucified with, but He was different after the ressurection, and so too our bodies will be united with our spirits at the moment Christ comes back.

 

[laszlo]

This priest you trust, did he explain where he got his information from, or was this his personal opinion? I ask as there are priests that will give you all kinds of personal opinions, I met one who was opining during his homily that we needed to vote for then Senator Obama for president as he was going to provide healthcare for the poor and impoverished and the illegal immigrants, people who need healthcare and need caring for as God asks of us, he then went on to describe Joseph, Mary and Jesus as a family of illegal aliens.

I approached him after mass and explained that Senator Obama’s only record for voting while a Senator was on pro-choice or pro-abortion issues which he voted for a womans right to choose every time and that his plan for healthcare called for unlimited abortion on demand and euthanasia for those too old or too young to be viable as they may drain funds from the ones deemed viable. I also explained how he as a Senator publicly backed an abortion doctor who left a live born baby who was severely disfigured during an abortion he botched in a closet to die, it took three hours. Senator Obama convinced the judge presiding over the murder case to dismiss it as he did not want it to set precedent limiting a womans right to choose.

For Catholics the human life is not the highest value, not even the highest earthly value.

Today is the Feast of St Agnes, a girl, who in gave 13, almost child, offered her life for highest values.

To serve the of greed, the lack of mercy toward the poor and disadvantaged, is sin. To vote for those who make it principle is sin.

Do not deceive yourself. Lip service does not saves anyone. Mercy may take you recipient God’s mercy.

 

[Ed_Normile]

Huh??? I specifically said that Hell was not a non-existence?

I’m not pretending to know in full about Hell fires. Our objective as human beings is not to worry about Hell fires, nor even to avoid them, but to be so close to our LORD that we never see them.

It’s strange that you accuse me of saying what I specifically denied, though.

Not in the least, as I have NOT ignored any scriptures.

So, Ed, you met a priest who was an Obamian (I know such too) and therefore believe that everything priests say is doubtful? You’ve got to trust SOMEBODY in the Catholic Church, it’s not a “Lone Ranger” faith.

And do you really think all our relationships will be resumed in Heaven as they were? Humanly, that’s impossible. We change too much after we lose someone. Even our LORD’s friends did not get HIM back in their former relationship.

Oh, and BTW, the priest I referenced is particularly knowledgeable, has 25 years of ordination, and has studied Greek and Hebrew. And, no, he’s definitely not an Obamian.

God bless you Ed, and ICXC NIKA

GEddie, I phrased my reply wrong to you. I was trying to figure out this quote thing where you quote one sentence or paragraph and why I get the whole post.

Let me try again as I may have taken out of context your meaning, if so let me start with, I am sorry for my mistake. I read "**It’s not non-existence. It’s a frustrated existence, knowing you were made for LIFE Everlasting with our LORD, but now can never get there. " **

I assumed you were one who beleive in the view I have heard being promulgated by different priests which is, there is no hell as the old fire and brimstone preachers beleive, hell is actually seperation from God, loneliness and darkness not actual burning and suffering, there is no afterlife as you have heard either, you are joined in the light of God no longer a seperate being worshipping God rather part of that light indistinguishable from any other part, not needing or wanting to know anything from your past life as it has ceased to exist and you are now at a different level of existence.

I actually seen two priests arguing this point, the one using scripture to refute the priest with new age philosophy on every point.

The part where you ask me about the Obamian priest, I was pointing out that you have to discern what you are being told by priests, not that you can not trust any of them, and do not worry, I do not think that its strange you accused me of saying something I never made any reference about, nor did I say anything about any relationship in my post.

ed

 

[simple_soul]

You’re very welcome

Indeed! In fact, you will have a much more powerful nose, eyes, etc, than you do now.

Of course, you’ll be “you.” There would be no point to talk about Heaven if you wouldn’t be! But a new “you,” since you will have a new body! You will preserve your human mind; you will remember your life; but once you have smelled Heavenly air, looked into our LORD’s eyes, been hugged by HIM; you will NOT be “the same.”

There will be free-will; but not the way we understand it. We will move around freely, as we do now. The only difference, really, is as you said, no sin; no desire for it, either. But there are plenty of “choices” our mind can make that do not involve sin.

I can’t tell you whether there will be hobbies in Heaven. My instinct is to say, no, they will not be needed. There will be no need for reading, when we can access our LORD’s mind directly! No need for running or hiking, when we can leap or bilocate. No need for collecting, when we can explore all of being and all the universes and never run out of sights to see. Etc.

But just because “not needed” does not mean such things will not be there, either

It’s not that your mind is human, you will remain a human being in Heaven; it’s that your mind lives in a timebound body. **There’s nothing like a noseful of Heavenly breath to set your mind free. But until then, we will not fully understand.**God Bless and ICXC NIKA!

*Dear GEddie,

This line here reminded me of what I remember St. Theresa of Lisieux saying about breathing in Eternity.
I believe, and maybe you can explain it better, that this is also what St. John of the Cross is referring to about how God breaths into us as we exhale into Him. (I may not be repeating this correctly.)
But understanding how this can begin in this life and understanding how Jesus feeds us with Himself through the Eucharist helps me see how He will be with us all the time. It is like He is literally our food and oxygen.
If we do not learn to surrender to Him and His Will and depend on Him for our food and oxygen then when we die I can understand how it will be sheer hell.
I do not know how accurate this understanding is. I just believe it helps me see things a little more clearly on how we so need Him and that we are nothing without Him. *

 

[hazcompat]

There are no words that can describe heaven. You will experience joy beyond all joy and bliss beyond all bliss.

peace

 

[Robert_Burns]

If I make it to heaven, will I see loved ones there? My wife, parents, grandparents?
Should I be prepared to find out my loved ones did not make it to heaven?

Will it be like living as we do on earth? Walking around, activities, bodies? Or is it like a state of mind? Like, just a state of happiness?

Will we be able to spend time with jesus personally, will we have to share him or can he be with everyone at once.

I just want to know what heaven’s like, does anyone really know?

Is hell actually a place of torture? Or just the loss of god, meaning eternal non-existance?

Heaven and Hell are not understood in Human Terms. We are weak and without understanding in this life. Both are beyond our own abilities to comprehend in this life and therefore these questions could never be answered sufficiently.

 

[GEddie]

GEddie, I phrased my reply wrong to you. I was trying to figure out this quote thing where you quote one sentence or paragraph and why I get the whole post.

No problemo, Ed, mon ami.

When you hit quote, the whole previous post does come up. If you want to separate lines, you need to do that manually, by using the quote function at the top. You also need to edit out text manually that you don’t want in the quote box.

It will all be easy as handwriting by the time you have 2,500 posts

Let me try again as I may have taken out of context your meaning, if so let me start with, I am sorry for my mistake. I read "**It’s not non-existence. It’s a frustrated existence, knowing you were made for LIFE Everlasting with our LORD, but now can never get there. " **

I assumed you were one who beleive in the view I have heard being promulgated by different priests which is, there is no hell as the old fire and brimstone preachers beleive, hell is actually seperation from God, loneliness and darkness not actual burning and suffering,

The suffering is caused inside of you, since you are made to be with HIM, and know that, but can’t get to HIM any more.

HE is the source of LIFE. In fact, HE is LIFE itself. “I am the resurrection and the life.”

Imagine the distress of extreme hunger, or severe weariness, or of being unable to breathe. These conditions cause us grave suffering as human beings. Yet they come to an end, since we die if those needs go unfilled; and these needs are only for the “maintenance” of life.

Our LORD is LIFE HIMself. Lose HIM, and you lose life. And this loss does not end, because there can be no final death in Eternity, but only an “ongoing” death.

there is no afterlife as you have heard either, you are joined in the light of God no longer a seperate being worshipping God rather part of that light indistinguishable from any other part, not needing or wanting to know anything from your past life as it has ceased to exist and you are now at a different level of existence…Ed

I don’t hold to anything of that sort; I specifically said that we would keep our minds, and would gain a “Spiritual Body” – both meaningless if we lost our personal being.

Anyhow, the prospect of losing our memories of human life does not jive with Scripture. Although our LORD does not describe human eschatology other than in Luke 16:19-31, it is clear that although Lazarus et al, despite being dead (and the Rich Man’s brothers still being alive) have maintained their human minds. They know each other; they remember their life; the RM remembers his brothers; and they are also embodied (they have eyes, voices, fingers, and movement, i.e. limbs).

Actually, there is more. The “souls” in Rv 6 remember how they died, since they call for justice.

I think it’s clear Scripturally that our human mind survives death.

God Bless and ICXC NIKA!

 

[GEddie]

*Dear GEddie,

This line here reminded me of what I remember **St. Theresa of Lisieux saying about breathing in Eternity. ***
I believe, and maybe you can explain it better, that this is also what St. John of the Cross is referring to about how God breaths into us as we exhale into Him (I may not be repeating this correctly.)
But understanding how this can begin in this life and understanding how Jesus feeds us with Himself through the Eucharist helps me see how He will be with us all the time. It is like He is literally our food and oxygen.
If we do not learn to surrender to Him and His Will and depend on Him for our food and oxygen then when we die I can understand how it will be sheer hell.
I do not know how accurate this understanding is. I just believe it helps me see things a little more clearly on how we so need Him and that we are nothing without Him.

Dear SS:

Thank you very much. Your statement sounds A -1 to me!

I have not read either of these sources in bold though; could you flip them to me?

By all means, use the PM function, if you prefer.

And keep preparing to breathe with HIM!!!

ICXC NIKA!

 

[simple_soul]

Dear SS:

Thank you very much. Your statement sounds A -1 to me!

I have not read either of these sources in bold though; could you flip them to me?

By all means, use the PM function, if you prefer.

And keep preparing to breathe with HIM!!!

ICXC NIKA!

*OK, here is the post someone shared on another thread about a year ago.
I could not tell you where in St. John’s writings you will find it;
*

Here’s St. John of the Cross speaking about it, not as something he rationalized but as something he experienced:

"the breathing of the air,

1. This breathing of the air is an ability that the soul states God will give her there in the communication of the Holy Spirit. By his divine breath-like spiration, the Holy Spirit elevates the soul sublimely and informs her and makes her capable of breathing in God the same spiration of love that the Father breathes in the Son and the Son in the Father. This spiration of love is the Holy Spirit himself, who in the Father and the Son breathes out to her in this transformation in order to unite her to himself. There would not be a true and total transformation if the soul were not transformed in the three Persons of the Most Holy Trinity in an open and manifest degree.

And this kind of spiration of the Holy Spirit in the soul, by which God transforms her into himself, is so sublime, delicate, and deep a delight that a mortal tongue finds it indescribable, nor can the human intellect, as such, in any way grasp it. Even what comes to pass in the communication given in this temporal transformation is unspeakable, for the soul united and transformed in God breathes out in God to God the very divine spiration that God - she being transformed in him - breathes out in himself to her.

1. In the transformation that the soul possesses in this life, the same spiration passes from God to the soul and from the soul to God with notable frequency and blissful love, although not in the open and manifest degree proper to the next life. Such I believe was St. Paul’s meaning when he said: Since you are children of God, God sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, calling to the Father [Gal. 4:6]. This is true of the Blessed in the next life and of the perfect in this life according to the ways described.

One should not think it impossible that the soul be capable of so sublime an activity as this breathing in God through participation as God breathes in her. For, granted that God favors her by union with the Most Blessed Trinity, in which she becomes deiform and God through participation , how could it be incredible that she also understand, know, and love - or better that this be done in her - in the Trinity, together with it, as does the Trinity itself! Yet God accomplishes this in the soul through communication and participation. This is transformation in the three Persons in power and wisdom and love, and thus the soul is like God through this transformation. He created her in his image and likeness that she might attain such resemblance."

“7. O souls, created for these grandeurs and called to them! What are you doing? How are you spending your time? Your aims are base and your possessions miseries! O wretched blindness of your eyes! You are blind to so brilliant a light and deaf to such loud voices because you fail to discern that insofar as you seek eminence and glory you remain miserable, base, ignorant, and unworthy of so many blessings!”

From what i remember of St. Theresa’s reference is that it was on her death bed.
In her agony she exclaimed “Mama! Earth’s air is leaving me…when will God give me the air of Heaven?”
I do believe she also said something about breathing in Eternity but I can not find the exact quote.
I read the book “Fulfillment of All Desire” and that is where I read this.
Yes I will keep praying that He does keep preparing me to breath Him…
In His Life,