Rainbow Bridge

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Church_Militant said:
I’ve posted this before. It’s a study of Catholic teaching, scripture, and my own (very non-infallible) pious opinion.

Material soul.
Taken from Catholic Answers
All living creatures – angels, humans, animals, plants – have souls. However, there are two kinds of souls: spiritual and material. Angels and humans have spiritual souls. Animals and plants have material souls. Something that is spirit is not subject to the decay of change. Thus, angels do not die and human souls survive the separation of body and soul at death. Material things however are subject to change, thus they are subject to decay and death. As animals and plants have material souls, at death their souls cease to exist.

Whether God will choose to re-create animal and plant souls at the end of time when the material universe is transformed (cf. CCC 1060) is something we do not yet know. However, the Church does not teach that animal and plant souls are “disposable” in the sense that they are of little consequence and can be wasted if humans wish to do so. Animals and plants do not have inherent rights, but humans, because they are appointed by God to be just stewards of nature, have a responsibility to be kind to animals and prudent in using the world’s natural resources. See the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
My own Scriptural considerations:
1. Ecclesiastes 3:21 Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth?
2. John 11: 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
3. Luke 20:38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to him.
4. 2nd Peter 3:13 But according to his promise we wait for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
5. Revelation 21: 1*** Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband;
3 and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them;
4 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who sat upon the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.”***

Since we do not know for sure the end of the souls of animals (#1 above) and we know that Christ stated that he is “the resurrection and the life” (#2 above) and since Our Lord stated that all live to God, (#3 above), then we see twice in the New Testament where Christ promises a new Heaven and earth (#s 4 & 5 above) it seems logical that we may comfort ourselves in our loss of our beloved pet friends with a hope that we will see them again since animals cannot sin it seems more likely that God might resurrect them because of the blessing they have been to us in their lives.

Keep in mind that this is not a teaching of the Catholic Church, or anyone else, but nothing more than my own pious theory. 🙂
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Do you mean when we die or after the resurrection of the dead?
 
Lion_IRC said:
Michelle Arnold wrote:

Note the bolded part.
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To think that anything besides God is sufficient for happiness in Heaven is absurd. There will be mothers in Heaven whose children have been damned, yet they will be perfectly happy and not grieve for their lost children. If a mother can be perfectly happy with her children being eternally damned, then I think pet owners will likewise not need their pets to be happy. The beatific vision is far more than some sort of mere necessity for happiness.
Lion_IRC said:
I don’t recall satan tempting animals to eat from the tree of knowledge.
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This is another reason that I don’t believe animals will go to Heaven. God tested the angels before allowing them to gain the beatific vision, and He likewise gave a test to man. Animals have not been given such a test, and I think it’s because they aren’t going to Heaven nor Hell.
 
Since God never forgets the living beings He creates, I think animal friends are in His eternal memory. If you want to see your dog again, and I can relate to that, you could ask God to allow you to see your dog. I am talking about if you go to heaven, of course. He could bring back any living thing because He has that power.
 
PaulfromIowa said:
There is nothing in Christian teaching about animals having immortal souls. We can hope that there will be pets in heaven.
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Can’t say that I know, either.

I don’t believe animals have “immortal souls” in the exact way we do (judgment, sin, heaven or hell, etc.). But I’ve talked with other Catholics who seem to believe that there’s some consideration for animals.

My own sense of justice suggests that animals aren’t evil or wicked, they should get some kind of reward.
 
signit said:
Can’t say that I know, either.

I don’t believe animals have “immortal souls” in the exact way we do (judgment, sin, heaven or hell, etc.). But I’ve talked with other Catholics who seem to believe that there’s some consideration for animals.

My own sense of justice suggests that animals aren’t evil or wicked, they should get some kind of reward.
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👍
 
Dorothy said:
It is good to ponder that God made all the animals and all the many ways they serve us. All the good that we get from animals is from GOD! God will fulfill all love and happiness for us in the next world.
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When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me that IF I needed dogs to make me in Heaven, they would be there. Old Irish myth, I am sure, but I believe her.
 
mary_bobo said:
When I was a little girl, my grandmother told me that IF I needed dogs to make me in Heaven, they would be there. Old Irish myth, I am sure, but I believe her.
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I just can’t imagine not seeing my loved ones, including my dogs, in heaven.
 
Faith1960 said:
I just can’t imagine not seeing my loved ones, including my dogs, in heaven.
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Then spend more time reading Catholic teaching on what heaven IS. Because when you understand what The Beatific Vision is, this will no longer be an issue.
 
Faith1960 said:
Source?
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Besides the quote I gave earlier, I’ll quote again from the Baltimore Catechism:
Brute animals have not reason, but only instinct, i.e., they follow certain impulses or feelings which God gave them at their creation. He established certain laws for each class or kind of animals, and they, without knowing it, follow these laws; and when we see them following their laws, always in the same way, we say it is their nature. Animals act at times as if they knew just why they were acting; but it is not so. It is we who reason upon their actions, and see why they do them; but they do not reason, they only follow their instinct.
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All animals have is instinct, it dictates all of their actions.
 
I do believe – though I am not Catholic – that when our animals die, at least those we have an emotional attachment to may go to Heaven. Animals cannot and do not sin, and we can have relationships with them just as we can with humans or with God.

It is simply that they are different than us, though they may also feel feeling of love. Most animals are not pure beats of instinct like raw, emotionless sciences typically believe them to be. They feel pain as we do, though it is not always with the psyche. They have a story, just like we do.

Again, however, one does not need to view humans and animals as “equal” or that animals take precedence over humans. That’s an odd belief: but, certainly, we should value those animals we are seeking to develop relationships with. Yet, we differentiate between human relationships, divine relationships (i.e., with God) and natural relationships (with nature, animals included).

God made the animals “good” (Gen. 1:25). We would be joyed to see our friends and family in Heaven, right? (Though the Beatific Vision is all-fulfilling; the secondary nice feature, however, would be to have our friends and family.) Animals, though they are not like people, can be our friends and family in this life.
 
Hatikvah said:
I do believe – though I am not Catholic – that when our animals die, at least those we have an emotional attachment to may go to Heaven. Animals cannot and do not sin, and we can have relationships with them just as we can with humans or with God.

It is simply that they are different than us, though they may also feel feeling of love. Most animals are not pure beats of instinct like raw, emotionless sciences typically believe them to be. They feel pain as we do, though it is not always with the psyche. They have a story, just like we do.

Again, however, one does not need to view humans and animals as “equal” or that animals take precedence over humans. That’s an odd belief: but, certainly, we should value those animals we are seeking to develop relationships with. Yet, we differentiate between human relationships, divine relationships (i.e., with God) and natural relationships (with nature, animals included).

God made the animals “good” (Gen. 1:25). We would be joyed to see our friends and family in Heaven, right? (Though the Beatific Vision is all-fulfilling; the secondary nice feature, however, would be to have our friends and family.) Animals, though they are not like people, can be our friends and family in this life.
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I agree but I’m looking for a solid, concrete teaching of the Church.
 
We aren’t going to find any absolute teaching about this.

We know that there will be animals on the new earth, and we know that God knows what is best for us and will provide it. Beyond that, we just have to sit tight and trust Him. He is all goodness, all generosity, and all mercy, so it’s not that much to ask.

There are a lot of things where we have to do this. The eternal fate of unbaptized babies who die, for example. Faith wonders about it, but ultimately, faith trusts that it will come out all right in the end.

There have been many saints who loved animals, and they trusted Him. We can too.
 
Mintaka said:
We aren’t going to find any absolute teaching about this.

We know that there will be animals on the new earth, and we know that God knows what is best for us and will provide it. Beyond that, we just have to sit tight and trust Him. He is all goodness, all generosity, and all mercy, so it’s not that much to ask.

There are a lot of things where we have to do this. The eternal fate of unbaptized babies who die, for example. Faith wonders about it, but ultimately, faith trusts that it will come out all right in the end.

There have been many saints who loved animals, and they trusted Him. We can too.
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Thank you.
 
When one is in full union with God in Heaven I imagine whatever joy we got from our furry/feathered/scaly friends will carry over with us into that state.

But as for them being individually spiritually present, I’m not so sure.
 
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