Taking nothing with you when you die

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Heaveniswaiting

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Does this really make you think that everything in this life is all temporary?..relationships, beauty, suffering, happiness, materialistic things like clothing…etc…you can take none with you…
 
Material things are certainly temporary. Nothing drives this home more than having to clean out the belongings of a deceased loved one.

I would argue though, that the non-material things you listed are not temporary. The relationships live on in those left behind. The happiness, suffering, etc can have changed that person’s world and the people left behind. The memories can bring joy (or pain tbf) for a long time. Love lasts.
 
Let’s look at the positive side of this. Love does endure all, like Camehome4john6 has already said. Our good deeds are like treasures waiting for us in heaven. Our suffering can have merit and even reward.

Even material things can be passed on in order to help other people. So there is value there as well.

The thing to avoid is unhealthy attachment to material things and people. Avoiding unhealthy attachments helps us in this life as well as the next. So it’s all positive. Difficult, but positive.
 
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What do you mean by unhealthy attatchments to people??
 
Camehome4john6 said:
Material things are certainly temporary. Nothing drives this home more than having to clean out the belongings of a deceased loved one.
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So true. I have come to an age where I really don’t need anything more. I am now trying to pare down, and I ask myself, if I died tonight, would anyone in my family have a desire or use for any of this?
It makes it easier to realize it’s just stuff when we realize we really can live without most of what we own.

But as 1Lord1Faith pointed out, collecting good deeds are more important than things.
 
Perhaps we could think of attachments as being like false gods. I am told that St. Thomas Aquinas wrote of four kinds of false gods: wealth, pleasure, power, and honor. These are not bad things in themselves. God created them for good, and we may use them for good. The problem is when we worship (cling to or run to) the good thing, as I think St. Augustine wrote.

Regarding people and relationships, those are things that we hope to enjoy on the other side, because it’s all about love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Of course we should not regard others as our right, our property, or our playthings. Our friendships, marriages, and other personal bonds here on earth prepare us for and serve as a sign of the perfect love and oneness, with God and with each other, that we hope for in heaven.

So go ahead and take your love with you when you pass on to eternal life.
 
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Camehome4john6 said:
The relationships live on in those left behind.
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Some people do not leave anyone behind. Even if they do, the persons left behind will eventually die and descendants living on earth will forget about their ancestors. For that reason, I’m not big on saying people live on through their relationships on earth.
 
Heaveniswaiting said:
Does this really make you think that everything in this life is all temporary?..
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It’s not a question of “makes you think everything is temporary.”
Everything on earth IS temporary. This is not just a Catholic or Christian concept either but is present in many religions. It’s basic common sense.

God is the only permanent thing, and I’m fine with that. “Some things need to go away” as the Lemonheads sang.

My mother used to say, “I come into this world with nothing, and I leave with nothing.”
 
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Yes…at my age and having lost loved ones and several dear pets…we are indeed passing thru and that to me is why LOVE is so important! It is the only thing we need and should provide to others. Remember God is Love! I am a very sensitive individual and love deeply…many tears were shed whenever I suffered a loss. I know everyone of my losses were on “loan” for me. I love nature…we have two large Oaks in our front yard…my neighbor demanded that we cut them down to prevent the roots from destroying her house foundation. She kept insisting how important her house was and what a great investment it was…her demands and threats required legal action for us. Some would fight for material things that are just temporary…I get emotional just thinking about it…material things are just “replaceable” things…trees, love ones, dear pets are not replaceable. I, too, am getting rid of “things” I have accumulated in my life…no one knows the importance of them…only me and I can separate myself from them…one item I hold dear is a burning candle…I seem to always have one lit…it is a reminder of everlasting life…I do have a request of two things that I want in my coffin when I die…my Rosary and my little, silk Baptismal Gown that my dear Mom made for me…however…I came into this world with another individual…my Twin…and this will be a very difficult separation… :cry:
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Some people do not leave anyone behind. Even if they do, the persons left behind will eventually die and descendants living on earth will forget about their ancestors. For that reason, I’m not big on saying people live on through their relationships on earth
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True. People die without descendants. But every life touches other lives in some way and leaves a mark and good works usually have ripple effects that last at least a bit.
 
“libbeylu said:
Yes…at my age and having lost loved ones and several dear pets…
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I often think about pets and their place in our happiness in heaven. Some who have had near death experiences say they have seen their dog or cat in heaven. Saint Francis of Assisi asked God if animals were in heaven and wondered if they have eternal souls. God answered that ,“animals don’t have eternal souls but, you would be delighted to know what happens to them.” I am paraphrasing here. I can’t remember the exact quote from the literature on St. Francis.
I have a theory about animals. I think we can visit them in time. Since time is linear in this world it is like a recording that exists forever. In heaven we will see time from one perspective and be capable of entering into time at any point. So, it would be like we have our pets for all eternity.
If we would feel the need to have our pets in heaven then I think God would provide a way.
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This happened to me a long time ago. I was taking a nap one day and in my dream I was walking through somewhere where it was very foggy. Although in my dream the place felt very much real. I was walking and I could see some flowers, bushes and trees scattered about. I also remember seeing some dogs playing around. I stopped walking for a while and as I stopped some dogs came to “greet” me. I remember seeing one dog that looked very familiar and it was my previous deceased dog. I said " buddy"? ( his name) and he was wagging his tail and smelling me… I then woke up saying BUDDY? again…I have no doubt in my mind that I had visited the animal heaven in my dream…

P.s…my dog looked just as he did when he was alive…he was this very grey black dirty colored schnoodle and he looked just like that in my dream. Godbless
 
As a non-believer, it fills me with a sense of urgency to enjoy these things. Maximize my enjoyment of life.
 
St. Therese of Lisieux, well said.
Try not to make a ship wreck of it! lol
 
Heaveniswaiting said:
What do you mean by unhealthy attatchments to people??
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Uhh…yeah, 🤔 “unhealthy”. That’s a tough one to define. But basically, it’s when we would put a person before God.

As an example of how difficult this may be, think of Abraham obeying God’s command to sacrifice his son. Or, Mary’s suffering regarding her son on the cross; she never demanded that God the Father release her son from the cross.
 
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Unhealthy attachments to people may include the crush you have on a guy at work that’s married, that friend that helps you drink too much or always has drugs around, the boyfriend or girlfriend that really isn’t good for you but you keep hanging out with them. Could be that friend that thinks Catholic stuff is stupid, that chastity is for losers, that drinking and driving doesn’t kill everybody.
 
Yes. For sure feels like so. I mean in my life time I’ve moved like…8 or 9 times? Or shall I say lived in 8 or 9 different houses in different places lol…The thing is even though ive lived in 2 really fab houses in my life that everyone envied of, eventually they both got sold and we moved out. The same with living in really crabby houses too…eventually we all leave Good to know in heaven we will FINALLY have a lovely PERMANENT home…❤️
 
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