Talking to a dead relative!?

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Let’s say a guy lost his brother named “Steve”. The man is Catholic, and he sometimes talks to Steve when he prays at night, saying stuff like “I hope you’re doing well up there.”

Now for the big question, since according to Catholic teaching, we don’t usually say who’s in Heaven or not, except if they’re a saint or something, would the man be doing something wrong if he talks to Steve because of the possibility Steve could be in Purgatory or Hell?
 
followingtheway said:
Let’s say a guy lost his brother named “Steve”. The man is Catholic, and he sometimes talks to Steve when he prays at night, saying stuff like “I hope you’re doing well up there.”

Now for the big question, since according to Catholic teaching, we don’t usually say who’s in Heaven or not, except if they’re a saint or something, would the man be doing something wrong if he talks to Steve because of the possibility Steve could be in Purgatory or Hell?
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No Catholic, (No One) has the power to talk to their deceased loved ones or friends.
And this is by no means encouraged. It’s far better in our concerns and love for our dearly departed to pray and leave them in the total trust of God’s merciful care.

This means that we should pray for them in hope that they are at the very least in Purgatory. ourcatholicprayers.com/prayers-for-souls-in-purgatory.html
That is our “humble” duty. The rest belongs to God’s merciful care.

I think about my beloved deceased father everyday and place him in God’s care as I do for others. It’s a Good practice to offer prayers for (ALL) deceased souls in Purgatory.
 
Wrong? As in sinful? Depends if this person understands the actual teaching on the subject.

If, like a LOT of American Catholics, he’s actually following an evangelical protestant theology, and knows no better, then no, he’s not sinning. If he knows the Catholic teaching and is consciously rejecting it in favor of some Protestant sillyness, yeah, he needs to repent of that.

In either case, some good Catholic friend should have a talk with him.
 
Considering that there need to be two miracles clearly granted through the intercession of a person after their death for them to be canonized a saint, I think it’s pretty obvious the dead who have not been formally canonized can be prayed to.
 
I talk to my grandfathers all the time. When I visit their grave sites, I tell them how I’m doing, what’s going on, how much I miss and love them. I don’t hear them speaking back to me:p but it’s totally fine. If you begin to worship them or something, or think you know where they are/hear their voice talking to you, seek professional mental help ASAP.
 
You are not trying to conduct sorcery or necromancy in talking to your dead relative. As long as you do not intend to have a conversation or gain spiritual powers from this dead relative there is nothing wrong with that. In speaking to a dead relative you are assuming that they are in Heaven and praying in the hopeful sense that they have got there. You do not hurt your relationship to God by simply saying a word to a dead friend.
Besides, for a saint to be recognized as in Heaven we must for pray to them and ask for their intercession if we hope to find a miracle that would be as evidence of their sainthood.
 
followingtheway said:
Let’s say a guy lost his brother named “Steve”. The man is Catholic, and he sometimes talks to Steve when he prays at night, saying stuff like “I hope you’re doing well up there.”

Now for the big question, since according to Catholic teaching, we don’t usually say who’s in Heaven or not, except if they’re a saint or something, would the man be doing something wrong if he talks to Steve because of the possibility Steve could be in Purgatory or Hell?
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Well, if he’s in Hell he can’t hear you but it does no harm and might be comforting to you and if he’s in Purgatory, most likely, why wouldn’t you talk to him? Seems to me he can use all the help and encouragement he can get.

He is still your brother, love and relationships aren’t broken by passing on, pray for him and talk to him, it’s all good.
 
Aelred_Minor said:
Considering that there need to be two miracles clearly granted through the intercession of a person after their death for them to be canonized a saint, I think it’s pretty obvious the dead who have not been formally canonized can be prayed to.
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Very good reminder for us in that we can ask for our deceased loved ones to pray for us.

I ask for my deceased husband’s intercession for our children, and I pray for him in the event he should still be in purgatory. He had a happy and holy death.
 
LoyalViews said:
Unless you have the good fortune of your deceased loved one or friend being declared a Saint 😉
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Sure technically those of us who make it to Purgatory are guaranteed a place in Heaven. So technically if we die in a State of God’s Grace and go to Purgatory were already Saints.
 
Aelred_Minor said:
Considering that there need to be two miracles clearly granted through the intercession of a person after their death for them to be canonized a saint, I think it’s pretty obvious the dead who have not been formally canonized can be prayed to.
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This.

When my sister died a year and a half ago due to breast cancer, I prayed to her often, very much in the same way I pray to any other deceased brother or sister (in Christ). As Aelred Minor so eloquently stated, yes, we can pray to deceased loved ones and no, it is not a sin. I think the distinction everyone is struggling to make is that people cannot be publicly prayed to, honored, or venerated in any sort of way by the Church until they are a saint, or rather, technically beatified, since Blessed Theresa of Calcutta is publicly prayed to all the time, though she doesn’t have a feast day on the calendar (yet). Another example is Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, who is not a saint but is honored publicly (there’s a relief statue of her along with other American saints along the wall of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception).
 
Heuchler said:
You are not trying to conduct sorcery or necromancy in talking to your dead relative. As long as you do not intend to have a conversation or gain spiritual powers from this dead relative there is nothing wrong with that. In speaking to a dead relative you are assuming that they are in Heaven and praying in the hopeful sense that they have got there. You do not hurt your relationship to God by simply saying a word to a dead friend.
Besides, for a saint to be recognized as in Heaven we must for pray to them and ask for their intercession if we hope to find a miracle that would be as evidence of their sainthood.
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👍
 
centurionguard said:
No Catholic, (No One) has the power to talk to their deceased loved ones or friends.
And this is by no means encouraged. It’s far better in our concerns and love for our dearly departed to pray and leave them in the total trust of God’s merciful care.

This means that we should pray for them in hope that they are at the very least in Purgatory. ourcatholicprayers.com/prayers-for-souls-in-purgatory.html
That is our “humble” duty. The rest belongs to God’s merciful care.

I think about my beloved deceased father everyday and place him in God’s care as I do for others. It’s a Good practice to offer prayers for (ALL) deceased souls in Purgatory.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure if this is completely true. For instance, the Franciscan Brothers of Peace (brothersofpeace.org/) ask their founder to pray for them, even though he hasn’t been canonized a Blessed or a Saint, and they’re very traditional and completely in full ties with the Church. They even say that he fulfilled all of his purgatory time on earth when he was in his vegetable state for many years, and they are all for Orthodoxy and traditionalism. In fact, they have an entire section of their website just on their full support of Orthodoxy, so I wouldn’t be so quick to make these statements.
 
A Teutonic Knight said:
I’m not sure if this is completely true. For instance, the Franciscan Brothers of Peace (brothersofpeace.org/) ask their founder to pray for them, even though he hasn’t been canonized a Blessed or a Saint, and they’re very traditional and completely in full ties with the Church. They even say that he fulfilled all of his purgatory time on earth when he was in his vegetable state for many years, and they are all for Orthodoxy and traditionalism. In fact, they have an entire section of their website just on their full support of Orthodoxy, so I wouldn’t be so quick to make these statements.
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There was a Post similar to this one a few months ago. I can’t find it right now.
But from the main jest of the thread Speaking To The Dead wasn’t a practice recommended.

Praying for the Dead is an entirely different matter, that is recommended.

Speaking To The Dead as far as humans are concerned; IMHO sounds borderline Occult to me.🤷

To the best of my recollection Jesus was the Only One who spoke to Lazareth after he died. It was also Jesus who rose him from the dead.
 
centurionguard said:
There was a Post similar to this one a few months ago. I can’t find it right now.
But from the main jest of the thread Speaking To The Dead wasn’t a practice recommended.

Praying for the Dead is an entirely different matter, that is recommended.

Speaking To The Dead IMHO sounds borderline Occult to me.🤷

To the best of my recollection Jesus was the Only One who spoke to Lazareth after he died. It was also Jesus who rose him from the dead.
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If we can not speak with the dead, such as asking them to pray for us, then how has any saint been canonized in the past few hundred years? It must logically be okay to speak prayerfully with the Church Suffering and Church Triumphant, or the whole idea of the Communion of Saints falls apart.
 
centurionguard said:
There was a Post similar to this one a few months ago. I can’t find it right now.
But from the main jest of the thread Speaking To The Dead wasn’t a practice recommended.

Praying for the Dead is an entirely different matter, that is recommended.

Speaking To The Dead as far as humans are concerned; IMHO sounds borderline Occult to me.🤷

To the best of my recollection Jesus was the Only One who spoke to Lazareth after he died. It was also Jesus who rose him from the dead.
Click to expand...
I think there is a major misconception in this entire realm. If you’ve ever watched the movie Maria Goretti, you will see her speaking to her Father in front of his grave. Yes, this would classify as speaking to the dead. The Franciscan Brothers of Peace pray to their founder, Brother Michael Gaworski, talk to him in front of his grave, and ask him for help. What the Bible opposes is seances, as Tim Staples explains. If speaking to the dead true in the most understood sense, we would be blaspheming against God and his teachings, because how often have we found ourselves talking to the Saints? I do this regularly. I speak to Saint Francis of Assisi very often, asking him for help. The Bible is not opposed to speaking to the dead in this sense. The Bible is opposed to trying to physically contact the dead through seances and other ways that resemble seances.
 
PrayForMeStJude said:
If we can not speak with the dead, such as asking them to pray for us, then how has any saint been canonized in the past few hundred years? It must logically be okay to speak prayerfully with the Church Suffering and Church Triumphant, or the whole idea of the Communion of Saints falls apart.
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Beatification and Canonization newadvent.org/cathen/02364b.htm

**The Process of Becoming a Saint FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS **
freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1916625/posts
 
ATeutonicKnight said:
I think there is a major misconception in this entire realm. If you’ve ever watched the movie Maria Goretti, you will see her speaking to her Father in front of his grave. Yes, this would classify as speaking to the dead. The Franciscan Brothers of Peace pray to their founder, Brother Michael Gaworski, talk to him in front of his grave, and ask him for help. What the Bible opposes is seances, as Tim Staples explains. If speaking to the dead true in the most understood sense, we would be blaspheming against God and his teachings, because how often have we found ourselves talking to the Saints? I do this regularly. I speak to Saint Francis of Assisi very often, asking him for help. The Bible is not opposed to speaking to the dead in this sense. The Bible is opposed to trying to physically contact the dead through seances and other ways that resemble seances.
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Praying to a Saint such as Saint Francis is a huge difference than simply (((speaking))) to loved ones and friends who passed away.
 
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