So true! My first fiance died in a car accident when I was 24, and we had been together 4 years and had almost completed our Pre-marriage meetings when he died. He was raised Lutheran/Nothing and was really loving our weekly talks with the Priest. I believe he went through a huge conversion right before his death, as he always wanted to read the bible with me and talk about Jesus, but I was not interested. I myself was not converted at the time, and really did not know what to do when he died, but so wanted to do SOMETHING to help him!! I wish someone then had told me about praying for the dead, and and the graces and help they receive. As it is, Mother Mary stepped up, and the only thing that comforted me for some reason was saying the Hail Mary over and over again. Now I believe that as I refused to go back to Church or listen to anyone, it was her way of helping me to help Jay. The death of my parents was SO much different, since we were all back to the Church, and it was almost more of a beautiful celebration. Having the 30 day masses said for them was such a comfort to me, not someone lying to me telling me they were in heaven....
Carmel, I agree with you! When my husband of 34 years died, people tried to say comforting things to me. They all felt like he was in a better place. I knew he was because Our Lady answered my prayer and came to get him. He had an apparition of her 2 hours before he died. Action means more to me than words. I had prayed so many Divine Mercies at his bed, and I relied on that promise, so I knew he was in heaven. For some people, conform comes from hearing that they are in heaven. I'm on my phone now, but later I can post the story of someone I knew who drew so much comfort from hearing those words. We are all different. We are all at different places spiritually. What works for us might not work for them, and it is an act of mercy to comfort the sorrowing.
At the Council of Trent it was defined that nobody could say that anyone is in heaven except through a special revelation of God. I don't think the priests who say these things have received visitors from heaven so they are really going against the teachings of the Church when they come up with this Fairy Twinkie stuff. The word, 'presumption,' springs to mind. On the other hand I read a lovely thing about Padre Pio. During the war thousands of young Italians were sent off to the Eastern Front to fight in Russia alongside the Germans, Very, very few of them returned to sunny Italy from that icy hell. Bu the parents of these young men came from all over Italy to find out from Padre Pio if their poor sons were dead or in prison camps. Padre Pio always gave an answer that turned out to be right, which is just amazing. More amazing still ; as far as I recall after he indicated that the young man was dead he would when prompted indicate if his soul was in heaven or purgatory. But Padre Pio was not being presumptious here. He was the real deal rather than the Twinkie stuff.
Padraig, I'm not questioning that. I'm talking about simple acts of mercy to those in great sorrow. People work through their grief in different ways. When I was 10, a neighbor boy killed another 10 year old boy by pointing a loaded gun under his chin and pulling the trigger. This young man had problems. I remember once, he and I had a row, and he ran inside, grabbed a broom and was chasing me down the street trying to hit me with that broom. I was a good runner so he only swiped me once or twice. Years later, he killed himself in the same way that he had killed the boy. His mother, after the funeral service, was distraught, as was his sister. However, I remember her saying " After this service, I know that Michael is with God." No one argued with her. That was an act of mercy. We could have talked about God and His Justice, but that would have been presumptive of us and very unkind to this woman. A year ago, a friend of mine had a daughter who was a drug addict. She was severely depressed and she committed suicide with a shotgun. Of course, this broke her parents' hearts. When the priest finished the service, the mom said to me, that she knew her daughter was happy and with God. I wasn't about to correct her and talk about God's justice. That would have been cruel. What I am saying is that you just can't assume that someone wants or needs to hear about that concept. The important thing to me is to pray for these souls and know that God in HIS wisdom, justice, and knowledge will be the one to judge these souls and send comfort to the ones who are suffering these great losses.
It seems like a kindness sometimes to tell a, 'White lie'. But at the end of the day there is no such thing as a white lie there are only lies. There is no such thing as half truth there is only the truth and falsehood. Of course in charity we do not need to rush in to tell truths to people who are not ready to hear them. Otherwise we would be continually knocked out and needing hospital treatment. But we do have an alternative to encouraging the spread of the false and that is simply to keep charitably quiet. Waiting hopefully for the opportunity , led by the Holy Spirit for a little pain speaking at a more opportune time. Perhaps that time will never come simply because their hearts will never open to the truth. But then that is their fault not ours.'The famous preacher J. Gresham Machen said it this way: “Again, men tell us that our preaching should be positive and not negative, that we can preach the truth without attacking error. But if we follow that advice we shall have to close our Bible and desert its teachings. The New Testament is a polemic book almost from beginning to end ... It is when men have felt compelled to take a stand against error that they have risen to the really great heights in the celebration of the truth”'There is a wonderful passage in Ezekial which convicts us of our duty in truth telling and warning others.Ezekiel 33: 6,11 “But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet, and the people are not warned, and the sword comes and takes any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at the watchman's hand” .Our duty to tell the truth is not an option ; it is a duty. If a person is going down the wrong path and we do not warn them and they get hit by a car whose fault is it? It is then even more our duty to cry warning when people are going down a wrong spiritual path.We are all Watchmen . We must all cry warning. It is our duty.But the real reason man wacthmen do not cry warning is that they do not actually believe in the danger. They are spiritually asleepSt John Bosco had a very revealing dream about hell one time which he told to the children. Yes children. In it he reminds us that the road to hell is wide open , a primrose path that leads to destruction. So it is with the spiritual path. The 'easy', 'kind', 'loving', 'warm' path is not always the right one. Sometimes a very severe kick up the ass is called for and should be administered.On two occasions for instance I have had to tell priests at the urging of Our Lady that they were on the road to hell and a very,very deep part of hell. I would rather have died than done so; but she insisted.On both occasions their faces went white and they went quiet. A kick on the rear regions was required, given and I hope did some good. Love yes. Sometimes tough love too. Grace is free but never cheap.
Years ago I trained with Fr.Kosiki who is probably best known for his work with the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, spreading the message of Divine Mercy. He is a Hermit now. I also trained in Pastoral Care at the Hospitals. Thru that training I was able to minister to a friend whose 15 year old daughter had killed herself and left a note. It was devastating to this family. I was the first person there to comfort her after the ambulance came. She BEGGED me to tell her that her daughter was in heaven. I told her I could not do that, BUT that she MUST realize something. God is the God of time. That even in her last moments her instinct might have been to reach out and say, "God help me!" In that second, God's Divine Mercy kicks in and he snatches the soul up to Him. This act cannot be ruled out in any circumstance. He is our rope and as long as we hang on to that minute hope, we are saved. I told her to spend her time praying for mercy for her daughter and I thought she had. The next morning she called me and told me she had called a 'psychic hotline' and asked them if her daughter was in heaven and they said she was..." I was STUNNED! I simply said, "For $29.95 I'll tell you that too." We both were completely silent. My daughter has since been told spiritually ,she IS NOT in heaven. They built a shrine in their home and wear some of her ashes around their necks for her. I just feel sad and beg God for mercy for the whole family.
That is so true, that God is the God of time... For them to go back and pray and offer sacrifices for their daughter to help her have the grace to accept Jesus' mercy when she saw Him. When Jay died so young, I was just frantic to know he was "all right" also, but we have to remember, that the person belongs to God long before us, that God gave the person to us as a gift, and that God loves that person more than we could ever even imagine. If we pray and fast for that person, I'm convinced God will do all He can to try to bring that person into purgatory.
It's true that God is a God of time. But in my experience praying for souls God can and does say a flat out, 'No' A big flat out , 'NO' on occasions and when He does this there's just no way round it. Time or no time. However on a more cheerful note, Padre Pio used to say that on the point of death all souls are shown God as He really is and given a last choice. I believe this to be true.
I agree that God does say NO many times. Of course many times in our life we are not ready to accept that, but our prayers are never wasted, and will be used for someone else. I'm so glad that the Church is adament on it's stance on suicide. We know from scripture that it is the worst sin, because it sins against the very love of God, and rejects not only Him, but His help and mercy. The devil seems very able to bring more and more people to this horrible state of dispair, because people are so willing to give up their will to drunkeness, drugs, sinful living, and all manners of junk. When we continuously just throw ours souls to the wind like that, we cannot be suprised that satan can bring us to despair, and even convince us to end our life. Are we at fault ? YES! Because we allowed this to happen by our lifestyle, and by our lack of love for God.
I have no problem with suicides getting into heaven. Sometimes. Sometimes not. But sometimes as I say God can just put His foot down with a bang. I stop praying for the soul after this. If however anyone does not have this 'putting the foot down experience', I can understand how they still pray. I do not. When God puts His foot down I hear it quite clearly hit the ground.
Since God operates outside of time, can't we continue to pray for souls after they died-- and God in his mercy can use the grace generated by these prayers anywhere, including at the time of their death, even though that death occurred before the prayers were actually uttered?? Just a thought.
Padre Pio was praying for the souls of his parents one day and another priest said, 'but I thought that they were already in heaven', Padre Pio said that yes, they were, but that the prayers that he continued to say for their souls had helped them to get there. A mystery ! If we pray now, it seems that the holy souls may have already received the benefit of them.
Julian of Norwich. 'A matter that greatly troubled her was the fate of those who through no fault of their own had never heard the Gospel. She never received a direct answer to her questions about them, except to be told that whatever God does is done in Love, and therefore "that all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well." Speaking of her visions of heaven and hell, she said, "To me was shown no harder hell than sin." '
More loud noises in the news! http://www.hindustantimes.com/India...-loud-noises-and-tremors/Article1-924042.aspx
Its like the whole earth is moaning with sin...I pray the whole world gets on its knees and prays for mercy!
Padraig, I am stubborn, and if I believe I am right, I will stand up for what I believe is right. However, there is no disguising kindness. In order for our words to be heard, we have to be an exemplary example of goodness and merit. Most of the time, this isn't true. Then, those who are wounded by our words, call us heretics, and they are right. We can say what we think or feel, but unless we can back it up with our behaviors, our words fall on deaf ears. That's when I prefer to turn to God and pray, pray, pray. I have to think of St. Monica. She refused to give up. I wish I were more like her.
Thank you, Mary's Child, and btw, I meant hypocrites not heretics! I'm just so tired. Since Blessed Mother asked us to pray for her children who do not yet know the Father's love, I haven't been sleeping well. I am waking up often during the night, so I pray. Then I wake up for the day in the 4 am hour, so I pray. Others who have accepted her call to pray are reporting the same types of things. I told Out Lady that I would continue to pray, but that I need more rest! I sure hope she listens to me!
