by Edward Shanahan – Chicago Psychic Medium and Chicago Paranormal Explorer.

What Does the Catholic Church Say About Spirits of Loved Ones Visiting Us?

I decided to bring you what I just wrote here. I bring you not my words on the subject, but Fr. Michael Kerper’s words from the website ‘The Catholic Exchange’.

I did the research. Plus, this ‘is not’ the 1st time I have heard it. My granddaughter’s school’s Pastor told the students the same thing. Also, when he was asked about ‘Witches’ he said “Like anything else with life, there are good and there are bad, I have friends that are good Witches – Next questions?”

The reason I know about the subject and what I discuss at times during my readings, not only the years of Catholic Schooling, plus also being a listener of Catholic Radio and may I suggest to those in the Chicago land area channel 950am.

* Fr. Michael Kerper:
To put your question differently: can these bodiless souls — ghosts — appear and intervene in our lives?

We have to clarify the term “ghost.” I am not speaking here about menacing spirits that terrorize movie characters. This English word “ghost” comes from the German word “geist,” which broadly means “spirit,” including non-personal things such as the “spirit of the age” and so on. In English, “ghost” specifically means the soul of a dead person that becomes discernible through our eyes, ears, nose (some ghosts smell!), or skin.

In theory, billions of ghosts potentially exist because billions of human beings have “lost” their bodies through death. Strictly speaking, these disembodied souls are not ghosts because they have never become discernible to any living people. Only those few souls whose presence is seen or felt by others are truly ghosts. And their existence is plausible. But here we must proceed with great caution.

To be frank, many theologians haven’t written much about ghosts, but some have, notably Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas.

According to Saint Thomas (Summa Theologica, Suppl., Q. 69, art. 3.), the souls of the dead who are in heaven can indeed manifest themselves to the living on their own initiative. Such appearances, however, are not “hauntings” meant to terrify or tease people. Rather, these saintly apparitions occur only to bring comfort and encouragement, never fear.

*And remember, “saint” means anyone who dwells with God, not just those officially declared “saints” by the Church.

In light of this, it is theoretically possible for loved ones, such as deceased grandparents or children (even babies), to become sensibly discernible to us. While such occurrences may be rare, there is no reason to rule them out. In a sense, these spirits are “ghosts”, but they are benign, even loving.

Now we move to the matter of malicious ghosts, the nasty type that pop up in horror movies and novels. Saint Thomas clearly states that the souls of the dead, who are not in heaven, can never appear to the living without God’s consent. But why would God ever allow ghosts to “haunt” people?

Saint Thomas gives two reasons: first, as a warning; and second, to seek spiritual assistance from the living in the form of prayer or good deeds to advance the dead person toward fulfillment in God. The ghosts or “non-saints” may annoy people, but they can never harm them.

Of course, one can read somewhat credible stories about destructive “hauntings,” but Saint Thomas always insisted that these “ghosts” were definitely not the souls of dead people, but something else, most likely demons masquerading as ghosts.

This brief exploration about ghosts leads us to a very positive point: the spiritual bonds between the living and dead, especially those who love one another, are deep, unbreakable, and mysterious because they are rooted in the Body of Christ, which embraces the living and dead. We have nothing to fear, for God governs all things — including “ghosts” — with wisdom and love.

This article is from a chapter in A Priest Answers 27 Questions You Never Thought to Ask, which is available from Sophia Institute Press.

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Why did I go to the Catholic Church teachings for the answer?
As it states in Wikipedia:
According to Catholic tradition, the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ.[8] The New Testament records Jesus’ activities and teaching, his appointment of the twelve Apostles, and his instructions to them to continue his work.[9][10] The Catholic Church teaches that the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event known as Pentecost, signaled the beginning of the public ministry of the Church.[11]

Blessings to All,
Edward Shanahan

To find out what I have to offer to you, go to my web site at: https://edwardshanahan.com

Edward Shanahan is a Psychic Medium in the Chicago land area. Edward Shanahan does Private in home / location readings, Phone Readings, Zoom Readings with Spirit Communications if desired, Psychic House Parties / Gatherings with Spirit Communication Sessions for private readings and house parties if it is desired.

Edward has been written about in five different books and has written two of his own.

(c)2022 Edward Shanahan