Are ghosts real?
Happy Hallowe'en by the way. And Happy Hallow DAY!
Are ghosts real? I was asked this the other day, as a matter of fact - the question kinda caught me off guard, as I wasn't 100% of the answer.
But since then, I've done a little research, and this is what I found out:
The Catholic Church doesn't know either.
By that I mean, the Church doesn't have a doctrinal stance on whether or not ghosts continue to interact with the mortal world. What it DOES say is that one: judgment, our eternal fate is determined at the MOMENT we die, not later, and two: trying to communicate with the dead using seances or other occult rituals - is PROHIBITED - because its very dangerous. The fear is, in trying to talk to your dead Aunt Martha, you could end up talking to your dead Aunt - Satan.
But I digress - don't want to scare anyone, not too badly anyway.
And neither do ghosts by the way.
When we see ghosts in the movies, Paranormal Activity being the most recent entry, ghosts are VERY scary - they're essentially monsters. These kind of ghosts aren't around at all.
What might be around, as attributed to by, believe it or not, some sound Catholic literature, are two other types of ghosts.
The first, is the type that is eventually destined for heaven, but for now has to work something out first - this would be a form of purgatory for the ghost, getting ready to move on.
And the secone, is actually a saint - someone who is in heaven, but can continue in some way to intercede for us, and sometimes, even communicate with us.
Its possible that our dead relatives have tried to give us messages of comfort from the great beyond - I've know LOTS of people who have had experiences like this.
After all, being ALIVE - means being in communion with the people around us, it means LOVING - that's part of the definition, as I understand it, as the CHURCH understands it. So, if "they" continue to be alive, in Christ, then we continue to be in communion with them - I think its reasonable to assume that our loved ones are still watching over us - still LOVING us.
I don't know FOR SURE. But I do know THIS for sure - that God is love.