Today, life after death is often
described in terms of a peaceful awareness of being alive, not dead, and being surrounded
by harmony and beauty. This awareness is not only a natural consequence of research in NDE
(Near Death Experiences), but also of a growing desire of people today to shake off the
hard and immovable dogmas of punishment and hellfire awaiting those who have not done what
the priest told them to do. They seek an expansion of consciousness beyond the limitations
set by the establishment in which they were born. Many, who have experienced near-death,
recount having had to pass through a dark tunnel. Once through this tunnel, a joy and
lightness of movement and thought was encountered, which make the afterlife a wonderful
experience. They were pulled back, often against their will, by the medical profession,
which then could proudly state that they saved another life. Save indeed!
One can hardly appreciate how much the world has advanced over a time
span of a hundred years. It is quite amusing to read in old diary leaves, dated 1894, how
occult research was discredited as work of the devil. Thus Fr. Clarke wrote: "We
expose ourselves thereby to be tricked and made fools of by beings of a superior nature
to ourselves, and our bitterest enemies. Under the tempting bribe of a revealed
knowledge, of our condition after death, we are liable to be cajoled by spirits whose one
object is to deceive us, and to divert our minds from truth and from God".
Fr Clarke was both right and wrong. 100 years ago people were so
starved of spiritual insight that they often dabbled in spiritualist seances. Dangerous
ground indeed, where one might easily be tricked and given a false picture of what the
afterlife is about, not by beings of a superior nature and our bitterest enemies,
but by souls of people who had passed over and remnants of thought forms. These souls were
not neither are superior, neither would they be bitter unless they have been victims of
some heinous deed committed against them. Inasmuch as few people can give an accurate and
unbiased description of a particular event in real life, so messages received from
departed souls are likewise suspect as regards accuracy, often being limited by the
spiritual capacity of the observer. These observations are therefore of limited value and
often distorted. Today there is a wealth of public knowledge about the afterlife and few
are still interested in spiritualistic seances.
The other question that is rarely considered is whether one has the
right to call up departed souls by mediumistic means. Generally the answer is negative.
These souls have their own lives to lead and should not be disturbed. They might have an
interest in what is going on in the real world, sometimes inspiring someone to do
something, for example to avert imminent danger. These are realities.
Sometimes, in "rosy" days and hours shortly before death, a
dying person may start talking about people who have already passed over, often asking for
a photograph. This is often indicative of the dying person being aware of loved ones
waiting for him or her to pass over.
In this light, it is interesting to note that our Requiem Eucharist is
not an occasion of immense grief. We send our so-called dead the love and the knowledge
that their path is to be continued in other realms than those they were used to in their
physical lives. We give their loved ones left behind, the knowledge that the deceased are
not alone, nor in grief, but go in peace, light and unconditional love and are assisted by
our positive thoughts and feelings.
