Losing loved ones is very difficult. The soul hurts incredibly, despondency and melancholy reign in the heart, and there are tears in the eyes that do not even think to dry out. Sometimes you don't even want to live, but you need to - for the sake of children, other relatives and just yourself. And the question also revolves in my head - does the soul of a deceased person see its loved ones, and, if so, how to contact it. Here is what the priests have to say about this.
Thus, an interesting story was once told by the priest Nikolai, Metropolitan of Alma-Ata and Kazakhstan. Here it is: Father Vladimir Strakhov, having served the Liturgy, met a sweet old woman on the threshold of the Moscow church, who asked to go and give her son the Holy Communion. Father did not refuse, but took the Holy Gifts and went to the indicated address. After the bell rang, the door was opened by an intelligent man of about thirty. The priest said that he was asked to come in and introduce the patient. He was surprised, because he lived alone and did not need anything like that. But both the name and the address were the same. When the priest entered the apartment, he saw a photograph of the very old woman who came to the Church.
Father was very surprised when it turned out that this was the mother of that man, only she had died 15 years ago. After a short conversation, it turned out that the young man had not received communion for a long time, but was ready for it. The confession passed quickly, the priest forgave his sins and left. And after a while I learned from the neighbors, who came with a prayer to serve the requiem, that the guy had died. If the deceased mother had not taken care of her son, he would have died without partaking of the Holy Mysteries.
Priest Nikolai Karov, answering the questions of his parishioners, mentions the Holy Scriptures and says that the dead, most likely, see what is happening here on Earth. He remembers the parable of the Laser. You can hear his reasoning by watching the video below. Without exception, all Orthodox fathers call to pray for the departed, to commemorate them, so that their life will be easier for them in the next world. They say that warm words, memories and a prayer service help those in the other world to find peace. And if so, it means that if they all do not see, then they definitely hear.
What does the Bible say about the dead?
The sacred book does not reveal the secret whether the soul of a deceased person sees his loved ones or not. Proponents of the theory that she cannot do this often cite the following passages from the Bible and other sources:
- “The dead cannot see, hear, or think” (Ecclesiastes 9: 5).
- “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going to wake him up” (John 11:11) - it seems to say here that death is like a dream, which means that the deceased cannot see anything.
- “The living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing” (Solomon).
Conclusion: until there is real evidence of whether the soul sees after death or not, people are left to choose for themselves what to believe. As for communication, the only way to help your loved one, who is in the other world, is to constantly pray for him. For the departed, each prayer is like a drop of water for the sufferer. The only way to get close to them is to ask the angels to convey a certain message and hope that they will. Direct contact is impossible. All the best!
