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Ghosts and Saints Podcast (Halloween / All Saints Podcast)
Michael Barber, Ph.D. / John Paul the Great Catholic University © 2012
www.JPCatholic.com
/
www.TheSacredPage.com
In the Presence of Spirits of Just Men Made Perfect
But
you have come
to
Mount Zion
and to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem
, and to
innumerable angels
in festal gathering,
23
and to
the assembly
[Gk.
ekkl
ē
sia
: “ecclesiastical,” “Church”] of
the first-born who areenrolled in heaven
, and
to a judge who is God of all
, and to
the spirits of just men made perfect
,
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and
to Jesus
, themediator of a new covenant . . .
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Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, andthus
let us offer to God acceptable worship
, with reverence and awe. . .—
Hebrews 12:22–24
Mistaking Jesus for a Ghost
As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to You.”
37
But they werestartled and frightened, and supposed that they saw
a spirit
.
38
And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts?
39
See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see;
for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have
.”
40
And when he had said this he showed them his hands and his feet.
41
And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
42
They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
43
and he took it and ate before them.—Luke 24:36–42Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Beth-saida, while hedismissed the crowd.
46
And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray.
47
And whenevening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land.
48
And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,
49
but when they saw him walking on the sea
they thought it was a ghost
, and cried out;
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for they all saw him, and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Takeheart, it is I; have no fear.”—Mark 6:45–50
Saul, the Medium at Endor and Samuel’s Ghost
Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek out for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.”And his servants said to him, “Behold, there is a medium at Endor.”
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So Saul disguised himself and put on other garments, and went, he and two men with him; and they came tothe woman by night. And he said, “Divine for me by a spirit, and bring up for me whomever I shall name to you.”
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The woman said to him, “Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizardsfrom the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?”
10
But Saul swore to her by theL
ORD
, “As the L
ORD
lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.”
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Then the woman said, “Whomshall I bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up Samuel for me.”
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When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with aloud voice; and the woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul.”
13
The king said to her, “Haveno fear; what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a god coming up out of the earth.”
14
He said to her,“What is his appearance?” And she said, “An old man is coming up; and he is wrapped in a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance.
15
Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul answered, “I am in greatdistress; for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more,either by prophets or by dreams; therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.”
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And Samuel said,“Why then do you ask me, since the L
ORD
has turned from you and become your enemy?
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The L
ORD
has done to you as he spoke by me; for the L
ORD
has torn the kingdom out of your hand, and given it to your neighbor, David.
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Because you did not obey the voice of the L
ORD
, and did not carry out his fierce wrath against Amalek, thereforethe L
ORD
has done this thing to you this day.
19
Moreover the L
ORD
will give Israel also with you into the hand of
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the Philistines; and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me; the L
ORD
will give the army of Israel also intothe hand of the Philistines.”—1 Samuel 28:7–19Even after [Samuel] had fallen asleep he prophesied and revealed to the king his death, and
lifted up his voice out of the earth in prophecy
, to blot out the wickedness of the people.—Sirach 46:20
Biblical Condemnations of Mediums
“Do not turn to mediums or wizards; do not seek them out, to be defiled by them: I am the L
ORD
your God.”—Leviticus 19:31“If a person turns to mediums and wizards, playing the harlot after them, I will set my face against that person, and will cut him off from among his people. . . “A man or a woman who is a medium or a wizard shall be put to death;they shall be stoned with stones, their blood shall be upon them.”—Leviticus 20:6, 27“There shall not be found among you any one who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, any one who practices divination, a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer,
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or a charmer, or a medium, or a wizard, or anecromancer.”—Deuteronomy 18:10–11All forms of
divination
are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practicesfalsely supposed to “unveil” the future.
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Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omensand lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history,and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict thehonor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.—
Catechism of the Catholic Church
2116
Judas Maccabeus’ Vision of Onias and Jeremiah
[Judas] armed each of them not so much with confidence in shields and spears as with the inspiration of brave words, and he cheered them all by relating a dream, a sort of vision, which was worthy of belief.
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What he saw was this: Onias, who had been high priest, a noble and good man, of modest bearing and gentlemanner, one who spoke fittingly and had been trained from childhood in all that belongs to excellence, was praying with outstretched hands for the whole body of the Jews.
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Then likewise a man appeared, distinguished by his gray hair and dignity, and of marvelous majesty and authority.
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And Onias spoke, saying, “This is a man who loves thebrethren and prays much for the people and the holy city, Jeremiah, the prophet of God.”
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Jeremiah stretched outhis right hand and gave to Judas a golden sword, and as he gave it he addressed him thus:
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“Take this holy sword, agift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries.”—2 Maccabees 15:11–16
Job and the Night Vision of A Spirit
Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
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dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake.
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A spirit glided past my face;the hair of my flesh stood up.—Job 4:13–16
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Cf.
Deut
18:10;
Jer
29:8.
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The Rich Man’s Request: Send Lazarus Back from the Dead
And [the rich man] said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send [Lazarus] to my father’s house,
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for I have five brothers,so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’—Luke 16:27–28
Satan Disguises Himself
. . . for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.—2 Corinthians 11:14
Peter’s Angel
Recognizing Peter’s voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and told that Peter was standing at thegate.
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They said to her, “You are mad.” But she insisted that it was so. They said, “It is his angel!”—Acts 12:14–15
The Saints in Heaven
“And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb,each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are
the prayers of the saints
.” (Rev 5:8).“[The Beast] was allowed
to make war on the saints
and to conquer them.” (Rev 13:7)
Saint Thomas Aquinas
ON WHETHER THE SOULS WHO ARE IN HEAVEN OR HELL ARE ABLE TO GO FROM THENCE?
Summa Theologiae
, Supplementum q.69 art. 3–4 citing Jerome, Augustine and other fathers
We proceed thus to the Third Article:
—
Objection
1. It would seem that the souls in heaven or hell are unable to go from thence. For Augustine says (
DeCura pro Mort.
xiii.):
If the souls of the dead took any part in the affairs of the living, to say nothing of others, there ismyself whom not for a single night would my loving mother fail to visit since she followed me by land and sea in order to abide with me:
and from this he concludes that the souls of the departed do not mingle in the affairs of the living.But they would be able to do so if they were to leave their abode. Therefore they do not go forth from their abode.
Obj.
2. Further, It is written (Ps. 26:4):
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life
, and (Job7:9):
He that shall go down to hell shall not come up
. Therefore neither the good nor the wicked quit their abode.
Obj.
3. Further, As stated above (A. 2), abodes are awarded to souls after death as a reward or punishment. Now after death neither the rewards of the saints nor the punishments of the damned are increased. Therefore they donot quit their abodes.
On the contrary
, Jerome writing against Vigilantius addresses him thus:
For thou sayest that the souls of the apostles and martyrs have taken up their abode either in Abraham’s bosom or in the place of refreshment, or under the altar of God, and that they are unable to visit their graves when they will. Wouldst thou then lay down the law for God? Wouldst thou put the apostles in chains, imprison them until the day of judgment, and forbid them to be with their Lord, them of whom it is written: They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth? And if the Lamb is everywhere,therefore we must believe that those also who are with Him are everywhere
. Therefore it is absurd to say that the soulsof the departed do not leave their abode.Further, Jerome argues as follows (
ibid.
):
Since the devil and the demons wander throughout the whole world, and are everywhere present with wondrous speed, why should the martyrs, after shedding their blood, be imprisoned and unable to go forth?
Hence we may infer that not only the good sometimes leave their abode, but also the wicked,since their damnation does not exceed that of the demons who wander about everywhere.
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