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Just a follow up question here. So do you think that when someone dies and goes to heaven, that they are aware of what is going on here? If that is the case, I would think it would bring great sadness if one of their loved ones was experiencing difficulty. I just think that I'm so careful because to pray to someone who died and ask them for help could open the door to someone who wants to believe their loved one is right there with them, talking to them etc. Like Sylvia Browne. It's too easy for some people to start glorifying the dead. Again, looking for answer here. Not trying to start anything.

That's a good question. I would suggest a very fine book that gives one answer to this question . . . C.S. Lewis's The Great Divorce. (It's also a great read and not a long book - a little gem from a

The narrator finds himself on a bus ride from Hell to the outskirts of Heaven, where the Ghosts/Poor Souls are given a chance to renounce their sins and "enter into joy".

After an encounter between a Ghost and a saint (his late wife) in which the saint is unsuccessful in persuading him to forgo his sin and join her in Heaven, the narrator asks his guide (George MacDonald - whose books are also well worth reading) if it is "fair" that she feels no sorrow or compassion for the lost Ghost. MacDonald responds, "Would you rather he retained the power to hurt her? He used it many and many a time in their mortal life." He adds that Hell is so incomprehensible because it is so nearly nothing, in comparison with the joys of Heaven - "if you took all the hatred and sorrow of Hell and put it into the consciousness of that wee bird over there, it would be swallowed up."

As the Lady Saint said, "I am in Love, and out of it I will not go."

I think this also answers the question about communicating with the dead. Saints tend to send "signs", but rarely communicate directly.

And Lewis was not even Catholic, but Anglican.

I can tell that you're sincerely looking for an answer. I can also tell you that I'm the type of person who wouldn't want to get involved with spiritualism, and the occult. It scares the he!! out of me to even THINK of it for 5 seconds, and I don't want to go THERE.

I have the impression that you don't want to go anywhere dangerous, and yet you are trying to find out if you can legitimately have a continued, albeit changed, closeness with your mother. Having been a Catholic all my life it's just part of me to know that the communion of saints is entirely separate from the world of the occult. I can only imagine that you are torn between the possibility of having closeness with your mother, and the possibility that if you move towards it, you may find out that it's wrong to go in that direction.

I think I have the answer for you. Do you remember the parable of Lazarus and the rich man?

22And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

23And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.

25But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.

26And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

Luke 16:22-26 (King James Version)

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Right away, we can see that in verses 23 and 24 Lazarus and the rich man are in two separate places, and their conditions are vastly different.

In verse 26 Jesus tells us that there is a great chasm between heaven and hell and there is no crossing over.

What the question boils down to, is that you want to know if your mother is saved, for if she is resting on the Heart of Jesus, what would be the danger to you of speaking to her there? If your thoughts are lifted to heaven, how could you possibly be leaving yourself open to the occult? You would have to purposely solicit the occult to put yourself in danger.

I would say that if your mother was a basically good, God loving woman, that it is not unreasonable for you to think of her as being in heaven. There is no way to know this for certain, baring an undisputable sign from God, until you get there yourself. To make up for this uncertainty, the only thing you can do is trust the Divine Mercy of Jesus Christ.

Go to God, and hash this out with Him. Re-read and pray over these Lazarus/rich man verses in your own Bible. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you to His truth, and ask Him to help you see if my answer to you is right or wrong, or if he has another answer. Wait upon the Lord for His answer - He may answer you quickly, or prepare you a bit for receiving his truth. Be at peace, because God WILL give you an answer.

Above all, trust in His Mercy, and rest assured of His love for you.

So do you think that when someone dies and goes to heaven, that they are aware of what is going on here? If that is the case, I would think it would bring great sadness if one of their loved ones was experiencing difficulty.

Those in heaven are blessed with a perfected joy, and they are also blessed with perfected love. Although they don't experience sadness as we do, they love so much more. They know what's going on with us, and they make intercession for us. :o)