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Dear Catholic Exchange,
Can a person who has died return to earth either to bother someone or to give messages?
Thanks,
Luiz
Dear Luiz,
Greetings in Christ. The Church teaches that a saintly person who has died can communicate with the faithful. This is part of the Church’s teaching regarding the Communion of Saints, as our FAITH FACT on the subject details.
Human persons who have died are, with the exception of the Blessed Mother, disembodied “spirits.” The term “ghost” comes from the German word for “spirit”: “geist.” Fr. John Hardon, S.J., addresses God’s use of ghosts:
Christianity believes that God may, and sometimes does, permit a departed soul to appear in some visible form to people on earth. Allowing for legend and illusion, there is enough authentic evidence, for example, in the lives of the saints, to indicate that such apparitions occur. Their purpose may be to teach or warn, or request some favor of the living (Modern Catholic Dictionary, Garden City, New York, Doubleday and Co., 1980, p. 229).
In short, God may send ghosts to us for our good. It is conceivable that a person who has died could go to hell and return to harass someone as an evil spirit. If one believes such is taking place, one should seek the counsel of a good priest. There may also be the case of a spirit who seems not to be evil, but rather unsettled and continues to cause a disturbance in a home or other locale. The best thing to do in such a case is to pray for that soul and to have the home, office, or other locale blessed.
In summary, the Church recognizes that those who have died continue to live spiritually and can make contact with those on earth. Those on earth should not, however, seek to make contact with those who have died through seances and forms of spiritism (cf. Catechism, nos. 2115-17). Yet, spiritism should not be confused with the laudable practice of praying to the faithful departed, e.g., saints. If one is concerned that a spirit is making its presence felt in an unwelcome manner, the counsel of a good priest should be sought and, at the very least, the house can be blessed and other prayers offered.
If you have further questions on this or would like more information about Catholics United for the Faith, please contact us at 1-800-MY-FAITH (693-2484). Please keep us in your prayers as we endeavor to “support, defend, and advance the efforts of the teaching Church.”
United in the Faith,
Thomas J. Nash
Senior Information Specialist
Catholics United for the Faith
827 North Fourth Street
Steubenville, OH 43952
800-MY-FAITH (800-693-2484)
For further reading on this and other Halloween-related subjects, please see the following:
Is it Possible to Discern Good from Bad Spirits?
Do Our Souls Go to Sleep When We Die?
Channeling Spirits and Communicating with Animals
