We often wonder how the soul of a deceased person is forgiven to those close to it. Where does she go and what path does she take? It is not in vain that the days of remembrance of those who have gone into another world are so important. Someone does not believe in the existence of a soul after a person’s death, someone, on the contrary, is diligently preparing for it and striving for his soul to live in paradise. In the article we will try to deal with issues of interest and to understand whether there really is life after death and how the soul says goodbye to relatives.
What happens to the soul after the death of the body
In our life, everything is important, including death. Surely more than once everyone thought about what would happen next. Someone is afraid of this moment, someone is looking forward to it, and some just live and do not remember that sooner or later life will come to an end. But it should be said that all our thoughts about death have a huge impact on our life, on its course, on our goals and desires, actions.
Most Christians believe that physical death does not lead to the complete disappearance of man. Remember that our creed leads to the fact that a person should strive to live forever, but since this is impossible, we truly believe that our body is dying, but the soul comes out of it and moves into a new, just born person and continues its existence on this planet. However, before entering a new body, the soul must come to the Father in order to “account” for the path traveled there, to tell about his earthly life. It is at this moment that we are accustomed to talking about how it is decided in heaven where the soul will go after death: to hell or to paradise.
Soul after death by day
It is difficult to say exactly which way the soul goes while moving towards God. Orthodoxy does not say anything about this. But we are used to allocating funeral days after the death of a person. Traditionally, this is the third, ninth and fortieth day. Some authors of church writings claim that it is precisely on these days that some momentous events take place on the way of the soul to the Father.
The Church does not dispute such opinions, but does not officially recognize them. But there is a special doctrine, which tells about everything that happens after death and why exactly these days are chosen as special.
Third day after death
The third day is the day when the ceremony of burial of the deceased is performed. Why exactly the third? This is due to the Resurrection of Christ, which happened on the third day after the death of the Cross, and also on this day there was a celebration of the victory of Life over death. However, some authors understand this day in their own way and talk about it. As an example, you can take svt. Simeon of Solunsky, who says that the third day is a symbol of the fact that the deceased, as well as all his relatives believe in the Holy Trinity, and therefore strive for the deceased to fall into the three gospel virtues. You ask, what are these virtues? And everything is very simple: it is faith, hope and love that are familiar to everyone. If during life a person could not find this, then after death he has the opportunity, finally, to meet with all three.
Also associated with the third day is that a person throughout his life performs certain actions and has his own specific thoughts. All this is expressed with the help of three components: reason, will and feeling. Remember that at the funeral we ask that God forgive the dead for all his sins, which were committed by thought, deed and word.
There is also an opinion that the third day was chosen because on this day those who do not deny the remembrance of the three-day Resurrection of Christ gather in prayer.
Nine days after death
The next day, on which it is customary to remember the dead, is the ninth. St. Simeon of Solunsky says that this day is associated with nine angelic ranks. A deceased loved one could be ranked among these ranks as an intangible spirit.
But St. Paisius the Svyatorets recalls that commemoration days exist so that we pray for our deceased loved ones. He cites the death of a sinner as a comparison with a sober person. He says that, living on earth, people commit sins like drunk, they simply do not understand what they are doing. But, when they get to heaven, they seem to be sobering up and, finally, understand what was accomplished in life. And we can help them, with our prayer. Thus, we can save them from punishment and ensure a normal existence in another world.
Forty days after death
Another day when it is customary to commemorate a departed loved one. In church tradition, this day appeared for the "Ascension of the Savior." Ascension this happened just on the fortieth day after his resurrection. A mention of this day can also be found in the Apostolic Ordinances. It is also recommended to commemorate the deceased on the third, ninth and fortieth day after his death. On the fortieth day, the Israeli people commemorated Moses, and so the ancient custom says.
Nothing can separate separate loving people, not even death. On the fortieth day it is customary to pray for loved ones, to ask God to forgive our loved one all his sins committed in life, and to give him paradise. It is this prayer that paves a bridge between the world of the living and the dead and allows us to “connect” with our loved ones.
Surely many have heard of the existence of the magpie - this is the Divine Liturgy, which consists in the fact that the deceased is remembered daily for forty days. This time is of great importance not only for the soul of the deceased, but also for his family. At this time, they must come to terms with the idea that the loved one is no longer around and let him go. From the moment of his death, his destiny must be in the hands of God.
Soul care after death
Probably, people will not soon receive an answer to the question of where the soul gets after death. After all, she does not stop living, but is already in a different state. And how can one point to a place that does not exist in our world. However, it is possible to answer the question as to who the soul of a deceased person will go to. The church claims that she gets to the Lord himself and His saints, where she meets all relatives and friends who were loved in life and left earlier.
The location of the soul after death
As already mentioned, after the death of a person, his soul goes to the Lord. He decides where to send her until the moment she goes to the Last Judgment. So the soul goes to Paradise or to Hell. The church says that God makes this decision on his own and chooses the place where the soul resides, depending on what she chose more often during her life: darkness or light, good deeds or sinful ones. It is difficult to call Paradise and Hell any specific places where souls come; rather, it is a certain state of the soul when it is in harmony with the Father or, conversely, opposes Him. Also, Christians have an opinion that before appearing before the final judgment, the dead are resurrected by God and the soul is reunited with the body.
Ordeals of the soul after death
As the soul goes to the Lord, various trials and trials accompany it. The ordeal, according to the church, is the denunciation by evil spirits of certain sins that a person indulged in during his lifetime. Think about it, the word "ordeal" clearly has contact with the long-standing word "wash." At Mytnaya, they used to collect taxes and pay fines. As for the ordeal of the soul, here, instead of taxes and penalties, the virtues of the soul are taken, and also the prayers of loved ones, which they perform on memorial days, which were mentioned earlier, are required as payment.
But do not call the ordeal a payment to the Lord for everything that a person did during his lifetime. It would be better to call it recognition of the soul of what burdened it during the life of a person, of that which he could not feel for any reason. Everyone has the opportunity to avoid this ordeal. This is stated in the lines of the gospel. It says that you only need to believe in God, listen to His word and then the Last Judgment can be avoided.
Life after death
You should remember only one thought that for God there are no dead. In the same position with Him are those who live earthly life and those who live the afterlife. However, there is one “but.” The life of the soul after death, or rather, its location, depends on how a person lives his earthly life, how sinful he will be, with what thoughts his path will go. The soul also has its own fate, posthumous, and it depends on what kind of relationship a person will have with God in life.
The Last Judgment
The church’s teachings say that after a person’s death , the soul goes to a private court, from where it goes to heaven or hell, and there it awaits the Last Judgment. After him, all the dead are resurrected and returned to their bodies. It is very important that during the same period between these two courts, close ones do not forget about prayers for the deceased, about appeals to the Lord for mercy, forgiveness of his sins. You should also perform various good deeds in his memory, commemorate during the Divine Liturgy.
Wake Days
“Wake” - this word is known to everyone, but does everyone know its exact meaning. It should be noted that these days are needed for prayer for the deceased loved one. Relatives should ask the Lord for forgiveness and pardon, ask that He give him the kingdom of heaven and give life by himself. As already mentioned, this prayer is especially important on the third, ninth and fortieth days, which are considered special.
Every Christian who has lost a loved one these days must appear in church for prayer, you should also ask the church to pray with him, you can order a memorial service. In addition, on the ninth and fortieth day, you need to visit the cemetery and organize a memorial meal for all loved ones. Special days for commemoration with prayer also include the first anniversary after the death of a person. The subsequent ones also matter, but not as strong as the first.
The Holy Fathers say that prayer alone on a certain day is not enough. Relatives remaining in the earthly world should do good deeds for the glory of the deceased. This is considered a manifestation of love for the departed.
Path after life
You should not relate to the concept of the “path” of the soul to the Lord, as to a certain path along which the soul moves. It is difficult for earthly people to know the afterlife. One Greek author claims that our mind is incapable of knowing eternity, even if it is omnipotent and omniscient. This is due to the fact that nature, our mind, by its nature, is limited. We set a certain limit in time, setting ourselves an end. However, we all know that there is no end to eternity.
Stuck between worlds
Sometimes it happens that inexplicable things happen in a house: water starts to flow from a closed faucet, a cabinet door opens by itself, some thing falls from a shelf and much more. Most people are pretty scared of such events. Someone rather runs to church, someone generally calls the priest home, and some do not pay attention to what is happening.
Most likely, these deceased relatives are trying to get in touch with their relatives. Here we can say that the soul of the deceased is in the house and wants to say something to his loved ones. But before you find out why she came, you should find out what is happening to her in the other world.
Most often, such visits are made by souls that are stuck between this world and the other world. Some souls generally do not understand where they are and where they should move on. Such a soul strives to return to its physical body, but can no longer do this, therefore it “hangs” between the two worlds.
Such a soul continues to be aware, think, it sees and hears living people, but now they can no longer see it. Such souls are commonly called ghosts, or ghosts. It is difficult to say how much such a soul will abide in this world. It can last several days, or it can drag on for more than one century. Most often ghosts need help. They need help to get to the Creator and, finally, find peace.
Souls of the dead come to family in a dream
This is a common phenomenon, perhaps one of the most common. You can often hear that the soul came to someone to say goodbye in a dream. Such phenomena in different cases have different meanings. Such meetings do not please everyone, or rather, the vast majority of dreamers scare. Others do not pay attention to who and under what circumstances they dream about. Let's find out what dreams can tell about in which the souls of the dead are seen by relatives, and vice versa. Interpretations are usually as follows:
- Sleep may be a warning of the approach of some events in life.
- Perhaps the soul comes to ask for forgiveness for all that was accomplished in life.
- In a dream, the soul of a deceased loved one can tell how he “settled down” there.
- Through the dreamer, to whom the soul appeared, she can convey the message to another person.
- The soul of a deceased person can ask their relatives and loved ones for help, appearing in a dream.
These are not all the reasons why the dead come to the living. More precisely determine the meaning of such a dream can only the dreamer himself.
It doesn’t matter how the soul of the deceased says goodbye to relatives when leaving the body, it is important that she tries to say something that was not said during her life, or to help. After all, everyone knows that the soul does not die, but watches over us and tries in every way to help and protect.
Strange calls
It is difficult to unequivocally answer the question of whether the soul of the deceased remembers its relatives, but according to the events, it can be assumed that it remembers. After all, many see these signs, feel the presence of a loved one nearby, dream with his participation. But that is far from all. Some souls try to contact their loved ones via telephone. People can receive messages from unknown numbers with strange content, receive calls. But if you try to call back to these numbers, it turns out that they do not exist at all.
Usually such messages and calls are accompanied by strange noise and other sounds. It is crackling and noise that is a kind of connection between worlds. This may be one of the answers to the question of how the soul of the deceased says goodbye to family and friends. After all, calls come only in the first days after death, then less and less, and after that they completely disappear.
Souls can “ring” for various reasons, perhaps the soul of the deceased says goodbye to relatives, wants to report something or to warn about something. Do not be afraid of these calls and ignore them. On the contrary, try to understand their meaning, maybe they can help you, or maybe someone needs your help. The deceased will not call just for fun.
Reflection in the mirror
How does the soul of a deceased person say goodbye to loved ones through mirrors? Everything is very simple. For some people, deceased relatives are in mirrors, television screens, and computer monitors. This is one way to say goodbye to your loved ones, to see them for the last time. Surely it is not for nothing that mirrors are often used for various fortune-telling. After all, they are considered a corridor between our world and the other world.
In addition to the mirror, the deceased can also be seen in the water. This is also quite common.
Tactile sensations
This phenomenon can also be called widespread and very real. we can feel the presence of a deceased relative through a breeze passing nearby or some kind of touch. Someone just feels his presence without any contact. Many in moments of great sadness feel that someone is hugging them, trying to hug them at a time when there is no one around. It is the soul of a loved one who comes to reassure his beloved or loved one, who is in a difficult situation and needs help.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many ways that the soul of a deceased says goodbye to relatives. Someone believes in all these subtleties, many are afraid, and some completely deny the existence of such phenomena. It is impossible to accurately answer the question of how much the soul of the deceased is with relatives and how it says goodbye. Here a lot depends on our faith and desire to meet at least once more with a loved one who has passed away. In any case, one should not forget about the dead, on commemoration days one must pray, ask God for forgiveness for them. Also remember that the souls of the deceased see relatives and always take care of them.