Do we have scientific proof for the existence of an immortal human soul, one that continues to live after the death of the body, but in an even more intense and complete way than on earth?
Life After Death
Accounts of people who have experienced clinical death indicate that although the brain stops working as a result of clinical death, the soul (or spiritual mind) continues to exist. A person still retains his or her identity, awareness, and ability to follow events on earth.
The experiences of people who were on the brink of death belie the materialists’ claims that mind, self, and consciousness are merely the product of electrochemical processes in the brain. Such views are not based on documented, scientific research, but on a naive belief in the atheistic dogma that nothing exists beyond the material reality.
Some scientists recognize that when studying out-of-body experiences in people who have experienced clinical death, it is advisable to consider the supernatural aspect. This was the conclusion of Pim van Lommel’s article on NDE issues. This text was published in 2001 in The Lancet, which is one of the most important scientific journals in the world (No. 358, p. 2040). However, it is important to remember that accounts of some of the people who experienced NDEs can be corrupted by the action of evil spirits or by wrong ideas and beliefs. Therefore, it is always necessary to be careful and examine the credibility of these accounts in the light of the teaching of the Catholic Church.
The testimonies of people who experienced clinical death tell us that the whole person does not die. After the death of the body, a person’s soul continues to live as a purely spiritual, personal self, with full awareness, reason, and free will.
This is what the Lord Jesus says about the immortal human soul: “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28) The Lord Jesus assures us of the existence of life after death and about the existence of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. All those who go straight to heaven are the ones who, during their earthly life, have matured in love, having become saints by doing God’s will and keeping His commandments.
Hell exists – as the final consequence of man’s total rejection of God and the gift of His mercy. Purgatory exists – as a painful state of maturing in love and overcoming all the consequences of one’s sins.
Human language cannot describe life after death. Mystics, to whom God gives the gift of experiencing the reality of heaven, hell, and purgatory, describe it with images taken from earthly life; however, they are unable to fully express what they see.
Let us live in a constant desire for heaven and for uniting ourselves in love with God and with the community of the saved. Let us be afraid to live in sin and in contempt for God’s commandments and His mercy, because abiding in mortal sin is the easiest way to hell. “Most of the souls in hell are those who did not believe hell existed,” wrote St. Faustina. (Diary, 741)
Let us remember that the most important moment of our life on earth is the moment of our death. This is when our eternity will be decided: either salvation or damnation. Nobody will escape from their responsibility for their entire earthly life, which is both unrepeatable and unique. At the moment of death, there will be a judgment, and then everyone will receive whatever reward is due to him or her: “If you sow in the field of self-indulgence, then you will reap a harvest of corruption; but if you sow in the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” (Galatians 6:8)
Let the awareness of judgment at the moment of death motivate us to entrust ourselves to God’s mercy in our daily prayers, works of mercy, and above all in the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist. The Lord Jesus appeals to us in the words written by St. Faustina: “Write, speak of My mercy. Tell souls where they are to look for solace, that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy (the Sacrament of Reconciliation). There the greatest miracles take place and are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage, or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative (a priest) and to reveal to Him one’s misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse, so that from a human standpoint there would be no hope of restoration, and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full . . . From this fountain of mercy, souls draw graces solely with the vessel of trust. If their trust is great, there is no limit to My generosity.” (Diary, 1448, 1602)
21/05/2023
