Ask an Eastern Orthodox Christian: Can Our Loved Ones See Us and Hear Us from Heaven?
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Commentary by Nicholas Damascus | FāVS News
Can our loved ones see us and hear us from Heaven? My son was baptized in his Greek Orthodox Church and then six weeks later he was brutally and tragically killed as a passenger in an automobile that was driven by a neighbor going 100 miles per hour. I’m struggling since he was so brutally taken from us at 32 years old. He spent his life talking about Jesus and bringing others to Christ. He wanted to be a monk and was buried at a monastery. I just want to talk to him, and I want him to know how much we loved him and that he was the best son that we could ever hope for. We are grief stricken and heart broken, and praying we will see him in Heaven. Please help us understand this senseless act.
Eastern Orthodox Christians understand and perceive their faith in a different light than our Protestant brothers.
Protestants cease to have any communication or connection with those that have departed from this earthly life even though, as Christians, we all are alive and united in Christ (John 17:21).
Prayers for the departed and intercessory prayers have always been a practice of the Judaic faith and the Orthodox Church established by Christ and the Apostles.
There are plenty of examples where the departed souls are conscious and aware, as in the cloud of witnesses that surround us (Hebrews 12:1); in the transfiguration of the presence of Moses and Elijah (Matthew 17:3); the resurrection of the souls from Hades seen in the streets of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:53); the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:23); and many more examples.
You mentioned that you wanted your son to know how you felt about him.
In the Orthodox faith, the bond of love between those who are present and those who departed exists and is upheld through mutual prayer for one another. Should a man that has prayed for his wife for 50 years stop praying for her after she has departed? Prayers for the departed help them; however, we don’t know how.
You describe his life by the following statement: “He spent his life talking about Jesus and bringing others to Christ.” There is no greater calling for anyone to become a vessel of the Holy Spirit of God, truly a light bearer and a reflection of God’s love. I would have liked to have known him. Be assured that your son is in the presence of our God of the living.
For the bereaved, weep, but do not despair; whatever you were previously to each other, you still are now. It is important to understand that those who have passed have merely entered another room, and they will always be nearby, a prayer away, and forever close to all of you.
For the time being, the door is closed, but in God’s time, that door will open again, and you will greet your future meeting with unimaginable joy, and nothing will take that joy from you ever again.
From Beatitude in Luke 6: 21: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh.” This is a promise that has been given to us.
As far as why this tragedy happened, we do not know; however, your son found that pearl of great value, and as Saint Augustine wrote 1500 years ago, “and we will forever be restless until we rest in Him.”
Our lives are made for God, and we will be unsatisfied, unfulfilled and frustrated until we find our home in Him.
May God continue to bless you and yours, and I pray that you not just love one another but to become love to one another. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the communion of the Holy Spirit of God continue to be with all of you.
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