The Roman Catholic Church

posted in: Blog, channeling, Global oneness | 6

Roman Catholic Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Kazakhstan recently said “…there is only one true religion, which is the Catholic Church founded by God himself.”

Berna and I grew up in Roman Catholic families, although we are no longer Catholic. So we’re keenly aware of the Roman church’s sometimes–controversial opinions.

Did God really start Catholicism, as Bishop Schneider says? Did God prohibit folks going to heaven if they were not Catholic? Would you go to hell if you even walked into a Protestant church?Read more

The Myth of Heaven and Hell

posted in: Blog, channeling, inspiration | 2

I don’t like to commit myself about heaven and hell. You see, I have friends in both places. ~ Mark Twain

stairsways-heaven-hell

Folks often ask us, in emails and private readings, what life is like “beyond the veil,” in the realms of spirit. In what you might call heaven (or hell). It’s a good question. So today we’re going to give you Spirit’s perspective on it.

Spirit

First, there is no “veil,” no separation between you and us. That’s a story humans have invented.Read more

One Hell of a Deal by John Cali

Pope Francis

Our title today is taken from an article recently appearing in The Independent, an online British newspaper.

It seems Pope Francis has promised shorter sentences in purgatory for those Roman Catholics who commit minor sins (“venial” sins, as the church calls them). The shorter sentences are known as “indulgences.”

According to Catholic teaching, if people die without confessing their sins to a priest, they will go to either purgatory (for minor or “venial” sins) or hell (for major or “mortal” sins).Read more

What Is God? by John Cali

Have you ever asked yourself that question? I have, many times.

I grew up in the Roman Catholic tradition. We were taught God was a loving father, and also a harsh judge. We had this confusing notion of a divine being whose love or wrath would engulf us, depending on whether we did his “will” or not.

Heaven was our reward and hell our punishment—not a pleasant way to live your life, never knowing where you were ultimately going to end up for all eternity.Read more

Where Do Dead People Go? Part 2 by John Cali

 

Last week we talked about life after death, and we had a pretty good response to it. We’re going to talk about it a bit more this week. Actually, we’re going to talk about life before death, a subject we’ve rarely discussed.

Over the years I’ve been honored to be at the “death beds” of some of my close family, though not recently. Although I wasn’t uncomfortable with it, I did not always know what to say to them, or to the other family members who don’t see death in the same positive way I do.Read more

Where Do Dead People Go? by John Cali

 

One of our readers asked us what life after death is like. Death is a subject many of us avoid if at all possible. Why do you suppose that is? Probably because we fear it more than anything. And why do you suppose that is?

My personal opinion is we fear death because we often consider it the end of us. Even many who say they believe in the afterlife are scared of death. I think that’s because we do not know what death really is.Read more

Is There An Afterlife? by John Cali

One of our readers recently sent us a question about the afterlife. Here’s her letter (which I’ve partially edited to omit unrelated information):

 “Lately I’ve been wondering if there really is an afterlife, a creator….My brother died about a month ago, and my thoughts have turned to what happens when you die. I have so much doubt right now. Maybe we are just an accident of the universe.”

 Here’s Spirit’s reply:

 There are no accidents. There are no coincidences. We—all of us in spirit and all of you in physical—are eternal.Read more

The Theology of Fear by John Cali

The Theology of Fear is the title of a new book by Father Emmett Coyne, a Jesuit Roman Catholic priest.

Having grown up as a Roman Catholic and graduating from a Jesuit college, I’m familiar with the issues Father Coyne raises in his excellent, well-written book.

Here are some of Father Coyne’s concerns:

  • He’s disturbed that Jesus’ love for humans has taken a back seat to the Vatican’s desire to preserve its political power at all costs.
  • He rightly points out the Vatican is the only religious-political entity on the planet.

Read more

Reader Question: What and Where Is Heaven? by John Cali

That title was a question a reader asked us recently.

Spirit

Many humans think of heaven as a place. Just as those who believe in hell think of it also as a place. But where do you think those places would be? They are certainly not physical places because you cannot take your physical bodies with you after you die.

Let us say this: Heaven is whatever you want it to be. After all, you do create your own realities while you are on your physical earth in your physical bodies.… Read more

Reader Question: What Is It Like After We Die? by John Cali

Reader’s Question:

I often watch a television show in which they interview people who have died due to various circumstances, have seen the other side in their Spirit form, only to be brought back to life.

The majority of those people who have seen the other side have a very similar story/experience about being in pure bliss, being there in non-physical form, etc. However, once in a while, there are those people who see something they perceive to be a glimpse of “hell” or someplace that elicits feelings of fear.… Read more