- Feb 5, 2002
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“What they need is our spiritual help.”
As Catholics, we believe that God, the maker of all things visible and invisible, created the world around us with more going on than what lies on the surface. On a normal day, this brings to mind the presence of the divine or saintly intercession. As Halloween approaches, however, this line of the Nicene Creed makes us ponder the most popular of spooky invisible phenomena: ghosts.
Ghost history
The concept of ghosts is nothing new to the world. In fact, even in the biblical days people had a notion that uneasy spirits could return to the corporeal world. In a post for National Catholic Register, Tom McDonald points to instances in the Old and New Testament where ghosts are referenced.
In the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel, the Witch of Endor summons the spirit of Samuel to predict the fate of Saul. In the New Testament, after the Resurrection, the apostles mistake the Risen Christ for a ghost as he walks across the water.
These references are hardly spooky, but they demonstrate that the concept of ghosts is one that humanity has grappled with for thousands of years. In that time, many of the greatest minds of the Church have tried their hand at explaining the phenomenon.
Continued below.
How should a Catholic react to an encounter with a ghost?
As Catholics, we believe that God, the maker of all things visible and invisible, created the world around us with more going on than what lies on the surface. On a normal day, this brings to mind the presence of the divine or saintly intercession. As Halloween approaches, however, this line of the Nicene Creed makes us ponder the most popular of spooky invisible phenomena: ghosts.
Ghost history
The concept of ghosts is nothing new to the world. In fact, even in the biblical days people had a notion that uneasy spirits could return to the corporeal world. In a post for National Catholic Register, Tom McDonald points to instances in the Old and New Testament where ghosts are referenced.
In the Old Testament, in 1 Samuel, the Witch of Endor summons the spirit of Samuel to predict the fate of Saul. In the New Testament, after the Resurrection, the apostles mistake the Risen Christ for a ghost as he walks across the water.
These references are hardly spooky, but they demonstrate that the concept of ghosts is one that humanity has grappled with for thousands of years. In that time, many of the greatest minds of the Church have tried their hand at explaining the phenomenon.
Continued below.
How should a Catholic react to an encounter with a ghost?
