Joan of Arc, by Jules Bastien-Lepage (displayed at the Cloisters in NYC).
You can see Archangel Michael and the saints Joan communicated with in the background.
Recently a woman I’ll call Janet was asking for advice in a Christian Facebook group I’ve joined. Janet had gotten to know another woman because of a physical ailment they shared. She found this woman to be helpful and supportive and they were developing a friendship—but then the other woman mentioned that she gave readings and talked to spirits. Because of this revelation, Janet wanted advice as to whether she should cut this other woman off. Naturally, the advice she received ranged from one end of the spectrum to the other, but it got me thinking.
In the Christian church there’s a concept called “the Communion of Saints.” This doesn’t refer to the sacrament of communion, but to the idea that there’s a continuum or community consisting of all believers both on this side of the veil and the other. (The last scene in the movie Places in the Heart depicts this beautifully.)
It was explained to me in confirmation class that we were all saints in the context of this concept (as well as all being sinners). Might it make sense that, if there is a community consisting of all these folks living and dead, there could (and possibly should) be communication throughout that community?
Didn’t Joan of Arc hear the voices of St. Margaret and St. Catherine? Of course, she was burned at the stake for that by the Church—but later canonized as a saint by the same Church…
From the point of view of the Church, the Communion of Saints consists only of the baptized. Personally, though, I feel sure a lot of folks I’ve known and loved, who were never baptized, are there in that company.
The Old Testament is quite negative about speaking to spirits. “Let no one be found among you who … practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, NIV)
Yet, it’s a common practice for Hasidic rabbis to visit the graves of their predecessors, who were often their mentors, to consult with those sages.
I asked Rabbi Meir Fund about this once. A renowned Orthodox rabbi, Kabbalist, and spiritual leader based in Brooklyn, Rabbi Fund said that what mattered was the intent. If the intent was a holy one, the communication was allowable.
Perhaps helping to heal people overwhelmed with grief, and giving assurance to those who despair over whether an afterlife exists, is a holy intention.
