163. Knowledge of the Separated Soul and the Dead

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

Knowledge Available to Separated Souls #

• Separated souls (in purgatory or after death) can receive knowledge through multiple channels:
  • Divine revelation by God
  • Communication from angels
  • Communication from demons
  • Newly arrived souls fresh from earth
  • Prayer and masses offered on their behalf
• These sources provide knowledge that the separated soul cannot obtain through its own natural powers

Apparitions of the Dead to the Living #

• Dead appearing to the living occurs through two possible mechanisms:
  • Special dispensation of God - God grants the souls of the dead interest in earthly matters; these appearances constitute divine miracles
  • Operations of angels or demons - Good or bad angels may produce apparitions even without the dead person’s knowledge or active involvement
• The dead may be entirely ignorant that their appearance is being manifested to the living
• Analogy: Just as the living sometimes appear to others in dreams without knowing it, the dead may similarly appear without awareness

Natural Knowledge and Separated Souls #

• The separated soul is naturally turned toward the immaterial world, not earthly affairs
• By natural knowledge, the separated soul cannot know what the living are doing
• Universal knowledge (knowing what a man is) does not provide particular knowledge (what this specific person is doing)
• Separated souls lack sensory powers and therefore cannot naturally perceive singular earthly events
• Supernatural knowledge or divine influx is required for the separated soul to know earthly particulars

Memory and Knowledge Retention After Death #

• The separated soul retains some knowledge of its own past life, though this depends on the soul’s condition
• Knowledge of one’s own immaterial aspects (reason, will) may be retained
• Knowledge of specific past events may require divine infusion to be retained or recalled
• The condition is analogous to cognitive impairment: just as people with Alzheimer’s disease lose particular memories, a separated soul’s retention of specific earthly events is uncertain without divine grace
• God could infuse knowledge of one’s past life if needed for the soul’s state (e.g., for judgment or for understanding one’s condition)

Key Arguments #

On Apparitions and Divine Authority #

• Principle: Dead appearing to living is either miraculous (divine) or instrumental (through angelic/demonic agency)
• Consequence: The dead need not be aware of their own apparition; angels may use the image or form of the dead without the dead person’s active involvement
• Support: Augustine’s example of the living appearing in dreams without knowing it (referenced from a work Berquist identifies as “Forsyth book”—likely a misremembering of Augustine’s actual work)

On the Case of Samuel #

• The Biblical Event: Samuel appeared to Saul through the medium of the witch of Endor (1 Samuel 28)
• Thomistic Resolution: Two possible explanations:
  • Samuel appeared by divine revelation - God granted Samuel knowledge and permitted his manifestation, as suggested by Ecclesiasticus 46 (Sirach 46), which states Samuel “slept and made known to the king the end of his life”
  • The apparition was procured by demons - If Ecclesiasticus is not accepted as authoritative (since it is not among the Hebrew canonical scriptures), the apparition might have been demonic deception
• Current Status: Ecclesiasticus (now called Sirach) is considered well-established in modern canonical discussions

On Local Distance as an Objection #

• Objection: How can separated souls know earthly affairs if they are separated by local distance?
• Response: Local distance does not impede knowledge because:
  • The separated soul knows through divine light, not through sensory perception
  • Divine light “equally has itself to what is near and what is distant”
  • The real impediment is not distance but the separated soul’s natural orientation away from earthly particulars
  • Knowledge of singulars requires either supernatural revelation, angelic communication, or other external sources

Important Definitions #

Separated Soul (anima separata) #

The human soul after death, no longer united to the body, existing in an immaterial state and naturally oriented toward the immaterial world rather than earthly affairs.

Natural Knowledge (scientia naturalis) #

Knowledge acquired through the soul’s own powers and faculties in their separated state, limited to universal forms and immaterial realities; does not extend naturally to particular earthly events.

Divine Dispensation (divina dispensatio) #

God’s special permission or arrangement that allows souls of the dead to take an interest in or knowledge of living affairs; when this occurs, the manifestation to the living constitutes a miracle.

Supernatural Knowledge (scientia supernaturalis) #

Knowledge granted to the separated soul through divine revelation, angelic communication, or demonic interference—the means by which separated souls can know earthly particulars beyond their natural capacity.

Examples & Illustrations #

Dreams and Apparitions of the Living #

• Berquist recounts personal testimonies: people have reported meeting others in dreams, then later meeting those same people in waking life
• The meaning of such experiences is difficult to determine, but they illustrate how the living can appear to others without intentional effort or awareness
• Application: This principle extends to the dead—their apparition to the living does not necessarily require active knowledge or participation

The Package Store Workers #

• Anecdote: Two men worked together in a package store for 20 years
• When one (Charlie) became hospitalized with heart problems, his coworker (Dick) visited him
• Despite 20 years of daily work together, Charlie no longer recognized Dick at all
• Theological point: This illustrates how profound cognitive loss can occur in this life; similarly, a separated soul’s knowledge of past particulars may be significantly limited without divine grace

Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory #

• Berquist uses the example of Alzheimer’s patients who no longer recognize family members
• Analogy: Husbands and wives may not recognize each other when afflicted
• Implication: If severe memory loss occurs in this life, the question arises whether and how the separated soul retains memory of past events without divine infusion

Ronald Reagan Example #

• Berquist mentions that when shown Ronald Reagan his inauguration, Reagan would recognize it as important but lack personal memory of it
• Application: This illustrates the gap between having access to information and possessing integral memory of one’s own past
• Speculates: Even if shown wedding pictures, one with Alzheimer’s might not connect the emotional or biographical significance

Notable Quotes #

“All these things could be said of [the] souls in purgatory, right? God can reveal to them…Or so-and-so arrives in purgatory, fresh from this earth, right? And tells them what somebody’s doing.” — Berquist, illustrating multiple modes of knowledge available to separated souls

“The dead appear in some way to the living, either [it] happens by special dispensation of God…or these apparitions come about through the workings or operations of the good angels, or the bad ones.” — Berquist, synthesizing Thomistic teaching on apparitions

“My knowing what a man is doesn’t tell me what this man or this man is doing. I have to go back to my senses, right? But I don’t have any senses in my soul separated, right?” — Berquist, explaining why universal knowledge cannot yield particular knowledge for separated souls

“The minute my soul is separated from that, it’s going to be in another direction. So it’s going to be some more supernatural knowledge whereby I always know what you guys are still doing down here.” — Berquist, on the separated soul’s dependence on supernatural knowledge for earthly awareness

Questions Addressed #

Can separated souls know what the living are doing? #

Answer: By natural knowledge alone, no. The separated soul is naturally oriented toward immaterial things and lacks sensory powers. However, separated souls may know earthly affairs through supernatural means: divine revelation, angelic communication, demonic interference, or report from newly arrived souls.

How do the dead appear to the living? #

Answer: Through either (1) special divine dispensation allowing the soul to manifest itself as a miracle, or (2) angelic or demonic agency producing the apparition without the soul’s active knowledge. The dead person need not be aware of their appearance.

Was Samuel’s appearance genuinely from Samuel? #

Answer: Most likely yes, by divine revelation, as Ecclesiasticus 46 suggests God granted Samuel knowledge and permitted his manifestation. Alternatively, if Ecclesiasticus is rejected as non-canonical, the apparition may have been demonic. Modern canonical scholarship accepts Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) as authoritative.

Does the separated soul remember its past life? #

Answer: The separated soul may retain some knowledge of immaterial aspects of itself (reason, will, etc.) and possibly some memories, but comprehensive memory of particular past events may require divine infusion of knowledge. The condition is uncertain without further revelation.

How does a separated soul know singulars without senses? #

Answer: A separated soul that knows singular things does so through supernatural means (divine light, angelic communication, etc.), not through its own natural powers. Its natural knowledge remains universal and abstract, unable to grasp particulars independently.

Connections #

To Eschatology #

This lecture addresses the immediate post-mortem state of souls in purgatory and their ongoing connection (or disconnection) with the living world, relevant to Catholic doctrine on prayer for the dead and the communion of saints.

To Thomistic Epistemology #

Builds on the distinction between natural knowledge (acquired through abstraction from sensibles) and supernatural knowledge (granted by divine light), applying this to the soul’s condition after bodily death.

To Monastic Praxis #

Relevant to Maronite monastic life insofar as it addresses the efficacy of prayer for the dead, the possibility of contact with deceased saints or monks, and the theological grounds for such devotions.