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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

Is there a way I can communicate with my deceased father?

Question:

My father died eight years ago, leaving behind a dysfunctional family. I have not gotten over his death: At the end I ignored some phone calls from him and continue to feel guilt because I missed out on the chance to heal. He wasn’t a good husband or father for most of my life, but I truly believe he was trying to make amends. He was baptized and confirmed into the Church about 10 years before his death. Where is he now? If I try to talk to him, can he hear me? In the years since his death, I saw him once in a dream in a corner of a room and then he disappeared. Today I felt his presence. I don’t expect séance-like communication, but I need to feel that we have healed. Is that possible?

Answer:

When we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, we are not only physically aware with our union with him, but also with each other, including our deceased loved ones. Insofar as they are in union with him, they are in union with us. But, of course, our first reason for receiving the Eucharist is to be in Communion with our Blessed Lord.

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