There are many views as to what happens after this life. and it is not my style to impose beliefs on anyone. Yet certainly our loved ones who have passed on continue to live in our hearts. I think of mine often. And they continue to teach me, sustain me and, I believe, watch over me.
Last Sunday we celebrated Dia de los Muertos in the garden, a traditional Mexican celebration of an ongoing relationship with the dead, and this Sunday we will be celebrating All Souls Day. In the Swedenborgian tradition which sponsors the Garden Church, it is taught that the same Divine Love and Wisdom which sustains us now will continue to sustain as the unique individuals we are after the death of the body. In the Spiritual World we continue to learn and to grow. We come to serve God and neighbor in new and more powerful ways. Separation from our departed loved ones is only apparent and temporary. All things are held in God's loving heart, and in the divine loving heart we remain united to eternity.
May all your loved ones, in this world and the next, live in your hearts even as they are held in the heart of God.
Peace and Blessings,
Rev. Jonathan
