NDE’s speak of a “contract” or covenant between Christ, Heaven, and every person. This contract is our life mission, which we are expected to fulfill. It is the proposed spiritual advancement that is the reason for our creation.
The life contract was explained to Jeffery C. by an elder in Heaven. Jeffery thought life was unfair and tried an early out; in his NDE he lodged his complaint with the council of Heaven, but was told that he himself asked to be born into this world, for the purpose of spiritual advancement . OO Jeffery had previously OO We observe here that anyone, in any circumstance is capable of spiritual growth, which is our purpose of life. Therefore, no life is useless. Unborn persons have not yet developed a rational moral will, but will do so in their normal growth, and must be protected as persons. Persons with reduced rational morality due to mental illness may still live spiritually good lives.
Persons in comas are protected under God’s original plan, since no such condition was intended, but only came about as a result of original sin.
Prior to creation, NDE’s have each individual member of Christ, consenting to life outside of God. Prior to incarnation as a human person, each individual is a dimension of the single person of Christ. Since each incarnated person has an obligation to live, each person has a right to life.
Standard Catholic theology does not approach the private revelations of NDE’s, but does have God creating each person with a specific life purpose, and each person will rejoin God as a member of Christ (the body of Christ), bringing personal virtues to Christ, who is now the entire body of Christ.
Catholic mystical theology gives support to many ideas beyond Catholic dogmatic theology. None of the four of the existing Marian doctrines existed in the very early Church as doctrines, but all of them were introduced by private revelation in some way, then becoming doctrine or even infallible dogma.
52
presented his own life plan, means and goals to the council of Heaven and it was approved. PP
He had entered into a contract or covenant by doing this and was expected to fulfill it.35 This is simply the existing idea that Christ chooses many of our life circumstances — both prior to, and after our creation. Further, Christ creates us, not simply to observe us, but that we make spiritual development, (CCC
398).
During her NDE, Betty Eadie was given knowledge of this divine plan of spiritual advancement, “I saw that in the pre-mortal world we knew about and even chose our missions in life.
I understood that our stations in life are based upon the objectives of those missions. ”QQ
Once this idea is considered, it is impossible to fall back to a belief that is short of a divine plan for our lives.
Furthermore, the divine plan from the beginning was for our ultimate reunion into the divinity of Christ, from which we were created, (CCC 795). Such pre-destination of purpose is written of in John 9:2-3.RR
PP This is really a matter of Christ choosing the life circumstances for Jeffery.
Prior to his creation, Jeffery was a dimension of the single person of Christ.
The council of Heaven are individual dimensions of Christ. Elders of Heaven are mentioned in the book of Revelation, and the court of Heaven in several bible passages. Individual members of the body of Christ retain their free wil and rationality, while constituting the single divine person of Christ.
QQ This idea simply confirms what Jesus taught: “Do not envy/covet _______.”. The NDE idea of previous lives, would allow each person to live in many different circumstances and perfect his virtues dealing with: riches and poverty, health and illness, justice and injustice.
RR There is no political solution to the many crisis that plague humanity. The many problems that threaten humanity are simply a degradation of the original perfection that humanity was created in. Any degradation…or for that matter, and modification from perfection can only be negative. Political action can never provide a real or permanent solution. The solution of the 53
All this was part of the original plan for humanity. Jesus Christ was not planned as a rescue operation from sin, but as our divine destiny. Christ came not because of sin, but in spite of sin, (CCC 398, 2Pet 1:4). Jesus Christ does not rescue us from earth to live beside him in protection, in Heaven; we were and are to live as Christ, in Heaven, which is Christ himself.
We take for granted the privilege of an earthly life. It was explained by Jesus to Thomas Sawyer, who was given a choice, “You may stay and become part of the light if you wish. If you do, you will not be able to choose by your sole decision, to live an earthly life again.”36
Our opportunity to advance is now, on earth not later in Heaven. This is certainly part of Catholic teaching, but the idea is better presented in NDE’s, which are in fact Catholic private revelations.
John S. was asked by Jesus, “Why is man given life? ”37
Jesus continued with an answer, “He lives to become part of something much greater, to become part of God, all life and all things. Man was given life for the reason of finding his way through it. There is no such thing as a useless life…there are no pawns, every life has great meaning, and we fail so that we can learn.”SS NDE’s dealing with the repeated incarnation of Christ are: “www.nderf.org, exceptional NDE’s 1734.”
problem, (which is deviation from perfection), is simply a return to the perfection created by God. But humanity knows so little about God, and rejects so much which is known.
SS The traditional Catholic teaching is that Jesus was born to rescue us from impending Hell. The current Catholic teaching acknowledges this, but has our creation as being for the purpose of our own spiritual evolution, to the point of sharing in the divine life of Christ, (2Pet 1:4; CCC 398). Jesus was our intended means to rejoin God, with or without original sin. The book
“Mystical Evolution” by Fr. John Arintero is an extensive study of spiritual evolution from humanity to divinity and is stil in print.
54
Standard Christian understanding has us being brought into a flawed world, but we were never really intended to live amongst sin, death, disease, poverty or war. This remains true, but consider what NDE’s say about all this.
We choose the circumstances of our life, and even our personal failings…that is Jesus chooses the circumstances to incarnate selected dimensions of himself as free human persons.TT The circumstances of one’s life, and our personal moral challenges are deliberately chosen, for the purpose of our conquest of them.
“If you are given life, it is because you need it.”, these were the words of Virgin Mary to Frenchwoman Estelle Faguette, who was terminally ill. Virgin Mary went on to explain that mastering the challenges of life, and the merit it brings is the reason anyone is given life by God.
The NDE idea of a life contract, is implied in any Christian doctrine, but not specifically stated...but the results are the same. Standard theology has people entering into creation and expected to fulfill a certain minimal list of demands, such as the ten commandments; minimal in the sense that this list or spiritual attainment is the minimal required, not that it is easy to do.
TT According to this idea, some people volunteer to incarnate as rich, thin and beautiful. But these circumstances, even if enjoyable, may be lived in a right way or wrong way. This NDE teaching confirms the biblical rules that we not envy others, or avoid making spiritual advancement in our lives. Spiritual advancement is the reason we are given life. Remember, our life is really Christ making partial incarnation of himself as non-divine human persons and situations. Evil thought, action or circumstances are really God’s original perfect version of these, but limited by selfish action in creation, which damages all of creation. Our universe is a freewill, “moral machine”, into which a wrench has been thrown.
55
NDE’s have all this understood by both parties, and agreed to, from the start, which seems so just that anything less seems unjust.
When we rejoin Christ as the body of Christ, we bring these new dimensions of virtue and love, which are hard won in the arena of our fallen world. God who cannot advance in virtue has found a way to do just that. This NDE perspective (which is Catholic private revelation), gives us new insight and greater purpose in the deliberate discipline of spiritual advancement.
When we meet a challenge of any sort, there is a best way to act.
All of our thoughts and actions should be focused on that greater life from which we are created, and to which we are to return.
See also, appendix A, spiritual advancement.