As a Catholic, I believe in 'communio sanctorum', which is the communion of saints. It is the spiritual union of all human beings, both dead and alive, both in this world and those in 'heaven' including those in the state of purification (or what we call 'purgatory').
As both an individual being and a member of this spiritual community, I believe in personal prayers and communal prayers. As a corollary, I believe that asking the intercession of saints (those both declared by the Church and those I believe led exemplary lives, not necessarily Catholic or even Christian, like Mahatma Gandhi or Leo Tolstoy ) is a form of communal prayer request. Asking our own dead relatives to look after us and help pray for us is another example. Orientals, especially the Chinese, Japanese and Koreans, are particularly known for this practice.
I believe when Jesus said that "the kingdom of God is within us." A part of heaven is already within each of us. I don't know why this is difficult for some to understand and yet have no problem understanding when some in the scientific community speak of multiverses or parallel universes or parallel dimensions.
For those among us who look down on non-Abrahamic religions, you will be surprised to know that thousand of years before our own faith understand these concepts, the Hindus already had these beliefs. For Hindus, the Brahman is the ultimate reality in the universe, the equivalent of our God. It is the pervasive, genderless, infinite, eternal truth and bliss that is the final cause of all existence in the universe.
Some Hindus believe that the Brahman is separate from the Atman (soul, self) in each of us. This version is similar to the conceptual framework of the other major religions including Christianity. Other Hindus believe that the Brahman is identical with the Atman (soul, self) and therefore the Brahman is inside each living being, and there is connected spiritual oneness in all of existence. To some degree, this is similar to our belief in "the kingdom of God is within us" or "you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you." This is the reason why I don't believe in reducing 'heaven' into a mere physical reality (where you will find beautiful homes and abundant food, as some evangelical Christians believe or, as some Muslims believe, you will find yourself surrounded by virgins). If you can dig "parallel dimensions" in astrophysics and philosophy, surely you will understand what I mean. wink emoticon
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