For those who have recently lost a beloved animal companion, it's only natural to wonder whether it's consistent with God’s plan for animals to be in Heaven. While the Catechism of the Catholic Church doesn't provide a definitive answer, the remarks made by the late Blessed Pope John Paul II – as well as the Word of God – seem to favor belief in God’s intention that the animals should be reunited with Him in His eternal Paradise:
In 1990, Blessed Pope John Paul II proclaimed that “the animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren.” He went on to say that all animals are “fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect” and that they are “as near to God as men are.”
The Holy Father reminded people that all living beings, including animals, came into being because of the “breath” of God. Animals possess the divine spark of life—the living quality that is the soul—and they are not inferior beings, as factory farmers, fur farmers, and others who exploit animals for profit would have us believe.
When Blessed Pope John Paul II traveled to Assisi, the birthplace of St. Francis, in his Message of Reconciliation delivered there, he said that the “solicitous care, not only toward [people] but also toward animals and nature in general,” that St. Francis demonstrated is “a faithful echo of the love with which God in the beginning pronounced his ‘fiat,’ which brought them into existence.” And, the Pope added, “We, too, are called to a similar attitude.” And then, there God's Word on the subject…
†Ephesians 1:10 says: "This plan, which God will complete when the time is right, is to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head." When God says "everything," is there any room for doubt?
†And when He says in Isaiah 34:17 (cited below) that these living creatures will live in the land "age after age," and it will belong to them "forever," does this not signify eternal life? Only one place will last forever, and that is Heaven!
Search in the Lord's book of living creatures and read what it says. Not one of these creatures will be missing and not one will be without its mate. The Lord has commanded it to be so; He Himself will bring them together. It is the Lord who will divide the land among them and give each of them a share. They will live in the land age after age, and it will belong to them for ever." —Isaiah 34:16, 17
†While only humans are made in the image and likeness of God and are the summit of His divine work, He also lovingly imagined and bestowed upon each animal its own unique nature and image. As with his own sons and daughters, He endowed and animated each creature with the universal “spark of life” – a living soul that is precious in His sight (re: the sparrow in Matthew 10:29). Perhaps it is the height of hubris that humans should limit the mercy of God and the gates of Heaven solely to those of our own kind! As for me, I don’t know if we will encounter the bodies of our beloved animal companions as we knew them on earth – but I believe I will surely recognize the unique “spark” of my beloved animal companions in Heaven and delight in their unmistakable energies, radiant in Divine Love!
What do YOU believe?
What do YOU believe?
This has been a hot topic recently as we lost our dog on Father's Day. I never had pets before, but thought I remembered from high school religion class that animals do have souls, but no free will and for some reason I thought that I learned that they automatically went to heaven. But, now after doing some research I think we did learn that they did not because some students that had pets were upset. I most certainly think pets do have emotions--our dog would get depressed and not eat if my husband was out of town. Once when our neighbor watched her when both of us were out of town, she didn't eat for 3 days until the neighbor cooked her ground beef! I guess heaven is more than we can understand, but I'd like to think that the poor souls of animals in general and pets especially do see the glory of God and get a good long pet from St. Francis.
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