320. Are spirits affected by the remembrance of those whom they have loved on earth?

"Very much more so than you are apt to suppose. If they are happy, this remembrance adds to their happiness; if they are unhappy, it affords them consolation."

321. Are spirits specially attracted towards their friends upon the earth by the return of the day which, in some countries, is consecrated to the memory of those who have quitted this life? Do they make it a point to meet those who, on that day, go to pray beside the graves where their mortal remains are interred?

"Spirits answer to the call of affectionate remembrance on that day as they do on any other day."

– Do they, on that day, go specially to the burial-place of their corporeal body?

"They go to the cemeteries in greater numbers on that day, because called thither by the thoughts of a greater number of persons; but each spirit goes solely for his own friends, and not for the crowd of those who care nothing about him."

– In what form do they come to these places, and what would be their appearance if they could render themselves visible to us?

"The form and appearance by which they were known during their lifetime."

322. Do the spirits of those who are forgotten, and whose graves no one visits, go to the cemeteries notwithstanding this neglect? Do they feel regret at seeing that no one remembers them?

"What is the earth to them? They are only linked to it by the heart. If, upon the earth, no affection is felt for a spirit, there is nothing that can attach him to it; he has the whole universe before him."

323. Does a visit made to his grave give more pleasure to a spirit than a prayer offered for him by friends in their own home?

"A visit made to his grave is a way of showing to a spirit that he is not forgotten; it is a sign. As I have told you, it is the prayer that sanctifies the action of the memory; the place where it is offered is of little importance, if it come from the heart."

324. When statues or other monuments are erected to persons who have quitted this life, are the spirits of those persons present at their inauguration; and do they witness such ceremonies with pleasure?

"Spirits often attend on such occasions, when able to do so; but they attach less importance to the honours paid to them than to the remembrance in which they are held."

325. What makes some persons desire to be buried in one place rather than in another? Do they go thither more willingly offer their death? And is it a sign of inferiority on the part of a spirit that he should attribute importance to a matter so purely material?

"That desire is prompted by a spirit's affection for certain places, and is a sign of moral inferiority. To an elevated spirit, what is one spot of earth more than another? Does he not know that his soul will be reunited with those he loves, even though their bones are separated?

– Is it futile to bring together the mortal remains of all the members of a family in the same burial-place?

"Such reunion is of little importance to spirits; but it is useful to men, whose remembrance of those who have gone before them is thus strengthened and rendered more serious."

326. When the soul has returned into spirit-life, is it gratified by the honours paid to its

mortal remains?

"When a spirit has reached a certain degree of advancement, he is purified from terrestrial vanities, for he comprehends their futility. But there are many spirits who, in the early period of their return to the other life, take great pleasure in the honours paid to their memory, or are much disturbed at finding themselves forgotten; for they still retain some of the false ideas they held during their earthly life."

327. Do spirits ever attend their own funeral?

"Spirits very often do so; but, in many cases, without understanding what is going on, being still in the state of confusion that usually follows death."

– Do they feel flattered by the presence of a large concourse of persons at their funeral?

"More or less so, according to the sentiment which has brought them together."

328. Is a spirit ever present at the meetings of his heirs?

"Almost always. Providence has so ordained it for the spirit's own instruction, and for the chastisement of selfishness. The deceased is thus enabled to judge of the worth of the protestations of affection and devotion addressed to him during his life; and his disappointment on witnessing the rapacity of those who dispute the property he has left is often very great. But the punishment of greedy heirs will come in due time."

329. Is the respect which mankind, in all ages and among all peoples, has always instinctively shown to the dead, to be attributed to an intuitive belief in a future state of existence?

"The one is the natural consequence of the other; were it not for that belief, such respect would have neither object nor meaning."