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“Before
I formed you in the womb I knew you.
”Jeremiah 1:5
The
question of immortality is closely connected with the question
of human existence before birth. Just as our inner being
is not destroyed by death, it does not arise for the first
time with the body. Human beings have an individual pre-existence
before their earthly life begins. The awakening of body-bound
consciousness obscures the memory of this previous existence.
What was prepared earlier becomes our destiny. This we continue
to fashion. Death brings about a transformation of our earthly
consciousness when our immortal part wrests itself free
from the mortal.
The
goal of religious life is to reawaken and strengthen, through
prayer and ritual, those forces of the soul that unite the
human being with his or her divine-spiritual origin. Through
Christ we can free ourselves from compulsion; through him
we can find on earth the power of nonegotistical love.
The
sacrament of the Last Anointing helps the soul to cross
the threshold into a body-free existence again. The Burial
Ritual supports the soul of the deceased in its new abode
and strengthens the community's connection with those on
the other side. There is also has a burial ritual especially
for children.
He who believes in me will live, even though he dies,
and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.
John
11:25, 26
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