What will happen to your body when you die?
It will rot away to the earth from which it came.
"For dust thou art, and into dust thou shalt return." (Genesis 3:19)
What will happen to your soul when you die?
It will be judged by God and will go to Heaven, to Purgatory or to Hell.
"It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment." (Hebrews
9:27)
Will your soul ever be joined to your body again?
Yes, on Judgment Day God will call your body back from the earth and join it
to your soul. This will be the resurrection of the body at the end of the
world.
"Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall all indeed rise again: but we shall
not all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again
incorruptible." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
After the Resurrection, will your soul and body be always
together?
Yes, both body and soul will be together forever, either in Heaven or Hell.
"For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that every
one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done,
whether it be good or evil." (2 Corinthians 5:10)
When will Judgment Day be?
Nobody but God knows this.
"But of that day and hour no one knoweth, no not the angels of heaven, but the
Father alone." (Matthew 24:36)
How should you prepare for Judgment Day?
Pray constantly, obey all of God's commandments, and do penance for your
sins.
"And take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon
you suddenly. For as a snare shall it come upon all that sit upon the face of
the whole earth. Watch ye, therefore, praying at all times, that you may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things that are to come, and to stand
before the Son of man." (Luke 21:36)
What, then is the true purpose of life?
To live your life according to God's plan and thus to save your soul.
"For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss
of his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark
8:36-37)
"Behold now you that say: Today or tomorrow we will go into
such a city, and there we will spend a year, and will traffic, and make our
gain. Whereas you know not what shall happen tomorrow. For what is your life?
It is a vapor which appears for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish
away. For that you should say: If the Lord will, and if we shall live, we will
do this or that." (James 4:13-15)
THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT
There are two kinds of Judgment, the Particular
Judgment and the Last Judgment
The Particular Judgment
takes
place immediately after a person dies. The Last
Judgment shall take place at the end of the
world.
By the Particular Judgment we mean that
God judges every person immediately after death. “It is appointed
unto men once to die, and after this the Judgment.” (Heb. 9:27).
After the Particular Judgment the soul goes either
to Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell. The souls of those who die in the
state of Sanctifying Grace, and are free from the temporal punishment due
to sin, go after Particular Judgment to Heaven. The souls of those
who die in venial sin, or who are not free from the temporal punishment
due to sin, go after Particular Judgment to Purgatory. The souls
of those who die in mortal sin go to Hell. “It is appointed unto
men once to die, and after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:27).
THE LAST JUDGMENT
Jesus Christ shall come again at the end of the
world with great power and majesty. “And then shall they see the
Son of Man coming in the clouds, with great power and glory.” (Mark
13:26).
The purpose of the second coming of Jesus shall
be to judge the world. This is called the Last Judgment or
the General Judgment. At the Last Judgment Jesus shall make
known to the whole world the good and evil of every person. He shall
show to the whole world the graces and opportunities that God gave everyone
to save his soul. To the good, Jesus shall say: “Come, ye blessed
of My Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation
of the world.” (Matt. 25:34). To the wicked, He shall declare:
“Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire which was prepared for
the devil and his angels.” (Matt. 25:41).
After the Last Judgment there shall be only Heaven
and Hell.
SIN
God alone can forgive sins, and those to whom
He has given this power. We believe that Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, conferred the power to forgive sins upon the Apostles and their successors.
Jesus instituted two Sacraments by which
sins are forgiven, The Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Penance.
Jesus conferred the power to baptize upon His Apostles with these words:
“Going
therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” (Matt. 28:19). Jesus
conferred the power to forgive sins in the Sacrament of Penance, when He
said to His Apostles:
“Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven
them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” (John
20:23).
The Sacrament of Baptism forgives Original
Sin, and the sins committed before
Baptism.
The Sacrament of Penance forgives all sins committed
after Baptism.
In the Bible Jesus forgave sins: “Wherefore
I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much.
And He said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee.” (Luke 7:47, 48).
Purgatory is the state in which those souls suffer for
a time, who die in venial sin, or who have not satisfied for the temporal
punishment due for sin. “There shall not enter into it (Heaven)
any thing defiled.” (Apoc. 21:27).
Punishment is due for sin. A mortal sin deserves an eternal punishment,
and a venial sin a temporal punishment.
The Sacrament of Penance remits the guilt of sin and the eternal punishment
due for mortal sin, but not all the temporal punishment due for mortal
and venial sin.
The temporal punishment due to sin can be satisfied for in this
life by good works; that is, by prayer, almsgiving, and the Spiritual
and Corporal Works of Mercy.
The Bible tells us that there
is a Purgatory. Judas Machabeus ordered sacrifices to be offered
in Jerusalem for the sins of his fallen soldiers. (2 Mach. 12:43). “If
any man’s work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved,
yet so as by fire.” (1Cor. 3:15). The souls who are sent to Purgatory
must remain there until the Justice of God has been satisfied. “It
is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they
may be loosed from sins.”
(2 Mach. 12:46).
The souls in Purgatory suffer willingly because they are certain of
their eternal salvation.
The Church has appointed November 2 as All Souls’ Day.
The faithful on earth are called the Church
Militant because they are still fighting the battles of
life against the devil, the flesh, and the world.
The souls in Purgatory are called the Church
Suffering because they are still suffering for their sins
in the purifying fires of Purgatory.
The Saints in Heaven are called the Church
Triumphant, because they have successfully conquered all
enemies, and are now enjoying the fruits of their victories.
“And if one membersuffer any thing, all the members suffer with
it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it." (1 Cor.
12:26).
The Church has appointed November 1 as All Saints’ Day.
The Dormition of Mary
The Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God is
celebrated on August 15. The icon of the Dormition represents the Mother
of God lying on her deathbed in the midst of the apostles.
Christ is shown in glory surrounded by a "mandorla"
as He looks upon the body of His mother. Standing around the bier are the
apostles; their faces reveal sadness as they conduct prayer services.
However, all hints of black sorrow are overcome by a certain colorful sobriety.
The mood is explained in the words of the Kontakion of the Feast: "The
grave and death did not detain the Mother of God who prays perpetually, and is
our unfailing hope in her intercession; for He who dwelt in the womb of the
Ever-virgin should take her to Himself in her falling asleep. This is
portrayed by Jesus holding in His arm a small figure of a child clothed in white
and crowned with a halo. This is the luminous soul of Mary which He
receives at the moment of death.
This icon of the Dormition gives us a beautiful
picture of Christian death. Our salvation is found in Jesus who raises to
life all who believe in Him.
We believe in the
resurrection of the body. By this we mean that on the
Last Day, Jesus will raise the bodies of all men from the dead, and reunite
them to the soul forever. We also mean that the just will arise to
eternal glory and the wicked to everlasting damnation. Jesus foretold
the resurrection of the body: “Wonder not at this, for the hour cometh,
wherein all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God.
And they that have done good things, shall come forth unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.”
(John 5:28, 29).
The Resurrection of Jesus from the tomb is a proof for the resurrection
of the body. “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then
Christ is not risen again. And if Christ be not risen again, then
is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.” (1 Cor. 15:13,
14).
Christ also proved the doctrine of the resurrection of the body by
bringing back to life:
the daughter of Jairus
the son of the widow of Naim
the brother of Mary and Martha.
“He is not here, for He is risen, as He said.” (Matt. 28:6).
Thomas places his fingers into Christ’s wounded side. (John 20:26-29).
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