Helping Catholics know & love the Lord and his Church
Advertisement

Tag: Eternal Life

1 min read
Saints

Purgatory Needed for Saints?

1 min read
5406 views
Comments Off on Purgatory Needed for Saints?
1 min read

When the Church canonizes a saint, we are confirming they are in heaven. The pope does this based on the supplied evidence of a holy life, and also the evidence…

When the Church canonizes a saint, we are confirming they are in heaven. The pope does this based on the supplied evidence of a holy life, and also the evidence of miracles credibly attributed to the prayers of the saint. Canonization says they are in heaven now and that any purification they might have needed is complete. The Church is not thereby indicating that the saint needed no time in purgatory, only that their purgation is now complete and they are in heaven, as seen by the evidence of the miracles wrought by God through their prayers. Though we cannot know if or for how long a canonized saint might have needed purification in purgatory, it seems likely that even most canonized saints would need some purgation after death. Jesus promises us that when he is finished with us we would be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect (see Mt 5:48). Even very holy people probably need some final purification for the Lord to finish and perfect this awesome promise in us.

Continue Reading
Comments Off on Purgatory Needed for Saints?
1 min read
Eternal Life

What Will Eternity Be Like?

1 min read
8406 views
Comments Off on What Will Eternity Be Like?
1 min read

We are going to be caught up in to the glorious love of God and the Communion of the Saints. We will rejoice forever, experiencing the love, glory, wisdom and…

We are going to be caught up in to the glorious love of God and the Communion of the Saints. We will rejoice forever, experiencing the love, glory, wisdom and beauty of God. Our union with God and with one another will be perfected and deepened in a way that we cannot even imagine now. The heart of heaven is to be with God who is the true answer to all our longings. We will be complete and lacking in nothing.

Although we will be “at rest,” we ought not think of this as a lack of activity but rather as a rest from the toils of this world. For indeed, within the Holy Trinity there is a great movement of love, a kind procession or dance of love between the persons of the Trinity. The Greek Fathers termed this movement of love the perichoresis. It is reasonable to suppose that we who attain heaven will be caught up into this great experience and joy that is described as a movement or dance.

As for the word “eternity” and the phrase “eternal life,” we ought not conceive of it merely as the length of life, but also as the fullness of life. Thus to have eternal life means that we will be fully alive with God. For now our life can seem wearisome or dull at times. Not so in heaven, where we will be fully alive with God as never before. There will be joy unspeakable, glories untold and life that is full in unimaginable ways.

Can’t wait. Get on your dancing shoes!

Continue Reading
Comments Off on What Will Eternity Be Like?
1 min read
Eternal Life

Are People in Hell Forever?

1 min read
8634 views
Comments Off on Are People in Hell Forever?
1 min read

Each human person is endowed with an immortal soul from the moment of our conception. Our souls exist into eternity, and we are each particularly judged at the end of…

Each human person is endowed with an immortal soul from the moment of our conception. Our souls exist into eternity, and we are each particularly judged at the end of our life and assigned to hell or heaven, either immediately or after a period of purification.

Eternity in hell is the result of dying “in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love … remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice” (CCC, No. 1033). If assigned to hell, one is eternally separated from God as the result of his or her own free will. God doesn’t want “any to perish, but all to come to repentance” (2 Pt 3:9).

Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter@HeinleinMichael. 

Continue Reading
Comments Off on Are People in Hell Forever?
2 min read
Eternal Life

Getting to Heaven

2 min read
5442 views
Comments Off on Getting to Heaven
2 min read

A short biblical passage supplied by St. Peter in Acts helps us understand more about how to get to heaven. Having heard a sermon that he preached on Pentecost, many…

A short biblical passage supplied by St. Peter in Acts helps us understand more about how to get to heaven. Having heard a sermon that he preached on Pentecost, many were struck to the heart and asked what they should do. Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

But this is not to be understood as a ritualistic observance we fulfill on one day, but is meant to usher in a whole renewal of the human person. And thus we should look at all three things that Peter indicates in some more detail.

The word translated as “repent” is metanoia, which means more than to clean up our act. It means to come to a whole new mind, rooted in what God teaches and reveals, with new priorities and the ability to make better decisions.

To be baptized is not only to be cleansed of our sins, but also to see our old self put to death and for Christ to come alive in us. Baptism ushers in the beginnings of a lifelong healing process that must continue by God’s grace. Baptism also points to all the sacraments of the Church. Having been brought to new life, we must also be fed by the Eucharist and by God’s word, we must see the wounds of sins healed in confession, we must be strengthened for a mission by confirmation. Baptism also makes us a member of the Body of Christ. And thus, we are called to walk with all the members of Christ’s body — the Church. St. Peter also speaks of receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. And thus we are taught that our dignity is to be swept up into the life, love and wisdom of God. We are called to be sanctified by the Spirit, to see sins put to death and many virtues come alive.

As can be seen, there are many dimensions to the work of God in saving us. Thus, we are to walk in a loving covenant relationship with the Lord. We are to do this in fellowship with his Church, through the grace of the sacraments, obedience to the Word of God and prayer (see Acts 2:42).

Continue Reading
Comments Off on Getting to Heaven
1 min read
Eternal Life

Who Gets In The Narrow Gate?

1 min read
4533 views
Comments Off on Who Gets In The Narrow Gate?
1 min read

As he made his way to Jerusalem to die for us, someone asked Jesus: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” He answered: “Strive to enter by the narrow…

As he made his way to Jerusalem to die for us, someone asked Jesus: “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” He answered: “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Lk 13: 23-24). What does the door signify? Why is it many can’t get through? Who gets in?

The door is the passage to eternal life. No one is privileged to enter. It is not a right, it is a gift. But the Letter to James reminds us that faith without works is dead (see James 2: 17), and so we must constantly work at it. It is the goal of the hope by which we have been saved.

What must we do? Pope Benedict XVI has said, “The passage to eternal life is open to all, but it is ‘narrow’ because it is demanding: it requires commitment, self-denial and the mortification of one’s selfishness” (Angelus, Aug. 26, 2007).

As Jesus mentions in Matthew 22:14, in a parable about the kingdom of heaven: “Many are invited, but few are chosen.”

 Michael R. Heinlein is editor of Simply Catholic. Follow him on Twitter @HeinleinMichael.

Continue Reading
Comments Off on Who Gets In The Narrow Gate?
1 min read
Eternal Life

What Happens In Purgatory?

1 min read
12359 views
Comments Off on What Happens In Purgatory?
1 min read

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the souls in purgatory can expect a twofold pain: the pain of loss, which is the delay of the Beatific Vision, and the pain of…

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that the souls in purgatory can expect a twofold pain: the pain of loss, which is the delay of the Beatific Vision, and the pain of sense, which is the fire of purgatory. Aquinas observed in his Summa Theologica: “With regard to both the least pain of Purgatory surpasses the greatest pain of this life. For the more a thing is desired, the more painful is its absence” (Appendix 1, 2). St. Thomas also taught that the fire of purgatory is the same as the fire of hell. This is, unquestionably, quite frightening, but at least St. Thomas assured us the souls in purgatory will not be tormented by demons, as that punishment is reserved for the damned. Those in purgatory have resisted demonic temptation, so do not deserve to be plagued after death by forces over which they have triumphed in life.

Saints who have written on purgatory are nearly countless. They include John Chrysostom, Augustine, Nicholas of Tolentino (the patron of souls in purgatory) and, in more present times, St. Faustina. Those wishing to consider concise reflections on purgatory from these and other holy souls may be interested in a book by Father F.X. Schouppe, S.J., titled “Purgatory Explained.”

Continue Reading
Comments Off on What Happens In Purgatory?
Advertisement

Instagram

Type on the field below and hit Enter/Return to search

Bitnami