Go
forth, Christian soul, from this world
in
the name of God the almighty Father,
who
created you,
in
the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God,
who
suffered for you,
in
the name of the Holy Spirit,
who
was poured out upon you.
Go
forth, faithful Christian!
May
you live in peace this day,
may
your home be with God in Zion,
with
Mary, the virgin Mother of God,
with
Joseph, and all the angels and saints....
May
you return to [your Creator]
who
formed you from the dust of the earth.
May
holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints
come
to meet you as you go forth from this life....
May
you see your Redeemer face to face. 589 (
I.
The Particular Judgment
1021 Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ.590 (Cf. ⇒ 2 Tim 1:9-10. ) The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second, coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. the parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts speak of a final destiny of the soul -a destiny which can be different for some and for others.591
1022
Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very
moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ:
either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through a purification592 (Cf. Council of Lyons II (1274): DS 857-858; Council of Florence (1439): DS 1304- 1306; Council of Trent (1563): DS 1820. ) or
immediately,593 (Cf. Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus (1336): DS 1000-1001; John XXII, Ne super his (1334): DS 990. ) -or immediate and everlasting damnation.594
At
the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love.595
II.
Heaven
1023
Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God forever, for they "see him as he
is," face to face: 596
By the virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints . . . and other
faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy Baptism (provided they were not
in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will
need some purification, when they have been purified after death, . . .)
already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment
- and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven
- have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial
paradise with Christ joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the
Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see
the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the
mediation of any creature.597
1024
This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this communion of life and love
with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed - is
called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the
deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.
1025
To live in heaven is "to be with Christ." the elect live "in
Christ,"598 (Phil 1:23; cf. ⇒ Jn 14:3; ⇒ 1 Thess 4:17. ) but they retain or rather find, their true identity, their
own name.599
For
life is to be with Christ; where Christ is, there is life, there is the
kingdom.600
1026
By his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has "opened" heaven to
us. the life of the blessed consists of the full and perfect possession of the
fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his
heavenly glorification those who have believed in him and remained faithful to
his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated
into Christ.
1027
This mystery of blessed communion with God and all who are in Christ is beyond
all understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it in images: life,
light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father's house, the
heavenly Jerusalem, paradise: "no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the
heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him."601
1028
Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is unless he himself
opens up his mystery to man's immediate contemplation and gives him the
capacity for it. the Church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly
glory "the beatific vision":
How
great will your glory and happiness be, to be allowed to see God, to be honored
with sharing the joy of salvation and eternal light with Christ your Lord and
God, . . . to delight in the joy of immortality in the Kingdom of heaven with
the righteous and God's friends. 602
1029
In the glory of heaven, the blessed continue joyfully to fulfill God's will in
relation to other men and to all creation. Already they reign with Christ; with
him "they shall reign forever and ever."603
III.
The Final Purification, or Purgatory
1030
All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are
indeed assured of their eternal salvation, but after death they undergo
purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of
heaven.
1031
The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect,
which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.604 (Cf. Council of Florence (1439): DS 1304; Council of Trent (1563): DS 1820; (1547): 1580; see also Benedict XII, Benedictus Deus (1336): DS 1000.) The Church
formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of
Florence and Trent. the tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts
of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire: 605 (Cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 3:15; ⇒ 1 Pet 1:7.)
As
for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment,
there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to
come. From this sentence, we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in
this age, but certain others in the age to come.606
1032
This teaching is also based on the practice of prayer for the dead, already
mentioned in Sacred Scripture: "Therefore Judas Maccabeus] made atonement
for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."607 (2 Macc 12:46. ) From the
beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in
suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified,
they may attain the beatific vision of God.608 (Cf. Council of Lyons II (1274): DS 856.) The Church also commends
almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead:
Let
us help and commemorate them. If Job's sons were purified by their father's
sacrifice, why would we doubt that our offerings for the dead bring them some
consolation? Let us not hesitate to help those who have died and to offer our
prayers for them. 609
IV.
Hell
1033
We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot
love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against
ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his
brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding
in him."610 (1 ⇒ Jn 3:14-15. ) Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we
fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his
brethren.611 (Cf. ⇒ Mt 25:31-46. ) To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's
merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free
choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the
blessed is called "hell."
1034
Jesus often speaks of "Gehenna" of "the unquenchable fire"
reserved for those who to the end of their lives refuse to believe and be
converted, where both soul and body can be lost.612 (Cf. ⇒ Mt 5:22, ⇒ 29; ⇒ 10:28; ⇒ 13:42, ⇒ 50; ⇒ Mk 9:43-48. ) Jesus solemnly proclaims
that he "will send his angels, and they will gather . . . all evildoers,
and throw them into the furnace of fire, "613 (Mt 13:41-42. ) and that he will pronounce
the condemnation: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal
fire!"614
1035
The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.
Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin
descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, "eternal
fire."615 (Cf. DS 76; 409; 411; 801; 858; 1002; 1351; 1575; Paul VI, CPG # 12. ) The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in
whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and
for which he longs.
1036
The affirmations of Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church on the
subject of hell are a call to the responsibility incumbent upon man to make use
of his freedom in view of his eternal destiny. They are at the same time an
urgent call to conversion: "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide
and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are
many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those
who find it are few."616
Since
we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord
and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is
completed, we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be
numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be
ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where
"men will weep and gnash their teeth."617
1037
God predestines no one to go to hell;618 (Cf. Council of Orange II (529): DS 397; Council of Trent (1547):1567.) for this, a willful turning away from
God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end. In the
Eucharistic liturgy and in the daily prayers of her faithful, the Church
implores the mercy of God, who does not want "any to perish, but all to
come to repentance":619
Father,
accept this offering
from
your whole family.
Grant
us your peace in this life,
save
us from final damnation,
and
count us among those you have chosen. 620
V.
The Last Judgment
1038
The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the
unjust, "621 (Acts 24:15. )will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour
when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man's] voice and come
forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who
have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment."622 (Jn 5:28-29. ) Then Christ will come
"in his glory, and all the angels with him... Before him will be
gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his
right hand, but the goats at the left.... and they will go away into eternal punishment,
but the righteous into eternal life."623 (Mt 25:31, ⇒ 32, ⇒ 46. )
1039
In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's
relationship with God will be laid bare.624 (Cf. ⇒ Jn 12:49. ) The Last Judgment will reveal even
to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do
during his earthly life:
All
that the wicked do is recorded, and they do not know. When "our God comes,
he does not keep silence.". . . he will turn towards those at his left
hand: . . . "I placed my poor little ones on earth for you. I as their
head was seated in heaven at the right hand of my Father - but on earth, my
members were suffering, my members on earth were in need. If you gave anything
to my members, what you gave would reach their Head. Would that you had known
that my little ones were in need when I placed them on earth for you and
appointed them your stewards to bring your good works into my treasury. But you
have placed nothing in their hands; therefore you have found nothing in my
presence."625
1040
The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows
the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming. Then through
his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall
know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire
economy of salvation and understand the marvelous ways by which his Providence
led everything towards its final end. the Last Judgment will reveal that God's
justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that
God's love is stronger than death. 626
1041
The message of the Last Judgment calls men to conversion while God is still
giving them "the acceptable time, . . . the day of salvation." 627 (2 Cor 6:2. ) It
inspires a holy fear of God and commits them to the justice of the Kingdom of
God. It proclaims the "blessed hope" of the Lord's return when he
will come "to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at in all
who have believed." 628 (Titus 2:13; ⇒ 2 Thess 1:10. )
VI. The hope of the New Heaven and the New Earth
1042
At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the
universal judgment, the righteous will reign forever with Christ, glorified in
body and soul. the universe itself will be renewed:
The
Church . . . will receive her perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will
come the time of the renewal of all things. At that time, together with the
human race, the universe itself, which is so closely related to man and which
attains its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-established in Christ. 629
1043
Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal, which will transform humanity
and the world, "new heavens and a new earth." 630 (2 Pet 3:13; Cf. ⇒ Rev 21:1. ) It will be the
definitive realization of God's plan to bring under a single head "all
things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth." 631
1044
In this new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among
men. 632 (Cf. ⇒ Rev 21:5.) "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be
no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the
former things have passed away." 633
1045
For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the
human race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church has
been "in the nature of the sacrament." 634 (Cf. LG 1. ) Those who are united with
Christ will form the community of the redeemed, "the holy city" of
God, "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb." 635 (Rev 21:2, 9. ) She will not be wounded
any longer by sin, stains, self-love, that destroy or wound the earthly
community. 636 ( Cf. ⇒ Rev 21:27.) The beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an
inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of
happiness, peace, and mutual communion.
1046
For the cosmos, Revelation affirms the profound common destiny of the material
world and man:
For
the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God...
. in hope because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to
decay... We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together
until now; and not only the creation but we ourselves, who have the first
fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies.637 (
1047
The visible universe, then, is itself destined to be transformed, "so that
the world itself, restored to its original state, facing no further obstacles,
should be at the service of the just," sharing their glorification in the
risen Jesus Christ. 638
1048
"We know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man nor the way in which the universe will be transformed. the form of this world,
distorted by sin, is passing away, and we are taught that God is preparing a
new dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, in which happiness
will fill and surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men." 639
1049
"Far from diminishing our concern to develop this earth, the expectancy of a new earth should spur us on, for it is here that the body of a new human
family grows, foreshadowing in some way the age which is to come. That is why,
although we must be careful to distinguish earthly progress clearly from the
increase of the kingdom of Christ, such progress is of vital concern to the
kingdom of God, insofar as it can contribute to the better ordering of human
society." 640
1050
"When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise
. . . according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them
once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and
transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal
kingdom." 641 (GS 39 # 3. ) God will then be "all in all" in eternal life: 642
True
and subsistent life consists in this: the Father, through the Son and in the
Holy Spirit, pouring out his heavenly gifts on all things without exception.
Thanks to his mercy, we too, men that we are, have received the inalienable the promise of eternal life. 643
IN
BRIEF
1051
Every man receives his eternal recompense in his immortal soul from the moment
of his death in a particular judgment by Christ, the judge of the living and
the dead.
1052
"We believe that the souls of all who die in Christ's grace . . . are the
People of God beyond death. On the day of resurrection, death will be
definitively conquered, when these souls will be reunited with their
bodies" (Paul VI, CPG # 28).
1053
"We believe that the multitude of those gathered around Jesus and Mary in
Paradise forms the Church of heaven, wherein eternal blessedness they see God
as he is and where they are also, to various degrees, associated with the holy
angels in the divine governance exercised by Christ in glory, by interceding
for us and helping our weakness by their fraternal concern" (Paul VI, CPG
# 29).
1054
Those who die in God's grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they
are assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification after death, so
as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of God.
1055
By virtue of the "communion of saints," the Church commends the dead
to God's mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the
Eucharist, on their behalf.
1056
Following the example of Christ, the Church warns the faithful of the "sad
and lamentable reality of eternal death" (GCD 69), also called
"hell."
1057
Hell's principal punishment consists of eternal separation from God in whom
alone man can have the life and happiness for which he was created and for which
he longs.
1058
The Church prays that no one should be lost: "Lord, let me never be parted
from you." If it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true
that God "desires all men to be saved" (⇒ 1 Tim 2:4), and that
for him "all things are possible" (⇒ Mt 19:26).
1059
"The holy Roman Church firmly believes and confesses that on the Day of
Judgment all men will appear in their own bodies before Christ's tribunal to
render an account of their own deeds" (Council of Lyons II [1274]: DS 859;
cf. DS 1549).
1060
At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. Then the just
will reign with Christ forever, glorified in body and soul, and the material
universe itself will be transformed. God will then be "all in all" (⇒ 1 Cor 15:28), in
eternal life.
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SECTION TWO: CREEDS
CHAPTER THREE:
CHAPTER THREE:
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