Read Online
“That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about
the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God
of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and he is not God of the dead, but
of the living, for to him all are alive.” Luke 20:37–38
Jesus gives this response to some of the Sadducees who question Him
about the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees did not believe
in the resurrection of the body, whereas the Pharisees did. Thus,
the Sadducees asked Jesus about the resurrection of the body using
an almost unheard of example. They refer to the levirate law found
in Deuteronomy 25:5ff which states that if a married man dies
before having children, the brother of that man must marry his wife
and provide descendants for his brother. Thus, the Sadducees
present the scenario where seven brothers die, each one
subsequently taking the same wife. The question they posed was,
“Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all
seven had been married to her.” Jesus answers by explaining that
marriage is for this life, not the life to come at the
resurrection. Therefore, none of the brothers will be married to
her when they rise.
Some spouses have a hard time with this teaching, in that they love
their spouse and desire to remain married in Heaven and at the time
of the final resurrection. For those who feel this way, rest
assured that the bonds of love we form on earth will remain and
even be strengthened in Heaven. And when the end of the world comes
and all of our bodies rise and are reunited with our souls, those
bonds of love will remain stronger than ever. However, marriage, in
the earthly sense, will be no more. It will be replaced by the pure
love of the new life to come.
This teaching gives us reason to ponder further the beautiful
teaching of our Lord about His return in glory and, as we say in
the Creed, “the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world
to come.” We profess this belief every Sunday at Mass. But for
many, it can be hard to understand. So what do we actually
believe?
Simply put, we believe that when we die, our body is “laid to
rest,” but our soul enters a moment of particular judgment. Those
who remain in mortal sin are eternally separated from God. But
those who die in a state of grace will eternally live with God.
Most people who die will most likely die with some lasting venial
sins on their soul. Thus, Purgatory is the grace of final
purification that the person’s soul encounters upon death.
Purgatory is simply the purifying love of God which has the effect
of eliminating every last sin and imperfection, and every
attachment to sin, so that the purified soul can see God
face-to-face in Heaven. But it doesn’t stop there. We also believe
that at some definitive time in world history, Jesus will return to
earth and transform it. This is His Final Judgment. At that time,
every body will rise, and we will live eternally as we were
intended to live: body and soul united as one. Those souls who are
in mortal sin will also be reunited with their bodies, but their
body and soul will live separated from God forever. Thankfully,
those who are in a state of grace and have endured their final
purification will be resurrected and share in the new Heavens and
new Earth forever, body and soul as God intended.
Reflect, today, upon this glorious teaching of our Lord that you
profess faith in every time you pray the Creed. Keeping your eyes
on Heaven and, especially, on the final and glorious resurrected
state in which you will live in the new Heaven and Earth must
become your daily practice. The more we live with this holy
expectation, the more we will live here and now as a time of
preparation for this final existence. Build treasure now in
anticipation of this glorious day and believe that it is the
eternity to which you are called.
My resurrected Lord, You now reign in Heaven, body and soul, in
anticipation of the final and glorious resurrection of all the
dead. May I always keep my eyes on this final goal of human life
and do all that I can to prepare for this eternity of glory and
love. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: James Tissot, Public domain, via Wikimedia
Commons
Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.com
Copyright 2025 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used
with permission via RSS feed.
Kommentare (0)
Melde dich an, um einen Kommentar zu schreiben.