Everything covered so far in this formation process are important truths believed and taught by the Catholic Church concerning God and His plan of salvation. Presented so far have been how God reveals himself, the sin of man, the need for salvation, Jesus Christ, and the church as the Body of Christ. To build on the understanding of the salvation Jesus provides, the importance of the sacraments, and the purpose of the church He founded, it is necessary to explain what Jesus revealed and subsequently, what the church teaches regarding what happens when your life here on earth ends. The truths presented in this lesson, convey more of the reasons as to ‘The why’ of Jesus’ mission, salvation, His life, His death, and resurrection. The lesson provides context for use in later lessons.

Those individuals who seek faith or God do so for different reasons involving a variety of thoughts. Generally, there is no right are wrong reason for your initial desire to search. However, there is a right and a wrong path, and each path has its own end conclusion. This makes it imperative for you to draw the correct conclusion from objective and absolute truth concerning Christianity in your walk of faith.

In the Nicene Creed, it indicates:

And I look forward to the resurrection of the dead, and life for the world to come. 

As previously stated, every person has an immortal soul which goes to an eternal destination. Catholics believe those who follow Christ faithfully, attain “Everlasting Life”  (Resurrection) after death. Heaven awaits, as long as you have bound yourself to the path of life by God’s grace. Without this communion with God, instead of everlasting life, the opposite can occur which is everlasting death, which is an existence separate from God and all that is from God forever.

Regardless of your belief, disposition, and personal perspectives, eventually, you will ask, “What happens when I die?” Why is this question asked? At some point, the reality of no one escaping death becomes apparent. Your spiritual side is still kicking you to wake up and formulates the question in your mind whether you believe in God or not. Should you be fortunate, to realize that the question has something to do with God and how you lived your life, then consider it a blessing. A related question is, “After I die, where do I go?” There is a Latin phrase, “Quo Vadis?” “Where are you going?” So, where are you going after you die?

To address these questions, this lesson covers four topics or realities taught by the Church; Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. Purgatory and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ are examined also. Purgatory is tied to the discussion of Heaven and the Second Coming is tied to Judgment.

God can never deny Himself. Nor can God deceive nor be deceived. Since He is all truth and just, in His divine justice, when you die, you will all be judged as will everyone else. At your death, whether judgment is going to be an impugned one or one of mercy depends on how you lived your life in response to the gifts of God’s grace. By living your life to follow God and live in His grace, when you die you will be well situated for choosing eternity.

God’s mercy is made available in His plan of salvation to everyone. Thus, allowing you the opportunity to choose to turn towards Him out of free will as a response to His love. God, besides sending His son Jesus to die on the cross for your sins, shows His love and mercy throughout your life and continues this even at the moment of death. God’s mercy is available as will be shown in the teachings regarding Purgatory.

God desires for you to be with Him forever. Therefore, God’s love includes both His justice and His mercy. God’s mercy is made manifest in the teachings and actions of Christ. His mercy includes His redemptive act for the salvation of mankind which continues in the life of His Church as well. For example, the Sacrament of Baptism initiates a return to friendship with God. The Sacrament of Reconciliation allows repentance and gives grace to turn toward God and His friendship to continue toward full communion with God.

Even though God desires for you as well as all mankind to be re-united with him, His “desire” is in no way hinged or dependent on the choice you or another person makes to draw toward Him or not. The word “Desire” is used to help express the intended outcome God has in His design for mankind. Every person still has free will. Therefore, God is not made any less just because someone chooses to turn away from Him.

Death

“Death comes suddenly,” shouted the preacher as if willing to shake the church chandeliers and knock the dust off the rafters!

Death does not need to be treated so disadvantageously. However, the thought of death must be taken seriously, with sobriety and without extreme dread. With faith in God, the thought of death is not filled with anxious dread and fear. This does not mean you ignore the thought of death. With faith in Jesus, you will learn death with its outcome correlates with how you live your life in faith. When you look at death through the eyes of faith, you adjust any misconceived thoughts or predisposition of hopelessness, fear, anxiousness concerning death, or delusions about death such as “everyone gets to Heaven.”

It is important to develop a mature attitude concerning death. This is accomplished by having faith in God. You begin by learning the faith, learning about God’s love for you, living in His love, and how God draws you closer to Him. With God’s grace and following His will, you become open to responding to God. By His grace, the sting and fear of death is simply a shadow whose dread does not encumber your life.

This does not mean the Christian develops a “rose-colored outlook” regarding death. On the contrary. Christianity looks at death as part of a reality associated with the human condition due to man’s fallen nature. But the sting of death has been mitigated[1] by Jesus’ death on the cross. Although we may be sad at the time of someone’s death, there should be joy in the promise of salvation attained by Jesus.

Death, as a part of reality in this life, can be counted as part of the suffering encountered while on this journey. It goes without saying that sometimes death comes after long suffering. Even the sudden death of a loved one can strike those left behind with great sadness and some suffering. As a Christian, it is in the hope placed in Jesus you can rely on to always stay focused. Here again, it will be mentioned, that all things gained or suffered, it is through Christ and all He has given through His grace coming from the sacraments where you maintain the strength and virtues of faith, love, and hope to endure.

In any case, the faith and grace won by Christ’s death allows you to know, the outcome after living in that faith. There is a hope of heaven which abounds in great joy and there is no longer any suffering. When a loved one departs there is a hope of blessed assurance for their resting in God’s hands.

You may have heard “death is a part of life.” These words (depending on the context) run the overt risk of delivering a platitude. The idea of this can end up with a solemn conclusion that death is a necessary condition as part of this life, and this does bear some truth. However, the sound of these words can leave you feeling cold and hopeless which should not be the case for the Christian. Perhaps this saying may have its place, but it should come with an explanation. Instead of these words, it is better to deliver words of genuine consolation at the time of someone’s death.

An important thing to understand about death is, it is not natural. Death was not an intended natural outcome for mankind but is a condition of the broken nature of fallen mankind because of sin. Originally God created man, as His children, intending for them to live as immortal humans. This changed because the first man ‘Adam,’ disobeyed God and sinned. As a result, man’s nature was broken and God’s intended sanctifying gifts were removed. Now, all mankind is born with the stain of original sin. Now mankind must toil, suffer, and eventually die.  In Genesis you will find:

17 To the man he said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, You shall not eat from it, Cursed is the ground because of you! In toil you shall eat its yield all the days of your life.

18 Thorns and thistles it shall bear for you, and you shall eat the grass of the field.   19 By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, Until you return to the ground, from which you were taken; For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.                                                          Genesis 3:17-19

It is through the sin of our first parents, death entered the world (Wis. 2:23-24). St. Paul confirms this in the New Testament, where he says, “sin came into the world through one man and death through sin” (Rom. 5:12). A little later St. Paul in Romans reiterates, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23).

Out of His eternal love, God sent His son Jesus to save mankind from remaining eternally broken, unredeemed, and without hope. Jesus’ redemptive act, consisting of His life, death on the cross, and resurrection, still allows only the physical fate of sin which is death. Because of Jesus’ redemption; death loses its penal character of eternal spiritual separation from God. Jesus’ loving act now gives you a choice to be reunited with God. Death remains only as a physical consequence of Original Sin.

Due to original sin, humanity still experiences death, only as a consequence and not as an eternal juridical punishment. You will have to face death, living under its constant shadow and death knows no barriers, age, rich, poor, status, or might. You know death can come at any time, in any way, thus removing you from the land of the living. Are you ready? Choosing a life to follow Christ prepares you for death.

“For our allotted time is the passing of a shadow, and there is no return  from our death, because it is sealed up and no one turns back”           (Wis. 2:5).

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[1] 1 Corinthians 15: 54b – 55 : “Death is swallowed up in victory.  55  Where, O death, is your victory?

Where, O death, is your sting?”

Judgment

When you die, you will be judged by God. This judgment is called ‘particular judgment.’ After you die, there is no second life here on earth, no reincarnation. In other words, no; “Do Over.” Once you die you reach judgment and your final destination (heaven or hell).    Just as it is appointed that human beings die once, and after this the judgment         Hebrews 9:27

Pope Benedict XII in the dogmatic constitution Benedictus Deus (1336) taught that the souls of the righteous go immediately to heaven where they enjoy the beatific vision (the presence of God) and the souls of those in mortal sin go right to hell and are subject to its torments. This immediate judgment is “particular judgment.”

The Catholic Church teaches death puts an end to human life as the opportune time for accepting or rejecting the divine grace given by Jesus Christ.[1] This is congruent with the parables Jesus used when teaching. Jesus’ words as found in Luke speak of a final destiny of the soul, which can be different for some, than for others. [2]

22 When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’ 25 Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented. 26 Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’                               Luke 16:23-26

Every person receives their eternal retribution in their immortal soul at the very moment of their death in a particular judgment which refers the person’s life to Christ.[3] The end conclusion can mean either heaven or eternal damnation in hell.

Lk 23:43

“Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

MT 16:26

What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can one give in exchange for his life?

2 Cor 5:8

Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.

Christ will come to Judge the living and the dead.

(Second Coming of Christ / The Last Judgment)

In the Nicene Creed we pray:

He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.

Someday Christ will return in glory[4] (The Second coming) and there will be a Last Judgment.  As to the day and the hour; Jesus tells us only God the Father knows.[5] Only God determines the moment of its coming.[6] In the Last Judgment what will be revealed is the triumph of God’s justice and mercy of all the generations, for all creation to see. No one will be able to argue against it. All creation will see this and know that God has been fair, wise, merciful, and benevolent.  All will know the absolute goodness and glory of God whether we participate in it or have rejected it.

Once this occurs the Kingdom of God will come into its fullness.[7] The Church will receive her perfection only in the glory of heaven, from which will come the time of the renewal of all things.[8] All things will be made new again!

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[1]2 Tim 1:9-10  9 with the understanding that law is meant not for a righteous person but for the lawless and unruly, the godless and sinful, the unholy and profane, those who kill their fathers or mothers, murderers,10 the unchaste, sodomites,* kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is opposed to sound teaching

[2] CCC 1021

[3] CCC 1022

[4] CCC 668 - 674

[5] Matthew 24:36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”

[6] CCC 1040 - 1041

[7] CCC 1042

[8] CCC 1043 - 1045

We were made for Heaven. Heaven is our home. While on earth we are home-sick longing to go home. Nothing will fill that longing until we are there.

We were made for Heaven. 

The opposite of disillusionment (despair, emptiness) is heaven (Hope, Love). With God’s grace and in the love He gives freely, His promise of heaven is where you find the ultimate meaning and purpose in everything, including any suffering we may experience. God, infinite in every way, provides infinitely as well. Therefore, His immense love and presence in heaven along with His goodness are without end and cannot be limited or measured. Your purpose to be with God will then fill you with everlasting joy.

Heaven and Hell are realities of permanence. Once you get in, you don’t get out. Any person with the smallest spot of sin on their soul, cannot get into heaven to have the spot of sin removed. And Hell is most definitely not the place where any minor sins are removed and then afterward, you are sent to heaven.

Some Christians claim that they are “Justified” and are therefore only going to heaven. As if they have not committed any sins since the first time, they “Found Jesus and were saved.” The presumption that one can exist on earth without further sin is a heinous false teaching. It is true, you are justified by God’s grace and having Faith in God. However, such justification requires each person to live by the grace God has given and be transformed. This is a process across time while here on earth and it further demands to live in that faith by responding to God’s constant call to follow His will and be filled with His grace. On your faith journey, from time to time, you will “trip” and sin. Even the smallest grudge or fit or the slightest bit of selfishness causes a stain of sin. What happens when you die with that small stain of sin? You cannot enter heaven and you do not want to go to hell. Where does the soul go?

The thought that there is ONLY Heaven or Hell to go to when we die, in the strictest sense does not properly convey the glorious goodness and love of a merciful God. Yet God is merciful! The Catholic belief of Purgatory professes how God provides this mercy to those who have died with some stain of sin left on their soul.

Catholicism teaches the ‘stained soul’ of a person recently deceased goes through a purification process or a final purging of the remaining marks from sins (non-mortal). This is not a “do-over.” It is more in line with a penal punishment as a way to purge any remaining sinful inclinations. This purging or ‘purgation’ is known as Purgatory. Hence the name. Think of Purgatory as being like taking the stairs to the penthouse on top of a 3300-story building versus taking the elevator to the top!

Purgation: The process of removing or purging. Generally, it is applied to an emptying and/or purifying process.

The Word “Purgatory”

The word “purgatory” itself, is not found in the Scriptures. It is a term used to identify the process of purification that a righteous soul undergoes after death, before entering heaven. Such belief about the process stems from Jesus’ words about paying back “every last penny.”[2] Jesus speaks of this in the parable about the ‘Faithful and unfaithful servant.’[3] The Latin word, “purgare,” means to make clean or to purify. The suffix –ory(Latin: -orium) indicates a physical place (i.e.: Dormitory and Laboratory). It is probably easier and better to consider purgatory as a process rather than as a location.

The Early Church Fathers writing in the first and second century of Christianity, do not always use the word purgatory to describe the process, but the concept is certainly there. By the time of St. Bernard (c. 1130) the term purgatory had taken on the specific, theological meaning that it has today. The use of the word purgatory is applying terminology to a recognized belief. This belief is provided in the in the Gospel of Luke as one of Jesus Parables[4] and in Rev 21:27[5]. In a similar way the word “Trinity” applies a term to the co-equal Godhead of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. While “trinity is believed by Christians, the word “trinity is not found in the scriptures. 

Brief Definition of the Doctrine

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that “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. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.”[6]

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[1] Revelation 21:27 – “nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven” : Douay-Rheims Bible There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb.

[2] Luke 12:59 - I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”

[3] Luke 12:41-48“… put him with the unfaithful,  vs beaten vs lightly beaten”

[4] Luke 12:41-48

[5] Revelation 21:27 – “nothing unclean will enter the presence of God in heaven” : Douay-Rheims Bible There shall not enter into it anything defiled, or that worketh abomination or maketh a lie, but they that are written in the book of life of the Lamb.

[6] CCC 1030-1031

 The Word “Hell”

Do not get confused about the word Hell with its use in the English language at other times in history. The word ‘Hell’ in current English comes from the “Old English” which took its form from a Greek word. Depending how the word is used, will determine one of two meanings. It could mean a temporary place of the dead or permanent “Hellfire.” This difference occurs in the English language and other languages will not necessarily have this issue. This will be pointed out.

In one use of the English word Hell, is used to refer to a temporary place for the dead who are not in heaven but not in “Hellfire.” The Old Testament used a word to define a place where the dead waited, the place was called Sheol. In the New Testament[1]. In professions of faith there is a reference to Jesus “descending” into Hell[2]. The word ‘hell’ in this case refers to Sheol, a place where the righteous souls of the Old Testament waited for Jesus to unlock the gates of heaven.[3]

The second usage of the word ‘Hell’ in English is more predominant and means the actual eternal place of the fallen angels and souls of the damned, who are those by their own free choice reject God and His salvation. Expanding the term hell to  ‘Hellfire’ for the sake of this discussion helps delineate a place where the souls of the damned suffer in “fire” or some great punishment. Jesus himself refers to “Fiery Gehenna.” This section of the lesson speaks to this second usage where “Hell” is the place the souls of the damned suffer in “fire” or great punishment forever. 

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[1] 1st. Peter 3:18-19 18  For Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the sake of the unrighteous, that he might lead you to God. Put to death in the flesh, he was brought to life in the spirit.

19  In it he also went to preach to the spirits in prison,

Given the context of this passage, it is evident that the audience St. Peter is writing to are familiar with the Jewish belief of a place for the dead called Sheol. While St. Peter does not use a derivative of the word “Hell” to mean Sheol, from the passages that follow indicates he is speaking of the righteous souls who came before in the Old Testament.

[2] CCC 634 - 636

[3] CCC 632

 Hell – Eternal Punishment

Like Heaven, Hell is a real place as well, but it is not in space and time like your existence on Earth. It is a permanent place. Meaning once you get in, you do not get out. In other words, once you get there, there is no; “Whoops- I made a big mistake; Um, when does the next bus leave for Heaven?” This needs to be emphasized and not understated. There are those in the world who push and believe false doctrines about Hell and teach, that no one goes to Hell, that Hell is temporary, or Hell is a “bad dream experience” or that our existence on Earth is hell[1], or that there is no Hell. All these beliefs contradict Jesus’ teaching and Scripture, therefore are wrong on all counts and lies foisted onto humanity by Satan.

Hell is a state of being where your soul (with its conscience) has a thorough awareness of being somewhere (definitely not in heaven) or in more exact terms, ‘not being somewhere.’ All the same, it is real, thus making it a reality. Hell is not a cosmic dust pile for wayward souls who feel nothing. Don’t think of this state of existence as transitory (temporary), Hell is forever. There is a false notion that suggests eventually everyone gets out of hell or that hell and those there eventually will cease to exist (This is wrongly taught by Universalism).

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[1] Wisdom 1:14c  “….nor any domain of Hades on earth,”   (Hades is an O.T. reference to “hell”

Before Jesus died on the cross. No person after their death could enter into heaven. Why? Because the price for man’s sin had not been paid. Jesus paid this price when He came, lived, died on the Cross and rose from the dead.

Part of the redemption Jesus provided was the initial “Unlocking of Heaven’ so that all those who died up to that point and were meant for heaven, could now enter.