Life and Beyond

• Solemnity of Christ the King

  -      To direct the heart and mind to equally important future.

  -      To show that Christ the King is the Lord of time and history.

  -      Feast of Christ the King (the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe). Celebrated on the last Sunday of the liturgical year, this feast day was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925.

  -      To show that at the end of time, the entire creation will be subjected to Christ in whom, through whom, and for whom all things visible and invisible were created (cfCol 1:16)
• “Jesus Christ is the ALPHA and the OMEGA”

  -      The end of the world and of time is not meant to frighten us, but rather, to invite us to gaze at the Lord who will come again in glory to renew all things in Him.

  -      “At the evening of life, we shall be judged on love” – St. John of the Cross.
• The Second Coming of Christ

  ·   Twofold Character of Season of Advent

  1.     It is the time to prepare for Christmas when we remember with joyful hope Christ’s first coming.

  2.    It is also the time when we direct our joyful expectation to Christ’s second coming.
• What is the nature and purpose of Christ’s Second Coming?

  o   He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead
• The Parable of the Ten Virgins

  -      Preparedness and perseverance

  -      The foolish ones are complacent and inconsistent believers.

  -      The wise disciples match their willingness to be with the Lord with their faithfulness to Him.
• Maranatha

  -      “The Lord is coming”      -    “Come, O Lord.”
• Parousia

  -      “Christ has died! Christ is risen! Christ will come again!”
• What are the signs that precede the Lord’s return?

  o   The Preaching of the Gospel to the Whole World (cf Mt 24:14; Mk 13:10)

  o   The Conversion of the Jews (cf Rom 11:25-32)

  o   Falling away from Faith (cf Mt 24:4ff; 2 Thes 2:3)

  o   The Appearance of the Antichrist (1 Jn 2:18; 2 Jn 1:7; 2 Thes 2:9-11)

  o   Severe Tribulations (cf Mt 24:3-14, 29; Is 13:10; 34:4)
• St. Teresa of Avila

  -      Muero porque no muero “I die because I do not die”
• St. Thérèse of Lisieux

  -      “I am not dying; I am entering life”
• Luke 24: 36-43

  -      The Glorified body of Jesus

  -      Jesus appears to the disciples

  -      While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them.

  "Peace be with you."
• Resurrection

  -      The central and essential element of Christian faith
• "A person who dies does not travel to nowhere but rather goes home into the love of God, who created him" (YouCat 155)
• The firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep (1 Cor 15:20)
• To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must "be away from the body and at home with the Lord." In that "departure" which is death the soul is separated from the body. It will be reunited with the body on the day of the resurrection of the dead. (CCC 1005)
• But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. (1 Cor 15:12-14)
• The term "flesh" refers to man in his state of weakness and mortality. The "resurrection of the flesh" (the literal formulation of the Apostles' Creed) means not only that the immortal soul will live on after death, but that even our "mortal body" will come to life again. (CCC 990)
• We believe in the resurrection of the dead because Christ rose from the dead, lives forever, and causes us to share in this eternal life. (YouCat 152)
• In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus' Resurrection. (CCC 997)
• All the dead will rise, "those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment." (CCC 998)
• "The hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation" – Jn 5: 28-29
• "The flesh is the hinge of salvation'. We believe in God who is the creator of the flesh; we believe in the Word made flesh in order to redeem the flesh; we believe in the resurrection of the flesh, the fulfillment of both the creation and the redemption of the flesh" (CCC 1015)
• Christ is raised with his own body: "See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself"; but he did not return to an earthly life. So, in him, "all of them will rise again with their own bodies which they now bear," but Christ "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body," into a "spiritual body"
• The resurrection of all the dead, of the right and unrighteous, will take place before the last judgment.
• THE EXISTENCE OF HEAVEN

  -      The existence of heaven is a dogma of faith: "The souls of those who have not committed any sin at all after they received holy Baptism, and the souls of those who have sinned, but have been cleansed, either while they were in the body or afterward... are promptly taken up into heaven.
• "We are citizens of this world and citizens of heaven at the same time.” - St. Augustine (the city of God)
• "You have made us for Yourself, and our heart is heartless until it rests in You". - St. Augustine (Confessions)
• The Lord wants us to store up treasures in heaven

  ·        The parable of the rich fool

  ·        The story of the rich young man
• Heaven means the state of ‘being with the Lord’ (cf. 1 Thes 4:17)
• living in him in whom the blessed find the perfection of their identity and their earthly lives (CFC 2068; cf CCC 1023-1029)
• The Sacred Scriptures describe heaven as;

  Ø  Heaven as “eternal life”

  Ø  Your master’s joy

  Ø  The crown of life

  Ø  The unfading crown of glory

  Ø Imperishable crown

  Ø The riches of glory
• Everlasting life

  -      Eternal rest (to find rest)

  -      Perpetual light (the life in our definitive home)
• The Scripture depicts heaven in images such as the “Father’s House”. (Jn 14:2)
• Participation in the Holy Sacrifice identifies us with his heart, sustains our strength along the pilgrimage of this life, makes us long for eternal life, and unites us even now to the church in heaven, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints. (CCC 1419)
• The Repentant Thief (Luke 23: 39-43)
• Father's house

  -      the best term that describes what heaven is because Father's house is our definitive home. Jesus promised us that He will go ahead and prepare blace for each one of us since in His Father's house
• Benedictus Deus

  -      Dogmatic Constitution of Pope Benedict XII declaring the infallible definition of the dogma of heaven.
• Beatific vision

  -      In heaven we shall see God face to face.

  -      It is to contemplate God as He is with intellectual vision.
• Acts composing the beatific vision:

  ·        knowledge (visio)

  ·        love (amor, caritas)

  ·        joy (gaudio, fruition)
• In the parable of talents, Matthew speaks of what awaits a good and faithful servant - it is to share the joy of the master. (Cf. Mt 25:21]