THE RESURRECTION

OF THE BODY &

LIFE EVERLASTING
OVERVIEW

This module responds to the basic question: “What can we hope for?”. The final article of the
Creed affirms that our ultimate destiny is “resurrection of the body and life everlasting”. “It has become
increasingly difficult today to speak coherently of our Christian hope for life after death. True, we
Filipinos have traditionally manifested our deep faith in an after-life by prayers for our departed loved-
ones, our devotion to the saints and general acceptance of the “spirit-world”. But in this present age of
science and technology, the traditional Christian doctrines about the resurrection and the next life can
seem, especially to the youth, to be mere wishful dreams or projections” (CFC 2025).
“In Philippine modernization, some secularized psychologists liken the catechetical images of
heaven and hell to fairy tales aimed at enticing little children by promised/punishment to obey their
elders. Many Filipino activists follow the Marxist-Maoist line in condemning all religious ideas about an
after-life. Such ideas, they claim, betray the human responsibility to work for justice and liberation on
earth, and doom the poor to continued unjust exploitation by their economic masters. In contrast, many
fundamentalists assume the Scriptural accounts of the end of the world are to be taken literally as
objective, factual descriptions of the “Day of the Lord”, “Christ’s Second Coming” (CFC, 2026).
“But besides those denying or misinterpreting the validity of the Christian truths on the end of
life, there are a disturbing number of Filipino Christians who claim their primary motive for avoiding sin
is fear of punishment, both here and hereafter. Despite the proclamation of the “Good News” of a loving
God who brings us salvation in Jesus Christ, much deep-set syncretistic superstitious fear of “Karma” or
various forms of “gaba” are still prevalent among many Filipinos today. Moreover, the theory of Re-
incarnation has attracted new interest and gained a certain superficial “popularity” among those who
“following their own desires will surround themselves with teachers who tickle their ears. They will stop
listening to the truth and will wander off to fables” (2 Tim 4:3f)” (CFC 2027).
This module takes up the problem of how to understand the Church teaching on the “last things”
or “eschatology”. The it presents the “Resurrection of the Body” including the Christian understanding of
death, heaven, hell, purgatory, including the Christian hope for New Heavens and a New Earth (CFC
2028).

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
See!
I. LEARNING OBJECTIVES
At the end of this module, the students will be able to:
o demonstrate understanding of the Church teachings on the Last Things
(Eschatology);
o critique the present understanding of the Last Things (Eschatology);
o appreciate the Church teachings on the Last Things (Eschatology); and
o deconstruct their present understanding of the Last Things (Eschatology),

II. SUBJECT MATTER

A. Topic : Final goal: Resurrection of the Body and Life Everlasting (65 Minutes)
B. References :
 Catechism for Filipino Catholics. (1997). Manila: ECCCE Word & Life Publications.
 Catechism of the Catholic Church

III. LIFE SITUATION

A. Motivation/Warmer

The 21st Century view of the Eschatology

Divide the class into small working groups. In 5 to 10 minutes, let them answer the following
questions in a 1 sheet of paper. Then, a spokesperson will present their answers.

Group 1: What is the present view of death? Is there something wrong with this? Why? Why not?
Group 2: What is the present view of heaven? Is there something wrong with this? Why? Why not?
Group 3: What is the present view of hell? Is there something wrong with this? Why? Why not?
Group 4: What is the present view of purgatory? Is there something wrong with this? Why? Why not?

Discern!
1. INPUT

Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life; and
whoever is alive and believes in me will never die”. (Jn. 11:25f)

We have our citizenship in heaven. It is from there that we eagerly await the coming of our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He will give a new form to this lowly body of ours and remake it according to the pattern of his glorified
body, by his power to subject everything to himself (Phil 3: 20f)

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
I. CATHOLIC TEACHING ON THE “LAST THINGS” (ESCHATOLOGY)

Eschatology means the study of “the last things” or the final destiny of every individual person, the whole human
race, and the entire material cosmos. In traditional catechism, eschatology is concentrated on the study of the
individual’s last things (eschata): death, judgment, heaven or hell, and Christ’s Second Coming.

What are the “final things” for the individual person?

Christian faith holds that death, judgment, heaven/hell and Christ’s Second Coming are the “final things” for every
person.
We are embodied spirits destined to be with God and the saints in heaven forever, with a body “which is to be raised
up on the last day”, and a “spiritual immortal soul”, endowed with consciousness and will.

What is the destiny of the human race and the cosmos?

The final goal of the human race and the cosmos is to be gathered together with God in “the new heavens and a new
earth where the justice [and love] of God will reside” (2 Pt 3:13).

What is the importance of eschatology for us?

The Risen Christ is present among us in his Holy Spirit, linking our future destiny with our present earthly life.
Thus, the Gospel promise of resurrection and life everlasting touches everything we think and say and do. It is our
ultimate norm for judging good and evil, success and failure, authentic human love from deceit.

Does eschatology lead us away from our present duties?

Properly understood, eschatology is not about some “far away”, abstract fairy land. It rather deals with the deepest
dimensions of our daily life, now. Our final destiny is already active in our daily events, urging us on loving service
of our neighbor.

II. RESURRECTION OF THE BODY

What is meant by our “resurrection”?

Our “resurrection” means new glorified life in the Risen Christ, not just a restoration of our present life as, for
example, in Lazarus who was restored to physical life for a time by Christ (cf. Jn 11:43f).
We Christians firmly believe we are all:
i. created by God, Source of all life, to share His Trinitarian divine life forever,
ii. redeemed by His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who by his Resurrection became life-giving; and
iii. sharers of his risen life already in his Holy Spirit in grace, but not yet fully as we will in glory.

How do we already share Christ’s risen life?

We share in Christ’s risen life:
i. through our Spirit-inspired life of Faith,
ii. nourished by the sacraments, and
iii. exercised in our moral loving service of others.
Christ is the living vine, we are the branches, drawing life from him, in a bond of unity and charity with
him and all others (cf. Jn 15:5,9,12).

If death comes to all of us, how can we be said to already share Christ’s risen life?
The opposite of sharing in risen life is not earthly life subject to physical death, but sin.
We come to share Christ’s risen life by our Baptism (cf. Rom 6:4f) and by keeping Christ’s own commandment:
“love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12).

What new insights does this sharing in Christ’s risen life bring?
By this, we understand that:
i. our transformation into risen life is an ongoing process already begun in us by the Holy Spirit;
ii. we have a duty and a task now to live out our baptismal promises: dead to sin, alive for Christ;
iii. this life includes essential community and ecological dimensions.

What does “resurrection of the body” mean?

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
“Body” here means the whole human person. Thus, “resurrection of the body” means the whole person, body and
soul, will be raised up, including the person’s social and communitarian dimensions.

Two consequences follow. Christians hope for:

a. a transformation of the whole person, body and soul, not a “salvation of souls”; therefore:
b. any “re-incarnation” or “transmigration of souls” are rejected since they remove the ultimate meaning and
value of our present life, and destroy our personal unity.

What kind of “transformation” will we undergo?

Transformation means the change from being “natural” or “self-centered” to a “spiritual” or “Spirit-inspired” life, in
the likeness of Christ.
Our bodily existence, with all our relations to community and environment, will be radically transformed by the
Holy Spirit, yet be truly “our”.

III. CHRISTIAN VIEW OF DEATH

What is the Christian view of death?

Christian Faith views death as:
i. a dimension of every moment of life, not just as the last moment of our earthly, biological life;
ii. radically touching the whole person, not just the body; the whole person dies, not just his.her body,
iii. as at once the “natural” end of temporary human life,
iv. and also a consequence of sin insofar as it causes a violent rupture, anxiety, dread, etc.

How has Christ transformed death?

The Christian’s death is:
i. completing the life-long “dying with Christ” begun in Baptism
ii. a sharing in Christ’s:
a. own death of perfect self-sacrificing love,
b. the end of his earthly pilgrimage, and
c. entry into his risen glory.

It is clear that both:

 the destructive, disintegrating aspect, and
 the integrating final option dimension of natural death,
are imaged perfectly in Jesus’ violet death on the Cross, ending in his final words: “It is finished” and
“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Jn 19:30; Lk 23:46).

IV. LIFE EVERLASTING

What is the meaning of the Creed’s “life everlasting”?

Life everlasting means a life transformed by God’s Spirit into the perfect fulfillment of every dimension of our
present bodily-spiritual lives.
It is not simply a never-ending prolongation of our temporal lives, nor a static timeliness, but a radical change in the
quality of life.

How is the quality of our temporal life enhanced?

In everlasting life, the temporal fragmentation of our present lives is overcome. In the next life, the present retrieves
the past and is already filled with the future.
Temporal existence is brought to authentic fulfillment on three levels:
i. on the personal level of our lives of grace as individual disciples of Christ, begun in Baptism and
nourished in the Eucharist;
ii. on the corporate level of all members of the Church;
iii. on the cosmic level, in its transformation in Christ.

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
What are some liturgical images of this new life?
Two central liturgical images are used for the next life:
i. eternal rest, in the sense of sharing God’s own Sabbath rest; and
ii. perpetual light as the perfection of Christ, Light of the world, who dispels all the darkness of sin,
futility, and despair.

What is meant by the “Particular Judgment”?

At death, the end of our earthly pilgrimage, we meet Christ, our just Judge, for the judgment which decides our fate
for everlasting life. This “judgment” is note merely imposed on us from the outside; it indicates what we have made
of ourselves through all our free acts on earth:
i. either we have become open to God’s life and love,
ii. or we have freely made ourselves impervious to His Light, and freely chosen not to live in God’s
presence.

What is meant by “Heaven”?

Heaven means the state of “Being with the Lord” (cf. 1 Thes 4:17), enjoying the “depths of God”, the Father, the
Risen Christ, our Savior, in their Holy Spirit, in the presence of the whole Church in glory. We often call this state
of seeing God “face to face” (cf. 1 Cor 13:12) the “beatific vision” because it causes unspeakable joy and happiness
in communion with all the saints. “Eye has not seen, ear has not heard, nor has it so much as dawned on man what
God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor 2:9).

What does Catholic teaching mean by “Hell”?

In contrast to the reality of heaven, the Church teaches the possibility of eternal damnation, following Jesus’ own
teaching. The possibility of hell stresses our ultimate accountability for what we do with our earthly lives. The
essence of hell is the loss of God, suffered by those who have freely chosen to separate themselves from Him.

What does Church teaching mean by “Purgatory”?

Purgatory means “the state of final purification”, so that those who died in the state of grace but are weighed down
by the remnants of selfishness and sin, may be purified and thus enter into everlasting glory with the Lord.

What is meant by “Parousia”, “General Resurrection”, and “Last Judgment”?

Parousia refers to Christ’s coming in glory “as judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42), “to bring salvation to
those who eagerly await him” (Heb 9:28).
With Christ’s coming, all who have died will rise again with transformed bodies. All will be judged by Christ who
“will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and manifest the intentions of hearts so that every will receive his
praise from God” (1 Cor 4:5). Thus the justice and mercy of God’s judgment will be vindicated before all.

V. CHRISTIAN HOPE OF THE NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH

What is meant by “Christian hope”?

Christian hope is that virtue, grounded on Christ our Lord and experienced in the “love of God poured out in our
hearts through the Holy Spirit” (Rom 5:5), by which we yearn for the coming of God’s Kingdom, and the
establishment of the “new heavens and a new earth where, according to His promise, the justice of God will reside”
(2 Pt 3:13).

This “new creation” involves the transformation, perfection, and glorification of every human person, the whole
human race, and the material cosmos as well.

What is the place of Mary in this “new creation”?

The Blessed Virgin Mary, through her Assumption into heaven, body and soul, offers us a concrete model of this
new creation.
She is at once:

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)
 i. “the image and beginning of the Church as it is to be perfected in the world to come,” and
ii. “the sign of sure hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God” (LG 68).

2. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

Question & Answer

Having presented the Church teachings on the Last Things, ask the students the following questions:
 What can you say about the Church teachings on the Last Things (death, heaven, hell, purgatory)?
 Is it appealing to you? Is it understandable to you? Why? Why not?

3. INTEGRATION

The Catholic doctrinal response to “What can we hope for?” in terms of “resurrection of the body and life
everlasting” radically modifies our Christian moral ideal and behavior. It provides the basic ground for Christian
Hope. Moreover, we judge the morality of every act in part by its compatibility with this truth of our final
destiny. If the act is in conformity with this truth of our final destiny, it is judged morally good in regard to its
“nature”. But perhaps the strongest influence which this doctrine of our final destiny exercises on Christian
morality is the way it grounds, with creation, the Dignity of the Human Person. No man or woman can rightfully
be used or treated as a mere instrument or means for any purpose whatsoever, because each one of us is destined
for nothing less than everlasting life with God Himself.

This doctrine of our final destiny also animates our worship, since our whole authentic prayer-life, personal and
ecclesial, is already a graced sharing, a foretaste, in this final goal. The ordination toward resurrection and life
everlasting is what is meant by the “eschatological dimension” of our sacramental life, especially the Eucharist.
We already experience in our prayerful communion with the eternal Father, through His Risen Incarnate Son, in
their Holy Spirit, the beginning of this “life of the world to come”. For it is in this “bright promise of
immortality” that we come to learn how to really “proclaim God’s glory and join in the unending hymn of praise”
(Preface of Christian Death I).

Act!
1. ENRICHMENT ACTIVITY

DECONSTRUCTION ACTIVITY (By group or individual)

With the same working group and the same topic of Eschatology, let them determine the weaknesses of the
argument, or the seemingly unreasonable views. Then, quoting the Church teachings on the Last Things,
reinforce those weak arguments to make them reasonable. Or, use the Church teachings on the Last Things
to argue with the 21st century view of death, heaven, hell, and purgatory.

1 whole sheet of paper.

2. HOMEWORK

Miracles do happen

Browse the net and find stories like near-death experiences, back-to-life-from-death stories, and other stories related
to Eschatology. Get the gist of the story and write a brief reaction paper. (1 short bond paper, single space).

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IO-RE2: Fundamental Theology (Center for Religious Education, Office of Religious Affairs, UST-Legazpi, Legazpi City, Albay)