Monday, August 17, 2020 –
Right, so I let Mr. Flusche pick what we talk about next, and he decided we needed a primer on the four last things. He was in a foul mood at the time because of the weather, but it is a good topic. Frankly, it is a necessary topic given the current state of the world.
I want to take each on in its own right, but for those who like to skip to the end of the book (pun DEFINITELY intended!), here are the four last things:
- Death
- Judgment
- Heaven
- Hell
The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a rather large section on the four last things, although it is not titled that specifically. In the first part of the Catechism, there is a walk-through of the Creed. The very last section—Part I, Chapter 3: Article 12—is “I believe in life everlasting.” Which, of course, encompasses the four last things.
If you want to read the whole section, it is CCC 1020 – 1065. It is about 11 pages long.
Or, if you want a quick third-grade pictorial rendition of the four last things, here you go:
I did say that was a third-grade pictorial rendition, didn’t I? Where is JUDGMENT, you ask? That is the black set of arrows.
Why is there PURGATORY? While HEAVEN and HELL are the only two end points after the final judgment (more on that later), purgatory is where souls who are without mortal sin, but not wholly in a state of grace (i.e. venial sins) go for purification before entering heaven. We are all supposed to strive to be Saints, but some of us need a bit more time to get holy. The important thing to remember is that there is only one door out of purgatory, and it is always “up.”
Okay, so that is our quick intro. Over the next four days we will talk about each of the last four things.
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses, have mercy on us.
