Pastor's Column 11-5-2023
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November 5, 2023Dear Parishioners,
During the month of November we pray more fervently for the souls in purgatory to help them get ready for heaven. Hence it is an appropriate month to explain the Four Last Things. In Catholic theology the Four Last Things refers to Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. We study these realities under the branch of theology known as Eschatology. Our spiritual lives should include regular meditation on these realities. In any journey, it’s important to remember your destiny to know that you are going the right way. When we consider the most important parts of our lives, at the top of that list, should be the Four Last Things. What happens to our immortal souls at death is of utmost importance.
Every human being possesses an immortal soul and a mortal body. Hence every human being will experience death. No one gets out of this life alive. Prior to our bodily deaths, we are open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace offered through Christ. Once we die, our lives are eternally destined for either heaven or hell. Particular judgment on a soul happens immediately after death. God judges a soul based on his or her faith and works. As the Catechism states, “Each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of heaven-through purification or immediately, or immediate and everlasting damnation.” The final judgment occurs at the end of time. This is not a second chance for souls. Instead God brings to fulfillment His kingdom.
We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. Grave sin (mortal sin) is the manifestation of freely choosing not to love God and neighbor. To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from Him and neighbor for all eternity. We call this state “hell.” A person in hell freely chooses it, since God predestines no one to go to hell. Those who die in God’s grace (in a state of grace), having chosen Him and heaven, begin their journey to heaven. If the person has attachments to sin or imperfections, these are removed in purgatory. Heaven is the blessed communion with God and all who are in Christ. This is beyond all understanding and description, albeit we get glimpses of it in the goodness, beauty and truth we find here on earth.
This month we remember the Four Last Things.
In Christ,
Fr. Barrow
