Day 136: Questions of Resurrection (997-1004)

• It’s Day 136!!

• We are in the first day of the 1000’s!! (Paragraphs)

• Paragraph 997 says, “What is ‘rising’?”

• Paragraph 998 says, “Who will rise?”

• Paragraph 999 says, “How?”

• Paragraph 1000 says, “This ‘how’ exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith.”

• Paragraph 1001 says, “When?”

• Great questions!!

• It’s almost like the Baltimore Catechism which is in question & answer format

• RISEN IN CHRIST

• What are we expecting?

• Tomorrow we get to talk about DYING IN CHRIST and THE MEANING OF CHRISTIAN DEATH

• Death is TRANSFORMED by Jesus Christ even though it is a consequence of sin

• What is death?

• It is separation of the soul from the body

• AND YET…

• We have HOPE that Jesus Christ in the Power of His Resurrection, our body and souls will be reunited in such a way that we can give God GLORY body and soul in Eternity in Heaven

• So let’s pray!!

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we pray in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. We give you thanks. We ask you by the Power of your Holy Spirit to receive our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. All that you have done for us in Christ. All that you have done for us in the Power of your Holy Spirit. All that you have done for us that we do not even know, Lord God. There is so much that we do not know. Not only what you have done for us in the past, but also what you have in store for us in the future. There is so much that we do not know and so we give you praise ahead of time. We give you praise for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, that you accomplished already. We give you praise for our future resurrection. We ask you God, please help us to live in such a way that we come to the resurrection of glory, that we come to the resurrection of life and not to the resurrection of judgment. Help us to live in such a way saying yes to your Grace. That for all Eternity we can praise and glorify you. We can love you with everything we are. Help us to begin that today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen”

• So there we have it!!

• THIS IS INCREDIBLE!!

• It’s the question and answer kind of section

• Paragraph 997 says, “What is ‘rising’? 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.”

• Paragraph 998 says, “Who will rise? 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.”

• EVERYONE gets their body back

• Those in Heaven will get their body back for ETERNITY after the Last Day

• Those who are in Hell, separated from God, will get their body back for ETERNITY in Hell after the Last Day

• Paragraph 999 says, “How? Christ is raised with his own body…Christ ‘will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body,’ into a ‘spiritual body’...”

• Paragraph 1000 says, “This ‘how’ exceeds our imagination and understanding; it is accessible only to faith.”

• AND YET…

• This happens RIGHT NOW at every Mass

• St. Irenaeus says in Paragraph 1000, “Just as bread that comes from the earth, after God’s blessing has been invoked upon it, is no longer ordinary bread, but Eucharist, formed of two things, the one earthly and the other heavenly: so too our bodies, which partake of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, but possess the hope of the resurrection.” 🤯 🤯 🤯

• It LOOKS like bread and wine

• BUT…

• It is now something NEW

• Similarly, you will get your body back

• Christ resurrected from the dead looked like Jesus

• BUT…

• DIFFERENT

• NEW

• TRANSFORMED 

• SOME KIND OF NEW THING

• How does that happen?

• MYSTERY!!

• Paragraph 1001 says, “When?”

• It doesn’t happen now

• Right now there are not people in Heaven with their bodies EXCEPT for Jesus and Mary 

• Mary has been ASSUMED into Heaven BODY AND SOUL

• So we believe that there is a MALE body and a FEMALE body in Heaven

• Also maybe Elijah who was taken up to Heaven in a whirlwind 

• Also maybe Enoch who is mentioned in Genesis

• So those are 3 or 4 bodies that are in Heaven now

• Everyone else will get their body on the Last Day

• If you are MALE you will have a MALE body in Eternity

• If you are FEMALE you will have a FEMALE body in Eternity

• You will have YOUR body in Eternity

• BUT…

• IT IS TRANSFORMED!!

• What does that look like?

• What does Christ’s body look like in Eternity?

• What will YOUR body look like in Eternity?

• Because of BAPTISM we are already participating in this

• Paragraph 1002 says, “For, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, Christian life is already now on earth a participation in the death and Resurrection of Christ…”

• Paragraph 1003 says, “United with Christ by Baptism, believers already truly participate in the heavenly life of the risen Christ, but this life remains ‘hidden with Christ in God.’...we already belong to the Body of Christ. When we rise on the last day we ‘also will appear with him in glory.’”

• Because of that, we treat our bodies differently

• Because of that, we treat OTHER people’s bodies differently

• Your body is NOT just a husk, shell, cage, or trap

• Your body is NOT arbitrary

• BUT…

• You are your body

• Your body is you

• Your body is destined to endure in ETERNITY when you get it back on the Last Day

• Either to GLORY IN HEAVEN

• OR

• ETERNAL SHAME IN HELL

• We are commanded to glorify God in our body

• We are commanded to recognize that other people have dignity in their body

• Not just their soul and intellect

• How we treat other people’s bodies MATTERS

• If you are your body what you do with your body MATTERS

• St. Paul says in Paragraph 1004, “The body [is meant] for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And GOd raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ?...You are not your own;...So glorify God in your body.”

• So right now wherever you are listening to this…

• Driving in your car…

• Walking…

• Out for a run…

• Maybe you are stuck in your bed…

• Maybe you are sick and unable to move your body…

• The Lord will give YOU a resurrected body that will be able to do all the things you wish your body could still do

• THAT BODY IS COMING!!

• This is what we BELIEVE

• This is what we PROFESS

• This is what we PROCLAIM

• THAT RESURRECTED BODY WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU!!

• But right now even if all you can do is lay in a bed…

• Even if all you can do is sit in your car…

• Even if all you can do is limp…

• EVERYTHING you can do with your body can GLORIFY THE LORD

• Even scratching your face or blinking

• EVERYTHING you can do with your body can GLORIFY THE LORD

• SO BLINK FOR THE LORD’S GLORY!!

• WALK FOR THE LORD’S GLORY!!

• SMILE AT SOMEONE FOR THE LORD’S GLORY!!

• LAY IN THAT BED AND EXPERIENCE A LACK OF STRENGTH IN THAT BODY FOR THE LORD’S GLORY!!

• EVERYTHING WE DO IN OUR BODY IS MEANT TO BE FOR HIS GLORY!!

• GLORIFY GOD IN YOUR BODY NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO!!

• WHAT A GIFT!!

• MY GOSH!!

• You have a body right now, listening to this podcast

• GLORIFY GOD AS YOU LISTEN!!

• LET HIM BE GLORIFIED IN ETERNITY AS HE GIVES US BACK OUR RESURRECTED BODIES!!

• LET’S PRAY FOR THAT!!

• There is something about this that REQUIRES FAITH

• There is something about this that DEMANDS that we recognize that God is going to do something in you and through you that you cannot even understand or imagine

• WE CAN JUST TRUST GOD!!

• Let us pray for each other that we continue to walk in trust and GLORIFY GOD IN OUR BODIES!!

• Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!

• Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!

• I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!