Last Things Last Things

Word Association Activity Each group will receive a word and make a list for one minute. Associate any words that come to mind. Death Heaven Hell Purgatory Have group share their words …just call out to the whole group. Word Association Activity

Meditation

Catholics see afterlife , like earthly life, as a kind of process All life –from conception to birth to death and beyond is a continuum. Throughout this continuum, God is intimately present with us in a special way through Jesus and the Spirit. At every stage, God is actively helping us

Afterlife is not to be understood in literal terms. It is not about certain chambers or places in various locations. Instead afterlife is about continued relationship with God in new states of being

vi·at·i·cum vīˈatikəm,vē-/ Death Death -The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is administered to bring spiritual and even physical strength during an illness, especially near the time of death.  ”The Anointing of the Sick "is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as anyone of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the fitting time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived” (CCC1514). Viaticum (CCC1524) - The Church offers those who are about to leave this life the Eucharist as Viaticum. Communion in the body and blood of Christ , received at this moment of “passing over” to the Father has a particular significance and importance. It is the seed of eternal life and the power of resurrection according to the Lord: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. The sacrament of Christ once dead and now risen, the Eucharist is here the sacrament of passing over, from death to life, from this world to the Father. “Thus, just as the sacrament of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist form a unity called the “Sacraments of Christian Initiation,” so too it can be said that Penance, Anointing of the Sick, and the Eucharist as viaticum constitute at the end of Christian life, “the Sacraments that prepare for our heavenly homeland” or the Sacraments that complete the earthly pilgrimage (CCC1525). vi·at·i·cum vīˈatikəm,vē-/

Go forth, Christian soul, from this world  in the name of God the almighty Father,  who created you,  in the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, who suffered for you,  in the name of the Holy Spirit,  who was poured out upon you.  Go forth, faithful Christian! The Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus views it as a step towards him and an entrance into everlasting life. When the Church for the last time speaks Christ's words of pardon and absolution over the dying Christian, seals him for the last time with a strengthening anointing, and gives him Christ in viaticum as nourishment  for the journey, she speaks  with gentle assurance: (CCC 1020) Have three different participants read.

May you live in peace this day,  may your home be with God in Zion,  with Mary, the virgin Mother of God,  with Joseph, and all the angels and saints. . . .

May you return to [your Creator]  who formed you from the dust of the earth.  May holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints  come to meet you as you go forth from this life. . . .May you see your Redeemer face to face. 

Heaven Heaven is ultimate in joy, happiness, fulfillment and oneness. So much so that heaven itself is beyond our wildest imagination. Therefore, the Scriptures speak of heaven in metaphors…As banquet, Kingdom, feast. 1023 Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they "see him as he is," face to face:598 By virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints . . . and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death, . . .) already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature.599 1024 This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed - is called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. 1025 To live in heaven is "to be with Christ." The elect live "in Christ,” but they retain, or rather find, their true identity, their own name.601 For life is to be with Christ; where Christ is, there is life, there is the kingdom. Heaven

Although the Church teaches that hell is a real possibility because of human free will, The Church does not teach that anyone is in Hell or that anyone ever will be. Hell would be the result of a person’s freely choosing that state over choosing to be in In relationship with God or others. The image of Hell as burning fire originated in Jewish tradition. A place on the boundary between the tribes of Judah and Benjamin was considered unholy because it was the site of a shrine where human sacrifices were offered. Gospel writers drew from visions of this terrible place to vividly illustrate the suffering and darkness a person would experience by turning away from God who is love. The Evangelists purpose was to emphasize the urgency of following Christ. CCC 1033 We cannot be united with God unless we freely choose to love him. But we cannot love God if we sin gravely against him, against our neighbor or against ourselves: "He who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."612 Our Lord warns us that we shall be separated from him if we fail to meet the serious needs of the poor and the little ones who are his brethren.613 To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called "hell." Hell

Purgatory Purgatory is understood as that part of the continuum for those who have died but are not yet ready or able to enter into the complete joy and perfect, unlimited love. Purgatory is a process by which God helps people let go of their sinfulness and find their way into heaven. CCC 1030 All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. 1031 The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned.606 The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire: Purgatory

Works Cited “What’s Next? A Word Association on the After life.” “Catholic Life and Practice. Adult Faith Formation Strategies, Thomas Zanzig and and Shirley Kelter, Eds.,” pp. 24-25. “I Believe in Life Everlasting.” Catechism of the Catholic Church, Par. 1020-1065, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm