Resurrection of the dead

The WORD in Other Words by Fr. Deva Savariyappan, SVD (Philippines)

Wednesday 9th Week in Ordinary Time

The 4^th Lateran Council decreed “Christ will come at the end of the world…and all will rise with their own bodies.” Jesus says : “…the time is coming when all the dead will hear his voice and come out of their graves: those who have done good will rise and live, and those who have done evil will rise and be condemned” (John 5,28- 29). In the “Creed” we proclaim our belief in the resurrection of the body and life everlasting.

As to the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, four points can be made:

The doctrine of the final resurrection excludes the theory of reincarnation (the soul after death migrates to another body repeatedly until it is purified). The Church teaches “the one life we live.” Human beings die only once (Heb 9:27)
The veneration of the relics of the saints clearly manifests the Church’s faith in the resurrection of the body
The CCC #2300 teaches us that the bodies of the dead must be treated with respect and charity, in the faith and hope of the resurrection. Burying the dead is a corporal work of mercy, to honor God’s children who are temples of the Holy Spirit.
The resurrection of the dead accords with the coming of “new heavens and the new earth (Rev 21:1) Humankind will attain glory and the entire cosmos will be transformed. (Paul O’Callaghan of Opus Dei)

The question St. Paul poses in the first reading invites us to realize that the Lord invites us to live and move like people who “know the scriptures and the power of God” and not to be misled by people who live and act as if this is the only life.