44. The Conclusion of the Redemption: Jesus Christ’s Glorification
We should recall that, although the sacrifice of Christ’s death is the culminating moment of the work of salvation, his entire life is redemptive. Thus, the events that follow the death of Christ on the cross also have a redemptive value.
40. Jesus Christ’s Descent into Hell
After his death, Jesus Christ descended into the limbo of the just in his soul, that is, without his body (de fide).
Sacred Scripture tells us: “In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens” (Eph 4:9–10). The Scripture calls this place hades or sheol.
The symbols of the faith teach this truth: “he [Jesus Christ] descended into hell,”1 and the Fourth Lateran Council clarifies, “He descended into hell … but he descended with his soul.”2
The Fathers of the Church offer unanimous testimony to the descent of Christ’s soul into the limbo of the just as well. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote that Jesus Christ went down to sheol and “resurrected from the dead all those prophets who had been his disciples in spirit and who had waited for him as their master.”3
Jesus did not go down to liberate the damned from hell or to destroy hell.4 The Church teaches that Jesus Christ went down to hell to free the souls of the just who were waiting in limbo (or the bosom of Abraham). Jesus did this by applying the fruits of the Redemption to them and making them share in the beatific vision of God in heaven.5
41. Jesus Christ’s Resurrection
On the third day after his death, Jesus Christ gloriously rose from the dead (de fide).
Sacred Scripture proclaims, “And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus” (Acts 13:32–33). The Resurrection of Christ is the fundamental truth on which our faith is based since, as St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.… If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:14, 19). The truth of the divinity of Jesus is confirmed by his Resurrection: “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he” (Jn 8:28).
The Church affirms the truth of the Resurrection of Jesus in all the symbols of the faith and in her most solemn Magisterium.6 The Resurrection of the Messiah is foretold in the Old Testament: “For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see the Pit” (Ps 16:10). Christ’s Resurrection was the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus announces categorically that he will rise from the dead three days after his death (cf. Mt 12:40, Jn 2:19).
The empty sepulcher, the apparition to Mary Magdalene and the holy women (they were the first to announce Christ’s Resurrection to the apostles), the numerous apparitions to his disciples, the conversations he had with them, and the encounters in which he even ate or allowed them to touch him (cf. Mt 28; Mk 16; Lk 24; Jn 20–21) all prove the historical reality of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Jesus appeared first to Peter, then to the twelve apostles (cf. 1 Cor 15:5). Peter, who would be called to confirm his brethren in the faith, saw the risen Christ before the rest of the apostles. Upon Peter’s testimony, the community exclaimed: “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” (Lk 24:34). The Resurrection of Jesus is the central theme of the apostles’ preaching, who “gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).
St. Paul speaks of Jesus Christ appearing once to more than five hundred people (cf. 1 Cor 15:4–8). Considering the weight of all this testimony, it is impossible to interpret the Resurrection of Christ outside the physical and historical realm. Further, the apostles’ testimony was not the result of a mystical exaltation. Scripture presents them “looking sad” (Lk 24:17).
Jesus Christ rose in a glorious state and, from then on, his glorious body was not subject to the limitations of time and space, yet it was not merely “a spirit.” The glorious body of Jesus retained the wounds and the signs of the Passion as a manifestation of his triumph over death and as effective signs of his perpetual priestly mediation in heaven: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing” (Jn 20:27). The Resurrection of Jesus and the glorification of his humanity are the rewards for the humiliation of his Passion and death on the cross. Jesus’ Resurrection was not like the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, Lazarus, or the young man at Naim, for the latter people returned to their ordinary, earthly lives. The risen body of Christ is full of the Holy Spirit and shares the glorious divine life, never to die again.
Through his death, Christ liberates us from sin. Through his Resurrection, he gives us access to new life. The Resurrection of Jesus brings the Redemption of the human race to its fulfillment, because it is the figure of our own spiritual resurrection from the death of sin, and because it is the foretaste of our physical resurrection at the end of the world. It accomplishes our adoption as children of God, as Jesus said, “Go and tell my brethren” (Mt 28:10).
Christ’s Resurrection is also the source and beginning of our future resurrection: “But in fact Christ has been raised form the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:20, 22).
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest of his miracles, and, since it is the fulfillment of his prophecies, it is the most decisive apologetic argument of the truth of his teaching.
42. Jesus Christ’s Ascension into Heaven
Jesus Christ went up to heaven in body and soul and sits at the right hand of God the Father (de fide).
The symbols of the faith teach us that Jesus Christ “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.”7
Apart from presenting the words of Jesus by which he announces his Ascension into heaven (cf. Jn 6:63), Sacred Scripture describes the historic fact of his Ascension, a scene witnessed by many: “The Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mk 16:19; cf. Lk 24:51; Acts 1:9ff; Eph 4:8; Heb 4:14).
Jesus Christ went up to heaven by his own power. As God, he did so by his divine power. As man, he accomplished it through the power of his glorified soul, which is able to bring the body wherever it wills.
The Ascension into heaven is the definitive glorification of the human nature of Jesus Christ. With respect to our salvation, it is the definitive consummation of his work of Redemption.
Jesus Christ, God and man, entered into glory with the souls of the just who had died before the Redemption. From heaven, he prepares a place for us, effectively intercedes for us (cf. Jn 14:2ff; Heb 7:25), is the only mediator of grace—a position that he merited through the Redemption—and sends the Holy Spirit to us. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. He who existed as the Son of God before all centuries—true God consubstantial with the Father—is now seated with his body, after it was incarnated and glorified.8
43. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, or Parousia
Jesus Christ will come with glory and majesty at the end of time to judge the world (de fide).
Sacred Scripture affirms this truth on several occasions. For this reason, the Magisterium of the Church holds, “From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”9
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Christ, the Lord, reigns through the Church, but the things of this world are not yet subjected to him. The forces of evil continue to attack mankind.10
On the Day of Judgment at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to accomplish the definitive triumph of good over evil. He will reveal the secret dispositions of people’s hearts and reward each one according to his or her deeds and acceptance or rejection of God’s grace.
Footnotes:
1. DS 11–36.
2. DS 801; cf. CCC, 631–637.
3. St. Ignatius of Antioch, Magn. 9.2.
4. Cf. DS 587, 1011, 1077.
5. Roman Catechism, 1.6.6.
6. Cf. CCC, 638–658.
7. DS 11–36; cf. CCC, 659–667.
8. Cf. St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth., 4.2; CCC, 663.
9. DS 11–36; cf. CCC, 668–682.
10. Cf. CCC, 671.
40. Jesus Christ’s Descent into Hell
After his death, Jesus Christ descended into the limbo of the just in his soul, that is, without his body (de fide).
Sacred Scripture tells us: “In saying, ‘He ascended,’ what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens” (Eph 4:9–10). The Scripture calls this place hades or sheol.
The symbols of the faith teach this truth: “he [Jesus Christ] descended into hell,”1 and the Fourth Lateran Council clarifies, “He descended into hell … but he descended with his soul.”2
The Fathers of the Church offer unanimous testimony to the descent of Christ’s soul into the limbo of the just as well. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote that Jesus Christ went down to sheol and “resurrected from the dead all those prophets who had been his disciples in spirit and who had waited for him as their master.”3
Jesus did not go down to liberate the damned from hell or to destroy hell.4 The Church teaches that Jesus Christ went down to hell to free the souls of the just who were waiting in limbo (or the bosom of Abraham). Jesus did this by applying the fruits of the Redemption to them and making them share in the beatific vision of God in heaven.5
41. Jesus Christ’s Resurrection
On the third day after his death, Jesus Christ gloriously rose from the dead (de fide).
Sacred Scripture proclaims, “And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus” (Acts 13:32–33). The Resurrection of Christ is the fundamental truth on which our faith is based since, as St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.… If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:14, 19). The truth of the divinity of Jesus is confirmed by his Resurrection: “When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he” (Jn 8:28).
The Church affirms the truth of the Resurrection of Jesus in all the symbols of the faith and in her most solemn Magisterium.6 The Resurrection of the Messiah is foretold in the Old Testament: “For thou dost not give me up to Sheol, or let thy godly one see the Pit” (Ps 16:10). Christ’s Resurrection was the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. In the New Testament, Jesus announces categorically that he will rise from the dead three days after his death (cf. Mt 12:40, Jn 2:19).
The empty sepulcher, the apparition to Mary Magdalene and the holy women (they were the first to announce Christ’s Resurrection to the apostles), the numerous apparitions to his disciples, the conversations he had with them, and the encounters in which he even ate or allowed them to touch him (cf. Mt 28; Mk 16; Lk 24; Jn 20–21) all prove the historical reality of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection. Jesus appeared first to Peter, then to the twelve apostles (cf. 1 Cor 15:5). Peter, who would be called to confirm his brethren in the faith, saw the risen Christ before the rest of the apostles. Upon Peter’s testimony, the community exclaimed: “The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!” (Lk 24:34). The Resurrection of Jesus is the central theme of the apostles’ preaching, who “gave their testimony of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all” (Acts 4:33).
St. Paul speaks of Jesus Christ appearing once to more than five hundred people (cf. 1 Cor 15:4–8). Considering the weight of all this testimony, it is impossible to interpret the Resurrection of Christ outside the physical and historical realm. Further, the apostles’ testimony was not the result of a mystical exaltation. Scripture presents them “looking sad” (Lk 24:17).
Jesus Christ rose in a glorious state and, from then on, his glorious body was not subject to the limitations of time and space, yet it was not merely “a spirit.” The glorious body of Jesus retained the wounds and the signs of the Passion as a manifestation of his triumph over death and as effective signs of his perpetual priestly mediation in heaven: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing” (Jn 20:27). The Resurrection of Jesus and the glorification of his humanity are the rewards for the humiliation of his Passion and death on the cross. Jesus’ Resurrection was not like the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter, Lazarus, or the young man at Naim, for the latter people returned to their ordinary, earthly lives. The risen body of Christ is full of the Holy Spirit and shares the glorious divine life, never to die again.
Through his death, Christ liberates us from sin. Through his Resurrection, he gives us access to new life. The Resurrection of Jesus brings the Redemption of the human race to its fulfillment, because it is the figure of our own spiritual resurrection from the death of sin, and because it is the foretaste of our physical resurrection at the end of the world. It accomplishes our adoption as children of God, as Jesus said, “Go and tell my brethren” (Mt 28:10).
Christ’s Resurrection is also the source and beginning of our future resurrection: “But in fact Christ has been raised form the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.… For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:20, 22).
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest of his miracles, and, since it is the fulfillment of his prophecies, it is the most decisive apologetic argument of the truth of his teaching.
42. Jesus Christ’s Ascension into Heaven
Jesus Christ went up to heaven in body and soul and sits at the right hand of God the Father (de fide).
The symbols of the faith teach us that Jesus Christ “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father.”7
Apart from presenting the words of Jesus by which he announces his Ascension into heaven (cf. Jn 6:63), Sacred Scripture describes the historic fact of his Ascension, a scene witnessed by many: “The Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God” (Mk 16:19; cf. Lk 24:51; Acts 1:9ff; Eph 4:8; Heb 4:14).
Jesus Christ went up to heaven by his own power. As God, he did so by his divine power. As man, he accomplished it through the power of his glorified soul, which is able to bring the body wherever it wills.
The Ascension into heaven is the definitive glorification of the human nature of Jesus Christ. With respect to our salvation, it is the definitive consummation of his work of Redemption.
Jesus Christ, God and man, entered into glory with the souls of the just who had died before the Redemption. From heaven, he prepares a place for us, effectively intercedes for us (cf. Jn 14:2ff; Heb 7:25), is the only mediator of grace—a position that he merited through the Redemption—and sends the Holy Spirit to us. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father. He who existed as the Son of God before all centuries—true God consubstantial with the Father—is now seated with his body, after it was incarnated and glorified.8
43. The Second Coming of Jesus Christ, or Parousia
Jesus Christ will come with glory and majesty at the end of time to judge the world (de fide).
Sacred Scripture affirms this truth on several occasions. For this reason, the Magisterium of the Church holds, “From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead.”9
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Christ, the Lord, reigns through the Church, but the things of this world are not yet subjected to him. The forces of evil continue to attack mankind.10
On the Day of Judgment at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to accomplish the definitive triumph of good over evil. He will reveal the secret dispositions of people’s hearts and reward each one according to his or her deeds and acceptance or rejection of God’s grace.
Footnotes:
1. DS 11–36.
2. DS 801; cf. CCC, 631–637.
3. St. Ignatius of Antioch, Magn. 9.2.
4. Cf. DS 587, 1011, 1077.
5. Roman Catechism, 1.6.6.
6. Cf. CCC, 638–658.
7. DS 11–36; cf. CCC, 659–667.
8. Cf. St. John Damascene, De Fide Orth., 4.2; CCC, 663.
9. DS 11–36; cf. CCC, 668–682.
10. Cf. CCC, 671.