Those who remember preconciliar priests delivering homilies or reading from their own writings will recall how persuasive they used to be when speaking about death, judgement, hell and heaven. The hearers had a good occasion to take stock of their life and, if necessary, change their evil ways.

Pope John Paul II dedicates a whole chapter to this subject in his book “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” (which consists of replies to questions put to him by the Italian journalist, Vittorio Messori). One of the questions was: “Your Holiness, do heaven, purgatory, and hell still exist? Why do many Churchmen comment interminably upon topical issues, but hardly ever speak to us about eternity, about the ultimate union with God that, as faith teaches, remains man’s vocation, man’s destiny, and ultimate end?” (JOHN PAUL II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, edited by V.Messori, London 1994 p.178). In his reply the Pope says that “Let’s remember that not so long ago, in sermons during retreats or missions, the Last Things - death, judgment, heaven, hell and purgatory - were always a standard part of the program of meditation and preachers knew how to speak of them in an effective and evocative way. How many people were drawn to conversion and confession by these sermons and reflections on the Last Things!” (JOHN PAUL II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, edited by V.Messori, London 1994 p.179).

The Pope also mentions how Vatican II widened the scope about this subject from a personal eschatology to a cosmic one. But the Pope lamented that few preachers and catechists give due importance to such a key tenet of the salvific message of Christianity.

Vatican II
The Council’s main points are:

* The Church to which we belong has no end, except in the eternal glory.
* The world itself, since it is closely tied to man finds its end in Christ and is renewed by him.
* The Eucharist is the meal which will give us life eternal.
* The renewal of man, begun by Christ, strengthened by the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, will be continued by the Church.
* The renewal is, to a certain extent, already being felt in the world. The pilgrim Church is adorned with holiness, even if she is imperfect in her members.

Hell
In our time, because of the many disasters, both those caused by Nature and especially those inflicted by man on man (wars, concentration camps, gulags), there has grown the tendency to regard Hell as being here on Earth, not in the beyond.

The subject of Hell was sometimes a headache for some theologians. Origen went so far as to say that even the devils will in the end, after a long painful purification, be united to God. In our own century, Hans Urs von Bathasar found it difficult to reconcile God’s infinite love with the eternal suffering of Hell.

On his part the Pope reiterates the orthodox teaching of the Church: “At the same time, however, there is something in man’s moral conscience itself that rebels against any loss of this conviction: Is not God who is Love also ultimate Justice? Can He tolerate these terrible crimes, can they go unpunished? Isn’t final punishment in some way necessary in order to reestablish moral equilibrium in the complex history of humanity? Is not hell in a certain sense the ultimate safeguard of man’s moral conscience?” (JOHN PAUL II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, edited by V.Messori, London 1994 p.185).

The catechetical approach
Although the times and mentalities have changed, the reality of man’s destiny beyond the grave cannot be sidelined without distorting Catholic doctrine. “The Church still has its eschatological awareness. It still leads man to eternal life. If the Church should cease to do so, it would cease being faithful to its vocation, to the New Covenant, which God has made with it in Jesus Christ” (JOHN PAUL II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, edited by V.Messori, London 1994 p.187).

What is needed is a certain attention to priorities in dealing with such matters. The hearer should first of all be introduced to God’s love for us; God even sent his Son, who became like us in all things save sin. Out of love, Jesus Christ, the Holy One, suffered a terrible death, so that we can have life eternal in Heaven. Through his sacramental grace he helps us to do his Father’s will. He gives us all the means to keep away from Hell.

In speaking about the last things, mention ought also to be made of Purgatory. The Bible speaks of a fire that cleanses. Pope Benedict XII in 1336 affirmed Purgatory as being part of the integral teaching of the Catholic Church. The mystic Saint John of the Cross speaks of a gradual cleansing that begins here on earth during what he calls the nights of the senses and spirit, which will culminate in man’s union with God. During these nights, man suffers and feels abandoned by God, but humbles himself and regrets his faults.

These short points can be a help to every catechist in order to present in a concise and clear way the eschatological message which is still valid today.

Bibliography
The Christian Faith in the Doctrinal documents of the Catholic Church, edited by J.Neuner-J.Dupuis, New York 1982.
DENZINGER Heinrich, Enchiridion symbolorum,definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum, a cura di Peter Hunermann, Bologna 1996.
Saint John of the Cross, The Collected Works, Washington 1979.
 
 

This is a translation.