Diocèse Catholique
Catholic Diocese
Alexandria-Cornwall
Diocèse catholique d'Alexandria-Cornwall Catholic Diocese
220, ch. Montreal Rd, C.P./Box 1388, Cornwall ON K6H 5V4 * 613-933-1138
Beginning at paragraph 45 Pope Benedict speaks about life, death and purgatory.
Links to learn more about Purgatory
Death is weird: it fascinates and repels us at the same time. And life after death is even weirder, because it is so easy to project
our wildest fantasies into a reality that is totally beyond our capacity to imagine. Still, the Christian faith proposes to teach
about this reality in a way which is meaningful, respectful of the mystery and full of hope. This talk seeks to lead its listeners
in a mature reflection on the Catholic understanding of life after death.
Out of the Mouth of Babes!
I was testing the children in my Sunday school class to see if they understood the concept of getting
to heaven. I asked them, 'If I sold my house and my car, had a big garage sale and gave all my money to the church, Would that get
me into Heaven?'
'NO!' the children answered.
'NO!' the children answered.
'If I cleaned the church every day, mowed the yard, and kept everything neat and
tidy, would that get me into Heaven?'
Again, the answer was, 'NO!'
Again, the answer was, 'NO!'
By now I was starting to smile. Hey, this was fun!
'Well,
then, if I was kind to animals and gave candy to all the children, and loved my husband, would that get me into Heaven?'
I asked
them again.
Again, they all answered, 'NO!'
Again, they all answered, 'NO!'
I was just bursting with pride for them. 'Well,' I continued, 'then how can I get
into Heaven?'
A five-year-old boy shouted out,
A five-year-old boy shouted out,
'YOU GOTTA BE DEAD.'
More about the Church's position on Suicide