Q U I C K S C A N

Why is eternal life essential to our faith?
What do people think about life after death?
What do Catholic believe?

Readers reflect on Friar Jack’s musings

by Friar Jim Van Vurst, O.F.M.

Why is eternal life essential to our faith?

This is a topic that really excites me for many reasons. We know, of course, that the most significant liturgical feast and a most fundamental doctrine of faith is Jesus’ resurrection. Paul put it so simply: “For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:12ff). In other words, he is saying: If life after death isn’t real, we are just wasting our time. However, this is not the case because we believe with our whole hearts.

In coming issues I want to reflect on heaven, purgatory and hell. We use those words very frequently, but often we are not clear about Catholic teaching on these topics and what our wonderful faith tells us about life after death.

But before I get specific, it is important to settle the underlying question: Is there life after death? Can we prove it?

What do people think about life after death?

There are few questions more intriguing than this one. I did a Google search with these three words: “life after death.” Over 1,910,000 Web sites popped up offering information on this topic. Many of you have heard of or watched the medium John Edwards meet with his studio audience of several hundred. He invariably makes contact with a deceased relative of someone in the audience. Whether we believe him or not is not the point right now. It is that his programs, offered throughout the country and overseas, are sold out months in advance. Further, the Gallup Poll found that 79% of Americans believe that after death they will be judged and sent to heaven or hell. Another poll found that 33% believe in ghosts. Also, 38% believe in reincarnation, though only 22% believe they will be a part of it (ReligiousTolerance.org). Even though polls present a mixed bag of opinions, it is clear that people are intrigued by this topic and related questions.

There are dozens and dozens of books on the so-called “near-death” experience where people describe leaving their bodies at the scene of an accident and later returning to it, seeing their “deceased” bodies on an operating table. Mediums have been around as long as humanity has been on earth. Belief in life after death is not something that began with the revelation of the Old Testament or New Testament. The ancient Egyptians had elaborate after-death rituals to prepare the deceased for “eternal life.” The Chinese, going back 5,000 years, held belief in life after death as seen in their ancestor worship.

The Web site for Radio Bible Class Ministries (RBC.org) lists 10 reasons for believing in life after death. These include: 1) The injustices of life require eternal life; 2) Near-death experiences; 3) Our hearts tell us it is true; 4) The testimony of Scripture; 5) The practical effects if there is no afterlife. On the other hand, there is an atheist Web site from Australia (AtheistFoundation.org.au) that gives reasons against any belief in “life after death.” It concludes that “reaching a full potential of life before death is only afforded to those who reject the notion of life after death.” In their view people who believe in life after death, it seems, are afraid to live life fully.

What do Catholics believe?

What is our belief as Catholics? While there are many good reasons for belief in life after death that even non-believers who don’t subscribe to divine revelations can embrace, our belief is based most specifically on the words of Jesus: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (Jn 11:25). For a Christian, there is no more profound proof than that. There can be no scientific proof since we are dealing with something beyond human experience. Our belief in life after death (and specifics we will talk about later) is based on that fundamental belief in the person of Jesus who is the revealer of the truth. Who is Jesus? The divine son of God, who became flesh, is the way, the truth and the life. It is this Jesus who died and rose. Again, is there scientific proof for Jesus’ resurrection? No. We must trust the words of the eyewitnesses after Jesus’ resurrection.

Interestingly enough, in my 44 years of experience as a priest, having preached hundreds of funerals homilies, I’ve observed that a person’s faith in life is strongest and deepest when a loved one dies. It is death that causes us to believe in life. If we remember we are made in the image and likeness of God—and if God is the source of life—then belief in life after death is imprinted in our very person. If our life is a sharing in God’s own life, then once God gives life, it never ends.

Friar Jack’s Inbox

Readers respond to Friar Jack’s musings on “All Saints Day in the Philippines.”

Dear Friar Jack: In reading your article, I vividly remember the celebration of All Saints Day and All Souls Day in Betis, Guagua, Pampanga, where I was born and grew up. In our town we went to the cemetery for nine days praying, eating and singing around our buried relatives’ graves, which were cleaned and decorated with flowering plants. We went to the cemetery for nine days, saying a novena of prayers for our dead and nine days of Masses in our parish church in the morning. It is a good memory from when I was growing up, and I do miss it when November 1 comes. Thank you for your article, and God bless you. Lourdes

Dear Friar Jack: I was born in Manila and grew up there. After teaching in several schools, I taught at St. Louis University in Baguio City until I retired 33 years later. Now my husband and I are staying with our only daughter and her family in Roselle, New Jersey. We go home to the Philippines every so often. Our four sons and their families are there. I would like to share with you my childhood memories of All Saints Day. The period of time before the Pacific War broke out with the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 is referred to as the “pre-war days.” During the pre-war days, the commemoration of the dead started on the eve of All Souls day. After supper on All Saints Day, our family would go to the cemetery to visit and pray at the tombs above the ground of our grandmother and of our grandaunt. There was no music then, only flowers and candles of all sizes all over the place. As you said, it became a place of meeting old friends and relatives. The event became some sort of homecoming, a reunion. We would go home at midnight. When the Japanese invaded and occupied the Philippines, they enforced a curfew. So the people, instead of going to the cemetery after supper, went there after lunch. They had to be home at sundown. With the return of the Americans that schedule remained. And people started to go to the cemetery in the morning so they could stay all day. They started to have their meals there. Thank you for having been in the Philippines and for your continued interest in its tradition and people. Please remember the country and its people. And thank you for the fond memories. Maria Clara

Dear Friar Jack: It’s an honor for me to know that you acknowledge how we Filipinos celebrate our deceased. We plan ahead to come together on November 1 to pray for them that day. In my family tradition we light candles, bring food to eat, pray together through the night to give our respect and visit with our family members and others. We look forward to this day and make sure that the tombs are painted and weeds are pulled for the occasion. It is a celebration of remembering that has been a tradition as far as I can remember. Here in America, the majority of us Filipinos continue to carry out our traditions on All Saints Day, even if it for just a few hours. Thank you for sharing your own personal experience. EBW

Dear Friar Jack: Greetings from Cebu City, Philippines! Thank you so much for such a magnificent narrative on the Philippines. Everything you wrote about our customs and tradition makes me even prouder of our rich heritage and colorful culture. You should see how our memorial parks look these days. They are pretty much like yours in the West where you see a vast area of grass-covered lawn. People put up collapsible tents that shade them from the sun or rain. Here they pray, talk, play soft music or read, unlike in public cemeteries where vendors can even display and sell there wares. These days allow family members and friends to get together and renew or deepen bonds. As a people, Filipinos are person-centered and community-oriented, thanks be to God! You are among the many who believe in the uniqueness of the Filipino culture, writing about us in fairness to what we are and what we could become. Thank you and God bless! Sister M. Agnes, O.S.F.

Dear Lourdes, Maria Clara, EBW and Sister Agnes: To each of you and many others of Filipino descent who wrote to me from the Philippines or wherever you now make your home, I say a heartfelt “Thank you! And may God bless your homeland!” Though your customs on All Saints Day may vary, they are always filled with a joyful sense of family and hope in the Resurrection. They all reveal a desire to celebrate your precious link with departed loved ones, who now live in glory with the Risen Jesus. As usual, I regret that I cannot personally answer all of your e-mails because of schedule constraints. I want to assure you, however, that I do read each e-mail I receive and pray for each of you and your needs. May God bring you all to peace, good health and fullness of life. Friar Jack

Send your feedback to friarjack@americancatholic.org.

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