We believe in the Resurrection of the body
In our Gospel reading this week the risen Jesus doesn’t just meet odd individuals but the whole group of disciples in their refuge, the Upper Room. The stress is on their meeting a REAL PERSON, not a disembodied ghost or phantom, not ‘a spiritual experience’ but one to touch and who eats a piece of fish in front of them.
The important lesson of this is that in our resurrection to true life, it is the whole person that is raised, not just the soul. Our bodies will be so real that we will be able to eat! We work out our salvation with fingers and toes and other bodily members, and all will be raised to life. It is not just a matter of thoughts and intentions! The whole body is baptised into Christ and is the instrument of our salvation. Our body, like Christ’s, will be changed and we shall be raised as whole persons, body and soul. That is the promise. That is our faith!
A very common misunderstanding is that your body is a shell and only your soul will live on forever. So, it can be tempting to view our body as only a vehicle for our soul, something that is a “necessary evil.” This false belief can be found throughout history and is still prevalent today.
Unfortunately, it can have a negative impact on the way we live our lives and is a philosophy, a false teaching, a heresy, that runs directly counter to the Catholic Church’s revealed truth. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states that both body and soul have great dignity and are meant to be united. It says:-
‘For this reason, man may not despise his bodily life. Rather he is obliged to regard his body as good and to hold it in honour since God has created it and will raise it up on the last day.’ CCC 364
It is important to note that Catholics believe in the resurrection of the body, we state it each week in the creed. This means that after our death, we will eventually be reunited with our body for all eternity.
In death, the separation of the soul from the body, the human body decays and the soul goes to meet God, while awaiting its reunion with its glorified body. God, in his almighty power, will definitively grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls, through the power of Jesus’ Resurrection. CCC 997
Death is something unnatural, as it separates what should be united. This is one of the reasons why Jesus’ resurrection was called “good news,” Gospel. It meant that no longer would our souls be isolated from our bodies, but that at the end of time they will be reunited for all eternity. If we think of our body as only a shell, then we can do whatever we want with it! Our health does not matter, nor does it matter if we sin with our body. However, Catholics believe that our body has great dignity, and that what we do with our bodies also affects our soul. As St Paul teaches, our bodies our Temples of the Holy Spirit. We are not mere animals, who are not bound by any moral laws. We are children of God, destined for eternal bliss with our Heavenly Father. We are to treasure our bodies and use them well.
May we live as children of a loving Father, treating our body with care, knowing that it will be with us (in a glorified state) for all eternity.
Fr David Jones OLW
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