L. Of The Resurrection
L. OF THE RESURRECTION
(A)
What will happen immediately after the great conflagration?
There will be heard an order, a voice, the sound of a trumpet, so speaks St. Paul in his First Epistle to the Thessalonians, which will awaken the dead from their tombs, and command all men to stand before the Judge of the living and the dead; and this Judge will descend from heaven in all the glory of His majesty (LXXV. 1).
Which are those who will come to life at this moment?
All those who were already dead; and also all those who are still living when Jesus Christ appears.
But how can these last also rise from the dead?
In this wise: if all comes to be as it were instantaneously as St. Paul seems to say (1 Cor., chap. xv., ver. 51), by the power of God all those human beings who are living will die an instantaneous death, and will rise again immediately in the state which they have merited and which will be theirs for all eternity (LXXVIII. 1, 2).
Will the bodies of all the just who rise from the dead be instantaneously transformed and become glorious?
Yes.
But will these bodies now resplendent with glory be the same bodies that the just had when they lived this life?
Yes, they will be the same bodies with this difference, that there will be no imperfections or troubles or sicknesses such as they were subject to on earth; on the contrary, these bodies will have perfections that will in some sense spiritualise them (LXXIX.-LXXXI.).
How can all this come about?
By the almighty power of God, who having created all things can change and transform them as He wills.
(B)
What are these new perfections or properties of the glorified risen body?
They are impassibility, subtlety, agility, and clarity.
What is impassibility?
It is that property of the glorified body whereby the soul has perfect dominion over the body in such wise that no defect and no suffering or sickness whatsoever can be in the body (LXXXII. 1).
Will this impassibility be the same in all?
Yes, in the sense that there can be no defect in the body which is perfectly under the dominion of the soul; but the power of this dominion will be proportioned to the glory of the soul, which will be different according to the degree in which the soul participates in the beatific vision (LXXXII. 2).
Will it follow from this impassibility that the glorified body will be devoid of sensibility?
In no wise; it will have, on the contrary, a sensibility that is exquisite in the highest possible degree, with no admixture whatsoever of imperfection. Hence the eye of the glorified body will see in an incomparable degree more readily and more piercingly than in this life; the ear will have a sensitiveness without compare. So with all the other senses; each will attain its object with an intensity of perfection impossible for us now to imagine, and this without an object ever injuring the sense as so often happens in this life (LXXXII. 3, 4).
(C)
What is the property of subtlety in a glorified body?
Subtlety will consist in a superlative perfection of the body due to the influence of the glorified soul; this influence will impart to the body something so pure and ethereal that it will cease to have that heaviness or density that it has now on earth; but this property in no way detracts from the true nature of the body as though it thereby becomes unreal, aeriform, or a phantom.
Will a glorified body on account of its subtlety be able to occupy the same place as another body? and is it itself independent of all place, or does it occupy space?
The glorified body cannot occupy the same place as another body, for it retains always its own dimensions or quantity, and consequently it will always be in a place and in space (LXXXIII. 2).
It was not then by reason of the property of subtlety that the risen Body of our Lord passed through closed doors?
No, this was a miracle and was performed by the divine power of Jesus Christ; in the same way it was by the divine power that our Lord was born without prejudicing the virginity of Mary His Mother (LXXXIII. 2, Obj. 1).
(D)
What is the property of agility in the glorified body?
It is a certain perfection in the body derived from the glorified soul whereby the body will obey in the most marvellously ready manner all the movements of the soul which is its motive principle (LXXXIV. 1).
Will the saints make use of this property?
They will most certainly use it when they have to come to the judgment of Jesus Christ on the last day, and when they ascend to heaven with Him. It is also probable they will use this gift according as they will in order to manifest the divine wisdom in conferring this gift upon them; and also in order to appreciate better the beauty of all things in the universe in which the wisdom of God will shine forth (LXXXIV. 2).
Will the bodies of the saints be moved instantaneously by virtue of agility?
No; their movements will always require duration in time, except that so rapid will be their movement that this duration will be imperceptible (LXXXI V. 3).
(E)
What is the fourth property which is called clarity?
By this is meant that the splendour of the soul will shine as it were through the body, so that the body will be as it were luminous and transparent; but this will not detract from the natural colour of the body, but will rather harmonize with it, imparting to it the most exquisite beauty (LXXXV. 1).
Will this clarity be the same in all?
No, it will be proportioned to the degree of glory proper to each soul; and for this reason St. Paul speaks of a variety among the glorified bodies: "One is the glory of the sun, another of the moon, and another the glory of the stars. For star differeth from star in glory" (First Epistle to Cor., chap. xv., ver. 41).
Will it be possible for the eye of a non-glorified body to see this clarity of the glorified body?
Yes; and the lost will perceive it in all its splendour (LXXXV. 2).
Will it be in the power of the soul to permit or not to permit this clarity of its glorified body to be seen?
Yes, for this clarity comes entirely from the soul and is entirely subject to it (LXXXV. 3).
(F)
In what state or at what age will the bodies of the blessed rise?
They will all rise at that age in which human nature is in its most perfect state of development (LXXXI. 1).
Will it be the same as regards the bodies of the damned?
Yes, except that they will have none of the four qualities of the glorified body (ibid.).
Does it follow that the bodies of the damned will be corruptible?
In no wise, for corruptibility and death will be no more (LXXXVI. 2).
They will then be at the same time passible and immortal?
Yes, God has so arranged in His justice and power that the bodies of the damned will never corrupt or be destroyed, and yet all things, especially the fire of hell, will be for them a cause of suffering and torture (LXXXVI. 2, 3).
(G)
As regards children that die without baptism what will the state of their bodies be?
They will rise in the most perfect state of a human being in nature, but without the properties of the glorified body; but they will never suffer any sorrow or pain (cf. Appendix, I. a).