St. Emile roman
catholic  church

What We Know (and Don’t Know) about Life after Death

"Jesus did not simply speak of a life to come. He revealed such a life and gave us a glimpse of it when he rose from the dead. So when the church proclaims and explains eternal life, she does not do so on the basis of speculation. She saw her Lord risen from the dead. He ate and drank in her company. What the church teaches about our life to come is drawn forth from her understanding of what happened to Jesus."

Read more from Fr. Terrance W. Klein at America (a Jesuit review).

"A martyr is one who dies not for death’s sake, but for Christ’s sake, which makes all the difference in the world. Fr. Romanus Cessario, O.P., explains: 'Theological faith provides the specific adherence that distinguishes Christian martyrdom from political assassination or dying for an ideological cause.' There is a certain passivity in the martyr, which is absent in the suicide bomber: something akin to the passivity of Christ on the cross. The martyr suffers death; he does not seek it."

Read more of Martyrdom: Is It Really About Death? from Dominicans of the Province of St. Joseph on the Word On Fire blog.

Why Christians Believe in Resurrection, Not Reincarnation

"Reincarnation is 'irreconcilable with the Christian belief that a human person is a distinct being, who lives one life, for which he or she is fully responsible: this understanding of the person puts into question both responsibility and freedom'.... A Christian occupies a body, which is able to be judged for its sins, but is also able to participate in Christ’s redemptive work through its suffering...."

Read more from Mary Rezac at Catholic Herald.

God of the Living Shows Us Death is Not the End

"Jesus speaks to us today and reminds us that God 'is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.'  He not only speaks of the resurrection, he is the resurrection.'”

Read more from Msgr. Joseph Prior at Catholic Philly.

What the Church Says about Death

"Most people have an instinctive fear of death, but many also have a conviction that something lies beyond, that death does not have the last word. The Catholic faith is rooted in the belief that God made us to enjoy eternal life with him."

Read more at The Art of Dying Well, a Catholic web site offering "practical and spiritual support to those faced with the prospect of death and dying" from St. Mary's University.