Advent Parish Mission
A CATHOLIC VIEW OF THE END TIMES
Section 282 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church assures us that knowing what happens at the end of human history is “decisive for the meaning and orientation of our life and actions.” Our view of end times determines our view of salvation history. Knowing what happens at the end of our lives and the end of human history is of supreme importance for understanding why God made us and what He has planned for us both in this life and in the next.
Unfortunately, many people and groups are promoting serious errors about the last things and many Catholics are vulnerable in this area because they do not know the Church’s teaching on the end times. During this mission you will learn the basic teachings of the Catholic Church on the end times; in addition, some of the more common errors will be dealt with.
A correct understanding of the last things helps us live this life with a greater appreciation of how much God loves us and how great a gift we have received in being made in his image. Unlike some pagan religions that believe that human history repeats itself endlessly with no ultimate purpose, we Christians believe that human history in this world is moving toward a climactic finale. This end will fully reveal the meaning of human history.
Videos of 4 Talks
Scroll down to see PowerPoint slides for each talk
1st Video Includes:
Talk 1: The Four Last Things
Talk 2: The Second Coming of Christ
3rd Video includes
Talk 4: Heaven & the New Creation
2nd Video includes:
Talk 3: The Final Judgment
Power Point Slides
Click on the arrows to the right and left of the slide to advance to the next slide.
Slides from Talk 1: The Four Last Things
Below are the slides from the talk: The Final Judgment
Below are the slides for Talk 4: Heaven & the New Creation
The End of the Age
“The Lord has fixed a day, called in the Scriptures the day of the Lord, on which the Eternal Judge will make known his power and majesty….
“After the death of all men, the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again (1 Cor 15:52). Saint Jerome used to say: “As often as I consider the day of judgment, I tremble. Whether I eat, or drink, or whatever else I do, that terrible trumpet appears to sound in my ears, ‘arise, you dead, and come to judgement.’” And Saint Augustine declared that nothing banished from him earthly thoughts so effectually as the fear of judgment.
“At the sound of that trumpet the souls of the blessed shall descend from heaven to be united to the bodies with which they served God on Earth…. Oh! How great shall then be the happiness of those who have mortified their bodies by works of penance! We may estimate their felicity from the words addressed by Saint Peter of Alcantara, after death, to Saint Teresa: “O happy penance, which merited for me such glory!”
“Behold! The heavens are opened – the angels come to assist at the general judgment, carrying, as Saint Thomas says, the sign of the cross and of the other instruments of the Passion of the Redeemer…. Jesus Christ, then with a serene countenance shall say: Come, you blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you form the foundation of the world (Mt 25:34). He will then bless all the tears shed through sorrow for their sins, and all their good works, their prayers, mortifications, and communions; above all, he will bless for them the pains of his passion, and the blood shed for their salvation. And, after these benedictions, the just, singing alleluias, shall enter paradise to praise and love God for all eternity (Source: Saint Aphonsus Liguori, +1787, Magnificat, Vol. 21, No. 6, pp. 26-27).