The ecclesial dimension of Christian existence in death
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15633/pch.930Keywords:
Christian existence in death, ecclesial dimension, purgatory, suffragesAbstract
This article draws attention to one of the important dimensions of the Christian vision of death, namely its ecclesial dimension. Human existence, after the pilgrimage, is not a solitary existence. Since the Church is one, as we profess in the Creed, all those who belong to Christ, both the living and the dead, belong to the one reality of the Church. The dead are thus not just pious memories in the human mind, but a continuing real presence in the Church, each according to one’s proper state. The Second Vatican Council recalled the three dimensions of the Church - the earthly, heavenly, and the being at the stage of purification. Since ancient times, the Church prays and encourages prayers for the dead, and recalls the communication of spiritual goods. While individual persons are responsible for their actions, including the preparation of the definitive meeting with the Lord, the whole Church still intercedes for them. With the reality of purgatory, which is, in fact, an experience of the mercy of God, persons closely united to Christ and His Church are able to achieve the measure of sanctification, which they failed to achieve during their earthly life.
References
Ancona G., Escatologia cristiana, (Nuovo corso di teologia sistematica, 13), Brescia 2003, ed. Queriniana.
Bordoni M. – Ciola N., Gesù nostra speranza. Saggio di escatologia in prospettiva trinitaria, Bologna 1988, ed. EDB.
Camillò R., Cose dell’Altro Mondo. I Novissimi e dintorni, Verona 2011, ed. Fede & Cultura.
Casale U., Il mistero della Chiesa. Saggio di ecclesiologia, Torino 1998, ed. Elle Di Ci.
Castellucci E., Nella pienezza della gioia pasquale. La centralità dell’ermeneutica nell’escatologia cristiana, Bologna 1998, ed. ESD.
Denzinger H., Hünermann P., (a cura di), Enchiridion symbolorum, definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum, Bologna 1995 (Freiburg 1991), ed. EDB.
Dianich S., Ecclesiologia. Questioni di metodo e una proposta, Cinisello Balsamo 1993, ed. Paoline.
Frosini G., Aspettando l’aurora. Saggio di escatologia cristiana, Bologna 1994, ed. EDB.
Locatelli A., Nuovi cieli e nuova terra aspettiamo... Messaggio Cristiano sull’Aldilà, Milano 2007, ed. Mimep-Docete.
Maggiolini S., L’escatologia nella vita del credente, “Communio” 12 (1985) 1, p. 79-89.
Nitrola A., Trattato di escatologia. 2. Pensare la venuta del Signore, Cinisello Balsamo 2010, ed. San Paolo.
Pozo C., Teologia dell’aldilà, Cinisello Balsamo 1986, ed. San Paolo.
Valenziano C., La Santa Chiesa Cattolica, (la) Comunione dei Santi, in: C. Aiosa – G. Giorgio, Credo la Santa Chiesa Cattolica, la Comunione dei Santi, Bologna 2011, ed. EDB, p. 9-18.
Vitali D., Nell’attesa della sua venuta, Cinisello Balsamo 2013, ed. San Paolo.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2015 Sylwester Jaśkiewicz
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights without restrictions, and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
