The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 139: I Believe in Life Everlasting (2026)

Episode Date: May 19, 2026

Together, with Fr. Mike, we explore what happens to us at and after the moment of our death. We examine the importance of understanding that the Christian, who unites his death with Christ Jesus, takes a step towards Christ in everlasting life. Fr. Mike emphasizes that we have an active choice in our journey to our Father in heaven. We should not simply desire Heaven, but actively choose it. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1020-1029. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in scripture and passed it down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is a 139. You guys, reading paragraphs 1020 to 1029. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes a foundations of faith approach. But you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your catechism in your reading plan by visiting

ascensionpress.com slash CIY. And you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. As I said, it's day 139. We're reading. We just, we closed yesterday. We closed what is to die with Christ, to die in Christ, how how Jesus gives, not only reframes, but transforms, redeems death. And so we talked about that today. We're talking about what happens after death. I believe in life everlasting is Article 12 of the Apostles Creed. And so the very beginning of this whole thing is, okay, life everlasting. What happens?

What happens when we die? Well, one of the first things that happens is we have the particular judgment. And what that means, a particular judgment has contrasted with, we might call the final judgment or the last judgment. The final judgment or last judgment, which we'll hear about tomorrow, is different. So you'll hear about that tomorrow. But today, we recognize that at the moment of our death, every one of us stands before the Lord God. And we get what we've chosen, right? We get what we've chosen.

If we've said yes to the Father's will, if we have said yes to God and what he offers to us, we get him. And if we have said no to God and no to His will, then we get what we've chosen. It's either God or anything other than God, essentially, right? And today we get to hear about heaven, this reality. And it's only a couple of paragraphs. It's just crazy to realize that this, This, you know, where you and I, God willing, please, God willing, will spend our eternity gives,

we get about, I don't know, is it five paragraphs, six paragraphs, seven paragraphs today. So short and just crazy to realize that where we hope to spend eternity with God in heaven only gets, you know, seven or eight short paragraphs today at the same time. At the same time, it's so beautiful to realize that we get to see God. If we get to heaven, right, because of what we, what Jesus has done, we can choose heaven. And if we get to heaven, we get to see God as he is. Incredible. But, but as it says in paragraph 1022, each man receives his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death. We receive exactly what we get. We would have immediate entrance

into heaven. That's right away. Or we enter into heaven through purification. That's purgatory. We'll talk about that tomorrow as well. Or immediate and everlasting damnation. There's essentially heaven or hell, and some will have to go through that purification process of purgatory. But that's already, that's like the doorway to heaven. You might say it like that. So it's either heaven or hell that we've chosen. And so we just ask the Lord today to help us to choose heaven. So let's pray right now.

Father in heaven, we want to be where you are. We truly, we want to be where you are. Help us to live in such a way that at the moment of our death, we're able to be where you are. help us at the moment to live in such a way that we say yes to you with everything we are and everything we have with our most powerful and free yes let help us to choose you Lord God when we say no to you help us to turn around we say no to you and we and we choose our own way we choose the way of the world we ask you to please pick us up set us straight bring us back to you look upon us and we shall be saved Lord God bring us home give us the grace today

that if we need to repent and let you forgive us, that we repent and let you forgive us. And if we're saying yes to you, help us to keep saying yes to you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As I said, we're on Day 139, reading paragraphs 1020 to 1029. Article 12, I believe in life everlasting. The Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus views it as a step towards him. and an entrance into everlasting life. When the church for the last time speaks Christ's words of pardon and absolution over the dying Christian seals him for the last time with a strengthening anointing and gives him Christ in Viaticum as nourishment for the journey, she speaks with gentle assurance, saying, as it says

in the prayers of commendation, go forth Christian soul from this world in the name of God, the Father Almighty, who created you. In the name of Jesus Christ, the son of the living God who suffered for you, in the name of the Holy Spirit who was poured out upon you. Go forth faithful Christian. May you live in peace this day. May your home be with God and Zion, with Mary, the Virgin Mother of God, with Joseph, and all the angels and saints. May you return to your Creator, who formed you from the dust of the earth. May Holy Mary, the angels, and all the saints come to meet you as you go forth from this life. May you see your Redeemer face to face. The particular judgment.

Death puts an end to human life as the time open to either accepting or rejecting the divine grace manifested in Christ. The New Testament speaks of judgment primarily in its aspect of the final encounter with Christ in his second coming, but also repeatedly affirms that each will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith. The parable of the poor man Lazarus and the words of Christ on the cross to the good thief, as well as other New Testament texts, speak of a final death. destiny of the soul, a destiny which can be different for some and for others. Each man receives

his eternal retribution in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ, either entrance into the blessedness of heaven through a purification or immediately, or immediate and everlasting damnation. As St. John of the Cross wrote, At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love. Heaven. Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God forever, for they see him as he is face to face. As Pope Benedict X12 wrote, by virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following. According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy baptism provided they were not in need of purification

when they died, or if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death, already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment. And this, since the ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven, have been, are, and will be in heaven, in the heavenly kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, join to the company of the holy angels. Since the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision and even face to face without the mediation of any creature. This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity, this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels, and all the blessed, is called heaven. Heaven is the

ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme definitive happiness. To live in heaven is to be with Christ. The elect live in Christ, but they retain or rather find their true identity, their own name. As St. Amiens, as St. Amiens, Ambrose wrote, For life is to be with Christ, where Christ is, there is life. There is the kingdom. By his death and resurrection, Jesus Christ has opened heaven to us. The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification, those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ.

This mystery of blessed communion with God, and all who are in Christ is beyond all understanding and description. Scripture speaks of it in images. Life, light, peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the Father's house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise. No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. Because of his transcendence, God cannot be seen as he is unless he himself opens up his mystery to man's immediate contemplation and gives him the capacity for it. The church calls this contemplation of God in his heavenly glory, the beatific vision. As St. Cyprian wrote, How great will your glory and happiness be? To be allowed to see God, to be honored with sharing the joy of salvation

and eternal light with Christ your Lord and God, to delight in the joy of immortality. in the kingdom of heaven with the righteous and God's friends. In the glory of heaven, the blessed continue joyfully to fulfill God's will in relation to other men and to all creation. Already they reign with Christ. With him, they shall reign forever and ever. Okay, there it is, paragraph 1020 to 1029. Man, I just, even the way we started is just incredible.

Paragraph 1020, it says, the Christian who unites his own death to that of Jesus, views it as a step towards him. Remember we talked about this? I want to have that desire for the Lord. So if I unite my life to that of Jesus, I see death as a step towards him and an entrance into everlasting life. And so it goes on. There's a very, very long sentence.

It's only two sentences, paragraph 1020 is. But that second sentence is so long. It says this, when the church for the last time speaks Christ's words of pardon and absolution over the dying Christian, right? So that's confession, right? Gives absolution. Seals him for the last time with a strengthening anointing, that's the anointing of the sick, and gives him Christ's a pardon.

in Viaticum, that's bred for the journey, that's the last time you receive Holy Communion, as nourishment for the journey, she speaks with gentle assurance. And this is one of those things that's so incredible. We're going to hit the next pillar with the pillar of the liturgy, right, the how we worship, and we're going to talk about these things, these last rites. And these last rights being, you have confession, you have the anointing of the sick, you have the final sacrament of the Eucharist, that Vieticum, Vieticum meaning bread for the journey, food for the journey, this recognition of when that happens, the church speaks these incredible words. And I love this massive prayer that's on, well, our page 284, if you have the ascension

version of the catechism, but it's the rest of paragraph 1020. It says, go forth Christian soul from this world in the name of God, the Almighty Father who created you, in the name of Jesus Christ, the son of the living God who suffered for you, in the name of the Holy Spirit, who is poured out upon you. Go forth faithful Christian. Just so incredible. Ah, amazing. We also talked about this, the particular judgment. Paragraph 1021. We even started talking about this today. The death puts an end to human life at the time open to either accepting or rejecting divine grace manifested in Christ. So that's the end. We mentioned this yesterday.

And even the day before talking about, you know, sometimes where we live in the northern hemisphere, we have seasons. Maybe southern hemisphere too, but you folks who are always warm, I don't understand it. But that recognition of there's an end to the time. Like we get this life. And then at some point this life comes to a conclusion and we get what we've chosen. And so paragraph 1021 highlights, yes, there's much talk in the New Testament about the final judgment with Christ's second coming. We'll talk about that in the days to come. But also that each person will be rewarded immediately after death in accordance with his works and faith.

Not just what I believe, but also what I chose. This is so important for us. Not just what I believe, but what I choose. And this is the conviction of my heart. And this is the conviction hopefully of all of our hearts is that I can say, oh, yeah, I love Jesus. and I want to choose him. That's wonderful. That's great.

That's a good start. But do I choose him? That's the question. It's the same for anything. You know, I want to read more books. Okay, well, do I choose to read more books? Right? I want to be healthier.

Okay, do I choose to get enough sleep or to eat right or to move my body? I do all these things where I can desire the thing? But the big question is, do I choose the thing? Because I don't just get what I desire. I get what I've chosen. This is the conviction of all of our. our hearts. I don't just get what I desire. I get what I've chosen. And because of what Jesus has done for us on the cross, we actually have been given access to heaven, right? Jesus has opened the gates of heaven.

He's made it possible for us to live forever with him, with the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for eternity because of what he's done. And so in 1022, it says, each person or each man receives sees eternal retribution and his immortal soul at the very moment of his death. In a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ, it is incredible. In a particular judgment that refers his life to Christ. Now, here's how I read that. What I read that is our life gets referred to Christ at the moment of our death. Doesn't get referred to the person down the block.

It doesn't get referred to Hitler. You know, sometimes people think, well, of course I'm going to go to heaven. I'm not Hitler. I'm not a serial killer. So, of course, I'm going to go to heaven. But our lives aren't referred to Hitler. Our lives aren't referred to the goodness or badness of the person down the block or the person we live with. Our lives are in some ways, I don't want to say, referred to Jesus Christ, the life of Christ.

Have we chosen to live like him? That's why, you know, this amazing quote. I just, I love this. This is such a brief sentence from St. John of the Cross. At the evening of life, we shall be judged on our love. I've heard another translation. At the twilight of our lives, we shall be judged on love alone. have I actually loved the Lord?

Have I actually loved him with my whole heart, mind, soul, and strength? Have I loved my neighbor as myself? And have I loved like Jesus, right? That's the question. Have I loved like Jesus? Paragraph 1023, those who die in God's grace and friendship

and are perfectly purified, live forever with Christ. They are like God forever, for they see him as he is face to face. Imagine, this is incredible. The last line of Pope Benedict the 12th's quote here. It says this. It says, since the passion of death,

of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls, those souls in heaven, have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision. They see God himself. They even face to face without the mediation of any creature that you get to actually in heaven. Oh my gosh, I can't even imagine. Can you imagine this? To be able to see God face to face without any kind of mediation. Right now we see as through a glass darkly, right? We see as dimly in a mirror. Even when we approach the sacraments, we get to see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face in the Eucharist. It's obscure, right? It's. It's obscure, right? It's hidden. But here is Pope Benedict

the 12th saying, but the day is going to come when you see God face to face without the mediation of any creature. I love paragraph 1024 gives a definition of heaven. It says this perfect life with the most holy Trinity,

this communion of life and love with the Trinity with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed is called heaven. Just what's heaven? That's what it is. This communion of life and love with the Trinity.

And not just with the Trinity, but the Virgin Mary, all the angels, and all the blessed, basically everyone in heaven, that communion of life and love is called heaven. Heaven is the ultimate end of fulfillment of the deepest of human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. Oh, man, it's just amazing. I love this.

I'm going to come to the end here in just a second. Paragraph 1026 notes that by his death and resurrection, Jesus has opened heaven to us, and that's the life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect possession of the fruits of redemption that Jesus has accomplished. This is the next line because it's just so poetic and it just, he makes partners in his heavenly glorification, those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will. He makes partners in his heavenly glorification,

those who have believed in him and remained faithful to his will. This is, I don't understand that. I don't, you know how just how Jesus shares his priesthood, his office of being prophet and his kingship, you know, with us? He gives us a participation in those things. Here is the statement says he makes us partners, right? We get to participate in his heavenly glorification if we believed in him and remained faithful to his will. Now, 1027 says, this is beyond all understanding and description.

And so we have images in scripture, things like life and light and peace, wedding feast, wine of the kingdom, the father's house, the heavenly Jerusalem, paradise. and what we realize is no eye has seen nor ear heard nor the heart of man conceived what God is prepared for those who love him. And just this is remarkable. So good. And this is your destiny, right? This is the destination God made you for.

God made me for. All there is for us is to say yes to this. So let's pray for that. Let's pray. You know, tomorrow we'll talk about final purification or purgatory. And then we're also going to be talking about hell. But we recognize we're not made for purgatory. That's the gift of God.

That's a complete gift of God to help us in that last purification process, to get our hearts big enough, to have our love be pure enough to enter into heaven with joy. We're not made for hell. None of us, no one's been made for hell. But we can choose it. Good news is we also can choose heaven. So this day, let's do that. Let's choose heaven.

Let's choose God. Say, God, I'm not just with my desires. I don't just want to desire you. I want to choose you. I'm praying for you. I'm praying for you that you choose Jesus today. Please pray for me that I choose Jesus today. My name's Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.