The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 90: Christ Descended into Hell (2024)

Episode Date: March 30, 2024

Have you ever said the words from the Creed at Mass, “he descended into hell” and wondered, “Really? Jesus did? Why?” The Catechism shares the secrets of this line from the Creed and shows us how Jesus’ descent into hell “brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment.” Fr. Mike makes it clear to us that Jesus did not come to save only the righteous who happened to be alive during his time here on earth, but he came to save all those righteous men and women who came before him and would come after him. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 631-637. 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 down to 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 and God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. It is Day 90. That means you've been doing this for three months.

I mean, give or take. Either some months I have 31, but you know, some that have 28. So we're reading paragraphs 631 to 637. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach. You can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Also, you can download your own Catechism into your reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com and lastly, you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily

notifications. As we get started, just thank you so much for all those who have supported the production of this podcast with your prayers, with your financial gifts. Couldn't do it without you. Thank you so much. As I said, it is day 90. We're reading paragraphs 631 to 637. It is article five. And if you're following along with your reading plan and following along in any catechism, you can see article five is, he descended into hell.

On the third day, he rose again from the dead. Remember yesterday, we talked about how Christ truly died. And what is death? Death is the separation of body and soul. Now we also maintained that even in death, Christ possessed his body to preserve it from corruption and Christ preserved his soul. Why? Well, one is because of this article today, paragraph one, Christ descended into hell.

We're going to talk about this and he has his mission. Now one of the things we recognize as the first meaning given to the apostolic preaching of Jesus' descent into hell is that Jesus, like all men, experienced death in his soul. He joined the others in the realm of the dead. Now, that's one of the things we recognize, that he truly experienced death and his soul went to the abode of the dead. Now, at the same time, this is the end of paragraph 632. But he descended there as savior, proclaiming the good news to the spirits in prison there. We get that from 1 Peter 3 verses 18 and 19.

Now, that's such an incredibly important thing that Jesus truly, like we said yesterday, truly experienced death. And at the same time, as he descended to the realm of the dead, he there as savior proclaiming the good news to the spirits in prison there so now when we say the abode of the dead we say hell what do we mean well in scripture sheol is the hebrew term and hades is the greek term for the abode of the dead because those who were there are deprived of the vision of god. That's what catechism 633 says. Now

eternal hell, right, is this permanent deprivation of the vision of God, permanent separation from God. Now This is important to understand. When we're talking about the abode of the dead prior to Christ in 633 it says this, yes those who are there are deprived of the vision of God. Such is the case for all the dead whether evil or righteous while they await the Redeemer. Now at the same time that does not mean that their experience, their lot is identical as Jesus shares that. Remember the parable of the rich man and Lazarus where the rich man he dies and Lazarus dies and the rich man goes to a place of torment, whereas

Lazarus goes to rest in the bosom of Abraham. So there's a place of peace, a place of rest. So it's not the same experience even though the abode of the dead is that place where all the dead would go and would be deprived of the vision of God until, until what? Well until Christ came and preached to the souls of the righteous to bring them into heaven now That's very important to understand paragraph 633 Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned nor to destroy the hell of the term nation But to free the just who had gone before him now That's going to be very very important for us that there are the souls of the just in the old covenant the souls of the just prior to Jesus and It's to them that here is Christ who announces

the good news. He comes to that place of the dead, the abode of the dead, to deliver those who are righteous as their savior. And this is just really important. This is what we're going to talk about today. And I'm so excited because this is one of those articles, again, we say in the Apostles Creed every single time we pray it, we say it in the Nicene Creed. We talk about, he descended into hell, he descended to the abode of the dead.

When we say this, what do we mean? We get to hear about that today. So to open our hearts and to open our minds, to just be able to enter into this truth that Jesus Christ descended all the way to hell for us. He's ended all the way to hell to demonstrate that there is no place, there's no depth to which he will not go. Let's just ask the Lord to help us today. We pray Father in heaven, we give you praise. We thank

you so much for bringing us to this moment. We thank you so much for the gift of your Son. We thank you so much for the fact that His love knows no bounds, that even the abode of the dead is not out of bounds for your love. We thank you for the fact that Christ descended into hell, that He descended to the abode of the dead to rescue the righteous. Help us to walk with righteousness. Help us to walk in right relationship with you so that we can live forever And right relationship with 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, it is day 90. We're reading paragraphs 6 31 to 6 37 Article 5 he descended into hell on the third day, he rose again from the dead. Jesus descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens. The Apostles' Creed confesses in the same article Christ's descent into hell and his resurrection from the dead on the third day because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death

that he made life spring forth. As we pray at the Easter Vigil in the Roman Missal, The one morning star who never sets, Christ your Son, who coming back from death's domain, has shed his peaceful light on humanity, and lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen. Paragraph 1. Christ descended into Hell. The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was raised from the dead presuppose

that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection. This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell, that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Savior, proclaiming the good news to the spirits in prison there. Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, hell, Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek, because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.

Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer. Which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus, who was received into Abraham's bosom. It is precisely these holy souls who awaited their Savior and Abraham's bosom whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell. Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before Him. The Gospel was preached even to the dead. The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment. This is the last phase of Jesus' Messianic mission,

a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance. The spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved, have been made sharers in the redemption. Christ went down into the depths of death, so that the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. Jesus, the author of life, by dying destroyed him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and delivered all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage. Henceforth, the risen Christ holds the keys of death and Hades so that,

at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. As in ancient homily for Holy Saturday states, Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness, a great silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and He has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam and his bonds, and Eve captive with him, he who is both their God and the son of Eve. I am your God, who for your sake have become

your son. I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead." In brief, by the expression, he descended into hell, the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die, and through his death for us, conquered death and the devil, who has the power of death. In his human soul, united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead He opened heaven's gates for the just who had gone before him Okay, as I said, those are paragraphs at 631 to 637 just remarkable incredible again Jesus truly experienced death

That's what one of the things were affirming. He also descended to hell. Why? As the savior. So important that we understand this reality about the abode of the dead prior to Christ, that yes, all of the dead there would be deprived of the vision of God, and yet their experience of death would be different.

One would be a sense of place of peace, a place of rest in the bosom of Abraham. The others would be, again, the place of rest in the bosom of Abraham. Others would be, again, the place of torment that hell actually is. Now Jesus descending into hell, we just want to reaffirm this, did not deliver the damned because those who have chosen against God, they cannot change their choice and they don't want to change their choice. And he did not also destroy the hell of damnation, but he freed the just who have gone before

him. And he did not also destroy the hell of damnation, but he freed the just to have gone before him now. This is crazy paragraph 634 It says the descent into hell brings the gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment Now why would that be the case that this is a really bold statement? The descent into hell brings the gospel message of salvation to complete fulfillment Why because it says goes on to say this is the last phase of Jesus's messianic mission. The last phase. Jesus didn't just come for those people who happened to be alive while he was on this earth, but this messianic mission was for them, of

course, and for all those who came after him, of course. But this mission, this mission was for all men, at all times, in all places. And so as Jesus descends to the abode of the dead, death which comes to every human being, and had come to every human being who had existed prior to Jesus on this earth, this phase of his messianic mission is condensed in time but vast in its real significance. That's the paragraph in 634 says. It says the last line is the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption. That it's not just for

those who came after Christ. That's the big question some of those people ask. They say what about everyone who existed before Jesus? What about all those people who had died before Christ could open the gates of heaven? The answer is, well, he came for them as well. When he descended into hell, when he descended to the realm of the dead, he went to rescue all of those who had chosen God, those who had not rejected, rebelled against God, but who were unable to enter into God's presence. So what happens? God goes to them to deliver them. Think about this. This is

the logic of the Incarnation. God goes to them to deliver them, just like how God comes to us to deliver us. In the Incarnation, what does God do? He comes to us to deliver us. In the Sacraments, what does God do? He comes to us to deliver us. In the incarnation, what does God do? He comes to us to deliver us. In the sacraments, what does God do? He comes to us to deliver us. In His grace and His Holy Spirit, what does God do? He comes to us to deliver us. Into those souls held captive in the abode of the dead, what does He do?

He goes to them to deliver them. And I love this ancient homily for Holy Saturday. We read it every Holy Saturday as priests and deacons, as religious sisters and brothers, and as lay people you get to read this too if you want. This ancient homily that talks about how here he's gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep.

I actually literally right now, as I'm standing here recording this, there is an image right in front of me, right above this catechism, that is an image of Jesus descending into hell. And he has two people by the wrist He's grasping them by the wrist. It's an icon He's grasping them by the wrist and he's lifting them out of their graves and it is Adam and it is Eve. I

Am your God who for your sake have become your son. I order you Oh sleeper to awake and I love this line I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell Rise from the dead for I am the life of the dead And that's just such a powerful truth that God did not create you He's not create me to be a prisoner in hell and so be long before we can choose it. We choose Jesus So grateful so grateful to the Lord who demonstrates that his love literally knows no bounds Lord, who demonstrates that His love literally knows no bounds. That He comes to rescue us. Again, He comes to us to save us, just like He always does.

So we give God praise today, we pray today, and we give God thanks today. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.