We have already heard about the bodily resurrection from the dead in our previous reflections and have come to appreciate what a wonderful path God has planned for us. This led us to discuss the incorruptibility of the resurrected body. Once the Lord has reunited the believer’s soul and body, they will be able to live forever in the presence of God.
Our future body possesses four wonderful characteristics, as the Roman Catechism of Pius V teaches. It states:
“In addition to this, the bodies of the risen Saints will be distinguished by certain transcendent endowments, which will ennoble them far beyond their former condition. Among these endowments four are specially mentioned by the Fathers, which they infer from the doctrine of St. Paul, and which are called gifts.
The first endowment or gift is impassibility, which shall place them beyond the reach of suffering anything disagreeable or of being affected by pain or inconvenience of any sort. Neither the piercing severity of cold, nor the glowing intensity of heat, nor the impetuosity of waters can hurt them. It is sown, says the Apostle, in corruption, it shall rise in incorruption. (1 Cor. 15:42). This quality the Schoolmen call impassibility, not incorruption, in order to distinguish it as a property peculiar to a glorified body. The bodies of the damned, though incorruptible, will not be impassible; they will be capable of experiencing heat and cold and of suffering various afflictions.
The next quality is brightness, by which the bodies of the Saints shall shine like the sun, according to the words of Our Lord recorded in the Gospel of St. Matthew: The just shall shine as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. (Matt. 13:43). To remove the possibility of doubt on the subject, He exemplifies this in His Transfiguration. (Matt. 17:2). This quality the Apostle sometimes calls glory, sometimes brightness: He will reform the body of our lowness, made like to the body of his glory (Phil. 3:21); and again, It is sown in dishonour, it shall rise in glory. (1 Cor. 15:43). Of this glory the Israelites beheld some image in the desert, when the face of Moses, after he had enjoyed the presence and conversation of God, shone with such lustre that they could not look on it. (Exod. 34:29; 2 Cor. 3:7). This brightness is a sort of radiance reflected on the body from the supreme happiness of the soul. It is a participation in that bliss which the soul enjoys, just as the soul itself is rendered happy by a participation in the happiness of God. Unlike the gift of impassibility, this quality is not common to all in the same degree. All the bodies of the Saints will be equally impassible; but the brightness of all will not be the same, for, according to the Apostle, One is the glory of the sun, another the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars, for star differeth from star in glory: so also is the resurrection of the dead. (1 Cor. 15:41, 42).
To the preceding quality is united that which is called agility, by which the body will be freed from the heaviness that now presses it down, and will take on a capability of moving with the utmost ease and swiftness, wherever the soul pleases, as St. Augustine teaches in his book On the City of God,[1] and St. Jerome On Isaias.[2] Hence these words of the Apostle: It is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power. (1 Cor. 15:43).
Another quality is that of subtility, which subjects the body to the dominion of the soul, so that the body shall be subject to the soul and ever ready to follow her desires. This quality we learn from these words of the Apostle: It is sown a natural body, it shall rise a spiritual body. (1 Cor. 15:44).”
We see the incomparable kindness with which the Lord has provided for our future life in His glory, and we should not be shy about bearing witness to this. This teaching can be a great comfort, especially for those who suffer under many circumstances. What a comfort it is, for example, for a believer to know that when his body is disfigured by illness, he will receive it back in its entirety with these wonderful qualities.
But not only that. To know our doctrine correctly glorifies God, for who but God alone could accomplish all this? To thank and praise Him for this is a true work.
Starting tomorrow, let us look to the glory of the spiritual resurrection!
Reflection on the daily reading: https://en.elijamission.net/overcoming-jealousy-2/
Reflection on the daily Gospel: https://en.elijamission.net/the-light-came-into-darkness-2/
[1] De Civ. Dei, lib. xiii., c. 18, 20.
[2] In Isaiam, cap. 40.
