7 things to know about death, judgment, heaven and hell

7 things to know about death, judgment, heaven and hell: 1. After death we will no longer be able to accept or reject God's grace.
Death ends all opportunities to grow in holiness or improve our relationship with God, according to the Catechism. When we die, the separation of our body and soul will be painful. “The soul is afraid of the future and of the unknown land towards which it is going,” wrote Father von Cochem. “The body is aware that as soon as the soul leaves, it will become prey to worms. Consequently, the soul cannot bear to leave the body, nor the body to separate from the soul “.

2. God's judgment is final.
Immediately after death, each person will be rewarded according to his works and faith (CCC 1021). After that, the final judgment of all souls and angels will take place at the end of time and thereafter, all creatures will be sent to their eternal destination.

3. Hell is real and its torments are inexorable.
The souls in hell excluded themselves from communion with God and with the blessed, says the Catechism. "To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our free choice" (CCC 1033). Saints and others who have received visions of hell describe torments including fire, hunger, thirst, terrible smells, darkness and extreme cold. The "worm that never dies," which Jesus mentions in Mark 9:48, refers to the consciences of the damned constantly reminding them of their sins, wrote Father von Cochem.

4. We will spend eternity somewhere.
Our minds cannot comprehend the breadth of eternity. There will be no way to change our destination or shorten its duration.

7 things to know about death, judgment, heaven and hell

5. The deepest human desire is for Heaven.
All souls will perpetually yearn for their Creator, regardless of whether they spend eternity with him. As Saint Augustine wrote in his Confessions: "Our hearts are restless until they rest in You". After death, we will at least partially perceive that God "is the supreme and infinite Good and the enjoyment of Him is our highest happiness". We will be drawn to God and yearn for the beatific vision, but if we are deprived of it due to sin we will experience great pain and torture.

6. The door leading to the eternal life it is narrow and few souls find it.
Jesus did not forget to insert a period at the end of this statement in Matthew 7: 13-14. If we take the narrow route, it will be worth it. Sant'Anselmo advised that we should not only strive to be one of the few, but “the few of the few”. “Do not follow the great majority of humanity, but follow those who enter the narrow way, who renounce the world, who give themselves to prayer and who never slacken their efforts by day or by night, so that they can achieve eternal happiness. "

7. We cannot fully understand heaven.
Despite the visions of the saints, we have only an incomplete picture of heaven. Heaven is "immeasurable, inconceivable, incomprehensible" and brighter than the sun and stars. It will offer joys for our senses and spirit, first of all the knowledge of God. "The more they know God, the more their desire to know him better will increase, and of this knowledge there will be no limits and no defects," he wrote. Perhaps fewer sentences will need periods in eternity, but God still uses them (Isaiah 44: 6): “I am the first and I am the last; next to me there is no god. "