1.

THE APOSTLES’ CREED: ARTICLES 11 & 12

The book is a complete explanation of
the 12 Articles of the Apostles’ Creed.

ARTICLES 11 & 12:

I BELIEVE THE RESURRECTION
OF THE BODY,
AND LIFE EVERLASTING

To purchase the Book, or for theological

inquiries (e-mails only), contact the author:
AUTHOR Rev. Fr. Paolo O. Pirlo, SHMI
EDITION 1st Edition, Manila, May 19, 2013
PUBLISHER Sons of Holy Mary Immaculate
Quality Catholic Publications
Isabella De Rosis St., Multinational
1708 Parañaque City, Philippines
Telefax (02) 828-2338
Tel. (02) 828-9509
sonsmaryphil@yahoo.com

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2. A CATECHIST’S PRAYER
Loving Father, giver of all that is,
help me to remember that every gift
I have comes from you. Expand my
vision so that I can appreciate your
goodness in the world around me.
Jesus, our Redeemer, you are
the path to the treasures of my
heart and soul. Strengthen my
commitment to be a catechist and
deepen my capacity to share your
truth with those in my care.
Holy Spirit, Love Divine, all life
and energy flows from you.
Illuminate my thoughts and
intensify my desire to grow ever
deeper in my faith.
I lift up my prayer to you, God—
Father, Son, and Spirit—in humility
and hope. Amen.
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 3. WHAT ARE THE
SEVEN PARTS
OF THE 11TH & 12th
ARTICLES?
The 11th and 12th
Articles of the Creed
are divided into seven
parts:

1. Eschatology
2. Death
3. Resurrection
4. Judgment
5. Purgatory
6. Hell
7. Paradise
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 4. ESCHATOLOGY:
What is Eschatology?
 Eschatology is the science dealing with the last six realities,
namely: Death, Resurrection, Judgment, Hell, Purgatory, and
Paradise.
 We study Eschatology to achieve holiness, as the Bible says:
“Remember your last things, and you shall never sin
again” (Sirach or Ecclesiastes 7:39).

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5. ESCHATOLOGY:
Life after death

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 6. DEATH:
What is Death?
 Death is the separation of the soul from the body.
 After death, the mortal body goes to the tomb, waiting for the
resurrection of the bodies on the last day; while the soul, which
is immortal, enters the afterlife to face the divine judgment.

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 7. DEATH:
Should we Christians be afraid of death?
 We must not fear death,
because it is the necessary
passage from this valley of
tears to the eternal life in
Heaven; we should rather
be afraid of dying in the
state of mortal sin.
 However, even we also
experience the pain of
loss. St. Augustine was
not afraid of death, but
when St. Monica died, he
experienced the deep grief
of losing such a loving
mother.
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 8. DEATH:
What is the Carpe diem?
 The Carpe diem,
translated as “seize the
day”, is the attitude of
hedonistic persons who
have no faith in the
afterlife, and try to enjoy
the physical pleasures of
life as much as possible,
one day at the time.
 The epitome of the
Carpe Diem attitude is
Bacchus, the god of wine
and intoxication, who was
celebrated with orgies
and debauchery

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 9. DEATH:
What is the Memento mori?
 The Memento mori,
translated as “Remember
that you must die,” is the
attitude of meditating daily
on our death, in order to
live a holy life.
 The maxim originated from
God’s warning to Adam
after the Original Sin: “You
are dust, and to dust you
shall return” (Genesis
3:19).
 St. Francis of Assisi
avoided sin by meditating
daily on his upcoming
death.
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10. RESURRECTION:
What is the
Resurrection?
 The resurrection is the
act by which God gives
eternal life to our mortal
bodies and reunites them
with their souls.
 The resurrection is
different from
resuscitation, which is
the act by which the
mortal body is reunited
with the soul. Such was
the case of Lazarus, who
was not resurrected, but
was resuscitated.
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 11. RESURRECTION:
When will the
Resurrection happen?
 The resurrection will take
place at the end of times,
after the second coming of
Christ and before the Final
Judgment.
 All men will rise from death
at the end of the world:
“those who have done good
deeds to the resurrection
of life, but those who have
done wicked deeds to the
resurrection of
condemnation” (John
5:28-29).
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 12. RESURRECTION:
Does cremation affect the resurrection of the body?
 The manner of burying a
body is uninfluential as far as
the resurrection is
concerned. Whether the bodies
are cremated, or buried in the
soil, or lost at sea: eventually,
they all decompose into dust.
 The burial of the body in the
tomb is the preferable manner
for us Christians because it
resembles the burial of Jesus.
However, for serious reasons,
the Church allows cremation,
provided it is done with the due
respect for the body and with
faith in the resurrection.
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 13. JUDGMENT:
What is the
Judgment?
 T he Judgment is the
reckoning of our life
that every human
being must undergo
after his death.
 The Scriptures tell us
that there are two
judgments: the
Particular Judgment
immediately after
death, and the
Universal Judgment
at the end of time.

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 14. JUDGMENT:
The Particular and the Universal Judgment
THE PARTICULAR JUDGMENT THE UNIVERSAL JUDGMENT
is the reckoning that takes place is the reckoning that takes
immediately after our death, place at the end of the world,
assigning the souls to Paradise, assigning the risen persons to
Purgatory, or Hell. Paradise or to Hell.

Lazarus and the

Rich Man

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 15. PURGATORY:
What is Purgatory?
 Purgatory is the place
where the souls of the
just are purified
from their temporal
punishment before
entering Paradise.
 Paradise and Hell will
last forever, while
Purgatory will end on
the Day of Judgment.
 The term Purgatory
comes from the Latin
word purgare, which
means “to cleanse.”
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 16. PURGATORY:
What is the biblical proof of the existence of Purgatory?
 The proof of the existence of Purgatory is in the Books of
Maccabees (2 Maccabees 12:43-44). Judas Maccabeus made a
collection to offer prayers for the souls of the soldiers who died in
battle wearing the amulets of idols.
 They could not enter Paradise, since they died in the state of sin;
nor go to Hell, because they were fighting for Yahweh. Therefore,
they went into a place of purification, or Purgatory.

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 17. PURGATORY:
Why don’t the Protestant Bibles have the
Books of Maccabees?
 In 1534, Martin Luther, the initiator of the Protestantism,
removed from the Bible the Deuterocanonicals (the Old
Testament books written in Greek), which include the two
Books of Maccabees. He convinced his followers that in the
Old Testament only the books written in Hebrew were inspired
by God.
 The Deuterocanonicals, which Luther called Apocryphals,
were written in Greek because they were composed after the
Exile in Babylon (538 BC), when the cultural language among
the Jews was no longer Hebrew but Greek. As a matter of
fact, the whole New Testament is written in Greek.
 The Deuterocanonicals were accepted by all Christians for
1500 years, until they were taken away by Luther, whose
hidden agenda was to eliminate the proof on the existence of
Purgatory, which was clearly stated in the Book of Maccabees.
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 18. PURGATORY:
How can we help the
souls in Purgatory?
 We can help the souls in
Purgatory to expiate
their temporal
punishment by offering
prayers and Masses.
 The best time to pray for
them is on November 2,
All Souls Day.
 We apply indulgences to
the souls in Purgatory by
mode of intercession,
meaning, that we
intercede on behalf of the
souls, hoping that God will
grant our request.

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 19. HELL:
What is Hell?
 Hell is the place of
eternal punishment
and suffering, where
the demons and the
damned burn with
unquenchable fire.
 The existence and the
eternity of Hell was
declared by Jesus, when
he said: “Depart from
me, you accursed, into
the eternal fire prepared
for the Devil and his
angels” (Matthew 25:41).

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 20. HELL:
What are the pains of Hell?
 The pains, or the fire of Hell,
consist in the eternal
separation from God. The
agony is so horrific that Jesus
compares it to being eternally
eaten alive from within by
worms and burned from
without by fire (Mark 9:48).
 The pains are atrocious
because of the absence of
any hope. On earth, we may
endure the worst tortures by
hoping to die; but in Hell the
souls of the damned are
eternally destined to suffer.

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 21. PARADISE:
What is Paradise?
 Paradise is the place
of eternal and
perfect communion
of love with God.
 Only those who died
in the state of grace
shall enter Paradise
(Matthew 5:8).
 Paradise, from the
Greek paradeisos,
means “enclosed
garden.” The Bible
represents Paradise as
a heavenly garden of
eternal happiness.

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 22. PARADISE:
Can we demonstrate the existence of Paradise?
 The existence and the
eternity of Paradise was
declared by Jesus, who
said: “Come, you who are
blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom
prepared for you from
the foundation of the
world” (Matthew 25:35).
 St. John described
Paradise as a wedding
feast between God and
his people, taking place in
a heavenly Jerusalem
(Revelation 21:2).
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 23. PARADISE:
What is the
beatific vision?
 The beatific vision is
the contemplation of
God in his heavenly
glory.
 We cannot imagine the
bliss and the splendor
of Paradise, lest we die
of yearning. What we
know is that we will be
in the presence of God,
and contemplate his
face forever.

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 24. PARADISE:
Why does the Creed end with Amen?
 The Creed ends with Amen, which means: “Yes, I
believe.” Thus, the Amen confirms its first words of the
Creed: “I believe.”
 By proclaiming the Amen we profess our personal
commitment to announce the teaching of Christ till the
end of times.

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