1023. Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he is,” face to face:596
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, joined 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.597
Aprofunde seus conhecimentos
193. What can the consecrated life give to the mission of the Church?
216. What is the hope of the new heavens and the new earth?
357. How is the Christian moral life bound up with faith and the sacraments?
562. How is Christian prayer Marian?
147. What does the word Church mean?
Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:
What does the phrase “we live by faith, not by sight” in 2 Corinthians 5:7 mean?
What lessons can we learn from Haman’s fall in Esther 7:7-8?
What do Daniel’s visions of the ram and the goat in Daniel 8 mean?
How important is Jesus’ resurrection, and what can we learn from his appearance to the disciples?
What does the image of the river of life in Ezekiel (Ezekiel 47) represent?
How does Esther’s story tell the Jewish people’s story of redemption?


