Christ ate food in his resurrected body, says St. Augustine, and even angels in the Bible have really eaten. They do so not because they need to eat, but because they can; it’s a free exercise of their superior power. St. Augustine speculates that the same will be true of our glorified bodies after the resurrection. Is there any contradiction between the fact that Christ ate food after his resurrection, and the doctrine that in the promised resurrection state there will... Read more
Questions, questions, questions. We all have them, and we certainly have plenty about the faith. No one will ever have the answer to every possible question in the Catholic faith. This is why I thoroughly enjoy resources that allow me to expand my knowledge about the faith. A Priest Answers 27 Questions You Never Thought to Ask by Father Michael Kerper is one of those books that provides the answers. At least 27 of them as the title alludes to!... Read more
We believe in the resurrection of the body. But we won’t all rise with the same bodies, says St. Cyril of Jerusalem. What kind of eternal body we get depends on how we lived our lives here on earth. We’ll all be raised with eternal bodies. But not all our bodies will be alike. If you’re righteous, you’ll receive a heavenly body, so that you’ll be able to mingle with the angels. But if you’re a sinner, you’ll receive an eternal body... Read more
Even in paradise, says St. Methodius, we will have bodies, which distinguishes us from angels. Christ did not say that we would be angels, but like angels. Thus it was that, having contrived the parable about the woman and the seven brothers, that they might cast doubt upon the resurrection of the flesh, “The same day Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection” (Matt. 22:23). If there had been no resurrection of the flesh, but the soul... Read more
Review by Laura Socks Last year TAN Homeschool released the first volume of its new history series called The Story of Civilization. My family just finished up Volume 1 The Ancient World after using it last school year. As a homeschooling mom of 13 years, I’ve always found that the best way to know whether a book is good is to actually use it! Well after using it for this past school year, I have to say that this book... Read more
Because of our sin, says St. Augustine, there was a wall of hostility between us and the angels. So in redeeming us, Christ gave the angels a great benefit as well: he made us their friends again. We will not know the other part of the Church as it really is—the part made up of the holy angels and the powers of God—until, at the end of the age, we join it to have eternal bliss along with it. We know the... Read more
When Christ sends the angels to gather his chosen people, says St. Cyril of Jerusalem, it won’t matter at all whether you’re rich or poor. On earth, Christ was poor himself, so he won’t forget the poor among his elect. That King, so great and glorious, attended by trains of angels, who shares the Father’s throne, will not despise his own servants. His elect will not be confused with his foes: “and he will send out his angels with a loud... Read more
God judged even the angels justly, says St. Gregory the Great, so we should have no doubt that he will judge us justly. When we have doubts about the things that are done concerning us, we should look at others that we know well, and quiet that grumbling of the thought that came up because of our uncertainty. Look then: scourges bring the elect back to life, but not even scourges keep the wicked from doing evil. So Almighty God’s judgments... Read more
Rufinus of Aquileia reminds us that, in the resurrection, our bodies will be changed and glorified, just as Christ’s was. What was planted as a physical body will be raised as a spiritual body, fit for the companionship of angels. But since God’s saints have these promises, and an infinite number like them, about the resurrection of the righteous, it should not be hard now for us to believe the promises that the prophets have foretold as well—namely, that the righteous... Read more
Father Michael Kerper grew up in Philadelphia, attended Catholic schools as a boy, and then studied politics and economics at La-Salle University, labor relations at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and moral theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Ordained in 1985 for the Diocese of Manchester, Father Kerper has worked as a parish priest throughout New Hampshire. Father Kerper and I discuss his book from Sophia Institute Press A Priest Answers 27 Questions You Never Thought to... Read more
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