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Dale Ahlquist on the Apocalyptic Conflagration
From the Rochester NY Chesterton Society’s 8th Annual Conference, Dale Ahlquist (President, American Chesterton Society) talks about the end of the world and how it factors into the world that God has created, a world of justice and peace, and a world that will undergo a revolution to conform it to God’s plan. We must…
Read MoreKevin O’Brien as Hilaire Belloc
In this recording from the 2011 Rochester NY Chesterton Conference, Hilaire Belloc (played by Kevin O’Brien) takes a sweeping overview of Christian history with a look at what he conceptualized as the five major heresies. Arianism, one of the earliest great heresies, claims that Jesus was not God but a creature. St. Athanasius and some…
Read MoreFour Last Things – Communion of the Whole Church
The Church can be divided into three parts: the Church Militant on Earth, the Church Triumphant in Heaven, and the Church Suffering in Purgatory. All parts of the Church are ceaselessly praying for each other, and it is through this prayer that God has chosen to place the vitality of the Church. Download MP3 (39:37;…
Read MoreFour Last Things – Communion of the Saints
Through the saving power of Jesus Christ, death has been turned from a curse into a blessing. It is important to emphasize that this is indeed a blessing and not simply a lack of curse. In Christ, we will have communion with all others who are in Christ. We must therefore pray for our brethren…
Read MoreFour Last Things – The Minority Will be Saved
The majority of the church fathers are of the opinion that more people, indeed more people claiming to be Christian, will be damned than saved. There is a minority who hold an opposing opinion. As overly-optimistic visions of Hell are not particularly helpful, so too are hellfire speeches which luridly describe the punishments of Hell…
Read MoreFour Last Things – Universal Salvation
There was a theory expounded by Origen, among others, that all would be saved, in some theories extending even to the Devil. While the Church has never officially ruled out the more moderate versions of this theory, the clear language of the Bible is very difficult to square with this belief. Still, we do not…
Read MoreFour Last Things – Hell, An Introduction
Hell is not a pleasant subject, and some religions try to explain it away or ignore it entirely. How could a loving God commit any of his creation to unquenchable fire? The answer is that we choose it ourselves. The damned have physical bodies, because the body helped commit the sins that damned the soul,…
Read MoreFour Last Things – The Nature of Heaven
God cannot be seen as He is unless He allows Himself to be seen, which is termed the beatific vision. This is an unapproachable light (1 Tim 6:16), but we expect to see face to face in Heaven (1 Cor 13:12, Ps 17:15). The Catechism also tells us that we will reign in heaven, though…
Read MoreFour Last Things – Our Heavenly Identity
Despite the physicality of Heaven, we cannot expect carnality or a fleshliness there. 1 Cor 13:12 tells us that we will be face to face with God, and there cannot be any attachment to anything else when we are. Rev 22 tells us that we will have His name inscribed on our foreheads, such will…
Read MoreFour Last Things – Heaven
Benedict XII tells us that those who have died and have been purified or are not in need of purification are in Heaven, even before the resurrection. This is a place of surpassing beauty and where we will be in a union of love with God without any mediation. We must still be resurrected on…
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