Each month, The Central Minnesota Catholic features a big question the Church is facing. This month, panelists answer the question, “What does the Church say about death, heaven and hell?” Responding are Father Matthew Kuhn, pastor of St. Henry in Perham and Holy Cross in Butler; and Father Aaron Kuhn, pastor of St. Ann in Wadena, St. John the Baptist in Bluffton and St. Joseph in Bertha.
Q. What do the Church’s funeral rites teach us about death?
FATHER MATTHEW: The funeral rite is full of hope in the resurrection of the dead. It confronts the reality of death as a consequence of sin, while at the same time proclaiming the victory of Jesus over sin and death and our joyful hope for the resurrection of the dead.
The funeral Mass begins with a blessing of the body with holy water, reminding us of the graces the deceased person received at baptism, especially the promise of resurrection in Christ Jesus. A Catholic funeral is a Mass for the deceased person, which not only reminds us of Jesus’ Passion, death and resurrection, but makes present Jesus himself in the Eucharist. Jesus’ body and blood, offered to the Father in the Eucharist, becomes in the funeral Mass the very real and present remedy for sin and death. As the Eucharist was “food for the journey” for them in this life, so too our participation in the funeral Mass becomes an offering to speed them on their way. We pray for the deceased person to be welcomed into heaven, and we pray that God will console those who mourn for the dead.
Q. What is the biggest question you hear surrounding death?
FATHER MATTHEW: I get lots of questions about what medical procedures are allowed and/or recommended when we are nearing the end of this life, and I refer them to Father Knoblach, our [diocesan] bioethics expert.
People also frequently ask whether I believe they will go to heaven. I always respond by offering to hear their confession, just to make sure they are free from any burden of sin and ready to meet Jesus. Then, after giving them absolution, I say yes, I am sure they are headed in the right direction.
FATHER AARON: Cremation and worthiness to go to heaven are the two topics I hear about most around death. People want to know if cremation is allowed: it is, provided it is done with respect toward the body. All the remains should be kept together in one container and then interred in a sacred place (cemetery). Catholics are never to separate or spread ashes, even though it may be popular in the culture. Every year in November, we offer an opportunity for unburied cremated remains to be interred at our cemetery for free for those who have not yet done so. Jesus teaches us that to “bury the dead” is a corporal work of mercy (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447).
We want a sense of security that God will welcome us after death, that we will be found worthy. It is good to remember that none of us can earn heaven; Jesus is the only one who did that, and he freely shares his merit with us. We inherit heaven as a gift by accepting it in faith. In order to enjoy heaven, we will need to be cleansed of our sins, and this too is a generous gift that Jesus gives, first in baptism and later in reconciliation. The sacraments are what give us security; in them we accept Jesus as Lord and receive him as Savior from sin and death.
Q. How should we understand heaven?
FATHER MATTHEW: Heaven is the Kingdom of God, our goal in this life, and our true home — the perfect reality where everything is rightly ordered to God’s will. We look forward to being saints, united with God in heaven, after having been totally freed from our sins in purgatory. In heaven we will experience total fulfillment of our nature in perfect union with God. Many passages in Sacred Scripture describe heaven as a great feast or wedding banquet (Matthew 22:2), rest from our labors, and the fulfillment of our every good desire. A large part of the Book of Revelation describes heaven in a way that closely resembles the Mass (cf. Revelation 19).
Q. We often hear that our deceased loved ones are “in a better place” or with God. What does this really mean? Are they watching over us, as we sometimes say? Should we pray to them asking for intercession? Should we pray for them?
FATHER AARON: To be in heaven is to have all relationships reconciled with God, with neighbor and with nature. Once we have been cleansed by God’s love we are truly in a better place of relationship and reality, but now it is permanent. We will be more alive than ever before. The best experiences of unconditional love, joy and happiness on earth are just a foretaste of how great heaven is. Everyone who is in heaven is full of grace, which means they are holy, and thus saints. Indeed, they do watch over us, though not with earthly thoughts but God’s thoughts. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways” (Isaiah 55:8). Like adults who admire the efforts of children learning about the world, the saints watch us and pray for us to “get it,” that real life is divine life, not earthly life. They are more alive than we are, so they are certainly able to pray and interact with us, all in accord with God’s will. They never act apart from God’s will, just as we are called to do the same while on earth. We should ask for their prayers all the time. Our prayers will not change the quality of their lives in heaven, but their prayers can change our lives on earth.
Q. What is the communion of saints?
FATHER MATTHEW: We believe that those human souls that have entered into heaven can still pray for us. We can ask for their intercession just as easily as we ask each other for prayers. They still care for us, and part of the praise they give to God in heaven is their prayers for us; their prayers, like ours, are a participation in God’s work of salvation.
Q. Does the Church still believe in purgatory? How should we understand this?
FATHER AARON: I like to describe hell, purgatory and heaven as states of relationship rather than places. Imagine if my brother and I were to get into a vicious argument, slamming doors and saying hurtful things that more or less result in a rift not unlike a death
between us. If God were to bring us to heaven in that state and say, “Welcome to heaven; the two of you will now sit next to each other for eternity,” it would be hell for us! Hell is like unresolved relationships, unforgiveness forever. People choose this on earth, so why would that magically change in death? If, however, we were to at least say we were sorry, forgive one another and then choose to work on the rebuilding of the relationship, it would feel like hell but instead be purgatory. God’s love purifies like fire, which is in part why we use images of fire for both realities. If we were able to reconcile all things between us and be at peace before death, then it would already be heaven on earth between us, so entry into heaven would seem the same after death. All things must be reconciled in Christ, which means all relationships and moments between us count. Every sin must be conquered by love. The kingdom of heaven is love in all circumstances.
Q. Is hell real?
FATHER MATTHEW: As real as COVID, my friend. I find most people have an easier time believing in hell than heaven. Many of our experiences in this life can be unimaginably painful for our bodies and our souls. From our experiences of these sufferings it is easy to imagine what infinite and eternal suffering would be like. In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus describes hell as a place of “weeping and gnashing of teeth” for those who are cast out from the kingdom of God (Luke 13:28).
FATHER AARON: The teaching of Jesus is clear that a permanent eternal existence apart from God exists and souls go there as a result of their choices not to love: “Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me. And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life” (Matthew 25:45-46). There have to be consequences for sin. If not, can anything be considered justice? Heaven is complete justice, where all things have been made right. God will not force us to love each other in heaven. We have to freely choose it in every instance, and this requires us to be changed. If we are unwilling to love, unwilling to change, unwilling to forgive, unwilling to say we are sorry, then God respects our free will and hell is our consequence. If we are willing to love, to change, to forgive and to repent, then it may take a lot of purgatory but we will be purified by love and able to enjoy heaven forever.
Q. If we are promised eternal life, why are so many people afraid of death?
FATHER MATTHEW: We fear death because deep down we know we are sinners, and our sins separate us from God. We fear the possibility of losing our promised salvation. This need not make us fear death, however. Christ Jesus has conquered death. A healthy fear of hell ought to encourage us to make a good confession and avoid sin, but it should not cause us to lose our joy and hope.
Q. What does it mean when we profess, “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead” at Mass?
FATHER AARON: Jesus’ grace restores and glorifies not only our souls but also our bodies. The resurrection of the soul happens first in baptism where our sins are washed away, and later in reconciliation if we have mortally sinned after baptism. The resurrection of our bodies will be at the end of time, when Jesus comes again in glory and the final judgment occurs. We know our bodies will be restored and glorified, because Jesus was the first to rise from the dead body and soul. “It is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day” (Matthew 6:40).
FATHER MATTHEW: Because Jesus took his body with him when he ascended to heaven, we know that heaven is not merely a spiritual reality. We look forward to the resurrection of our bodies — to our bodies being glorified, like Jesus’ body after his resurrection. Even though we don’t know exactly how this will take place, we do our best to keep our bodies holy in this life, knowing that they are meant for heaven, as are our souls.
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Minnesota Catholic Podcasts NOVEMBER 2020
The following podcast will be posted in November. You can access it by visiting www. TheCentralMinnesotaCatholic.org and clicking on “Minnesota Catholic Podcasts.” You also can subscribe to Minnesota Catholic Podcasts on iTunes or Google Play.
Topic: “What’s it like to be a funeral director?”
Guest: Deb Dingmann, funeral director, mortician and owner of Williams Dingmann Family Funeral Homes
Dingmann talks about her work with grieving families in need of healing and how serving as a funeral director has influenced her own perspective on life and death.
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Question for reflection
November — with All Saints’ Day, Nov. 1, and All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2 — is a month when we remember and pray for loved ones who have died. Do you have a special tradition that you observe this month (or at another time of the year) for honoring and remembering deceased friends and/or family members?
You are invited to submit your answer (150 words or less) to editor Joe Towalski at jtowalski@gw.stcdio. org. A sampling of answers will be published in a future edition of The Central Minnesota Catholic.
Fr Matthew and Fr Aaron, What is the Apostolic Blessing and when is it done and why?