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| This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop. |
Dear Friends,
The word “eschatology” points to the last things — death, judgment, heaven, and hell. In a certain sense, it’s the most important part of our faith.
Why did God make us? God made us to know, love, and serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in the next! And of course, what is seen in this world passes away, but what is unseen in the next world is eternal. And what is eternal obviously takes priority over what is temporal, what is time-bound.
Most important part of our faith
So the eschatological dimension of our faith is most important, and yet most Catholics don’t consider it very often. Recent surveys reveal that most Catholics are unsure as to whether there is life after death. Many Catholics think that it’s all over with our bodily death here.
That’s terribly sad, and troubling, and it’s partly why I’ve been focusing on eschatology of late. Lacking a proper understanding of eschatology skews our entire perspective on life and reality.
One tendency for those who lack a proper perspective vis-à-vis eschatology is to be completely wrapped up in improving things in this world, without reference to the things of eternity. Of course we want to improve things in this world and, in fact, we need to work hard to improve them — that’s part and parcel of knowing, loving, and serving God in this world.