In another description, the catechism says, like a kernel which is sown in the earth to yield new life, what is brought to life in the Resurrection of the body is entirely different from the seed which died. While these mysteries require eyes of faith, the human experience of death is a constant reminder that our lives are a pilgrimage toward God. The passage of time marks a course with definite limits. This is one of the reminders given by our cross of ashes at the beginning of Lent. Our lives are measured by time, in the course of which we change, grow old and, as with all living beings on earth, death seems like the normal end of life.
Human life begins with birth and ends with death.
But our spiritual life in Christ begins in baptism, where we believe Christians are plunged into the death of Christ sacramentally. At the end of our lives, those who die in Christ's grace complete this physical dying with Christ that began in baptism. The catechism also calls to mind the reality of an eternal separation from God through willful and persistent turning away from God. Return to this issue Return to The Georgia Bulletin Return to Home Page of the Archdiocese of Atlanta.