THE CHRISTIAN TEACHING CONCERNING THE SANCTIFICATION, GLORY, AND
RESURRECTION OF RATIONAL CREATURES CONTAINS NO ARTICLE WHICH IS EITHER
IMPOSSIBLE, OR UNREASONABLE.
We have already spoken of the sanctification of man by grace, pointing
out that, as man is destined for a supernatural end, to which he cannot
attain save by Divine grace, this grace is supplied to Him by God, who
is never found wanting to His creatures. We have likewise treated, at
sufficient length, of the glory of the soul, when we proved that the
end of human life is the vision of the Divine essence in the light of
glory. Thus have we shown that the teaching of Faith concerning the
sanctification and glory of the rational creature, is both reasonable
and credible. The same may also be affirmed of the doctrine of the
resurrection of the dead. For, although this could not _naturally_
take place, since nature can only give life by generation, the Divine
Power being infinite, and not limited to natural operation, can perform
innumerable other things in infinite ways. Therefore, to God the
resurrection of the body is most easy. Why should not He who has made all
things out of nothing, be able, by raising the dead, to make one thing
out of another thing? Death does not mean annihilation. The soul remains
immortal; and the matter of which the body is formed is changed into
other matter. Even were it resolved into nothing, God could call that
nothingness back to life, as easily as He could create the world out of
nothing.
Hence, we shall see, on reflection, that belief in the resurrection
of the body is neither absurd nor impossible, but on the contrary
reasonable, expedient, and necessary. Because, as the soul is the form
of the body and is immortal, its separation from the body is unnatural.
Now, as any unnatural condition is incongruous with the Divine Wisdom, it
cannot be permanent; and therefore the soul must of necessity return to
the body.
Again. Without the body, the being of the soul is imperfect. All things
tend to their perfection. Therefore, without the resurrection of the
body, the soul could never be completely happy, since its desire for
perfection (which consists in the union of soul with body), would remain
eternally unsatisfied.
Further. Happiness is due to those that live aright; and, in this life,
it is not the soul which lives but the man. Life, intelligence, and all
other activities are not attributes of the soul alone, but of the whole
man. It is the whole man who acts, and the soul is the form, by virtue
whereof he acts. Happiness, therefore, is due not only to the soul, but
to the whole man who lives aright. Now, without the resurrection of the
body, the soul only would receive reward.
Furthermore. Since Divine Providence rewards the good and punishes the
guilty; and since the body, as well as the soul, does good and evil, the
body equally deserves punishment or reward. But if the body rise not
again, how is justice to be satisfied?
The foregoing arguments, besides proving the reasonableness of our faith
in the resurrection of the body, demonstrate further that the body
must rise to immortality. Otherwise, each death would necessitate a
corresponding resurrection, and the series would continue _ad infinitum_.
We believe, likewise, that the body will rise to glory. For matter must
be proportionate to its form, and if the soul, which is the form of the
body, be glorified, the body must receive proportionate glory. For it
would not be fitting that the glorified soul should be joined to a body
not glorified, nor subject in obedience. Therefore, Faith most logically
teaches that, by the power of God, the glory of the soul overflows into
the body, rendering it agile, completely obedient to the soul, and
absolutely perfect. And, since all bodies are made for man, who is their
end, faith teaches, likewise, that when man is glorified, the whole world
will also be glorified, since things must needs become proportioned to
the end for which they are destined. After the resurrection, the body
will no longer require sustenance; therefore, the motions of the heavenly
bodies will cease; and animals, plants, and all compound substances will
be resolved into their elements, purged by fire, and clothed in new and
glorious brightness; and we shall be for ever happy with the Lord.