We're all going to rise from the dead. Those who believe in Jesus and have lived for Him will see Him face to face and be perfectly happy forever with Him in heaven. We know this because the Lord has revealed it to us through His Church and Word.

Many people, however, deny such things as resurrection from the dead, Judgment Day, heaven, and hell. They live as if this life is all there is (see 1 Cor 15:32). To confirm us in our belief in eternal happiness, our heavenly Father and Jesus have sent the Holy Spirit. "We yearn to have our heavenly habitation envelop us" (2 Cor 5:2). "God has fashioned us for this very thing and has given us the Spirit as a Pledge of it" (2 Cor 5:5). "He is the Pledge of our inheritance, the first Payment against the full redemption of a people God has made His own, to praise His glory" (Eph 1:14). By the Holy Spirit, we experience God's love, have an awe in His presence, become empowered by His gifts, receive true freedom, and are transformed into God's image and likeness.

This amazing life in the Spirit is the first payment, the pledge of our inheritance. We won't live long enough to personally experience the fulfillment of many of God's promises. By the Spirit, however, we will experience a few of God's wondrous works. These initial experiences confirm us in our faith that everything else the Lord has promised will be done (see Jos 23:14). Those of us who are alive in the Spirit have seen enough of God's glory to know that it's all true. Alleluia! Come, Holy Spirit!

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Auxiliary Bishop, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 24, 2014

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