End of the Present World and the Mysteries of the Future Life

by Charles Arminjon

In fact, when the Christian Faith has finally died out in the hearts of men - when pleasure and well-being have become the gods of the day -human activity will then have a single goal: the power of the state; one single lever and stimulus: public opinion;

It is through the body that the mind reveals its power and exercises its kingship. It is the body, Tertullian says, that is the organ of the divine life and the sacraments. It is the body that is washed by the water of Baptism, so that the soul may obtain its purity and clarity. It is the body that is anointed by the oil and the unction of the Holy Spirit, so that the soul may be consecrated. It is upon the body that hands are imposed, so that the soul may be enlightened and can communicate blessings. It is the body that receives the Eucharist and quenches its thirst with divine Blood, so that man, becoming one with Christ and sharing with Him the same life, may live eternally."

Sometimes, says St. Thomas, a person repents and hates sin in one or two ways: absolutely or accidentally. He who hates sin absolutely, hates it on account of its intrinsic ugliness, and because it is an offense against God; he who hates it accidentally, hates it, not out of love of God, but out of love of himself; in other words, he does not really detest sin, but only the pain, the evils it has brought him. The will of the damned is still inclined to evil, and their horror and detestation of their punishment is neither repentance nor atonement.' Undoubtedly they are consumed by desires and dreams; but the object of these dreams is their own happiness, which they would arrange independently of God. Such is the dream of the demons and the damned, a dream eternally futile that consumes them in unceasing despair and rage. So, the damned cannot repent.