Quotations about life after death

What man, stationed in a foreign land, would not want to return to his own country as soon as possible? Well, we look upon paradise as our country, and a great crowd of our loved ones awaits us there, a countless throng of parents, brothers and children longs for us to join them. Assured though they are of their own salvation, they are still concerned about ours. What joy both for them and for us to see one another and embrace! O the delight of that heavenly kingdom where there is no fear of death! O the supreme and endless bliss of everlasting life!

There, is the glorious band of apostles, there the exultant assembly of prophets, there the innumerable host of martyrs, crowned for their glorious victory in combat and in death. There in triumph are the virgins who subdued their passions by the strength of continence. There the merciful are rewarded, those who fulfilled the demands of justice by providing for the poor. In obedience to the Lord’s command, they turned their earthly patrimony into heavenly treasure.

My dear brothers, let all our longing be to join them as soon as we may.

From a sermon on man’s mortality by Saint Cyprian, bishop.

O God, who have prepared for those who love you good things which no eye can see, fill our hearts, we pray, with the warmth of your love, so that, loving you in all things and above all things, we may attain your promises, which surpass every human desire.

From the Liturgy of the Hours.

And our parting will not be for long; we shall see each other again in heaven; we shall be united with our Savior; there we shall praise him with heart and soul, sing of his mercies for ever, and enjoy eternal happiness. When he takes away what he once lent us, his purpose is to store our treasure elsewhere more safely and bestow on us those very blessings that we ourselves would most choose to have.

I write all this with the one desire that you and all my family may consider my departure a joy and favor and that you especially may speed with a mother’s blessing my passage across the waters till I reach the shore to which all hopes belong.

From a letter to his mother by Saint Aloysius

Then "Glory to the Father, to the Son,
And to the Holy Spirit," rang aloud
Throughout all Paradise, that with the song
My spirit reel'd, so passing sweet the strain:
And what I saw was equal ecstasy;
One universal smile it seem'd of all things,
Joy past compare, gladness unutterable,
Imperishable life of peace and love,
Exhaustless riches and unmeasur'd bliss.

Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy (Paradise: Canto XXVII).

With loss of other object, forc'd me bend
Mine eyes on Beatrice once again.
If all, that hitherto is told of her,
Were in one praise concluded, 't were too weak
To furnish out this turn. Mine eyes did look
On beauty, such, as I believe in sooth,
Not merely to exceed our human, but,
That save its Maker, none can to the full
Enjoy it. At this point o'erpower'd I fail,
Unequal to my theme, as never bard
Of buskin or of sock hath fail'd before.
For, as the sun doth to the feeblest sight,
E'en so remembrance of that witching smile
Hath dispossess my spirit of itself.
Not from that day, when on this earth I first
Beheld her charms, up to that view of them,
Have I with song applausive ever ceas'd
To follow, but not follow them no more;
My course here bounded, as each artist's is,
When it doth touch the limit of his skill.
She (such as I bequeath her to the bruit
Of louder trump than mine, which hasteneth on,
Urging its arduous matter to the close),
Her words resum'd, in gesture and in voice
Resembling one accustom'd to command:
"Forth from the last corporeal are we come
Into the heav'n, that is unbodied light,
Light intellectual replete with love,
Love of true happiness replete with joy,
Joy, that transcends all sweetness of delight.

Dante Alighieri. The Divine Comedy (Paradise: Canto XXX).

{20:11} I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.

{20:12} I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.

{20:13} The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works.

{20:14} Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

{20:15} If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

The Revelation to John 20:11-15

{21:1} I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth have passed away, and the sea is no more.

{21:2} I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

{21:3} I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, "Behold, God's dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.

{21:4} He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away."

The Revelation to John 21:1-4

For our citizenship is in heaven.

Paul's Letter to the Philippians 3:20

{12:2} Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

{12:3} Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse; and those who turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.

Daniel 12:2-3

Things which an eye didn't see, and an ear didn't hear, which didn't enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.

Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians 2:9

They seek a petty reward, and sometimes fight shamefully in law courts for a single piece of money.
They are not afraid to work day and night for a trifle or an empty promise.
But, for an unchanging good, for a reward beyond estimate, for the greatest honor and for glory everlasting, it must be said to their shame that men begrudge even the least fatigue.
Be ashamed, then, lazy and complaining servant, that they should be found more eager for perdition than you are for life, that they rejoice more in vanity than you in truth.
Sometimes indeed their expectations fail them, but My promise never deceives, nor does it send away empty-handed him who trusts in Me.
What I have promised I will give. What I have said I will fulfill, if only a man remain faithful in My love to the end.

Thomas à Kempis "The Imitation Of Christ"

Don't lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal;
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don't break through and steal;
for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Good News According to Matthew 6:19-21

...that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, those on earth, and those under the earth...

Paul's Letter to the Philippians 2:10

{1:21} For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
{1:22} But if I live on in the flesh, this will bring fruit from my work; yet I don't know what I will choose.
{1:23} But I am in a dilemma between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
{1:24} Yet, to remain in the flesh is more needful for your sake.

Paul's Letter to the Philippians 1:21-24

You don't have a soul.
You are a Soul.
You have a body.

C.S.Lewis

As soon as I thought so, I flew up and penetrated the ceiling as if it were not there. It was great to be outside, to be free, I was not afraid of hitting something, I knew where I was going. I heard exuberant sounds like a gong in the wind, the most incredible sounds imaginable - from the lowest to the highest tones.

Approaching that area, I saw trees, birds and a couple of persons, it seemed as if they were woven from light. I could see them, it was amazing, really beautiful, I was stunned by this discovery because I could never imagine light before.

And one more thing ... I still feel excitement when I talk about it... I had the impression that I could have any knowledge I would want...

And in this other world, I met several acquaintances who greeted me. There were five of them. Debbie and Diana had been my friends from high school, they had died long ago, one at eleven and the other at the age of six. Both had been blind and mentally retarded, but here they looked radiant and beautiful, healthy and full of life. They were no longer children, but were, as they say, at the bloom of female beauty. In addition, I saw the spouses who had looked after me in my childhood - Mr. and Mrs. Zilk. They had both already died. Then I met my grandmother, who had actually raised me. She had died two years before the accident. Grandma stood slightly behind and reached out to hug me...

And then I was sent to my body. The pain was unbearable.

Vika, a woman who was blind from birth (magazine "Love One Another")

Also from heaven, I will continue my work to save souls.

st. Leopold Mandić

For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

Paul's Letter to the Philippians 1:21

Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 5:19

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in their hearts, yet so that man can't find out the work that God has done from the beginning even to the end.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

When the soul parts from its body and desires to go to its Creator in heaven, the evil spirits prevent the soul and show to it its sins. If the soul has done more good deeds than evil, they cannot keep it; but if the sins outweigh the good deeds, they keep the soul for some time, shut it up in the prison where it cannot know God, and torment it as much as God's power allows them, until that soul, by means of prayers of the Church and good deeds done for its sake by those who are still on earth, should be granted forgiveness.

"Those who believe in the Holy Trinity and take as frequently as possible the Holy Communion of the Holy Mysteries of Christ our Saviour's Body and Blood—such people can rise to heaven directly, with no hindrances, and the holy angels defend them, and the holy saints of God pray for their salvation, since they have lived righteously. No one, however, takes care of the wicked and depraved heretics, who do nothing useful during their lives, and live in disbelief and heresy. The angels can say nothing in their defence.

"When a soul proves to be so sinful and impure before God that it has no hope of salvation, the evil spirits immediately bring it down into the abyss, where their own place of eternal torment is also. There the lost souls are kept until the time of the Lord's Second Coming. Then they will unite with their bodies and will incur torment in the fiery hell together with the devils.

St. Theodora's Journey Through the Aerial Toll-Houses

Therefore we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by sight. We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord. Therefore also we make it our aim, whether at home or absent, to be well pleasing to him. For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:6-10

For instead of the little will that you now readily give up, you shall always have your will in heaven. There, indeed, you shall find all that you could desire. There you shall have possession of every good without fear of losing it. There shall your will be forever one with Mine. It shall desire nothing outside of Me and nothing for itself. There no one shall oppose you, no one shall complain of you, no one hinder you, and nothing stand in your way. All that you desire will be present there, replenishing your affection and satisfying it to the full. There I shall render you glory for the reproach you have suffered here; for your sorrow I shall give you a garment of praise, and for the lowest place a seat of power forever. There the fruit of glory will appear, the labor of penance rejoice, and humble subjection be gloriously crowned.

Bow humbly, therefore, under the will of all, and do not heed who said this or commanded that. But let it be your special care when something is commanded, or even hinted at, whether by a superior or an inferior or an equal, that you take it in good part and try honestly to perform it. Let one person seek one thing and another something else. Let one glory in this, another in that, and both be praised a thousand times over. But as for you, rejoice neither in one or the other, but only in contempt of yourself and in My pleasure and honor. Let this be your wish: That whether in life or in death God may be glorified in you.

Thomas Hemerken of Kempen "The Imitation of Christ"

O death, how bitter is the remembrance of you to a man that is at peace in his possessions, To the man that has nothing to distract him, and has prosperity in all things, And that still has strength to receive meat!

O death, acceptable is your sentence to a man that is needy, and that fails in strength, That is in extreme old age, and is distracted about all things, And is perverse, and has lost patience!

Don't be afraid of the sentence of death; Remember those who have been before you, and that come after: This is the sentence from the Lord over all flesh.

And why do you refuse, when it is the good pleasure of the Most High? Whether it be ten, or a hundred, or a thousand years, There is no inquisition of life in * the grave.

The Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach 41:1-4

Wherefore he made the atoning sacrifice for those who had died, that they might be released from their sin.

2nd Maccabees 12:45

We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.

Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians 5:8

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