Heaven: Encyclopedia II - Heaven - Heaven in Roman Catholicism

Heaven - Heaven in Roman Catholicism

In Roman Catholicism Heaven is the Physical Realm of God, the Mother of God, the Angels, and the Saints.

Upon dying, the soul goes to what is called "the particular judgement" where their afterlife is decided (e.g. Heaven (after going through Purgatory) or Hell.) This is different from "the general judgement" also known as "the last judgement" which will occur when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.

It is a common Roman Catholic belief that St. Michael the Archangel carries the soul to Heaven. The belief that Saint Peter meets the soul at the "Pearly Gates" is an artistic application of the belief that Christ gave Peter, the first Pope, the keys to Heaven.

As Heaven is a place where only the pure are permitted, no person who dies in a state of sin can enter Heaven. "Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they "see him as he is," face to face." (Catechism of the Catholic Church §1023) "Those who die in God's grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they are assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification after death, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of God." (Catechism of the Catholic Church §1054)

If one were baptized validly and then died, one would go directly to heaven (in the Roman Catholic belief, the sacrament of baptism dissolves the eternal and temporal punishment of all sins). If one never committed a mortal sin and were absolved of all his venial sins just before death, one would go directly to Heaven.

Most people who enter Heaven go through Purgatory (or "place of purification"). In Purgatory, a soul pays off all temporal punishment one deserved for the sins he committed in life. This does not always happen though. If one receive the sacrament of Confession validly, as well as gain a plenary indulgence, and die, one would directly go to heaven. There are many ways to get an indulgence, in various Papal decrees or publications [1][2]. To receive a plenary indulgence, one must receive the sacrament of Confession validly, do one's penance, validly receive Communion, say some specified number of Our Fathers, Hail Marys and Glory Bes for the intentions of the Pope, and then perform some act of gaining the indulgence. Of course, one must remain free from all sin, mortal and venial, while doing all these things.

Many people believe they need to gain many plenary indulgences so they will not have to spend as much time in purgatory. Many Catholic dissenters claim that if one is actually detached from all sin, one doesn't need the indulgence anyway.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Heaven in Roman Catholicism", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki