When we receive ashes on our foreheads on Ash Wednesday, the priest often says, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you will return.” These words from Genesis remind us that we are mortal and call us to humility. I recently read that the remains of St. Francis of Assisi are being displayed in France. Visitors can see that the only thing left of this holy saint, whom we believe now lives in Heaven, is a set of bones. Although we will all die and return to dust, God has a greater plan for us.
God created our bodies from the material of the earth, but He also made us in His image. Each of us has an immortal soul, and because of that we will live forever. When we die, our soul separates from our body and goes to Heaven, Hell, or purgatory. The soul does not feel relieved to escape the body as if it has finally become free. Instead, it feels incomplete and longs to be reunited with the body.
When Jesus returns, our souls will reunite with our glorified bodies and we will finally be complete for all eternity. Even those in Hell will be reunited with their bodies, though they will remain eternally separated from God. At that time, sickness and death will disappear. We will live forever with bodies that share in the immortality of our souls.
The thought of living forever without God frightens me. It is true that fear of Hell can lead us to follow God’s will, but we should strive to follow Him because we love Him. At my job, I follow the rules not only because I do not want to lose my job, but also because I want the operation to remain safe and the company to succeed.
Those who live according to the flesh and focus only on earthly things will face disappointment when they die and the physical world is taken away. Those who live for God, however, will naturally be drawn to Him when this world passes away. For this reason we should orient our lives toward building a relationship with God above everything else.
When Jesus was transfigured, the Apostles saw that He was more than a physical body. They caught a glimpse of His divine glory. Later they witnessed His resurrected body and His ascension into Heaven. These moments remind us that life is more than the material world. While our bodies will indeed become dust, we now have hope that we will be reunited with our body and both body and soul will live forever in the presence of God.
