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ETERNAL LIFE IN
PARADISE: By Father Stephen F. Toracco |
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Up until the 20th century both the Catholic Church and the other Christian churches professed their eschatological faith in the form of this double phase. But in the 20th century, first some Protestant exegetes and theologians and then some Catholic exegetes and theologians rejected this double phase of eschatology, either by affirming that the dead "sleep" while they wait for the final resurrection, or by maintaining that the resurrection takes place at death: this is a "resurrection in death" which for each human person, those who have died and those who will die, takes place simultaneously, because there is no more time after death and therefore there is no more temporal succession of before and after They claim that to affirm an intermediate state, in which souls are "separated" from their bodies, would be in opposition to the biblical vision of man According to the Bible, the soul is not distinguished from the body -and therefore it cannot be separated, because man is a unique being in whom the "body" is exterior and visible, while the "soul" is interior and invisible .In their opinion, the doctrine of the "separated" and "immortal" soul is a platonic doctrine which is irreconcilable with the teaching of the Bible, for the Bible does not speak of the "immortality of the soul," but of the "resurrection of bodies." This new view of Christian eschatology has been made the object of a profound critical examination by the International Theological Commission in its document called "Some Current Questions Concerning Eschatology," which was published in La Civilta Cattolica (1992 1, 458-494). But not many years ago, on May 17, 1979 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith sent a letter to all the bishops, approved by John Paul II, which reminded them of "the teaching that the Church proposes in the name of Christ, especially concerning what happens between a Christian's death and the general resurrection. The letter was in reference to the discussions on the existence of the soul, on the meaning of its survival, and on the relationship between the death of a Christian and the general resurrection. Among other things, the letter repeated two points: a) "The Church affirms the survival and the subsistence, after death, of a spiritual element, which is endowed with consciousness and will, in such a manner that the "human I" subsists, but lacks the complement of its body in the interim. In order to designate this element, the Church uses the word "soul," which is consecrated by its use in Scripture and in Tradition. Without ignoring that this term assumes different meanings in the Bible, the Church still maintains that there is no serious reason to reject it; moreover, she considers that it is an absolutely indispensable verbal instrument to be used in support of the Christian faith; b) In conformity with Sacred Scripture, the Church is waiting for 'the glorious appearance of our Savior Jesus Christ'; she considers His appearance, however, to be distinct and different with respect to the situation which is proper to man immediately after death."(Enchiridion Vaticanum VI, 1034-1043) In particular, it should be remembered that the immortality and subsistence of the human soul, as upheld by the Church, are not understood in a platonic sense which is certainly opposed to the Christian concept of man, but they are understood according to the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas for whom man is a "unique" being. For him, the body is part of the essence of man, and the soul, even in the state of separation, retains a transcendental relation to its own body and naturally desires to be reunited with it. Therefore, in order to express the totality of Christian dogma in the field of eschatology it is necessary to speak of the "immortality of the soul" and of the "resurrection of the dead": it is really a question of two truths which neither exclude nor contradict one another; rather, they complete each other inasmuch as the immortality of the soul and its subsistence make being with Christ soon after death "thinkable," and the resurrection of the dead makes "thinkable" the consummation of human history in the eternity of God "at the end of time." The idea of a happy life after death is found in many religions, such as Egyptian, Greco-Roman, and Islamic; but what characterizes this happy life is the fact that it is the continuation of man's earthly life, without the negative aspects which are inherent in it. In these religions, after death the man who conducted himself well during his own life now enjoys all the pleasures of this life.On the other hand, what characterizes the Christian vision of life after death is to share one "life with God" -- happiness does not consist primarily in the absence of suffering and in the enjoyment of the pleasures of this life, but rather in participating in the happiness of God, in full communion with God in Jesus Christ. This communion is the source of complete and perfect joy, of a joy that transcends everything the human mind can conceive or desire: "things beyond our seeing, things beyond our hearing, things beyond our imagining, all prepared by God for those who love Him" (I Cor. 2:9). But how should one think about eternal life with God? Since it is part of the mystery of God, which is not accessible to human intelligence except through the way of analogy and through symbols, in order to get some idea of it we must have recourse to the imaginative and symbolic language of Holy Scripture. Every concept, image or symbol, however, in order to be able to express the ineffable mystery of God, should be viewed under a triple aspect and by using a triple "way": by affirmation, by negation, and by infinitizing. Thus, when we say that "God is good," this expression must be affirmed, denied, and made infinite. That is, God is good according to our concept of goodness and so our concept of goodness is found verified in God; accordingly, when we say that "God is good," we know God, we have a certain "real" knowledge of God and we can properly speak about His goodness. But in the very moment we say that "God is good," we must also affirm that "God is not good" in the way in which we understand goodness: for our concept of goodness is a human concept, which is therefore limited and imperfect. Therefore, God is good but He is not good in our human way of being good: rather, He is good according to His own way of Infinite Being, Absolute and Transcendent. So God is good, but "infinitely." Thus, by saying that "God is good," I really know something about God's goodness and so God is not the "Totally Other" or the "Absolute Unknowable" for human intelligence, as is sometimes affirmed in our time. But what I know about God is a very little thing, a weak ray of light that filters, down from the mystery of God, for God is "infinitely" beyond what I can know about Him. Even when God reveals Himself in Holy Scripture, His mystery remains intact: the human words and signs through which He reveals Himself always remain "human" words and signs, and therefore incapable of "unveiling" the mystery of God; they can reveal Him only in a minimal way. Therefore, it is in the obscurity of faith that God really makes Himself known to man. This means that, with our human reason which is made in the image of God, we can know something about the reality of God and affirm something true and real about Him by the way of analogy (affirmation/negation/infinitizing). But He always remains infinitely beyond our reason. It also means that with faith, by the way of revelation or the self-communication of God, we can know the reality of God in that which it is, but not how it is: thus we can penetrate into the intimacy of the divine life and we can affirm that God is one in nature and three in Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; but we cannot comprehend how God is one in nature and three in Persons. Therefore, by faith we do not take a step beyond reason, as if reason and faith were a lesser and a greater level of knowledge, but we enter into a completely new order of knowledge which is not only superior but is also of a different nature. Nevertheless, if reason remains in the dark about the existence of God, faith remains in the dark about the how of the mystery. In the effort to penetrate such obscurity, just as reason uses analogy, so faith uses images and symbols which, since they are human, must be understood analogically, as very imperfect indicators of an ineffable Reality. What does Christian faith tell us about eternal life with God? In ancient Israel the happiness promised by Yahweh to the pious Israelite was an earthly happiness. Above all, it was a promise of a land "flowing with milk and honey"; next, it was a promise of a long and happy life in this land: "Keep the commandments of the Lord your God, conforming to his ways and fearing Him; for the Lord is bringing you to a good land ... a land where you will never suffer any scarcity of food to eat. . . . When you have plenty to eat, bless the Lord your God for the good land he has given you" (Dent. 8:6-10). Even the prophets see in earthly happiness the fulfillment of God's promises, with the qualification that they postpone the fulfillment to the "end of days": it is a happiness, therefore, which is eschatological, but still earthly. Jeremiah says in 31:12-14: "They will come with shouts of joy to Zion's height, radiant at the bounty of the Lord: the grain, the new wine and the oil, the young of flock and herd. They will be like a well-watered garden and never languish again. Girls will then dance for joy, and men young and old will rejoice; I shall turn their grief into gladness, comfort them, and give them joy after sorrow. I will satisfy the priests with the fat of the land and my people will have their fill of my bounty." But it is not just a matter of material well-being. The Prophets promise for the last days an integral human happiness, including the realization of justice, of freedom and of peace; above all, they promise communion with God: "I shall be their God, and they will be my people" (Jet. 31:33).
At the time of the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, during which many members of the people of God died for their faith and for their fidelity to the Law, a new perspective was born: the hope of eternal life. The book of Daniel (12:2-3) announces that "many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life and some to the reproach of eternal abhorrence. The wise leaders will shine like the bright vault of heaven." That is, the martyrs who are in sheol will rise again for "everlasting life," but it is not said in what that consists. The Second Book of Maccabees (7:9) also speaks about resurrection "to a new and everlasting life": this is a prospect already anticipated in some of the Psalms:"You will not abandon me to Sheol or suffer your faithful servant to see the pit. You will show me the path of life; in your presence is the fullness of joy, at your right hand are the pleasures for evermore" (Ps. 16: 1 0-1 1). "[The wicked] head for Sheol; with death as their shepherd, they go straight down to the grave. . . . But God will ransom my life and take me from the power of Sheol" (Ps. 49:14-15). "Yet I am always with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me by your counsel and afterwards you will receive me with glory" (Ps. 73:23-24). Eternal Life
Starts Here The prospect of an "eternal life with God" after death is made more precise and profound in the book of Wisdom: eternal life will be the prolongation without end of a reality which already started in the just man's life with God: "Those who have put their trust in Him will understand that he is true, and the faithful will attend on Him in love; they are his chosen, and grace and mercy will be theirs" (3:9). They will be considered "among the sons of God" and they will share in "the lot of the saints" ( angels) (5:5). While the hope of the impious vanishes into nothingness, "the just live forever; their reward is in the Lord's keeping, and the Most High has them in his care. Therefore royal splendor will be theirs, and a fair diadem from the Lord Himself" (5: 15-16). This reward, however, is not given to them immediately after death, but is reserved for "the day of judgment": "in the hour of their judgment they will shine in glory. . . . They will be judges and rulers over nations and peoples, and the Lord will be their King forever" (3:7-8). Immediately after death, "the souls of the just are in God's hand; no torment will touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to be dead . . . but they are at peace" (3:1-3). How should one understand this "being at peace" of the just before the final judgment? According to the first book of Enoch - an apocryphal book of revelation written between 170 and 65 B.C. -the patriarch Enoch, caught up in rapture by God is placed in a "paradise" (= garden of delights) where, along with Elijah who was also "enraptured" by God, he participates in the life of the angels, while waiting for the day of Judgment when the whole world will be transformed into paradise. Probably, the book of Wisdom should be interpreted along the same lines when it says that God "enraptures" the just and places them "in a safe place" while they wait for the day of Judgment. Perhaps Jesus refers to this mode of thought when, in speaking of Lazarus, he says that "he died and was carried by the angels to the bosom of Abraham" (Luke 16:22), and when he promises the good thief: "This day you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Happiness is in life with God. Thus, the hope of Israel in the last century before the coming of Jesus, having gone beyond the purely earthly happiness promised by Deuteronomy and the prophets, is directed towards a universe transfigured and transformed into paradise: in "the world to come" the elect are destined for a happiness which places soul and body in a renewed universe; but the essence of this happiness will not consist in the possession of earthly goods which surely cannot be lacking in a transfigured world, but in life with God which the just have already begun to live in this life. Therefore, the central nucleus of the revelation of the happiness promised to the just in the Old Testament is found "to the idea of an eschatological beatitude in which man's body also takes part and above all in the hope of being with God forever and of finding true joy in his presence." (P. Grelot, Dalla Morte alla Vita, Marietti, Torino, 1975, p. 109) A radical change in the way of conceiving eternal life occurred with the arrival of Christianity: it is now "life with the Trinitarian God in Christ," that is, "eternal life is full participation in the trinitarian life in Jesus Christ in a condition of human existence which has been renewed by the resurrection of the dead. (M. Bordoni, "Vita eterna," in Communio, Jan-Feb. 1991, p. 25.) The new element, with regard to the thinking of the Old Testament, is its trinitarian and Christological character: eternal life is life with the Holy Trinity, it is life with the risen Christ. In the New Testament it is represented under diverse images and concepts which highlight its many different aspects. In the Gospels, Jesus describes it as a wedding feast and a messianic banquet -- images which stress the sense of joy, peace and communion, that is, the being with and the rejoicing of the elect with the risen Christ. Jesus also mentioned "paradise," a word which originated in Persia (pairidaeza = garden). It occurs in two other places in the New Testament: St. Paul in speaking about his mystical experience says of himself that he was "caught up into paradise and heard words so secret that human lips may not repeat them" (2 Cor. 12:4); the risen Christ says "to those who are victorious I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that stands in the paradise of God" (Rev. 2:7). So the word "paradise" must be understood in the context of Jewish apocalyptic literature where it meant a "garden of delights" in which the Tree of Life grows and in which the just are detained while they await the day of Judgment, of final resurrection and "the world to come." Jesus is referring to this place when he says to the good thief-. "This day you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). What Jesus promises to the good thief is salvation and eternal life which consists in being with Him: "This day you will be with Me"; but in order to make Himself understood by the good thief who thinks in the categories of his own time, Jesus adds "in paradise." Therefore, if it is taken literally, the word "paradise" does not express the Christian idea of eternal life with God in Christ.
Actually, eternal life with God in Christ does not occur in a "place," such as a paradise/garden, but it is a new manner of being which unfolds beyond time and space, not as a break between time and eternity and between space and non-space, but as the fulfillment of time in eternity and of earthly space in the eschatological "new heavens and new earth," as a transfiguration of time into being eternally with God and as a transfiguration of space into "the holy city, the new Jerusalem." "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth...I also saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God...I heard a loud voice proclaiming from the throne: 'Now God has his dwelling with mankind! He will dwell among them and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There shall be an end to death, and to mourning and crying and pain, for the old order has passed away"' (Rev. 21:1-4). As St. John says in his Gospel, the "eternal life" which Jesus promises to those who have left everything to follow Him (Mark 10:28-30) is certainly in the eschatological order because after the final judgment "the just will go into eternal life" (Matt. 25:46). But for the one who believes in Christ and is united with Him, it begins already in this life: "Whoever heeds what I say and puts his trust in Him who sent me has eternal life; he does not come to judgment, but has already passed from death to life" (John 5:24). "Whoever puts his faith in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36). In fact, if the eschatological era begins with the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus, that is, the "end time" (which can have a very long duration); if Jesus incarnate, dead and risen is the Eschaton personified, then whoever enters into communion with Him in faith and grace participates in the "eternal life" which Christ Himself is and which he possesses in common with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Of course, what is meant is an eternal life which will attain its fullness only at the end of time, when Christ "delivers up the kingdom to God the Father . . . so that God will be all in all" (I Cor. 15:24. 28). This is the dialectic of the "already" and the "not yet" which permeates all of Christian eschatology. The Kingdom is a
Reign of Love How should one understand - always analogically and in the inescapable obscurity of faith - eternal life with the trinitarian God in the risen Christ? Sacred Scripture uses diverse notions to describe eternal life: "kingdom of God," "vision of God," "to be with Christ," "fulfillment" of the divine plan of salvation. Each one of these notions expresses an important aspect of eternal life. Above all, it is the kingdom of God in its fullness. Thus, for Jesus, "to enter into the kingdom" is equivalent to "entering into eternal life"; at the last judgment he will say to those who have done good to their "least brothers": "You have my Father's blessing. Come, take possession of the kingdom that has been ready for you since the world was made" (Matt. 25: 34). For St. Paul, sinners "will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:21); they will not have "any share in the kingdom of Christ and of God" (Eph. 5:5). But what is "the kingdom of God"? It has a double meaning. First of all, it means the kingdom of God, that is, victory and triumph over sin, evil and all the power of evil. By this victory sin and its consequences, suffering and death, are excluded from the kingdom of God; this victory also signifies the royal dominion, the reign of God over his elect - and since God is both Love and Father, it is a reign which can only be a reign of love. Therefore, it must entail an effusion of God's infinite happiness on the elect and their participation in his joy. But the reign of God should also be understood in an objective sense as the reign of God, that is, as the fullness of the blessings which are proper to God and which he communicates to those who take part in his kingdom.To enter into the kingdom of God then signifies not only to share in God's happiness, but also to be admitted to a participation in the blessings of his kingdom, which are peace, joy, fraternity, and communion. Thus, what highlights the idea of the "kingdom of God" is, on the one hand, the "royal" love of God for his elect, and on the other hand the communion of the elect. In fact, the kingdom of God is the community of those God has loved and chosen, gathering them together from the four winds into his kingdom. The Church is the
Prefiguration and the Germ on Earth of this Kingdom Secondly, eternal life consists in the "vision" of God. The elect will see God "face to face" (I Cor. 13:12); "they will see his face" (Rev. 22:4); they will see Him "as he is" (I John 3:2). This "vision" of God will make them "like unto Him," that is, it will bring their state of being children of God to its complete fulfillment and therefore will place them in a state of perfect communion with God and full participation in his life, his happiness and his glory: "Dear friends, we are now God's children; what we shall be has not yet been disclosed, but we know that when Christ appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as he is" (I John 3:2). For this reason, the "face to face" vision of God - which is intuitive, direct and not through concepts or images -will not be a purely intellectual experience, an eternal "contemplation" of God. Rather, it will be a life of familiarity in His presence; it will be a life of "communion" with God, a being similar to Him; it will be therefore a life of being His sons in the full revelation of divine filiation and the "divination" which this implies. But we are sons of God in Jesus Christ and through Jesus Christ. Therefore, if "seeing God face to face" means entering into filial communion with Him, by the same token it means "to be in Christ and with Christ," because only in Christ and through Christ do we have divine sonship. For this reason, vision/communion with God is vision/communion with Christ in His glorified humanity. In fact, through His glorified human nature he makes us enter into communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, St. Paul presents eternal life as "being with Christ." He wishes "to depart and be with Christ" (Phil. 1:23); he writes to the Thessalonians that, after the resurrection, "we will be with the Lord forever" (I Thess. 4:17), sharing in his life and glory as the Risen One. In reality, the risen Christ is the true Eschaton of man and eternal life means to live with Him, to reign with Him and to contemplate his glory while also participating in it: "Father, my desire is that they may be with me where I am, so that they may contemplate my glory" (John 17:24). Finally, eternal life is seen in Holy Scripture as the "fulfillment" of the plan of salvation which God has for humanity and for the cosmos. Eternal life, then, is nothing other than the "fullness" of the risen Christ, the complete realization of the redemptive and renewing power of the resurrection already present and operating in human history. In other words, eternal life is the fulfillment of Easter, the complete maturity of the forces of life and the seeds of grace which have been spread in the furrows of human history and in the world by the death and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, it is the fulfillment of everything great, noble and generous that has stirred in the hearts of men under the impulse of faith and love and has not been able to be realized in human history except in small part; it is the fulfillment of the values of charity, justice, fraternity, unity and communion among men which, because of the power of sin in the world, have not been able to achieve full historical actuality; it is the fulfillment of all the good that men, under the impulse of the grace of the risen Christ, have accomplished for the love of God and for their neighbor. But since humanity, in its spiritual/corporeal existence and in its history, is intimately united to the world, eternal life is also the fulfillment of the world, in the sense that God will grant the desire of the created universe, now subject to corruption, "to be freed from the shackles of corruption and to enter upon the glorious liberty of the sons of God" (see Rom. 8: 19-22). In reality, the redeeming and liberating power of the resurrection has affected not only men but also the whole world: for this reason, in eternal life even the material world-which now groans and suffers because man makes it serve evil and sin - will be transformed into the glory of the resurrection and there will be "new heavens and a new earth, in which justice will be established" (2 Pet. 3:13). So with the resurrection of the dead not only man but also the world will be "recreated" for a "new life." In Christian literature, in order to refer to eternal life various expressions are used: paradise, heaven, eternal rest. The word "paradise" is the most common, but, as noted above, it has a certain inadequacy, because in the New Testament it signifies the sojourn of the just who are waiting for the day of Judgment and not exactly eternal life with God in Christ. Since, however, in Christian tradition the meaning was changed to signify the condition of the just who live eternally with God, the term "paradise" can be used. Besides, that is the way the funeral liturgy of the Church uses it when, consigning the deceased to the ground, she prays: In paradisum deducant te angeli ("May the angels lead you to paradise"). Another common word used to signify eternal life is "heaven." This term is correct, but it should be clarified because in some uses it could lead one astray. It is evident that "heaven" does not mean the place where the saved are gathered together around God: heaven indicates a new mode of existence, that is, being present to God, seeing Him face to face, and loving Him in communion with all the elect. It is also evident that heaven and earth are not opposed to each other as higher and lower. Heaven is not "on high" with respect to the earth, but it is rather "something new" with respect to it. Heaven is a "new universe" in which "there shall be an end to death, and to mourning and to crying and pain, for the old order has passed away" (Rev. 21:4); it is the "new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God" when the earth "has vanished and there is no longer any sea" (Rev, 21:2. 1).Finally, one also speaks of "eternal rest" to refer to eternal life. The expression does not really come from the Bible, but the book of Revelation (14:13) says: "Happy are the dead who henceforth die in the faith of the Lord! Yes, says the Spirit, let them rest from their labors, for the record of their deeds goes with them." And the letter to the Hebrews (4:9) affirms that "a sabbath rest still awaits the people of God." Eternal rest with God in Christ therefore is a "rest"; but such a term should not be understood in the sense of "inactivity." In reality, the problem which many Christians have today when they think about eternal life is this: "What will we do in paradise? If we must rest forever, if we must contemplate and adore God for all eternity will we not become bored?" This question is only apparently banal. Actually, many of our contemporaries use this argument to ridicule the Christian hope of paradise and to make it less credible. An article which appeared in Corriere della Sera on February 2, 1992 discussed a book by C. McDaniel and B, Lang entitled Storia del Paradiso (the history of paradise).The title of the article was: "Paradise? So Many Beautiful People, but What Boredom." What is the basis of this argument? It is the fundamental error of "imagining" paradise according to the modalities and contents which happiness has in our human experience. It does not take into account that paradise is "beyond" everything man can think or imagine and that therefore every representation of paradise is radically erroneous and misleading. Therefore, it is silly and ridiculous to think that paradise really exists as it has been imagined in the past and as we now imagine it or may imagine it in the future. Without doubt even Christian revelation uses images and symbols to designate the reality of paradise; but it is clear that these images and symbols are only pointers. They are intended to help us think in some faint way about a reality which is beyond human capability, but they should not be taken literally. For example, the image of "eternal rest" signifies only the fact that in eternal life we will not experience the "fatigue" and the "sorrow" which burden our present life; but it does not literally mean that eternal life will be a life of doing nothing, of inactivity. In fact, precisely because it is life, eternal life will be active and dynamic. In this regard G. Panteghini wrote: "Since it is life, [paradise] cannot be reduced to a state of immobility. Life is constant dynamism: the fuller it is, the more dynamic it is. And the life of God and life in God can only be a full life. The Christian God has little in common with Aristotle's 'unmoved mover.' "Therefore a permanent dynamism is included in the concept of eternal life, otherwise it would not be life at all. We should not be deceived by the theme of contemplation. God is not an object which impedes our dynamism, but the perennial horizon who, because of his infinity, will present our eyes with new surprises for all eternity. Communion of life with Him in Christ, however we may wish to imagine it, will leave no room for boredom or mindless repetition. Besides, a certain experience of this kind is possible even now in an authentic relationship of love in which, because of a dynamic reciprocity, even the most common things, words and gestures are rescued from banality because they are expressions of a 'Thou' that always remains mystery, newness, surprise." (L'Orizzonte Speranza: Lineamenti di Escatologia Cristiana, Messaggero, Padua, 1991, p. 174f.) In reality, God is infinitely great and eternally new: therefore the human mind will be able to contemplate infinite greatness and eternal newness. God is infinite Love and the heart of man will never be able to satiate its thirst to love and to be loved. Therefore, in paradise "we will celebrate and we will see, we will see and we will love, we will love and we will praise. And Behold! That will be at the end without end." (St. Augustine, City of God, XXII, 30) It is clear, however, that eternal life with the Trinitarian God in the risen Christ and in joyful communion with all the redeemed, inasmuch as one seeks to comprehend it by concepts, symbols and images, in its very essence always remains a mystery that is inaccessible to the human mind. Relying on the promise of God, the only thing the Christian can do is affirm that man will be perfectly happy in eternal life, without being able to say how that will take place. He is satisfied in knowing that God does not frustrate human expectations, but rather fulfills them in a way that vastly exceeds whatever man may dare to hope for. Father Toracco has been the chaplain and theology instructor for Regina Coeli Online Academy since the academy's inception; he answers questions on moral theology in the EWTN "Ask the Experts" forum, writes courses for Catholic Distance University, and is professor of theology at Assumption College. An author of many books and articles, his Brief Catechism for Catholic Voters has been recommended by Father Frank Pavone of Priests for Life.
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