Are we judged right after death?

[joecap]

Various references in the Bible state that at Judgment day, we will be either saved or condemned.

I wonder, then, what actually happens to our souls at the moment of death? Some say we immediately go to Heaven or Hell, but that would imply we are indeed judged at that time.

Also, we are told that at the last day, the dead shall rise from their sleep, and then be judged.

I would figure there are two possibilities:

One: when we die, we are not conscious of anything…we really are in a deep sleep, and our souls have no awareness at all.
On the last day, for Judgment, we are awakened by God and are judged.

Or two: We die, and our souls are indeed aware, and while we are not actually JUDGED as yet, we still go into some kind of “holding area”, be it Purgatory, or Limbo.
Then, at the last day, our souls are then re-united with our bodies, judged, and then either go to Hell, or go to Heaven with our Glorified bodies.

If number two is correct, and we are not actually judged as yet, I would imagine that God in his infinite mercy, would instill some kind of peaceful knowledge in us if we are saved, regardless of whether we have been judged yet.

My point being, that once we die, our fate is sealed…there is no going back or changing anything. So if we are DESTINED to be saved, God would somehow give us this knowledge so we could at least “Rest in Peace” while we await Judgment.

Perhaps this condition would be Purgatory…we have the peace of knowing we are saved, but are still NOT with God…we still do not “See Him as He is”…not until we are Judged.

Sorry for the rambling, but the point I am trying to make is…once we die, whenever awareness resumes, we should know at that point whether we are saved or not, regardless of how long it takes to actually be with God (or NOT be with Him!!).

 

[gorman64]

Yes. There is a particular judgment at your death and a general judgment at the end of the world.

Why don’t you get a copy of The Catechism of the Council of Trent (The Roman Catechism) or Spirago-Clark’s The Catechism Explained.

This is elementary stuff and you should be getting this from a catechism and not trying to deduce it from Scripture.

 

[devotus]

Straight from Batimore Cat #3…

Q. 1371. When will Christ judge us?

A. Christ will judge us immediately after our death, and on the last day.

Q. 1372. What is the judgment called which we have to undergo immediately after death?

A. The judgment we have to undergo immediately after death is called the Particular Judgment.

Q. 1373. Where will the particular judgment be held?

A. The particular judgment will be held in the place where each person dies, and the soul will go immediately to its reward or punishment.

Q. 1374. What is the judgment called which all men have to undergo on the last day?

A. The judgment which all men have to undergo on the last day is called the General Judgment.

Q. 1375. Will the sentence given at the particular judgment be changed at the general judgment?

A. The sentence given at the particular judgment will not be changed at the general judgment, but it will be repeated and made public to all.

Q. 1376. Why does Christ judge men immediately after death?

A. Christ judges men immediately after death to reward or punish them according to their deeds.

Q. 1377. How may we daily prepare for our judgment?

A. We may daily prepare for our judgment by a good examination of conscience, in which we will discover our sins and learn to fear the punishment they deserve.

Q. 1378. What are the rewards or punishments appointed for men’s souls after the Particular Judgment?

A. The rewards or punishments appointed for men’s souls after the Particular Judgment are Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell.

Q. 1379. What is Hell?

A. Hell is a state to which the wicked are condemned, and in which they are deprived of the sight of God for all eternity, and are in dreadful torments.

Q. 1380. Will the damned suffer in both mind and body?

A. The damned will suffer in both mind and body, because both mind and body had a share in their sins. The mind suffers the “pain of loss” in which it is tortured by the thought of having lost God forever, and the body suffers the “pain of sense” by which it is tortured in all its members and senses.

Q. 1381. What is Purgatory?

A. Purgatory is the state in which those suffer for a time who die guilty of venial sins, or without having satisfied for the punishment due to their sins.

Q. 1382. Why is this state called Purgatory?

A. This state is called Purgatory because in it the souls are purged or purified from all their stains; and it is not, therefore, a permanent or lasting state for the soul.

Q. 1383. Are the souls in Purgatory sure of their salvation?

A. The souls in Purgatory are sure of their salvation, and they will enter heaven as soon as they are completely purified and made worthy to enjoy that presence of God which is called the Beatific Vision.

Q. 1384. Do we know what souls are in Purgatory, and how long they have to remain there?

A. We do not know what souls are in Purgatory nor how long they have to remain there; hence we continue to pray for all persons who have died apparently in the true faith and free from mortal sin. They are called the faithful departed.

Q. 1385. Can the faithful on earth help the souls in Purgatory?

A. The faithful on earth can help the souls in Purgatory by their prayers, fasts, alms, deeds; by indulgences, and by having Masses said for them.

Q. 1386. Since God loves the souls in Purgatory, why does He punish them?

A. Though God loves the souls in Purgatory, He punishes them because His holiness requires that nothing defiled may enter heaven and His justice requires that everyone be punished or rewarded according to what he deserves.

Q. 1387. If every one is judged immediately after death, what need is there of a general judgment?

A. There is need of a general judgment, though every one is judged immediately after death, that the providence of God, which, on earth, often permits the good to suffer and the wicked to prosper, may in the end appear just before all men.

 

[dorothy_smith]

I guess we won’t know until we actually die. I, personally, wouldn’t start believing everything that you read in books.

I wonder, then, what actually happens to our souls at the moment of death? Some say we immediately go to Heaven or Hell, but that would imply we are indeed judged at that time.

If it worries you then saying a prayer to Jesus will help. My guess is perhaps when we die it will be the same as before we were born: a vast black nothingness before and after with just a little crack of light in between which is our lives. Then on judgement day we’ll put into the true light and will be home again (that is what I experienced in chapel when I once felt very peaceful). I think that life itself might be ‘judgement day’.

 

[devotus]

I guess we won’t know until we actually die. I, personally, wouldn’t start believing everything that you read in books.
.

Books as in the Catholic Catechism?.. The Holy Bible?

Making it up as you go along creates a your own religon of one

Do you not Belive that God has revealed Truth to mankind through his Holy Catholic Church?