Saying "I look forward to the resurrection of the dead" if you DON'T look forward to it

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Ben_Sinner

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I was wondering this.

If I am not truly looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, should I not say it then and my participation in the mass is somewhat invalidated?

To be honest I DO NOT look forward to it. The thought of the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgement, etc. scares the bricks off of me!

Should I say it if I don’t mean it?
 
I can’t answer your question but I would like to suggest that you contemplate why you feel that way.

Don’t be scared…ensure your salvation and, then, try to make reparations for all of your sins. Our God is a merciful God and I promise you that His love for you exceeds anything you can imagine. His death and resurrection speaks to YOU!
 
Ben_Sinner said:
To be honest I DO NOT look forward to it. The thought of the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgement, etc. scares the bricks off of me!
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I think that you are looking at this statement from the Creed in terms of what you feel. But you are not promising that you feel all warm and fuzzy about the Final Judgment and the resurrection of the dead. Rather you are saying that the resurrection of the dead is part of God’s plan for us.

There are a lot of things I want to have accomplished in my life but I really do not relish the process necessary to get to that point. I’d say that puts me in good company because even Jesus asked to get out of Good Friday. Fortunately for us Jesus willingly submitted to the will of the Father.

Fear is normal. But sometimes we are not so much “afraid” (which usually includes uncertainty about what will happen) as we are just unwilling to endure the inevitable pain and suffering necessary to achieve something.

To look forward to the resurrection of the dead is not a statement about how we feel. Rather it is an affirmation that of our willingness to do things chose God’s way (even when that path involves discomfort.)
 
I long for that day, because I long to be free from death.

ICXC NIKA
 
Ben_Sinner said:
I was wondering this.

If I am not truly looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, should I not say it then and my participation in the mass is somewhat invalidated?
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No. This is based on a misunderstanding. See below.
Ben_Sinner said:
To be honest I DO NOT look forward to it. The thought of the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgement, etc. scares the bricks off of me!

Should I say it if I don’t mean it?
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The Last Judgment will not be especially scary; indeed far from it. Once we die and go to be with the Lord, we will already be in Heaven, in full possession of the Beatific Vision. At the General Resurrection, we will, in addition, receive our glorified bodies. It will be one joy after another.

Or else, to look at it from a different point of view, no one goes to the Last Judgment without knowing long before how he will be judged.

As regards “I look forward to the resurrection from the dead,” that is a somewhat misleading translation of exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, which means “I await the resurrection from the dead.” It is simply affirming our faith that we will receive our glorified bodies once everything is accomplished.
 
Ben_Sinner said:
I was wondering this.

If I am not truly looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, should I not say it then and my participation in the mass is somewhat invalidated?

To be honest I DO NOT look forward to it. The thought of the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgement, etc. scares the bricks off of me!

Should I say it if I don’t mean it?
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There’s nothing you can do about it. Like St John Paul II said: “Be not afraid.” If you have wrapped yourself in the saving power of Jesus Christ than you can be rest assured of a positive outcome.
 
lmelahn said:
As regards “I look forward to the resurrection from the dead,” that is a somewhat misleading translation of exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum, which means “I await the resurrection from the dead.” It is simply affirming our faith that we will receive our glorified bodies once everything is accomplished.
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Precisely.

I have a step brother who tells me he won’t even say “I look forward to…”

I say (actually sing) it in the Latin without any problems. Exspecto is exspecto.
 
You should not say what you do not believe, but I think youre having a fixation on this line that is unnecessary. Although the Resurrection includes the damned by default, the primary focus in the creed seems to be on the promise of our New Jerusalem, as evidenced by the immediate follow up of “and life everlasting. Amen”. The creed is a source of joy and in some ancient rites is was not spoken, but sung. The Resurrection refers to life after death and not exclusively to events of Revelation. The book of Revelation primarily speaks of the Mass; Scott Hahn’s “The Lambs Supper” is a good source to understand Revelation in the way the Church Fathers understood it rather than according to post 16th century hysteria.
 
The Creed doesn’t say we look forward to the Last Judgement without any trembling! It says that your faith (aka your creed) gives you to know with certainty that the resurrection of the dead and the final judgment is out there in the future and tells you to have good hope to find a Merciful Advocate there with you when the time comes.

To not believe this would be to believe something like “You die, and that’s it. Kaput. No more. No judgment. No nothing” or to believe that your spirit will live on after death but that you have no bodily existence to look forward to after your death. If you believe that there is a resurrection of the dead out in the future of all of us, then to recite the Creed as it is written is a true statement of your faith.

If it isn’t a true statement of your faith, then switch your noodle. It’s the truth, so teach yourself to believe it and profess it. If the thought gives you great pause, that probably only means that you understand it with a bit more true appreciation than the person who rattles off the Creed without ever feeling a twinge of concern.
 
Huh. The resurrection of the dead implies to me that there is life after death. I would MUCH rather believe that than that when I die it’s just poof I’m gone as though I never existed.

What would you rather have happen after you die?
 
Set aside your feelings and yes make the profession!

And recall that such is about the Joy of the Resurrection!

We DO look forward to the Resurrection! The full reality of the true life we have in Christ - from his death and resurrection!

So dismiss fears and feelings…and focus on the joy of the Resurrection!
 
Ben_Sinner said:
I was wondering this.

If I am not truly looking forward to the resurrection of the dead, should I not say it then and my participation in the mass is somewhat invalidated?

To be honest I DO NOT look forward to it. The thought of the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgement, etc. scares the bricks off of me!

Should I say it if I don’t mean it?
Click to expand...
Set aside your feelings and yes make the profession!

And recall that such is about the Joy of the Resurrection!

We DO look forward to the Resurrection! The full reality of the true life we have in Christ - from his death and resurrection!

How cool the new heavens and new earth will be! Beyond our dreams…

So dismiss fears and feelings…and focus on the joy of the Resurrection!
 
Bookcat said:
Set aside your feelings and yes make the profession!

And recall that such is about the Joy of the Resurrection!

We DO look forward to the Resurrection! The full reality of the true life we have in Christ - from his death and resurrection!

How cool the new heavens and new earth will be! Beyond our dreams…

So dismiss fears and feelings…and focus on the joy of the Resurrection!
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I can’t wait to smell with my new nose, and feel the new earth under my new bare feet! :)🙂

ICXC NIKA!
 
GEddie said:
I can’t wait to smell with my new nose, and feel the new earth under my new bare feet! :)🙂

ICXC NIKA!
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I’m with you there. I hate wearing shoes, and hope they are no longer necessary. ^^
 
I don’t think “looking forward” means in the same way as looking forward to a vacation or going out with friends.

I think it means literally looking in a forward direction to an event which has been revealed will take place in the future. Or, in other words, “I believe that this future event will take place because Jesus has revealed it”.

If I’m wrong, however, please somebody correct me.
 
DaisymaeD said:
I don’t think “looking forward” means in the same way as looking forward to a vacation or going out with friends.

I think it means literally looking in a forward direction to an event which has been revealed will take place in the future. Or, in other words, “I believe that this future event will take place because Jesus has revealed it”.

If I’m wrong, however, please somebody correct me.
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Well, yeah. “Looking forward” to an event we have no knowledge of and, in all likelihood, will not live to see, is not a human expectation, but a matter of faith.

ICXC NIKA
 
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