Chapter XII — On the eleventh article

1. What does the eleventh article — "The resurrection of the body" — teach us?

The eleventh article of the Creed teaches us that all men shall rise again, each soul taking up again the body it had in this life.

2. How shall the resurrection of the dead come about?

The resurrection of the dead shall come about by the power of almighty God, to whom nothing is impossible.

3. When shall the resurrection of the dead come about?

The resurrection of all the dead shall come about at the end of the world, and then shall follow the universal judgment.

4. Why does God will the resurrection of the bodies?

God wills the resurrection of the bodies, because, since the soul has worked good or evil united to the body, it may also be rewarded or punished together with it.

5. Shall all men rise again in the same manner?

No, there shall be a very great difference between the bodies of the elect and the bodies of the damned, because the bodies of the elect alone shall have, in likeness to the risen Jesus Christ, the endowments of glorified bodies.

6. What are these endowments which shall adorn the bodies of the elect?

The endowments which shall adorn the glorified bodies of the elect are: 1. impassibility, by which they shall no longer be subject to evils, to pains of any kind, nor to the need of food, of rest, or of anything else; 2. brightness, by which they shall shine like the sun and like so many stars; 3. agility, by which they shall be able to pass in a moment and without effort from one place to another, and from earth to heaven; 4. subtlety, by which without hindrance they shall be able to penetrate any body, as the risen Jesus Christ did.

7. How shall the bodies of the damned be?

The bodies of the damned shall be deprived of the endowments of the glorified bodies of the Blessed, and shall bear the horrible mark of eternal reprobation.