Resurrection of the body

Read the Catechism in a Year

Catechism in a Year: Day 144

Part One: What We Believe
- Section Two: The Christian Profession of Faith- - Chapter Three: "I Believe in ... the Resurrection of the Dead"
Question 153: Why do we believe in the resurrection of the "body"?

In Jesus Christ, God himself took on “flesh” in order to redeem mankind. The biblical word “flesh” characterizes man in his weakness and mortality. Nevertheless, God does not regard human flesh as something inferior. God does not redeem man’s spirit only; he redeems him entirely, body and soul.

God created us with a body (flesh) and a soul. At the end of the world he does not drop the “flesh” like an old toy. On the “Last Day” he will remake all creation and raise us up in the flesh—this means that we will be transformed but still experience ourselves in our element. For Jesus, too, being in the flesh was not just a phase. When the risen Lord showed himself, the disciples saw the wounds on his body.

Dig Deeper: Corresponding CCC section (988–991, 997–1001, 1015) and other references here.
Recommended Listening: Seven Reasons to be Catholic by Dr. Peter Kreeft