How do we rejoice in the Lord always?   In his 4th Chapter to the Philippians, St Paul advises: "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4-7). Many decades ago this author’s spiritual father said to the faithful, "If a Christian is not happy, [...]

What is meant by Christ’s words, “Heaven and earth will pass away” (Matt 24:35)?   In each of the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), we read about Jesus’ account of the Great Tribulation. The passage was set during Holy Week. According to the Scriptural accounts, the Disciples, walking through the Temple, were amazed by the grandeur of the Temple buildings. Jesus, however, was less impressed, remarking, “Truly I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down” (Matt 24:2). He then warned them of the many signs that will [...]

What do we expect Heaven to be like?   What an exciting Question! I was once with a 15- year-old boy who was dying in the middle of the night after a long battle with leukaemia. He asked me “What will Heaven be like?” I was not sure which answer would be suitable for him, so I asked him “What do you imagine Heaven will be like?” He responded, “I think Heaven will have waterfalls and dolphins.” Everyone who believes in God, has a strong sense that Heaven is an existence of great beauty. Many earthly words and images have [...]

How do we know we have a soul?   If you think about it, there is nothing we can be more certain about than the fact the we are aware of our own existence, that we have our own first person perspective, that we have feelings and we are aware that we have these feelings, or that there is a certain “inner feel”, a “me-ness” about us. The vast majority of people believe that this is due to our soul; indeed this seems very obvious to most of us, it is “primordial data”. One has to admit, however, that there [...]

Does Hades exist?   In ancient Greek mythology, Hades was the god of the underworld. When people died, mourners would place a coin under the tongue of the deceased to pay Charon, to take them across the river into the underworld. There they were assigned to one of the different areas of the underworld, ranging from the pitch darkness of Tartarus, where the souls were being punished for their sins, to the Fortunate Isles, where the souls lived in eternal bliss. Hades, as the ruler of the underworld, would maintain a relative balance, and ensure that no one escaped or [...]