The document provides information about Mary and the four last things: 1) Mary is called the 'Mother of God' because she was the mother of Jesus Christ, who is both true God and true man. She remained a virgin and was assumed body and soul into heaven. 2) The four last things are death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Death is the separation of the soul and body. After death comes judgment by God, followed by an eternal destiny of either heaven or hell. 3) Heaven is being in the presence of God forever, while hell is eternal separation from God due to rejecting him.

1. Mary and the
Four Last
Things

2. Mary, the Mother of Jesus
The Coronation of the Virgin by Quarton

3. Mary, the Mother of Jesus
Mary was conceived
immaculate. As a virgin,
she became Mother of God
by bearing Jesus Christ. She
was without sin, was
assumed body and soul
into heaven, and is the
Mother of the Church.
KEY DEFINITION

5. Mary
Mary body and
soul in heaven
Hands crossed
This is the same gesture as
found in Annunciation
pictures. Here it emphasises
her perpetual virginity.
Mary crowned
because of her sinless
perfection and her
motherhood of Christ
the divine King.
Mary, Mother of the Church
She is surrounded by the saints in
heaven and intercedes for us below.
The Holy Trinity

6. Why is she called ‘Mother of God’?
The Nativity by Fra Angelico
This shows the adoration of God made man, whose mother is Mary.

7. Why is she called ‘Mother of God’?
Mary is called ‘Mother of God’
because she became the mother of
Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
Elizabeth called Mary ‘the mother of my Lord’
(Lk 1:43) and the Council of Ephesus (431)
declared Mary to be ‘Mother of God’ and not
only of Christ’s humanity.
This title, part of the Hail Mary, recognises that
Jesus is a single person, God and man.

8. The Annunciation by Fra Angelico
This shows the moment of the Annunciation when the Angel Gabriel tells
Mary that she will conceive Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Why is she called the ‘Virgin Mary’?

9. Why is she called the ‘Virgin Mary’?
Mary has this title
because she was and
remained a virgin
before, during and
after Jesus’ birth.

10. Why is she called the ‘Virgin Mary’?
Mary’s question to Gabriel, “How can this be, since
I am a virgin?” (Luke 1:34), reveals her virginal
commitment.
The angel’s response, “The Holy Spirit will come
upon you and the power of the most High will
overshadow you” (Lk 1:34) shows that this proposed
conception would be miraculous and preserving
of Mary’s dedication to a virginal life.
Mary’s continued virginity is also fitting for the
chosen spouse of the Holy Spirit. As Mother of
the Church, Mary bears many spiritual children.

11. What is the Immaculate Conception?
The Virgin in Prayer by Sassoferrato
This conveys the sense of the purity and perfection of Mary which she
possessed from the first moment of her existence.

12. What is the Immaculate Conception?
Mary was conceived
immaculate and
spared from Original
Sin and its effects
from her beginning.

13. What is the Immaculate Conception?
In Scripture Mary is ‘blessed
among women’ (Lk 1:42), and ‘full
of grace’ (c.f. Lk 1:28).
Pope Pius IX officially defined
the dogma of the Immaculate
Conception in 1854.
Mary appeared to St Bernadette at
Lourdes in 1858 and declared, “I
am the Immaculate Conception.”

14. What is her Assumption?
The Coronation of the Virgin by Fra Angelico
This depicts Mary, assumed into heaven body and soul, being crowned by
her Son, the ‘Resurrection and the Life’.

15. What is her Assumption?
The doctrine of the
Assumption teaches
that Mary was taken
body and soul into
heaven at the end of
her earthly life.

16. What is her Assumption?
Death is a punishment for
sin (Gen 3). One without sin
should not experience the
grave, since “You will not let
your holy one see decay” (Acts 2:27).
As Mary shared closely in the
saving death of Christ, she is
first to share his
Resurrection.

17. What is her Assumption?
Mary is therefore in heaven,
body and soul, “a woman
clothed with the sun, with the
moon under her feet, and on her
head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev
12:1).
Her Assumption is also a
sign of our own future
resurrection.

18. The importance of Mary for us
San Marco Altarpiece by Fra Angelico
This depicts Mary in heaven as Mother of the Church
where she intercedes for all of us as her children.

19. The importance of Mary for us
In Mary we see our
human nature gloriously
restored and raised to
heaven. As our mother in
Christ, she also protects
and intercedes for us all.

20. The importance of Mary for us
Mary became the Mother of the
Church when Christ made her
mother of the beloved disciple,
representing all Christians,
“Behold, your mother!” (Jn 19:27).
As the first Eve is the mother of
all the living; so Mary is the
‘Second Eve’, the mother of all
the redeemed. “All generations will
call me blessed” (Lk 1:28).

21. Summary
Questions
to reinforce
key points
Discussion
questions
Practical
activities
Presentation Part II
Summary Activities I
Please select an activity or go immediately
to part II of the presentation

22. Summary
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Mary is called ‘Mother of God’ because she became
the mother of Jesus Christ, true God and true man.
• Mary has the title ‘Virgin Mary’ because she was and
remained a virgin before, during and after Jesus’ birth.
• The ‘Immaculate Conception’ means that Mary was
conceived immaculate and spared from Original Sin
and its effects from her beginning.
• The ‘Assumption’ teaches that Mary was taken body
and soul into heaven at the end of her earthly life.
• In Mary we see our human nature gloriously restored
and raised to heaven. As our mother in Christ, she also
protects and intercedes for us all.

23. Questions to reinforce key points
Immaculate Conception
Annunciation
The Virgin Birth
Faithfulness at the cross
Presence at Pentecost
Assumption
What are the main events of Mary’s life?
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
1
2
Click on a box to reveal one
of the answers
3
4
5
6

24. Discussion questions
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Discuss why Mary is so
important for Christian
doctrine and life.
• Discuss some personal
experiences of Marian
devotion.
Select one or more of the following:

25. Practical activities
Activities Menu Presentation Part II
• Pray one or more decades of
the Rosary.
• Read the Compendium of the
Catechism questions 95-100;
196-199.
• Visit a church and note any
symbols of Mary, such as
statues. Consider what
teachings about Mary are
represented by these symbols.
Select one or more of the
following:

26. The Four Last Things
The Last Judgment by Fra Angelico

27. What are the four last things?

28. What are the four last things?
The Four Last Things are the two inevitable and two
possible realities that we face at the end of our earthly lives.
KEY DEFINITION

29. What are the four last things?
The Four Last Things are the two inevitable and two
possible realities that we face at the end of our earthly lives.
KEY DEFINITION
Heaven Hell
Death
Judgment

30. What is death?
Detail from The Seven Deadly Sins by Bosch.
A dying man is aided by a priest and his family.
Above the bed an angel and a demon vie for his soul.

31. What is death?
‘Anointing’ from
The Seven Sacraments by Weyden
Death is the cessation of our present
earthly lives, the moment of
separation of our souls and bodies.
Once dead, we cease to choose
between good and evil: death
irrevocably fixes our state for eternity.
Although death came to us because of
sin, not God’s will, God has removed
its terror for us and made it the path
to eternal life.

32. What is death?
We should remain in God’s
friendship and live each day as if it
were our last.
We should also ask God for the
grace of a good and holy death.
Human beings die only once, after which comes judgment.
Heb 9:27

33. Detail from The Seven Deadly Sins by Bosch.
The Last Judgment is shown by Christ coming and raising the dead
from their tombs ready to be judged.
What is judgment?

34. What is judgment?
First, there is a particular and
unchangeable judgment which
follows immediately upon our
deaths. Second, as the Creed
affirms, there is a final and
universal reckoning at the end of
time when Christ “will come again”.
At this Second Coming he will
“judge the living”, those still alive,
“and the dead”, united physically
with their resurrected bodies.

35. What is judgment?
As we are to be judged by God,
we should ask for his mercy and
help to put our lives in order,
examine our consciences
regularly and practise Confession.
They will give account to him who is ready to judge
the living and the dead.
1 Pet 4:5

36. Detail from The Seven Deadly Sins by Bosch.
Hell is shown as a place of torment, pain, darkness and egoism.
What is hell?

37. What is hell?
Hell is the eternal loss of the vision of
God, and the place of punishment of
damned souls, the devil and his angels.
It is the choice of evil and lack of
repentance before the end of our
earthly lives that leads to our
damnation. After the Fall, hell would
have been the just end of the human
race. God in his great love, however,
has offered us salvation through the
blood of Jesus Christ.

38. What is hell?
We should ask God to save us from
the ‘fires of hell’ (c.f. Mt 18:9; Rev 20:14) as he
himself desires (1 Ti 2:4).
We also have a duty to warn others,
just as Jesus warned us, of the reality
of hell and the need to repent and
follow him in our lives.
Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for
the devil and his angels.
Mt 25:41

39. What is heaven?
Detail from The Seven Deadly Sins by Bosch.
Heaven is depicted as a glorious city filled with angels and saints.

40. What is heaven?
Heaven is our eternal home where
God gives us the vision of his face and
shares his divine life with us. Scripture
describes heaven as a city or kingdom
where the saints enjoy the perfected
creation and the reward they deserve.
Those who die in God’s grace either go
straight to heaven or first enter
purgatory, a place of purification for sins
and for reparation.

41. What is heaven?
We can truly hope for heaven since it
is God’s desire for us. We should ask
him to prepare us for heaven even if
we face sufferings on the way.
It is good to make the saints our
companions through prayer and to
pray for the holy souls in purgatory.
(c.f. 2 Macc 12:44)
Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared
for you from the foundation of the world.
Mt 25:34

42. Summary
Questions
to reinforce
key points
Discussion
questions
Practical
activities
Summary Activities II
Please select an activity or go immediately
to the concluding prayer
Concluding Prayer

43. Summary
Activities Menu
• Death is the cessation of our present earthly
lives, the moment of separation of our souls
and bodies.
• Judgment refers to our particular and
unchangeable judgment by God following our
death. There will also be a last, universal
judgment at the end of time.
• Heaven is our eternal home where God gives
us the vision of his face and shares his divine
life with us.
• Hell is is the eternal loss of the vision of God,
and the place of punishment of the damned.
Concluding Prayer

44. Questions to reinforce key points
Death
Judgment
Heaven
Hell
What are the four last things?
Activities Menu Concluding Prayer
1
2
3
Click on a box to reveal one
of the answers
4

45. Discussion questions
Activities Menu
• Discuss why the moment of our
death is so crucial to our eternal
destiny. How can we prepare for a
good death?
• Discuss what relationship our
lives here and now have with
eternal realities.
Select one or more of the following:
Concluding Prayer

46. Practical activities
Activities Menu
• Read the Compendium of the
Catechism questions 202-216.
• Read Matthew 25:31-46 on the
last judgment, heaven and hell.
• With reference to this picture of
The Mystic Lamb or other pictures
in this course, what are the main
characteristics of heaven that the
artists are seeking to convey?
Select one or more of the following:
Concluding Prayer

47. Final Prayer
The ‘Salve Regina’
Hail Holy Queen, mother of mercy. Hail our life, our sweetness,
and our hope. To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve.
To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this
vale of tears. Turn, then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of
mercy toward us. And after this, our exile, show unto us the
blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet
Virgin Mary. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may
be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Amen.