Bishop Schoenborn, editor of the monumental Catechism of the Catholic Church, presents profound reflections on the meaning of death, judgment and eternal life, and the Church's teachings on this eschatological dimension of our faith. Lamenting the absence today of sermons and writings on this important subject, Schoenborn meets that need by delving deeply into the Church's rich tradition of thought on life beyond death.

Today, language about man's pilgrim path, about his homeland in heaven, of earthly tribulation and hope for life beyond death, has become largely a foreign language in the Christian churches. It is only seldom that a sermon dares to look out on the vista of eternal life. It seems that fear of being accused of dispensing a consolation in a life after death and of fleeing from the world has become to a large extent a self-censorship.

Bishop Schoeborn says that this "eschatological amnesia" is one reason why many people no longer turn to the Church when they want information about the last things. In this book, Schoenborn shows that Jesus Christ is the focal point of the Christian vision of life on earth and life after death. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, the one who discloses to us what "existence in transition" means.