By Brea Cannon, Connecting Creed and Life
Editor’s Note: For 2025, the weekly Connecting Faith and Life Column will be renamed Connecting Creed and Life. To celebrate the 2025 Jubilee Year and the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the columns will consist of reflections on the Nicene Creed, corresponding with related paragraphs in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
“He Descended into Hell; On the Third Day He Rose Again” (CCC 631-658)
At this stage in my life, one enjoyable pastime is being the “third party” on my children’s walkie talkie conversations. I never know what they are going to be talking about or playing- house, radio station, police or modern day versions of Bible stories. I recently overheard the story of David and Goliath play out over the handheld devices. David, the shepherd boy, was my son and my daughters filled in and created all kind of other characters to take artistic liberties on the adored story recorded in the Book of Samuel.
We have read and talked about the story of the little shepherd boy dozens of times in our home; the story fascinates and inspires young people century after century. It is refreshing that stories and accounts from both the New and Old Testaments are real and historical in the eyes of children. As children get older and innocence slowly fades, the wonder and awe might turn to… Could a man really live after being swallowed by a fish? Could Noah really have built a boat that big? Could the Resurrection have really happened? It is these questions that lead us all into a deeper relationship with our Lord and eternity with the Creator.
The stories given to us through Sacred Scripture are sometimes read and accepted without really thinking about it. We hear many of the same readings throughout the year. But how often are the accounts given to us in Sacred Scripture pondered and reflected upon with wonder and awe?
In paragraphs 631-637 of the Catechism, we are given the accounts from the Gospels of Jesus’ descent into hell and rising on the third day. For just a moment, tap into that childlike intrigue and think about this – the Savior of the world, goes to hell. The child in me might ask, “Why! Why would Jesus go to hell?”
In paragraph 632-635 we read how Jesus descends to hell to preach the Gospel to the dead and free the just who had gone before him. Wow! The Savior of the world not only died to save humanity from eternal death, he completes the last phase of the messianic mission himself: “spread of Christ’s redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been sharers in the redemption. (CCC 634)”
Not only did he go to hell, Jesus fully rose from the dead. So with my childlike intrigue I ask, ‘Why is that so special, didn’t Jesus raise others from the dead, specifically his friend Lazarus?’ In paragraph 646 of the Catechism, we read how Jesus’ resurrection is essentially different because he was not raised in the human form like his friend and others he brought back to life – at Jesus’ resurrection, his body is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and he shares the divine life in his glorious state.
Throughout the Bible, written accounts can seem unbelievable or even authored by Aesop for children. When we read the accounts of Jesus’ Resurrection, let us not fall into the mentality that this is simply the greatest story ever told. Let us look to the truth, facts and ultimately the reality of Jesus’ Resurrection. The accounts of the burial linens lying in the empty tomb and the eating and drinking with his apostles opens our minds to believe this is not just a story of Christ’s Resurrection but the important fact that it happened – these are historical facts based on personal testimonies. This reality of the Resurrection is a huge part of history for all of mankind, for all of time.
When I read Bible stories to my children or play the third party – a surprise character – on the walkie talkie, I soak up their imagination and curiosity. The Scriptures come to life. May we all look to Scripture, particularly the life of Jesus recorded in the Gospels, and recall the historical accounts given to us by divinely inspired authors and find each element of the story of salvation to spark life and hope in each of us.