St. Thomas Aquinas is one of the greatest members of the Dominican order. Of the 33 saints declared as doctors of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas can perhaps be considered as having the greatest influence in the teachings of the Church. In fact, many of the explanations of the Church concerning the teachings of our religion follow the method given by this great doctor of the Church. The most widely known of all the printed works of St. Thomas is none other than the "Summa Theologica", which contains this saint’s discourses on the truth of our faith.

In "Summa Theologica", St. Thomas provides the answer to the question: WHERE DO SOULS GO AFTER DEATH, and before they face the justice of God? According to St. Thomas, there are several places where souls go depending on the state of the souls. A soul that is still housed in its earthly body has every opportunity to gain merits for its wholeness; while a soul that has separated from its earthly body is now in a state of receiving good or bad in proportion to its holiness or lack of it. In other words, after death, the soul will receive its reward or it will be barred from receiving it. If the soul is ready to receive what is its due, this will happen in two ways: if the soul is holy, it will attain paradise; if it is in a state of sin, it will fall into hell, if hell is what it deserves because of its sins. For unbaptized children, there is limbo. Sometimes, a soul is prevented from receiving its just reward because of sins committed or shortcomings due to man’s nature; for this soul there is purgatory. Then there is limbo, where those who lived holy lives as in the Old Testament were temporarily prevented from receiving the glory they deserved because of original sin that had not been remitted for until the death of our Lord.

St. Thomas Aquinas talks about five destinations for souls after death. First, there is heaven or paradise, for the holy. Second, there is hell for those who die in grave, unrepented sins. Third, there is limbo for unbaptized children. Fourth, is purgatory for those who repented for their sins before death but have not made complete reparation for those sins. And fifth, the limbo where those who lived holy lives in the olden times were temporarily placed before entering heaven Our Lord had not yet died then and His death was the only key to the closed door of paradise.

You will notice that there is only one place of reward and four places of retribution. This is because there is only one way to attain holiness, while there are many ways to sin. The limbo of the ancients no longer exists: after the death of our Lord, He came down from heaven, descended to the dead, and lifted up to heaven the righteous who were temporarily there. This teaching has been declared by the Church as one truth of our faith. That is why every Sunday we declare: "…He was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead, on the third day He rose again…". The gospel of St. Matthew gives truth to this. After the death of our Lord, St. Matthew said: "The earth quaked, boulders split, tombs opened. Many bodies of saints who have fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus’ resurrection they came forth from their tombs and entered the holy city and appeared to many."

Purgatory is a temporary place, a prison where souls stay until they have fully paid up to the last cent. This is the hades that Jesus referred to in the gospel, this is the world of the dead. Those who are housed there are dead, because they have not yet received eternal life. On that last day, hades will cease to be. This was made very, very clear by the Apostle St. John in the book of Revelations: "…then death and the nether world gave up its dead… Then death and the nether world were hurled into the pool of fire."

Based on these teachings, it becomes clear what a soul needs to possess in order to enter heaven. First, he must have sanctifying grace, the grace we receive in the sacrament of baptism. Second, there must be repentance for all sins committed and good deeds that were not done. Third, there must be complete reparation for all those sins and shortcomings. And fourth, he must have done good deeds according to the will of God. This teaching is very clear: we attain salvation through the divine grace of God. But the grace from God is not enough, we must fully cooperate with His blessings!