THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED IN HEAVEN.
Having examined the glorious gifts with which the risen body is
clothed, and seen that it perfects the soul in all her operations;
understanding, moreover, that the glorified senses are to contribute
their share to the happiness of man--we shall now consider the happy
life of the blessed in heaven, including the resurrection. But,
remember, it is not a new life that is now to occupy our thoughts. It
is a continuation of the same life that was begun the moment the
vision of God flashed upon the soul. This heavenly life, which was
enjoyed by the soul alone before the resurrection, is now enjoyed by
the whole man, in its fulness and perfection.
If you dig in a dry and barren spot, and happen to strike a vein of
living water, it bubbles up, overflows, and moistens the surrounding
earth, clothing it with beautiful verdure and smiling flowers. So it
is in the resurrection. The life which had been concentrated in the
soul alone, overflows to the body, giving to it life, beauty, and
glory, and causing it to thrill with inexpressible pleasure. The
Beatific Vision, which was the essential happiness of the soul before
the resurrection, is now the essential happiness of man.
In our meditations on the life of Christ, we make ourselves present
to the mysteries we are contemplating. We do not look upon them as
past, but as actually taking place under our eyes. Thus we see Jesus
lying in a manger; we see Him flying into Egypt, disputing with the
doctors in the temple; we see Him laboring, preaching, and dying upon
the cross. We shall endeavor to do the same in our meditations on the
life of the blessed.
Let us, then, transport ourselves in spirit to that great day, which
St. John saw, when a mighty angel, coming down from heaven, stood
upon the land and sea, and, lifting up his hand on high, swore by Him
who liveth forever and ever, that "time should be no more." Then,
says St. John, "I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the
presence of the throne, and the books were opened, and the dead were
judged by those things which were written in the books.... And I
heard a great voice from the throne, saying: Behold the tabernacle of
God with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His
people; and God himself shall be their God. And He that sat upon the
throne said: Behold I make all things new."*
* Apoc. xx.
Here is a new order of things, in a new world--a world of beauty and
perfection inconceivably greater than the one wherein we now live.
This is the world in which we are to live the life of the blessed. In
this chapter, we shall examine five of its most prominent attributes.
1. First, it is a life of peace. When Jesus was born, the angels
sang: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to men of
good will." And when He arose from the dead, his first words to the
Apostles were: "Peace be to you." But, though the peace He wished and
gave was great; it was not, and, in the existing order of things,
could not be perfect. For they still had to battle against the world,
the devil, and the flesh. But in heaven that peace is perfect,
because it flows immediately from the bosom of God himself. Besides,
none of those things which in this world disturb our peace, can ever
enter the kingdom of peace.
We now have perfect peace with God, of whose love for us we no longer
doubt, as we may have often done when on earth. We also have peace
with ourselves; for those unruly passions which formerly disturbed
our peace, no longer exist in our glorified bodies. We enjoy perfect
peace with our neighbor; for conflicting interests, envies, and
jealousies, which gave rise to dissensions and enmities, have not
found and never will find their way into heaven. We also have peace
from the devil, who no longer "goeth about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour." He has found no admittance into the
kingdom of peace. We also have peace from our past life; for the sins
which so often made us tremble, are washed away in the blood of
Jesus, and are, therefore, no longer a source of trouble. The
remembrance of them rather intensifies our love for the God of mercy
and therefore increases our happiness. We now, also, have peace from
our future. That awful future was formerly shrouded in impenetrable
darkness, and often filled us with gloomy forebodings. But now the
judgment is over; we have heard the consoling sentence: "Come ye,
blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you, from the
foundation of the world." We now gaze undismayed into that bright
outspread eternity, wherein we see nothing that can ever disturb our
peace. The wish and prayer of St. Paul, expressed to the first
Christians, is now completely fulfilled in us: "And the peace of God
which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus."*
* Phil. iv. 7.
This, then, is the first feature of heavenly life, and, as is
evident, this peace is absolutely necessary to enjoy the life itself,
and whatever else of happiness is in store for the children of God.
2. The life of heaven is one of rest. St. John says: "And I heard a
voice from heaven, saying to me, Write: Blessed are they that die in
the Lord. From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, that they may rest
from their labors."* This is one of the most captivating features of
heavenly life for the poor, and for all others who labored much in
this world. It also gives the most exquisite consolation to those
who, on account of peculiar difficulties in the practice of virtue,
have been fatigued and wearied almost unto death. Their whole
spiritual life was one of continual labor and struggle, which at
times so disheartened them, that they felt strongly tempted to give
up all further attempt at Christian perfection, and to seek
consolation and rest in the pleasures of this world. Oh, how happy
they now are! How grateful to God, who gave them the grace of final
perseverance! They now enter into their rest, which shall never more
be disturbed by toil or struggle. They now live a life of everlasting
rest, though not one of inactivity. For, as we have already seen, the
life of heaven is not one of inactivity, but one in which every
energy of mind and body has its full and free action. As our life in
heaven is a participation of the life of God himself, it must
resemble that Divine Life, which, while it is ineffable rest, is ever
active and operative in the creation, conservation, and government,
not only of our own world, but of those millions of other worlds that
shine above our heads. Nevertheless, this continual exercise of our
manifold faculties in heaven, does not, as in this world, generate
fatigue, weariness, or disgust; but is the never-failing source of
the highest and most rational pleasure.
* Apoc. xiv.
What a consoling thought this is for the poor! They labor much, and
for scanty wages, which, in many instances, scarcely suffice to keep
themselves and families from starvation. What a consolation also for
persons who have devoted themselves to God in religious communities!
By their vows they became poor for Christ's sake, and, like Him, they
labored much. The wear and tear of the religious life deprived many
of their health and strength; and yet they continue to labor as if
they were in full vigor. Their day of rest has come at last. Their
beloved Spouse has called them to himself, that they might rest from
their labors. The last words of the Church over them is a solemn
prayer for that heavenly rest: "Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord.
And let everlasting light shine upon them. May they rest in peace."
Here is the end of all labor, struggle, and fatigue. Here is the
beginning of a life of eternal, undisturbed repose.
3. The life of heaven is also one of intellectual pleasure. We saw,
in a former chapter, that man's intellect is filled to overflowing
with all knowledge in the vision of God. We must now say a few words
on the exquisite and pure pleasures which this knowledge produces.
Intellectual pleasures are, perhaps, the hast generally known of all
those which our nature can enjoy. For the great majority of the human
race is made up of the poor, who are compelled to spend their lives
in toiling for food and raiment. They are, in consequence, unable to
develop their mental faculties and to enjoy high intellectual
pleasures. And yet these pleasures are the highest, the most rational
and satisfying which man can enjoy; because they are produced by the
exercise of the intellect, which is the noblest faculty of the soul.
Men of highly cultivated minds, such as theologians, philosophers,
astronomers, mathematicians, and literary men, separate themselves
from the world and its pleasures; they spend the day, and a great
part of the night, in study, in the contemplation of the truth; they
even forget to eat and drink, and must be compelled by their friends
to attend to the necessities of nature. Many of them have completely
ruined their health by study; and some of them, as Democritus the
philosopher, are reported to have even plucked out their eyes, that
they might have less distraction, and thereby be enabled to meditate
more profoundly upon the truths of their respective sciences. Now, I
ask, is it in our nature to go through such terrible self-denials
without compensation? Surely it is not. Therefore, the natural
inference is that knowledge is a source of the most exquisite
pleasures.
If it is so, in this world, where the curse of sin has darkened the
mind, and where knowledge is so limited, and so mingled with error
and doubt, what shall we say of those pleasures in heaven? There the
intellect of man receives a supernatural light; it is elevated far
above itself by the light of glory; it is purified, strengthened,
enlarged, and enabled to see God as He is in His very essence. It is
enabled to contemplate, face to face, Him who is the first essential
Truth. It gazes undazzled upon the first infinite beauty, wisdom, and
goodness, from whom flow all limited wisdom, beauty, and goodness
found in creatures. Who can fathom the exquisite pleasures of the
human intellect when it thus sees all truth as it is in itself? This
is one of heaven's secrets which we shall never fully understand,
except when united to God in the Beatific Vision. Nevertheless, if
ever we have enjoyed the pleasures produced by the perusal of a
highly intellectual work, or felt the irresistible fascinations of
some favorite science, we can, it seems, form some distant conception
of intellectual pleasures in heaven.
4. The life of heaven is also one of love. As we have seen before,
man cannot rest satisfied with the mere contemplation of truth and
beauty, however pleasurable and satisfying such a contemplation may
be. His will immediately seizes upon the truth and beauty presented
by the intellect, and loves with an intensity proportioned to the
perfection of the object presented. Now, as God himself, in This
unveiled majesty, is the object presented to the will, and as He is
the most perfect of all beings, it follows that the will loves, in
heaven, with an ardor, an intensity whereof we can form but a faint
conception in our present state of trial.
There, at last, do the blessed fulfil to perfection the law which
commands us to love God with our whole heart, with our whole soul,
with all our strength, with all our mind--and our neighbor as
ourselves. Not only does each one of the blessed love, but he sees
himself loved in return both by the Almighty and by every one of the
saints. This makes heaven a life of love, and consequently one of
perfect happiness.
Think of this, ye mortals, who crave after human love. You desire to
love and to be loved. Love is the sunshine of your lives. But, do
what you will, it can never give you perfect happiness here below;
for when you have, at last, succeeded in possessing the object after
which you so ardently sighed, you discover in it imperfections which
you had not suspected before; and these lessen your happiness. But
suppose, even, that you are of the few who are as happy as they
expected to be, how long will your blessedness last? A few years, at
most. Then, death, with a merciless hand, tears away from you the
objects of your love. Is not this the end of all earthly happiness?
Look up to heaven, and there see the blessed in the presence of God.
They are as happy to-day in their love as they were hundreds of years
ago; and when millions of ages have rolled by, they shall still
possess the object of their love, which is the Eternal God. Thus the
blessed live a life of love, and, consequently, one of perfect
happiness.
5. The life of heaven is, moreover, one of perfect enjoyment. In this
world, there can be no perfect and lasting enjoyment; and this not
only because creatures have not the power of giving perfect
happiness, but also because our powers of enjoyment are imperfect in
themselves, and because also our bosom swarms with ungoverned
passions, which spread the gall of bitterness over our joys. How many
thousands are there not, for whom fortune smiles in vain! How many
are there not, who, though surrounded with untold wealth, are
nevertheless more wretched than the tattered beggar! One, for
instance, is always suffering from bad health, and hence he cannot
enjoy the pleasures which fortune has placed within his reach.
Another is not only wealthy, but is, moreover, elevated to some
honorable position, and one would think he must enjoy the honors with
which he is surrounded; but there is in his bosom an ungoverned
passion, which, like a canker-worm, eats away his joys one by one.
Holy Scripture gives us a striking instance of this in the person of
Haman. He had been highly exalted by King Assuerus; and the servants
of the king bent the knee before him, and worshipped him, "only
Mardochai did not bend the knee nor worship him." This apparent
slight so wounded the pride of Haman, that he could enjoy neither
peace nor happiness so long as Mardochai, the Jew, sat at the king's
gate. Listen to his own confession: "He called together his friends
and Zares his wife, and he declared to them the greatness of his
riches, and the multitude of his children, and with how great glory
the king had advanced him above all his princes and servants. And
after this he said: Queen Esther also hath invited no other to the
banquet with the king, but me: and with her I am also to dine
to-morrow with the king. And whereas I have all these things, I think
I have nothing, so long as I see Mardochai, the Jew, sitting at the
king's gate."* What a revelation this is! How little it takes to
destroy our powers of enjoyment! It is only a small worm that eats
away the very core of the most delicious fruit, leaving it tasteless
and rotten.
* Esther v.
In heaven only shall we live a life of perfect enjoyment; not merely
because all the objects of happiness exist there in their highest
perfection, but because we shall also be made perfect by our union
with God. "We shall be like Him, because we shall see him as He is."
Wherefore, no inordinate passion will ever lurk in our bosom, and
spread bitterness over our joys. No torturing disease ever will
enervate or prostrate the energies of our glorified bodies, and
render them incapable of enjoyment. All the powers of enjoyment which
belong to the glorified state will ever remain fresh and unimpaired.
It follows from this, that our life in heaven will be one of
continued, undisturbed enjoyment of God himself, of the society of
the saints, and of all other creatures that He has prepared to
perfect and complete the beatitude of man.