SOCIAL JOYS OF HEAVEN.
The life of heaven is also one of pure social joys. Among all the
joys outside of the Beatific Vision, there are certainly none so
sweet as those which arise from our social intercourse with the
blessed. We are social beings by nature. Our highest and best powers
are framed for society; and we are never in our normal state except
when in communion with our fellow-men. Hence all men love society, if
we except the misanthrope or man-hater, who is a moral monster. He
has unfortunately developed in his bosom some of the worst passions
of our fallen nature, and they have built an element of hell in his
heart. For in that godless and hopeless region there is no love
either for God or neighbor, and, therefore, social joys can have no
existence therein. With the exception of a few persons of this kind,
all men love society. Even the lonely hermit loves it. But he sees in
it dangers to his soul, and he cuts himself off from it in this
world, that he may enjoy it in the next, where it shall have lost its
dangerous element.
Social intercourse with our fellow-beings affords us some of our
purest joys in this world; yet they are not, and never can be
perfect. They are roses with cruel thorns, that wound and make us
bleed, almost as often as they delight us with their delicious
perfumes. How often does it not happen that we go into society with a
light heart, and return home sad and heavy? And why so? Because our
heart has been wounded, perhaps crushed, by some wicked insinuation,
or some unkind interpretation of an action performed with the best Of
intentions on our part. Even our holiest actions are criticized, and
unworthy motives, which never entered our minds, are attributed to
us. Then again, they, whom we had considered our best friends, may
betray us, and reveal to a cold and cruel world the secrets which, in
our simplicity, we had confided to them. In a word, if intercourse
with our fellow-creatures is often the source of pure joys, it is not
infrequently the occasion of our keenest sufferings. And why? Because
in our present state of imperfection we are sinful and selfish.
Because we allow ourselves to act toward others through jealousy,
envy, natural aversion, and other ungoverned passions of our fallen
nature. We do not love all men, and all men do not love us. We see
many defects in others, which make them unamiable; and they see as
many in us, which make their love for us almost an impossibility.
Wherefore, so long as we live in the flesh, our social joys must
always be mingled with a certain amount of bitterness.
Let us now raise our eyes to our heavenly home, and there contemplate
a life of the purest, and most perfect social pleasures. There,
neither selfishness, nor uncharitableness, nor any unruly passion can
exist, and, consequently, our social joys will never be mingled with
the gall of bitterness. Putting aside, for a moment, all the
shortcomings and imperfections that mar our social joys in this
world, let us look at their bright side only, and see what it is that
makes our social intercourse with others a pleasure. This will be as
a mirror wherein we shall behold some faint reflections of social
joys as they exist in heaven. What are the personal attributes or
qualities in others that make our social intercourse with them a
pleasure? They may be reduced to six, which really include all others
that could be mentioned. These are virtue, learning, beauty,
refinement, mutual love, and the ties of kindred. We shall say a few
words on each of these.
1. Virtue is the attribute which gives us our highest similitude to
God, and it is this also which imparts to us some of the purest
social pleasures we enjoy on earth. Purity of life, or at hast the
absence of gross vices, is a condition without which we can enjoy no
one's society, unless we ourselves are depraved. Neither beauty, nor
learning, nor any other endowment, can replace virtue, while it alone
can, to a great extent, supply all other deficiencies. Hence it is,
that when depraved persons are in the society of the good, they feel
compelled to be guarded in their words and actions. They must put on
an exterior appearance, at hast, of virtue, well knowing that
otherwise their presence would be extremely offensive, and calculated
to mar the pleasures of others.
When we meet with one who is evidently a man of God, one whose every
word is instinct with the spirit of God, whose whole exterior
betokens the intimate union of his soul with God, in whose very
countenance the beauty of angelical purity shines forth, we deem it a
happiness to spend a few moments in his society. The pleasures
enjoyed in his company are not only exquisite--they are also
sanctifying. If that is so in this world, where all holiness is
imperfect, what shall we say of the pleasures of heavenly society?
Holiness is an essential attribute of every inhabitant of heaven.
They are all pure; for none else can see God. They are all made
partakers of the Divine Nature in a far higher degree than is
attainable in this world, and consequently they are all clothed with
the spotless purity of God himself. Not only are they all pure, but
they are, moreover, totally free from those natural defects of
character, which, in this world, make many holy persons unamiable,
and even repulsive. As nature is not destroyed, but perfected by
glory, our natural character will not be destroyed by our union with
God. But whatever is faulty in it, or offensive to others, will
disappear, leaving it amiable and perfect in its own kind. Hence, our
social intercourse with the saints will ever be the source of the
purest pleasures.
2. Learning, in those with whom we associate, is another source of
pleasure. We can sit for hours listening to the interesting
conversation of a learned man, even if he lacks virtue, and only
wears its exterior appearance. In such a man's society we drink in,
as it were, torrents of pleasures, which are among the most rational
we can enjoy in this world. If these pleasures are so exquisite here
below, where, after all, the wisest know so little, what shall we say
of those same pleasures in heaven? There all are learned, all are
filled with knowledge, though all do not possess it in the same
degree. Nevertheless, each one's knowledge will be a source of
pleasure to others.
3. Personal beauty is also a source of pleasure in this world. Every
one knows that perfect personal beauty sweetly but powerfully draws
men to itself, and that one endowed therewith gives far greater
pleasure than another who does not possess this attribute. It is in
heaven, and there only, that every one will possess the attribute of
beauty in its fullest perfection. For the soul is clothed with the
beauty of God himself, which He communicates to her in the Beatific
Vision; while the whole body is beautified and glorified after the
likeness of Christ's glorious body. Every saint is therefore clothed
with a loveliness far superior to anything we ever can see on earth.
If, then, it is so great a pleasure to associate with persons who
possess the natural and perishable beauty of this world, what shall
we say of the pleasures which must flow from our intercourse with
persons who are clothed with the beauty of God himself!
4. Refinement is another attribute which makes our social intercourse
with others pleasurable. A great personal beauty that might at first
attract others to itself, would soon repel and even disgust them,
should they perceive in its possessor unpolished manners, coarseness,
and stupidity. A cultivated intellect, refined feelings, and elegant
manners are necessary to adorn personal beauty, and make it a source
of pleasure to those who are attracted thereby. It is very certain
that in heaven, where our whole nature is to be elevated and
perfected, this refinement of mind and heart, as well as the elegance
of personal bearing which flows from both, will exist in its highest
perfection, and ever be the source Of exquisite pleasures in our
social intercourse with the blessed.
5. Another source of social joys is mutual love. The four personal
attributes we have been considering, make up an amiable character;
that is, one which we love spontaneously, and whose love we are
certain to have in return for ours. It is this love which crowns and
perfects a character of this kind, and produces a very large share of
the pure pleasures we enjoy in the society of such persons. But,
however pure human love may be, even when elevated by grace to the
virtue of charity, it never can produce unalloyed social pleasures;
because it never reaches its full perfection in this world.
It is in heaven only that charity is perfect. There we shall love
every one with a most tender charity, and see ourselves loved as
tenderly and as purely in return. Our charity will be mutual, and,
therefore, our intercourse with the blessed will produce joys and
pleasures second only to the unspeakable happiness of the Beatific
Vision. Meditate well, Christian soul, on these exquisite delights.
Think what an unspeakable pleasure that mutual and perfect charity
must be to the inhabitants of heaven. That feature alone would almost
change for any one of us this cold world into a heaven.
Suppose you could say, with truth, "Every one of my acquaintances
loves me with the purest charity; and every stranger who is
introduced to me, loves me immediately with the purest affection. I
have no enemies; no, not one. No one is ever envious or jealous of
me; no one ever says an unkind word of me, nor has any one even an
unkind thought of me. All seem to take a singular pleasure in
speaking well of me, and in doing me all manner of kind services;
and, in return, I sincerely love all, and take a singular delight
in doing good to all." Surely, such language never was spoken by any
one in this world of imperfection. If, therefore, you could speak it
with truth, you would have reached a blessedness which neither our
Blessed Lord nor any of his saints ever reached on earth. Every one
would look upon you, and with reason, as the most highly-favored
person that ever lived in this world.
Now, this is precisely the blessedness which awaits us in our
heavenly home. There we shall love every one with the most perfect
charity, and every one will return our love. There we shall have no
enemies; no one to think uncharitably of us; no one to criticize our
sayings and conduct; no one to spread reports injurious to our
character; no one to put an unfavorable construction upon our most
innocent actions. "God is charity," and as "we shall be like Him
because we shall see him as he is," it follows that we, too, shall
possess that divine charity, in a far higher degree than is
attainable here below. Our social intercourse with the blessed will,
therefore, ever be the source of the purest and sweetest joy.
6. Besides the things already enumerated, there is one more which is
to be the source of still greater joy. And what may that be? It is
the meeting, in heaven, of them whom we loved so well here, because
they were bound to us by the sacred ties of kindred, or of true
friendship. It is the meeting of parent and child, of husband and
wife, of brother and sister, of relatives and friends--with whom we
were united by the bonds of the purest love. As glory does not
destroy our nature, neither does it destroy our natural virtues, but
perfects them. Hence, we shall take along with us our natural love
for our relatives and friends. Thus Jesus Christ, our Model, now
loves His Blessed Mother with the natural love of a dutiful son. He
loves her, not only because she is so pure and holy, but also because
she is His own mother. The elevation of His human nature above
everything that is not God, has neither destroyed nor diminished in
him that natural love which every child has for its mother. Thus,
again, Mary now loves Jesus most tenderly, not only because he is her
God, but also because he is her own son--flesh of her flesh, and bone
of her bone. Her elevation to the highest glory, after that of Jesus,
has neither destroyed nor diminished in her the natural love which
every mother has for her child. If anything, it has made her love
more ardent even than it was in this world.
So we, also, shall enter heaven with the natural love we now have for
our kindred and friends; but in us it will be purified from
everything inordinate or imperfect. What a delight that meeting must
be for the blessed! We can even now form some faint idea of that
heavenly joy, by reflecting on what takes place when a beloved father
returns home from a long and perilous Voyage, or from some cruel war,
where he was daily exposed to captivity and death. What outbursts of
gladness among the members of his family! How happy they are to see
him and embrace him! If these joys are so great in this world, what
must they be in heaven! Especially since there they are coupled with
the thought that there is no more separation. No, no more separation!
What delightful music there is in that short sentence! Death shall be
no more, and therefore we shall never more be torn away from the
society of our kindred and friends.
However, it seems to me I hear you say, "There is no difficulty in
believing that the meeting of our own in heaven is an unspeakable
joy; but suppose we do not meet them there--what then? Suppose that
on entering heaven we learn that our father, our mother, or some
other loved one is lost forever; shall we still be happy? Will there
not be in such a case an essential element wanting to complete our
happiness?" We shall devote the next chapter to answering this
difficulty, which is a lifelong torture to many a pious mind.