DEGREES OF HAPPINESS IN HEAVEN.
Having seen that the Light of glory is the new power, or medium,
through which the blessed see and enjoy God, we must now endeavor to
understand how its different degrees of intensity become the source
of vastly different degrees of happiness or enjoyment.
In order to understand how the different degrees of mental elevation
produce different degrees of happiness in the Beatific Vision, we
must first examine in what consist the different degrees of enjoyment
in the creatures that now surround us. This will be as a mirror, in
which we can see faint, but true, reflections of the vast difference
there is between the highest and the lowest in heaven.
In order to receive pleasure from creatures, it is not enough to be
surrounded with them, or even to possess them: we must, moreover, be
endowed with organs, or faculties, through which we can receive and
appropriate to ourselves the pleasures which, according to their
nature, they can give. Thus, a grand concert, which pours the most
exquisite pleasures into your soul, gives none at all to a deaf man,
because he lacks the receiving organ, and hence the pleasure-giving
object is, in his regard, as if it had no existence.
But this is not all. Not only does our pleasure depend upon the
possession of receiving faculties, but the amount also, or degree, of
that pleasure, depends upon the development and perfection of the
same receiving organs and faculties. The more highly developed and
cultivated they are, the more intense, also, will be the satisfaction
and pleasure we shall receive from any given object; while persons of
inferior development will receive far less, although the object is
the same for all. Let us make this evident by an illustration.
Take the thousands of persons who have read some literary work, say,
for instance, the Iliad of Homer. They all had eyes, and all could
read; they all possessed the whole book as completely as if it had
been written for each one in particular; and, no doubt, they all
received pleasure from the perusal of that beautiful poem. But, did
they all receive the same amount of pleasure? They certainly did not.
Not even two individuals ever received the same degree of pleasure or
enjoyment from the perusal of that book. Each one received and
appropriated to himself his own pleasure--which was great in
proportion to the cultivation and elevation of his mind. Hence, while
a superior and highly cultivated mind is entranced at the beauty and
sublimity of some particular passage, an inferior one sees neither
meaning nor beauty in it, and, perhaps, even casts the book aside in
disgust.
It would be easy to multiply illustrations; but this one is
sufficient to show that the amount of pleasure we derive from the use
of creatures depends upon the degree of development and perfection in
our receiving faculties. So it is in heaven, among the blessed. They
all see and possess God; they all love and enjoy Him; but it by no
means follows that they all enjoy the same amount of happiness from
that blessed vision. And why so? Because each one sees and enjoys
only in proportion to his individual development and elevation of
mind--which is given to him by the Light of glory. And, as that
blessed Light is given to each one according to his own personal
merits, it follows that each one sees and enjoys God in proportion to
the holiness of the life he lived while upon earth.
Hence, they who have practised virtue in a heroic degree--they who
have sacrificed the pleasures of this world, honors, wealth, and even
life itself, for God, possess the highest elevation of mind, and,
consequently, the highest degree of enjoyment. They possess the most
intense and perfect vision of the Divine Essence; they soar higher,
and penetrate more deeply into the unfathomable being of God. They
see more of the divine beauty, wisdom, goodness, and other
perfections of God, and partake more largely of the Divine Nature. In
a word, their higher elevation of mind, by a more intense Light of
glory, is to them the source of the highest and most perfect
enjoyment in the Beatific Vision; while persons of very inferior
virtue, though perfectly happy too, enjoy a vastly inferior degree of
blessedness.
But this is not all. We have seen, in a former chapter, that the
Beatific Vision does not consist in merely gazing upon the surpassing
beauty of God; and that the mere sight of Him, if it could be
separated from the possession of him, could not make any one happy.
Wherefore, the sight of God includes the possession of Him. It
includes, moreover, the intense love to which that vision gives
birth, as well as the consequent enjoyment of Him. Now, it is evident
that a more intense light of glory, or a greater elevation of the
mind, inflames the soul with a more intense love or God. For, it not
only reveals to her more of His surpassing beauty, but it also
reveals more of His unspeakable love for her; and her love for Him
becomes greater in proportion. And the greater the love between the
soul and God, the more perfect and complete also is the union
existing between them, and, consequently, the higher is the happiness
enjoyed by the soul.
Thus it is that all the blessed see, love, and enjoy God in the
Beatific Vision. They are all perfectly happy; and yet, among the
countless multitude of God's children, probably not two really enjoy
the same degree of happiness. Each one enjoys according to the
elevation of his mind, which he has deserved by the holiness of his
life. Not only is there a difference in the degrees of enjoyment, but
there is a gulf between the highest and the lowest in heaven. It is,
moreover, an impassable gulf, which the lowest can never cross so as
to reach the highest happiness of heaven. It were far easier for the
lowest and most uncouth servant-maid in a king's palace to reach the
dignity and glory of a queen, than it is for the lowest in heaven to
reach the most intimate degree of union with God. Each one is happy
in the degree and sphere which his life has deserved for him; but in
that degree each one will and must remain forever.
I trust that you now understand something of the different degrees of
happiness in heaven; and that, at the same time, you are filled with
a holy ambition to reach a high degree of union with God. If so,
thank God. For a high degree of glory in heaven is within the reach
of us all, however poor, ignorant, or insignificant we may be here
below. Heaven is not as this world, where the mere accident of birth,
or the smile of fortune, instead of moral worth, generally determines
a man's position in society, as well as the amount of natural
happiness he shall enjoy. Hence, no poor girl ever imagines that, if
she be very virtuous, some great king will eventually espouse her,
and elevate her to the dignity and glory of a queen. No poor boy ever
believes that, if he behaves well, and obeys the laws of the land as
a good citizen, the king will, in consequence, eventually adopt him
as one of his sons, and bestow upon him the honors and pleasures
which may be enjoyed by royal children. But even supposing such wild
dreams could be realized in this world, these ignorant and uncouth
people could not be made happy in their elevated position. And why?
Because the king, who has the power to give palaces, wealth,
magnificent dresses, and tables loaded with every imaginable luxury,
has not the power to bestow the elevation of mind, polish of manners,
and other graces which befit queens and royal children. Hence, they
would feel out of place, and be unable to enjoy the happiness to
which they have been elevated. Besides, they would see themselves
despised, and even ridiculed, by those whose birth and education have
fitted them for high society. The mere fact, therefore, of their
elevation to high honors, would not clothe them with the personal
qualities which are necessary to enjoy the highest honors and
pleasures of this world.
How different all this is, when there is question of heaven! For, how
poor and ignorant soever we may now be, we may reasonably aspire to a
very high degree of glory, and to the exquisite delights which come
from a more intimate union with God. How insignificant soever we may
be, and however low our position in this world, we may aspire to move
in the highest society in heaven. And not only may we aspire to all
this, and reach it, by the grace of God and the practice of virtue,
but, what is more, we shall be made fit for our high position. For
the moment the vision of God flashes upon the soul, we become like
Him. We shall, therefore, be educated, filled with all knowledge,
wisdom, and every other perfection. We shall be clothed with the
personal beauty, refinement, and other graces which befit spouses of
Jesus Christ and children of God. For you must ever bear in mind that
the glory of heaven, besides the elevation of our mind by the Light
of glory, implies the elevation of our whole nature to the
supernatural state.
Wherefore, not only is our mind elevated far beyond its present
powers by the Light of glory, but our body, also, is to be exalted by
the resurrection far beyond its present perfection. As we have
already seen, all the just are to rise in glory, but each one in his
own degree of perfection. "For, one is the glory of the sun, another
the glory of the moon, and another the glory of the stars. For star
differeth from star in glory. So, also, in the resurrection of the
dead." Here the Apostle of the Gentiles teaches us, in the plainest
manner possible, that among the saints there is a very great
difference in the degrees of personal beauty, grace, and splendor.
There is as much difference between the beauty and splendor of the
highest and those of the lowest, as we now see between the dazzling
splendor of the surf and the pale light of the moon. As the
resurrection is a portion of heaven's rewards, it follows that the
more completely we have mortified our inordinate passions, and made
our life conformable to that of Jesus Christ, the more also of
personal beauty and splendor shall we possess in heaven; and,
consequently, the more of heaven's happiness we shall enjoy.
These attributes of personal beauty and perfection, and elevation to
a high position, in heaven, are the very marks by which we shall
immediately recognize those who have been most holy, and who have
done most for God, in this world. It will no longer be as now, when
the wicked prosper, possess wealth, honors, and power, while the
virtuous are not infrequently poor, despised, and even persecuted
unto death. Hence, the appearance of a man and his surroundings are
not a rule whereby we can rightly judge of his sanctity. Thus, when
you see a man of great personal beauty, highly educated, and polished
in his manners, surrounded with all the magnificence which the world
can give, honored and idolized by his fellows, enjoying a high social
position, and all the pleasures of life, you do not, you cannot
judge, from all this worldly glory, that he is one of the holiest men
living. He may, indeed, be a good man, but the glory which surrounds
him is not the standard by which you can judge of the amount of
virtue which he possesses.
In heaven, the glory which surrounds the saints is a rule, and an
infallible one, by which we can tell the amount of virtue they
practised while living in mortal flesh. Thus, when you enter there,
you will see some who outshine others in splendor as the sun
outshines the moon. You will see them wonderfully transformed into
God, shining like the Divinity in His presence; partaking of the
Divine Nature in a high degree, and united to Him in the most
intimate manner. You will see them elevated far above others in rank,
honored and loved in a special manner by the angels and saints. On
seeing them, your first thought will be that these are the holiest
persons in heaven. You will judge that their dazzling splendor, their
wonderful resemblance to God, their intimate union with Him, the high
position they occupy, and the exquisite pleasures they enjoy, are all
so many proofs that, while on earth, they loved God with their whole
heart, and their neighbor as themselves; that they were poor in
spirit, humble, pure, patient in adversity, and that perhaps some of
them laid down their lives for God, amidst the most excruciating
torments. Here is a correct judgment. For it is precisely their
heroic virtue, and not the mere accident of birth or the smile of
fortune, which gives them the superior beauty, glory, and happiness
they now enjoy.
Then, again, you will see others, who, although perfectly happy, are
nevertheless far inferior in their degree of union with God and
personal splendor. You will immediately infer that these practised
virtue in an inferior degree. Your judgment is right again; for, in
heaven, the glory which surrounds every saint is a rule by which we
can judge of his moral worth, and of the amount of virtue which he
practised while living in this world; because there it is all a just
reward, and not the result of one's birth, or of any caprice of
fortune.