1. This union, then, between God and my soul, effected by grace,
is real and true. It is something more than faith can secure, a
nearer relationship, a deeper, more personal knowledge, a more
ardent and personal love. Indeed, so wonderful is the union
effected that the teaching of the Church has been forcibly
expressed in Pope Leo XIII's _Encyclical_, by saying that the only
difference between it and the Vision of Heaven is a difference of
condition or state, a difference purely accidental, not essential.
Heaven, with all its meaning, its wonders of which eye and ear and
heart are ignorant, can be begun here. Moreover, it must be
insisted upon, that this is not merely given to chosen souls whose
sanctity is so heroic as to qualify them for canonization; it is
the heritage of every soul in a state of grace. When I step
outside the confessional box after due repentance and the
absolution of the priest, I am in a state of grace. At once, then,
this blessed union takes effect. Within me is the Holy Spirit,
dwelling there, sent, given. As the object of knowledge He can be
experienced by me in a personal and familiar way. I can know Him
even as I am known. As the object of love He becomes my friend,
stooping to my level, lifting me to His. At once, then, though
still in a merely rudimentary way, can dawn upon me the glories of
my ultimate reward. Even already, upon earth, I have crossed the
threshold of Heaven.
2. In order for me to enjoy that ultimate vision of God, two
things will be necessary for me. First, I shall need to be
strengthened so as to survive the splendor and joy of it. No man
can see God and live, for like St. Paul on the road to Damascus,
the splendor of the vision would wholly obscure the sight. Just as
a tremendous noise will strain the hearing of the ear, or an
overbright light will dazzle the eyes to blindness, or an
overwhelming joy will break the heart with happiness, so would the
vision of God strike with annihilation the poor weak soul. Hence
the light of glory, as it is called by the theologians, has to be
brought into use. By this is meant that strengthening of the human
faculties which enables them without harm to confront the Truth,
Goodness, Power, Beauty of God. Secondly, this vision implies an
immediate contact with God. It is no question simply of faith or
hope, but of sight and possession, so that there should be no more
veils, no more reproductions or reflections of God, but God
Himself. Those two things sum up what we mean by the Beatific
Vision. Now, then, if there is a similarity of kind between that
union in heaven and the union that can be reflected on earth, then
grace in this life must play the part of the light of glory in the
next, and I must be able in consequence to enter into personal
relations and immediate contact with God.
3. Such, then, is the likeness between the indwelling of the
Spirit on earth, and the beatific vision. Wherein comes the
difference? The difference one may say is largely a difference of
consciousness. Here on earth I have so much to distract me that I
cannot possibly devote myself in the same way as then I shall be
able to do. There are things here that have got to be done, and
there is the body itself which can only stand a certain amount of
concentration and intensity. If strained too much it just breaks
down and fails. All this complicates and hampers me. But in heaven
I shall take on something (of course a great deal intensified) of
the consciousness and alertness of youth. A child can thoroughly
enjoy itself, for it has got the happy faculty of forgetting the
rest of life, all its troubles, anxieties, fears. Heaven, then,
means the lopping off of all those menaces, and the consequent
full appreciation of God in knowledge and love. Hence I must not
be disturbed if here on earth all these wonderful things which I
learn about concerning the indwelling of the Holy Spirit do not
seem to take place. It is very unfortunate that I do not
appreciate them, but it is something at least to know that they
are there. It is a nuisance that I do not see Him, but it is
something at least to be certain He is within me.