Heaven
You may have heard the
story about the pastor who one day asked his parishioners at Mass, “How many in
this parish want to go to Heaven?” All but one man raised his hand. The pastor
asked the man why he didn’t want to go to Heaven. The man responded, “I am not
from this parish.”
What is Heaven? Even
though God is omnipresent, the Bible speaks of God’s dwelling place in
Heaven. If it is true that we began in
the mind of God, that he willed us into being, that we exist because God
sustains us, then it is true, in a sense, that all of us began to exist in
Heaven in the mind of God. It was
revealed to Paul this way. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the
heavens, as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the
world, to be holy and without blemish before him. In love he destined us for adoption to himself
through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will, for the praise of
the glory of his grace that he granted us in the beloved. (Eph 1:3-6) Our beginning is in God and our destiny is God.
But just as it is true
that Jesus has saved all but not all will be saved because of their personal,
negative response, so it is true that even though we began in Heaven in the
mind of God, not all, by free choice, will be with God in Heaven eternally.
Heaven is a place and a
state of being. It is the dwelling of God and the created angels who have
remained in union with him. We pray: “Our Father, who art in Heaven.” Jesus
said about scandalizing children: “See that you do not despise one of these
little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven always look upon the
face of my heavenly Father. (Mt 18:10) It is also the ultimate place and state
of existence for those human beings who have lived and died in the
justification and salvation won for them by the death and resurrection of
Jesus.
Here is what the
Catechism of the Catholic Church states about Heaven:
Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified
live forever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they “see him as he
is,” face to face:[596] By virtue of our apostolic authority, we
define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of
all the saints... and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy
Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died... or,
if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been
purified after death...) already before they take up their bodies again and
before the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the
heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of
the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these
souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and
even face to face, without the mediation of any creature. [597] (1023)
This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity - this communion of life
and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed
- is called "heaven." Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of
the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness. (1024)
Those who believe in
Heaven believe primarily in the existence of God, who has no beginning and no
end. It is also predicated on the acceptance of human beings, who will live
eternally, either with God or alienated from God because of the immortality of
the soul. Those who do not believe in the existence of Heaven (or Hell) are the
ones who deny the existence of God and the immortality of the soul. In this
category would fall atheists, rationalists, materialists and secularists.
People often ask the
question: “What is Heaven like?” We don’t know.
However, we can get insights into the reality of Heaven from the
scriptures. “’What eye has not seen, and ear has not
heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for
those who love him,’ this
God has revealed to us through the Spirit.” (1 Cor 2:9-10)
It is the place where
we will behold the face of God. “The throne of God and of the Lamb will
be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their
foreheads.”(Rev 22: 3-4) “At
present we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face“(1 Cor
13:12) This is called
theologically the Beatific Vision. We will see God in all his beauty, wonder
and glory. It is a grace from God. It is a state in which the blessed will rest
totally in God and God alone will be sufficient.
In the Old Testament it
was understood that if one gazed on the face of God he would die. Death would
occur not as a punishment but because humanly we would not want to live any
longer without being with God. If as St. Augustine says, “Our hearts are restless
until they rest in you, O God.”, having seen God we would not want anything
less. When Moses asked to see the face of God, the Lord responded that he can
only have a glimpse of God by seeing his back. When Isaiah got a glimpse of the
heavenly worship, he became intensely aware of his own sinfulness. When the Apostles saw Jesus in his
transfigured glory on Mt. Tabor, they were overwhelmed with new joy.
A glimpse is not yet
the fullness, the Beatific Vision. Still as the author of Hebrews states: “But
now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not
ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” (Heb 11:16)
In the New Testament
Jesus speaks of the blessings and joys of being in heaven. “Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3) “Blessed are the
pure in heart for they shall see God.” (Mt 5:8) The poor in spirit have learned
to depend upon God for their being and sustenance and the pure in heart over
time have divested themselves of sin which cools or separates them from God.
Their treasure is found not in things or even themselves but in God. “Where
your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Mt 6:20) As redeemed sons
and daughters, our inheritance from God as a result of our life in Christ on
earth is “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by
God’s power are guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time.” (1 Pet 1:4-5)
What other aspects of
Heaven is given to us in the scriptures?
Jesus talks about the many mansions in heaven: “In
my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have
told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?” (John 14:2)
Jesus reminds us that we will be with him (and the
Father and Holy Spirit). “And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to
myself, so that where I am you also may be.” (Jn 14:3)
Initially,
our body will be separated from our soul until the day of the resurrection of
our body when soul and body will be united in a glorified state. Here is how
Paul states the mystery: “This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God, nor does corruption* inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not
all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, in an instant, in the blink of an eye,
at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that
which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. And when this which is corruptible clothes
itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with
immortality, then the word that is written shall come about: ‘Death is
swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is
your sting?’ The sting of
death is sin, and the
power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This mystery is what moved Paul to exclaim: “We would
rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.” (2 Cor 5:8) This is what moved the saints of the
ages to live their lives the way they did, because of the longing to be with
the Lord, sharing eternal life, free from the trials and tribulations of this
age, knowing that in the age to come “God will wipe every tear from their eyes,
and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old
order has passed away.” (Rev 21:4)
What will life in heaven entail as a central aspect?
The author of The Book of Revelation shares his vision. “After
this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every
nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the
Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They
cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.’
All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four
living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God,
and exclaimed: ‘Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor,
power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’ Then one of the elders
spoke up and said to me, ‘Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they
come from?’ I
said to him, ‘My lord, you are the one who knows.’ He said to me, ‘These are
the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them
white in the blood of the Lamb. ‘For this reason they stand before God’s throne
and worship him day and night in his temple. The one who sits on the throne
will shelter them. They will not hunger or thirst anymore, nor will the sun or
any heat strike them. For the Lamb who is in the center of the throne will
shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, And God will wipe
away every tear from their eyes.’” (Rev
7:9-17)
