Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” Explaining this beatitude a little more in detail, St. Gregory of Nyssa says: “The man who sees God possesses in this act of seeing all there is of the things that are good. By this, we understand life without end, eternal incorruption, and undying beatitude. With these we shall enjoy the everlasting kingdom of unceasing happiness; we shall see the true light and hear the sweet voice of the Spirit; we shall exult perpetually in all that is good in the inaccessible glory.”

Seeing God face to face is the fulfillment our our existence. We will be perfected when we see God face to face in eternity. We were created in his own image and likeness and have been adopted as his son or daughter, sharing in his own divine life. To see God is to arrive at our true destination. St. Augustine’s words stated it well. “Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O God.” Nothing and no one but God can satisfy that which is lacking in us. That is why outside of God eternity will be a desolate, unbearable existence, truly a hellish state, a life of unforgivable failure. Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see the face of God eternally.