474. Thirty-fourth Saturday of Ordinary Time
Meditations no. 418 (unofficial computer-aided translation)
Heaven: the reward for our fight for holiness.
Letās try to imagine what heaven will be like, our Father once invited us. No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love him. Can you imagine what it will be like to get there, and find ourselves with God, and all that beauty and love pouring into our hearts, which satisfies without tiring? And on another occasion he added: I ask myself many times a day: what will it be like when all the beauty, all the goodness, all the infinite wonder of God pours into the poor clay vessel that I am, that all of us are? And then I well understand why the Apostle wrote: No eye has seen, nor ear heardā¦ Itās worthwhile, my children, itās worthwhile.
Heaven is the great reward for our struggle to become saints on earth: an eternal reward that weāre incapable of comprehending, but which we catch a glimpse of in Godās own revelation. Behold, the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away. They shall see his face, and his name shall be on their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever.
By these images, God encourages us to seek him, to become holy, and to urge many others to draw close to him. If we do so, weāll be happy and bring many others to share in the happiness which fills our soul and overflows in apostolic zeal.
Come what may, if we are faithful, a great Love awaits us in heaven, with no betrayal or deception: all love, all beauty, all greatness, all knowledgeā¦ A love that will know no surfeit: it will fill us without ever quenching our desire.
Our whole life must be a continual preparation for that definitive Life, when there will be no more sorrow or suffering. Attaining heaven requires struggle, a pleasant struggle if we live as Godās children. Therefore, our Father stated with an assurance that we too have experienced: I am every day more convinced that happiness in Heaven is for those who know how to be happy on earth.
Consideration of heaven renews our determination to work for Godās kingdom.
Let those who fear the Lord trust in the Lord: he is their help and their shield. The long liturgical period of ordinary time, which is now drawing to a close, is a period of hope. It symbolizes the slow passing of the centuries, as redeemed mankind moves towards its final destination through progressive incorporation into Christ. This progress has to take place in our own personal life as well. The light that will shine eternally in heaven has to burn ever brighter in our own soul.
The thought of eternal life should stimulate us to struggle constantly to become saints, by sanctifying ourselves in our ordinary work. For us, thinking about heaven does not mean forgetting our duties as citizens of this world. On the contrary, it moves us to sanctify all earthly activities, turning them into a means for apostolate, for leading souls to glory. Our Father wrote: Iāve taught you to meditate on the words from Scripture that I had engraved in stone: ut eatis, that you go forth. For to remain shut up at home is not our way. Rather we have to fan out and travel all the roads, seeking souls wherever they are: in this world, which is also ours, since God has called us amid our earthly tasks, and here he wants us to remain.
Indeed, through our vocation, God wants us to make manifest that optimistic view of creation, that love for the world which lies at the heart of Christianity. May you never lack zestfulness, either in your work or in your determination to build up the temporal city.
The prospect of heaven only serves to redouble our zeal to improve this world of ours that we love so much. For when we live with our heads in heaven, we are fully aware that there is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it. Therefore we strive to finish the duty of each moment down to the last detail.
The Second Vatican Council teaches: When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise - human dignity, brotherly communion, and freedom - according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom āof truth and life, a kingdom of holiness and grace, a kingdom of justice, love and peaceā. Here on earth the kingdom is present mysteriously; when the Lord comes it will enter into its perfection. None of our efforts here will be lost. Therefore we should examine how we work. Do we give ourselves wholeheartedly in our work each day, thus thanking God for giving us the chance to be co-redeemers and contribute to building up his kingdom?
It also increases our hope and our supernatural life.
The consideration of heaven brings us many fruits. First of all, greater supernatural outlook: Nostra autem conversatio in caelis est, our conversation is in heaven. Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city which is to come. We cannot confine our gaze to the here and now, seeking consolations that donāt last: quae sursum sunt sapite, non quae super terram; seek the things that are above, not earthly things. For you have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. If we consider this truth slowly, weāll see how absurd it is to seek earthly glory, ruled by our selfishness, going about begging for the satisfactions of sensuality and pride. Why seek all that which will be blown away by the wind?
The thought of heaven also brings peace. There is nothing on earth that canāt be remedied; as long as we walk on earth, everything is passing. If we live with our eyes fixed on God, we can affirm with our Father that we are what is permanent. And if life becomes more difficult, or our apostolate seems fruitless, or professional failures occur, heaven is a beacon of light, a peaceful landscape upon which to rest our gaze. We will embrace sacrifice calmly, out of love for God, and also because no effort goes unrewarded: God himself is our reward. My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God ā¦ As they go through the valley of Weeping they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
This way, while contemplating the reward that awaits us, we are happy also on earth and fall more and more in love with God. Our Father wrote: Someone might say to me, āIsnāt it a bit selfish to be thinking of heaven?ā No! Hope is a great virtue that demands strong faith. And faith and hope require great love for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. See how we are then practising the three theological virtues. This is the spiritual path you follow each day if youāre faithful, almost without realizing it, just as you donāt realize youāre breathing.
The consideration of heaven fills us with hope, faith, and disinterested love. Since the God whom you love disinterestedly will be your reward, St Augustine says, you should not cease to desire him as the only reward that can satisfy you. And our Father recommends: Do everything unselfishly, for pure love, as if there were neither reward nor punishment. But in your heart foster the glorious hope of heaven.
As always, we have recourse to our Lady. Our Mother went up to heaven, body and soul. Tell her often that we, her children, do not want to be separated from her. She will hear you!