I do not know what it will be like in this place called heaven. Dante's exquisite description of the assent into Paradiso and the white rose is a wonderful expression of the growing joy of approaching the very origin and aim of life. Lewis' last paragraph of Narnia [The Last Battle] says:
And as He (Aslan) spoke, He too looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.
It's hard to imagine the language of heaven. Perhaps there is not much said. I dream of hearing the two most welcome words I'll ever hear. At some point in this life of mine I dream to hear God my Father say, Welcome home. If I hear those words my via caeli will reach the origin and aim of my life. I will be for ever in a state of love and beauty where every moment is better than the one before.
Let's journey together. I pray what I post will aid your journey. Until next time,
Pax et bonum.
First viewer.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! I haven't read Dante or Narnia but after hearing so many great things about them I am tempted! When I think about heaven I always think of Rev. 4 and the image of never ending worship of the Lamb. This thought used to trouble me because I have a hard time focusing for more than an hour at a time in Church. It finally clicked the other day when we were at Steubenville and we just finished the Saturday night Adoration & Worship session (which lasted about 2 hours). After the Eucharist was processed out of the room, the MC, Paul George, got on stage and said "Is it just me or do you wish that tonight would have never ended". I remember thinking "Amen" in total agreement with that statement and the thought of Rev 4 and perpetual worship started to sound much more appealing than I first anticipated. Here's to never ending worship of the Lamb and the hope of experiencing it one day!
ReplyDeletePeace,
Nick
"They are borne in with gladness and joy; they enter the palace of the king."
ReplyDeleteMsgr. Bill - Always love your thoughtful and solid reflections. Thank you for your vocation and your preaching. May the Spirit increase them both!
ReplyDeleteIn Him, Michael
An auspicious day for a preacher to begin a blog:
ReplyDeleteJuly 30, 2010
St. Peter Chrysologus(406-450?)
A man who vigorously pursues a goal may produce results far beyond his expectations and his intentions. Thus it was with Peter of the Golden Words, as he was called, who as a young man became bishop of Ravenna, the capital of the empire in the West.
At the time there were abuses and vestiges of paganism evident in his diocese, and these he was determined to battle and overcome. His principal weapon was the short sermon, and many of them have come down to us. They do not contain great originality of thought. They are, however, full of moral applications, sound in doctrine and historically significant in that they reveal Christian life in fifth-century Ravenna. So authentic were the contents of his sermons that, some 13 centuries later, he was declared a doctor of the Church by Pope Benedict XIII. He who had earnestly sought to teach and motivate his own flock was recognized as a teacher of the universal Church.
In addition to his zeal in the exercise of his office, Peter Chrysologus was distinguished by a fierce loyalty to the Church, not only in its teaching, but in its authority as well. He looked upon learning not as a mere opportunity but as an obligation for all, both as a development of God-given faculties and as a solid support for the worship of God.
Some time before his death, St. Peter returned to Imola, his birthplace, where he died around A.D. 450.
We always enjoy and appreciate your homilies and we look forward to following your blog.
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