Who Art in Heaven: The
Dwelling Place of God
What State of Mind Are You In?
God is eternal and
omnipresent. He is not bound by time or space. He existed before
their creation. Because heaven existed as the dwelling of God
before time, it must be eternal as well. This leaves us with two
considerations. If we consider heaven as a created space, it must
be a space "eternally created" by the very presence of God. This
concept of "eternal creation" makes no sense to our human
understanding. If heaven is not a creature, then it is simply His
eternal presence. In either case, heaven would be both eternal and
omnipresent. If omnipresent, can we really call it a place? With
this line of reasoning, it is easy to see that heaven is far
different than any place comprehensible to man on earth.
Explaining heaven as a
state of being eliminates the confusion between created space bound
by time and created space apart from time. Such an explanation
appeals to the characteristics of God, particularly
His
eternal and omnipresent
nature. As a state of being and not a place per se, our inheritance
of heaven is understood as the fullness of communion with God.
Traditionally, this is known as the beatific vision; the seeing of
God.
eternal and omnipresent
nature. As a state of being and not a place per se, our inheritance
of heaven is understood as the fullness of communion with God.
Traditionally, this is known as the beatific vision; the seeing of
God.
However, heaven must contain
space, because it contains the glorified body of Christ (Mk. 16:19;
Lk. 24:51), as well as the bodies of Enoch (Gen. 5:24), Moses (Jude
9), Elijah (2 Kings 2:9-12) and the Blessed Virgin Mary (Rev.
12:1). At the end of time, it will contain the glorified bodies of
all the saints. However, its reality is not a place bound by time
and space as we know it, and this is incomprehensible to us. Its
spatial reality is a reality of God's glory, not a reality of the
created world.
In Magisterial documents, the Church falls short of stating
"where" heaven is or defining it solely as a state of being.
However, the Church does describe what happens in heaven, namely,
union with God and with all His angels and saints (cf. Jn.
17:20-26, Catechism, no. 1023, 1024). Though in union with God, man
does not lose his distinct nature and identity (cf. Catechism, no.
1025). He remains human, but becomes fully human in Christ as
intended by God. It is this perfect union with God and
transformation in Christ that is most important, not arguments
about whether heaven is a place or state of being.
The Magisterium does not favor one theological approach over
another. It does emphasize what happens in heaven, and uses common
language to help describe different characteristics of heaven. In
his edict Benedictus Deus (1336 AD), Pope Benedict XII uses the
term "will be in heaven" to describe the destiny of the faithful
departed. "In" can refer to a place or a state of being without
favoring one over the other. Most recently, Pope John Paul II
stated: "Today, personalist language is better suited to describing
the state of happiness and peace we will enjoy in our definitive
communion with God." While he uses the term "state," he does not
qualify the term to "state of being," "state of mind" or "state of
body." To further explain the concept, he quotes Catechism 1026 and
explains:
The life of the blessed consists in the full and perfect
possession of the fruits of the redemption accomplished by Christ.
He makes partners in his heavenly glorification those who have
believed in him
and remained faithful to his will. Heaven is the blessed
community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ.
As St. Augustine wrote, "You made us for Yourself, and our
hearts are restless until they rest in You." Heaven fulfills the
desire of our hearts for God. Our lives on earth must be directed
to seeking that perfect union with God that He meant for us from
the beginning. When we reach that heavenly beatitude, our hearts
will be filled with an intense love and joy that can only be
described as God Himself.
Heaven on Earth
Many have tried to compare earthly experiences to heavenly
realities. In Sacred Scripture, one of the most compelling signs of
heaven's glory is marriage; that is, the union of a man and woman
in a covenant of love with God (cf. Rev. 21:1-4, Gen. 1:26-27). As
intended from the beginning, marriage involves a total and free
sacrifice of self for love of the other in the love of God. When
this love is returned by the spouse, the mutual love of both brings
unspeakable joy for life and hope for the future. The ecstasies
shared by the couple in their love foreshadow the ecstasies of
heaven and our union with God. This is why St. Paul, when writing
about marriage, could say, "this mystery is a profound one, and I
am saying that it refers to Christ and the church" (Eph. 5:32).
In addition to marriage, the liturgies of the Church and the
other sacraments foreshadow the realities of heaven's glories. This
is particularly true of the celebration of Mass and the sacrament
of Holy Eucharist. The liturgy of the Mass draws from the elaborate
and beautiful images given to us in the Book of Revelation. In that
book, St. John describes heaven and the praises of the angels and
saints before God (Rev. 4-5). When we participate in the
celebration of the Mass, we are mysteriously drawn to the unending
praises of God in heaven. Within time, we participate in worship
that is outside of time. Because the Holy Eucharist is the Body and
Blood of Jesus, our Lord and God, when we receive this sacrament,
we experience the greatest physical and spiritual union with God on
earth.
In this, we share in a mysterious way the union God intends for
us in heaven.
Our participation in the liturgies and sacraments of the Church
are nothing less than our participation in the Communion of Saints.
As the saints and angels worship
before God in heaven, so on earth we participate in their glorious
praise of His Name. The glory given the saints in heaven is our
hope as we yearn for God during our earthly exile. God has given us
on earth a glimpse of heavenly realities that we may not lose
heart. Let us find in our marriages, families and daily work the
encouragement to keep our vision on God; a vision He calls us to in
heaven's glory.
One Day in the Life of Saint in Heaven
Being more closely united to
Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly
in holiness, add to the nobility of the worship that the Church
offers to God here on earth, and in many ways help in a broader
building up of the Church (cf: 1 Cor. 12:12-27). Once received into
their heavenly home and being present to the Lord (cf. 2 Cor. 5:8),
through him and with him and in him they do not cease to intercede
with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they
acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men,
Christ Jesus (cf. 1 Tim. 2:5), serving God in all things and
completing in their flesh what is lacking in Christ's afflictions
for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church (cf. Col. 1:24). So
by their brotherly concern is our weakness greatly helped (Lumen
Gentium, 49).
By this edict which will prevail forever, with apostolic
authority we declare: that according to the common arrangement of
God, souls of all the saints…have been, are, and will be in heaven,
in the kingdom of heaven and in celestial paradise with Christ,
united in the company of the holy angels, and after the passion and
death of our Lord Jesus Christ have seen and see the divine essence
by intuitive vision, and even face to face, with no mediating
creature, serving in the capacity of an object seen, but divine
essence immediately revealing itself plainly, clearly, and openly,
to them, and seeing thus they enjoy the same divine essence, and
also that from such vision and enjoyment their souls, which now
have departed, are truly blessed and they have eternal life and
rest...and will continue even up to the last judgment and from then
even unto eternity.
Pope Benedict XII From his edict, Benedictus Deus January 29,
1336
Questions for Reflection and Group Discussion:
Language is the most powerful symbol man uses to express
himself. By use of language, other signs and symbols are explained.
Yet language falls short of expressing realities we do not fully
understand. Everyone experiences this. On one occasion or another,
we grapple with the right words to use when describing an
experience or idea. We simply do not know what to say.
Heaven is one of those realities we do not fully
understand. It is not limited to time and space as we are. As a
result, none of our experiences with other creatures on earth can
reveal fully the nature of heaven. Nor can our languages or
imaginations describe it perfectly (cf. 1 Cor. 2:9).
When describing heaven, man has traditionally taken one of two
approaches. Either he describes heaven as a state of being or as a
place. It seems that each approach depends on whether the person
starts with the characteristics of God or the characteristics of
man.