Heaven’s Mysteries

   “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. (1 Cor 2: 9)

   As with many things of faith, Heaven remains a mystery as long as we are in the world.  Only upon our passing will we glimpse what St. Paul was promising the people of Corinth.

   We know that heaven is perfection in all things.  There we will find perfect love, perfect happiness, and perfect joy.  Yet we are told that there is no marriage in heaven (see Matt 22: 30, Mark 12: 15, Luke 20: 34-35).  As much as we may love our spouse, they will apparently not be our spouse in heaven.  I can’t imagine perfect love, happiness, and joy without my wife, but if love is perfect can we love any one person more than another?

   Is heaven a place or a state of being?  Is it physical or spiritual or a combination of the two?  Jesus told His apostles that He was going to prepare a place for them and would return to take them to Himself (see John 14: 2-3).  But where is this place?  Where are those who have died in God’s grace?  Will it change when Jesus returns in glory?

   “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3: 16).  As Catholic I believe that all who have died in Christ live eternally, they pray for us and their prayers have great value.  They live, but not in a sense that I can understand in this life.

   God is full of mystery.  Heaven, too, will remain a mystery until we see and experience it for ourselves.

You promise perfection in all things.

You offer life eternal in Your presence.

I trust completely in Your promise.

I long to experience the reality.

Amen