Hello Everyone!
For intro (or re-intro to some folks) purposes, I consider myself more of a "puristic" Christian than a denominational follower of Christ. Otherwise I'm a born/raised/schooled Catholic who still hears weekly Mass with my wife.
What has gnawed at me in the recent past is the significance of earthly life as it relates to heaven: is heaven a state that one attains only after earthly life, or is it attainable during one's earthly life?
After much research and reflection, a hypothesis emerged: Not only does it appear attainable, but it seems to have been God's intention in the first place.
This theory was supported by personal experiences where, upon application of Christ's teaching to love others unconditionally (particularly in situations where anger and hostility were the natural responses), I had a feeling of sublime peace.
Could those periods of sublime peace be similar to - or, actually - the heaven promised by Christ and pronounced by St. John the Baptist ("repent for the kingdom of God is at hand")?
My answer was yes, but it remained a questionable stance to my devout and orthodox Catholic wife and clan in general.
Yesterday, we hosted breakfast for the assistant vicar of the Catholic parish where my wife is the music director, and I asked him what he believes to be heaven.
He said without hesitation, "Heaven is a state of the mind and spirit that exists whenever a person, even in his/her earthly life, follows God's will. One doesn't have to transition from earthly existence to experience heaven."
That, for me, was a liberation on many fronts.
What are your thoughts/experiences in this area of faith?
For intro (or re-intro to some folks) purposes, I consider myself more of a "puristic" Christian than a denominational follower of Christ. Otherwise I'm a born/raised/schooled Catholic who still hears weekly Mass with my wife.
What has gnawed at me in the recent past is the significance of earthly life as it relates to heaven: is heaven a state that one attains only after earthly life, or is it attainable during one's earthly life?
After much research and reflection, a hypothesis emerged: Not only does it appear attainable, but it seems to have been God's intention in the first place.
This theory was supported by personal experiences where, upon application of Christ's teaching to love others unconditionally (particularly in situations where anger and hostility were the natural responses), I had a feeling of sublime peace.
Could those periods of sublime peace be similar to - or, actually - the heaven promised by Christ and pronounced by St. John the Baptist ("repent for the kingdom of God is at hand")?
My answer was yes, but it remained a questionable stance to my devout and orthodox Catholic wife and clan in general.
Yesterday, we hosted breakfast for the assistant vicar of the Catholic parish where my wife is the music director, and I asked him what he believes to be heaven.
He said without hesitation, "Heaven is a state of the mind and spirit that exists whenever a person, even in his/her earthly life, follows God's will. One doesn't have to transition from earthly existence to experience heaven."
That, for me, was a liberation on many fronts.
What are your thoughts/experiences in this area of faith?
