It's easier to imagine sorrow than joy, because, of sorrow we know the best, but of joy we only know a little: That is, we know great sorrow, but not great joy, because of the circumstances of our lives. Hence, it is easier to imagine Hell than it is to imagine Heaven. Yet, man need not imagine either, as private revelations - not mandatory to believe, by the way - have given us glimpses of both places-states. I'll concern myself with Heaven today.
Of Heaven, we know it will be communion. Communion is loving unity, the unity which comes from and finds its perfection in love. This communion will be with God and His holy creatures, the angels and saints. We will be joined in love and in love of love. Moreover, we will enjoy one another's company as lovers enjoy each other's company: Rejoicing in one another's presence, seeing the good of others, sharing in the joys and glories of others as if they were our own, sharing our joys and glories with others as if they were their own, and feasting with one another upon the Love and Mercy of God. Furthermore, we will enjoy the Presence of God. God is Absolute and Eternal Joy, i.e., Happiness Itself, and while we cannot fully know what it will be like to be as happy as Him (in light of how we loved as much as Him in this world, since our life in Heaven is measured by our life in this world), we can know it will be greater than the joys we receive from the world's pleasures, and such joy in Heaven will be increased when we receive our bodies again, because before we will be happy as spirits but after we will be happy as human beings. This communion in Heaven is given different names in the Scriptures: A feast, a banquet, a city, a garden, a marriage, a day of rest, a hymn of praise, liturgy, immortality, consolation, royalty, and harmony. We know from the Holy Mass, especially Holy Communion (which is a foretaste of that coming glory), that Heaven will be, ultimately, eternal prayer, and with this knowledge we ought to keep the Sacrament sacred.
Of Heaven, we know it will be beauty. No one knows what beauty it will be, but certain apparitions have us know the colors and beauty of Heaven will not be what we know: They will be, as it were, much more dazzling, much more pure, much more glorious, much more splendid. We also know from private revelation that Heaven will be as colorful, harmonious, beautiful, and serene as a garden. Indeed, we ourselves are the flowers of God's garden. Yet, what of the angels? Certainly their beauty is beyond our imagination. The Angel of Peace at Fatima was said to be extraordinary handsome, more beautiful than any man or creature in the world. Now the visionaries had not seen every creature or man in the world, but we know that an angel is closer to God than man, and so, more beautiful, since the All-Beautiful makes all things beautiful. Indeed, He creates what is beautiful, since beauty is good, as evidence by Him being Beauty Itself - Goodness Itself. As such, we can be sure to be beautiful ourselves in Heaven, and enjoy the beauty of others. The glory of Heaven is most described as a garden, but it can also be described as a city of jewels and gems, as it is in Revelation. This imagery sparks the imagination into wanting to draw a picture of it, but we will only possess Heaven when we possess God, just as He possesses us, for we are made for Him and whoever has God has everything. But, what will be our beauty come from? From life in God. What is good is beautiful, so therefore, the more virtues we exercise, the more beautiful our souls become. It is like with Baptism. The soul which is purified of original sin and all sins becomes cleansed of dung and filth, filled with the wondrous grace of God, and perfected like a blazing diamond, like pure gold, like a shining pearl: And so the creature, by its union with God, is most beautiful. So as we live, so shall we be beautiful in Heaven and enjoy the beauty of Heaven - most especially the All-Beautiful God. The best way to describe the beauty of Heaven is to look at the church: The exterior shows a grand castle, a great place of rest, and a mysterious and ancient - almost secret and out-of-place - building: Heaven is a kingdom, a place of peace, and a world which we both long for, in longing for peace, and don't understand, and some believe, in calling it a religious topic, an out-of-date idea of man. But Heaven is not an idea, nor an ideal, nor a dream: It is not too good to be true because reason dose not long for what could be but for what is. The interior shows a magnificent display of art, everything both pointing to and being beautified by the Holy Eucharist. It is different from our homes and offices, which had no real concrete system of display but just different displays of things: a plant here, a picture there, some tables there, etc. In church, though, we find everything in God and God in everything. His Beauty permeates everything and everything beautiful permeates Him. A church is designed to symbolize the Kingdom of God, and so, it reflects the beauty of Heaven. But what of the Liturgy? That is most beautiful and gives us the best understanding of Heaven, and without it the church would not be beautiful but a building of old. So you can see how the beauty of God works: It is living beauty, not simply the beauty of art and colors. Art and colors jump out at us, but they are not the living beauty of sound, touch, taste, sight, and smell: The praises, the Host, the windows, the incense. Even a worldly experience of living art cannot compare to the share in God's beauty at a Mass - and this share is partial, not even the full share we will have in Heaven! Man can build his tower of Babel as high as he wants, but he will never be able to reach the heights of Heaven; yet in a cave, Mary and Joseph had Heaven, having God, and we have Heaven at the Mass too: How much more, than, will we enjoy beauty - God Himself - in the next life.
Of Heaven, we know it will be music, feasting, and fragrance. By music I do not mean the songs we know but the beauty of the voices of angels and saints, each in particular and joined together, in continual prayer to God. Their voices will be gentle yet strong, wonderful yet powerful, amazing and grand. No singer could compare to even the least saints' voice, and no orchestra could replicate a prayer of Heaven. We know that Heaven dose have actual music, too, in that we will sing praises to God just as we give Him thanks and intercede for others. The musical instruments at Mass are our way of imitating the voices of Heaven and calling to mind the songs of the choir of angels and saints. There was one saint who, at death, was said to hear beautiful music, and, asked what it was, replied that it was the holy souls praying for him: Now if the Church Suffering has such wondrous voices, than how much more the Church Triumphant and all of Heaven! No one can imagine the Voice of God, but I am sure it is Most Beautiful. By feasting I do not mean the food and drink we know but the feasting we enjoy in receiving Jesus Christ: for the sweetness of His Body and Blood - the taste of Him - will be fully enjoyed in Heaven. It is not the taste of the tongue but the taste of the heart, the joy and peace of God. Perhaps we will eat food in Heaven, but, I doubt it, as our bodies will be immortalized and food is a substance to nourish a mortal body, yet, as God created all things - even our senses - for the enjoyment of Him and as a reflection of Him, so we might still have the earthly use of our senses in Heaven. The feasting upon God can be likened to honey, milk, fish, or bread: These things are tasty, yet the enjoyment we get from them is not in them by nature and we will also enjoy this enjoyment in Heaven, especially after the catholic resurrection. By fragrance I do not mean incense or perfume but prayer and sanctity, the odors which rise to Heaven and radiate from the saints, exciting God with pleasure and men with holy thoughts. Certainly Heaven will be a good smelling place, having no smoke and nothing unpleasant in it, and, what is more, filled with the odor of prayers from our own mouths and of the holiness of God and His creatures, we will be, as it were, swept up in this wondrous odor like birds in the air. Saint Padre Pio, at death, radiated with the light of sanctity, and other saints were said to smell like roses or other good odors. So it will be in Heaven with us - and much more, so it is with God! God has no body, being Spirit (yet He has a body in Christ), but He is beautiful, and odor is beautiful, so He will not smell unpleasant but good.
So that is, in a nutshell, what we know of Heaven. It is both knowledge and no knowledge, for that which men wish to put down in words cannot be truly put down in words, so descriptions which only paint a picture of Heaven - rather than truly describing Heaven - must suffice. Nonetheless, Heaven can be summed in one word: God! And God is a mystery. Yet we know He is Holiness, Justice, Love and Mercy, and we love Him for His sake.
Of Heaven, we know it will be communion. Communion is loving unity, the unity which comes from and finds its perfection in love. This communion will be with God and His holy creatures, the angels and saints. We will be joined in love and in love of love. Moreover, we will enjoy one another's company as lovers enjoy each other's company: Rejoicing in one another's presence, seeing the good of others, sharing in the joys and glories of others as if they were our own, sharing our joys and glories with others as if they were their own, and feasting with one another upon the Love and Mercy of God. Furthermore, we will enjoy the Presence of God. God is Absolute and Eternal Joy, i.e., Happiness Itself, and while we cannot fully know what it will be like to be as happy as Him (in light of how we loved as much as Him in this world, since our life in Heaven is measured by our life in this world), we can know it will be greater than the joys we receive from the world's pleasures, and such joy in Heaven will be increased when we receive our bodies again, because before we will be happy as spirits but after we will be happy as human beings. This communion in Heaven is given different names in the Scriptures: A feast, a banquet, a city, a garden, a marriage, a day of rest, a hymn of praise, liturgy, immortality, consolation, royalty, and harmony. We know from the Holy Mass, especially Holy Communion (which is a foretaste of that coming glory), that Heaven will be, ultimately, eternal prayer, and with this knowledge we ought to keep the Sacrament sacred.
Of Heaven, we know it will be beauty. No one knows what beauty it will be, but certain apparitions have us know the colors and beauty of Heaven will not be what we know: They will be, as it were, much more dazzling, much more pure, much more glorious, much more splendid. We also know from private revelation that Heaven will be as colorful, harmonious, beautiful, and serene as a garden. Indeed, we ourselves are the flowers of God's garden. Yet, what of the angels? Certainly their beauty is beyond our imagination. The Angel of Peace at Fatima was said to be extraordinary handsome, more beautiful than any man or creature in the world. Now the visionaries had not seen every creature or man in the world, but we know that an angel is closer to God than man, and so, more beautiful, since the All-Beautiful makes all things beautiful. Indeed, He creates what is beautiful, since beauty is good, as evidence by Him being Beauty Itself - Goodness Itself. As such, we can be sure to be beautiful ourselves in Heaven, and enjoy the beauty of others. The glory of Heaven is most described as a garden, but it can also be described as a city of jewels and gems, as it is in Revelation. This imagery sparks the imagination into wanting to draw a picture of it, but we will only possess Heaven when we possess God, just as He possesses us, for we are made for Him and whoever has God has everything. But, what will be our beauty come from? From life in God. What is good is beautiful, so therefore, the more virtues we exercise, the more beautiful our souls become. It is like with Baptism. The soul which is purified of original sin and all sins becomes cleansed of dung and filth, filled with the wondrous grace of God, and perfected like a blazing diamond, like pure gold, like a shining pearl: And so the creature, by its union with God, is most beautiful. So as we live, so shall we be beautiful in Heaven and enjoy the beauty of Heaven - most especially the All-Beautiful God. The best way to describe the beauty of Heaven is to look at the church: The exterior shows a grand castle, a great place of rest, and a mysterious and ancient - almost secret and out-of-place - building: Heaven is a kingdom, a place of peace, and a world which we both long for, in longing for peace, and don't understand, and some believe, in calling it a religious topic, an out-of-date idea of man. But Heaven is not an idea, nor an ideal, nor a dream: It is not too good to be true because reason dose not long for what could be but for what is. The interior shows a magnificent display of art, everything both pointing to and being beautified by the Holy Eucharist. It is different from our homes and offices, which had no real concrete system of display but just different displays of things: a plant here, a picture there, some tables there, etc. In church, though, we find everything in God and God in everything. His Beauty permeates everything and everything beautiful permeates Him. A church is designed to symbolize the Kingdom of God, and so, it reflects the beauty of Heaven. But what of the Liturgy? That is most beautiful and gives us the best understanding of Heaven, and without it the church would not be beautiful but a building of old. So you can see how the beauty of God works: It is living beauty, not simply the beauty of art and colors. Art and colors jump out at us, but they are not the living beauty of sound, touch, taste, sight, and smell: The praises, the Host, the windows, the incense. Even a worldly experience of living art cannot compare to the share in God's beauty at a Mass - and this share is partial, not even the full share we will have in Heaven! Man can build his tower of Babel as high as he wants, but he will never be able to reach the heights of Heaven; yet in a cave, Mary and Joseph had Heaven, having God, and we have Heaven at the Mass too: How much more, than, will we enjoy beauty - God Himself - in the next life.
Of Heaven, we know it will be music, feasting, and fragrance. By music I do not mean the songs we know but the beauty of the voices of angels and saints, each in particular and joined together, in continual prayer to God. Their voices will be gentle yet strong, wonderful yet powerful, amazing and grand. No singer could compare to even the least saints' voice, and no orchestra could replicate a prayer of Heaven. We know that Heaven dose have actual music, too, in that we will sing praises to God just as we give Him thanks and intercede for others. The musical instruments at Mass are our way of imitating the voices of Heaven and calling to mind the songs of the choir of angels and saints. There was one saint who, at death, was said to hear beautiful music, and, asked what it was, replied that it was the holy souls praying for him: Now if the Church Suffering has such wondrous voices, than how much more the Church Triumphant and all of Heaven! No one can imagine the Voice of God, but I am sure it is Most Beautiful. By feasting I do not mean the food and drink we know but the feasting we enjoy in receiving Jesus Christ: for the sweetness of His Body and Blood - the taste of Him - will be fully enjoyed in Heaven. It is not the taste of the tongue but the taste of the heart, the joy and peace of God. Perhaps we will eat food in Heaven, but, I doubt it, as our bodies will be immortalized and food is a substance to nourish a mortal body, yet, as God created all things - even our senses - for the enjoyment of Him and as a reflection of Him, so we might still have the earthly use of our senses in Heaven. The feasting upon God can be likened to honey, milk, fish, or bread: These things are tasty, yet the enjoyment we get from them is not in them by nature and we will also enjoy this enjoyment in Heaven, especially after the catholic resurrection. By fragrance I do not mean incense or perfume but prayer and sanctity, the odors which rise to Heaven and radiate from the saints, exciting God with pleasure and men with holy thoughts. Certainly Heaven will be a good smelling place, having no smoke and nothing unpleasant in it, and, what is more, filled with the odor of prayers from our own mouths and of the holiness of God and His creatures, we will be, as it were, swept up in this wondrous odor like birds in the air. Saint Padre Pio, at death, radiated with the light of sanctity, and other saints were said to smell like roses or other good odors. So it will be in Heaven with us - and much more, so it is with God! God has no body, being Spirit (yet He has a body in Christ), but He is beautiful, and odor is beautiful, so He will not smell unpleasant but good.
So that is, in a nutshell, what we know of Heaven. It is both knowledge and no knowledge, for that which men wish to put down in words cannot be truly put down in words, so descriptions which only paint a picture of Heaven - rather than truly describing Heaven - must suffice. Nonetheless, Heaven can be summed in one word: God! And God is a mystery. Yet we know He is Holiness, Justice, Love and Mercy, and we love Him for His sake.
