The Priest at Prayer, May 21

The Priest and the Eternal Truths

ETERNAL LIFE

Second Meditation - Meaning of Eternal Life

I.
What our Lord usually calls Eternal Life is, accord­ing to St. Paul: "A share in Christ's Kingdom, God's Kingdom." (Eph. v, 5); it is an inheritance we shall possess by full right of ownership.

If my name is written in the Book of Life, if God has included me in His glorious statistics, numbered me among His children and heirs, happy am I, indeed! I can then exclaim, with David:

Funes ceciderunt mihi in praeclaris, etenim haereditas mea praeclara est mihi.-(Ps. xv, 6)

"No fairer lot could be mine; no nobler inheritance could I win." There is no fate comparable to mine neither of millionaire's first-born nor of heir-presumptive to an earthly throne.

My God, may Thy grace enable me to fulfil the precept of Thy Apostle:

"Bestir yourselves then, brethren, ever more eagerly, to ratify God's calling and choice of you by a life well lived." (II Peter i, 10)

II.
What is contained in the treasures I am to inherit? We know that they are simply ineffable, they cannot be expressed in terms of earthly speech; nevertheless Holy Scripture has some lovely things to say, and we shall do well to consider a few of them.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, or mourning, or cries of distress; no more sorrow: these old things have passed away." (Apoc. xxi, 4)

It will certainly be a novelty for us children of Eve to find ourselves, when our pilgrimage through this vale of tears is ended, ever without a pain or a sigh. This alone, judging by worldly standards and ambitions, would suffice and abound to make eternal life the goal of all our strivings after happiness. What more could one ask of God in payment of such paltry services?

III.
And yet this is hardly more than what we might call the negative side of heaven; the positive and prin­cipal part, which the human heart, even the most exacting, could little suspect, is symbolised in the fol­lowing words:

"Here is God's Tabernacle pitched among men; He will dwell among them, and they will be His own people, and He will be among them, their own God." (Apoc. xxi, 3)

"I will be His God, and He shall be my son." (Id. xxi, 7)

"God's throne (which is the Lamb's throne) will be there, with His servants to worship Him, and to see His face, His name written on their foreheads." (ld. xxii, 3, 4)

Heaven is the "pitched tent," the hearth and home, where God will live with men, where He will be their Father, and they His children; where God will make all His children partakers of His divine joy, His riches, and His perfections; just as in this world the children see, possess, and enjoy their father's presence and love and all his amassed wealth.

One day, everything belonging to God, and God Himself, will be mine! So truly mine that I shall be able to say with the Divine Word:

All things are delivered to me by my Father.­ (Matt. xi, 27)

Father. . . all my things are thine, and thine are mine. (John xvii, 10)

Lord, nothing written or thought of has such power as this to move me and make me long for Heaven!

IV.
Let us reflect on a few more passages of Holy Writ so that we may come to a better understanding of what is meant by heaven. St. Paul says:

"At present, we are looking at a confused reflec­tion in a mirror." (l Cor. xiii, 12)

We see God's Attributes in a dark manner, obscurely, like the reflections in those ancient mirrors which were merely burnished metallic surfaces. But, he continues:

"Then, we shall see face to face; now, I have only glimpses of knowledge; then, I shall recongise God as he has recognised me."

When that happens, the words of Christ will be finally accomplished:

"Eternal life is knowing thee, who art the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John xvii, 3)

To possess God in Person, with that same absolute and inalienable right of possession with which I possess a thought of my own mind; to possess Him with infin­itely greater security than any temporal goods or even my own body; to make God completely mine, with everything that God is and has, with everything that God can do: that is eternal life!

O God, is there any possession on earth preferable to Thee?

Resolutions
1. Serve your masters, the poor, for the love of Jesus Christ; for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven, and it is they who will open the gates of Heaven to you.

2. Deposit your human acts, the whole product of your free will, in that Eternal Bank that knows no bank­ruptcy; and the result will be, here and now, that your heart will be where your treasure is.
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Adapted from The Priest at Prayer
by Fr. Eugenio Escribano, C.M. (© 1954)
Translated by B.T. Buckley, C.M.

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Please pray for our priests and pray for vocations to the priesthood!