Homily for Lent 2
March 16, 2025
Glimpses of Heaven
Seven
years ago I led a father-son pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi. It was a wonderful
trip but one highlight in particular stands out to me. We were in Assisi, and
right after dinner I invited everyone to hike up to the fortress that stands on
the hill behind the town. We all hiked up there, and when we got to the top,
the view was breathtaking. It had just rained, so a rainbow stretched from one
end of the sky to the other. The sun was sending brilliant rays from behind the
clouds, and we could see for miles in every direction. The boys were playing
around on the ruins of the fortress, laughing and joking, and the men (all
friends in Christ) were having an uplifting and inspiring conversation about
the love of God. For a brief moment I felt, “This is exactly what Heaven is
going to be like – surrounded by loving family and friends, in breathtaking
beauty, in love with God and filled with the Spirit.” It was, perhaps, the
happiest moment of my life – a true glimpse into Heaven.
Every
now and then, God will give us a glimpse into Heaven. Maybe it’s the awe we
feel at the birth of a child; maybe it’s a beautiful piece of music or art that
stops us in our tracks. Maybe it’s the joy we experience in the presence of a
dear friend; maybe it’s a subtle peace we feel in a quiet church. For Peter,
James, and John it was the experience of seeing Jesus in all His glory. These
are but tiny glimpses of our true homeland, where the joy and beauty are far
beyond anything our human eyes can see on this earth.
And so
we pursue Heaven, even though we only see a glimpse, because we are confident
of the One Who has promised it. Abraham has to do the same thing in our First
Reading. Most people have the wrong mental image – when God tells Abraham to
“count the stars, just so will your descendants be”, we think that Abraham is
walking out on a clear night, looking up at the Milky Way and seeing billions
of specks of light. But that is not what happened – notice in the
reading, when he asks God how he will possess it, God instructs him to prepare
a sacrifice – and then later on, it says, “When the sun was setting, a trance
fell upon Abraham.” Which means that God took Abraham outside and challenged
him to count the stars in the middle of the day! How many stars do you
see at noon? Only one – the sun. But how many stars are out there? Trillions,
even though we can’t see them. How many descendants did Abraham live to see?
One – Isaac. But almost four billion people on the earth today consider Abraham
to be their spiritual father – Jews, Christians, and Muslims. He only saw a glimpse
of the promise, but believed the Promise-Maker.
Likewise,
although we only see glimpses of Heaven, we believe the Promise-Giver.
Thankfully, through the visions of mystics, He has revealed what we are in
store to experience. In fact, St. Faustina had a vision of Heaven, and she
lists seven joys that we will experience there.
First,
the greatest joy is the vision of God. We call this the Beatific Vision;
that is, the vision of perfect happiness. When we see God Who is Love, we will
know perfectly that we are loved, infinitely and personally. When we see God,
the object and purpose of our lives, our lives and everything in it will make
total sense.
A second
joy is that it is eternal. Even when I stood atop the hill in Assisi, there
was a twinge of sadness that this moment couldn’t last forever. But imagine
that we have the confidence that this joy will never be taken away!
A third
joy is that of gratitude and relief. Imagine that you have been training
for the Olympics for thirty years. Thirty years of grueling workouts, denying
yourself donuts, getting up early to train, constantly pushing and sacrificing
and suffering. Then imagine that you have one shot – just one shot – to run
your race. All those thirty years comes down to sixty seconds of running. You
run, giving it all you’ve got – and win the gold medal. Imagine that feeling
when you stand on the podium, saying to yourself, “It was all worth it!” That
is the feeling when we enter into Heaven – our whole lives, with all the tears
and prayers and lamentations, have been all worth it because they have gained
for us the crown of glory!
A fourth
joy is no more suffering. It says in Scripture that God will wipe away
every tear from our eyes. Our bodies (which we will receive back at the end of
time) will never know sickness or aches and pains. Our minds will never be
troubled with unwanted thoughts, sadness, or fear. Our souls will never be
tempted to sin. Our relationships will never be marred by division or
misunderstanding, and we will never have to say goodbye to our friends again.
A fifth
joy is light. St. John tells us that “God is light; in Him there is no
darkness.” Hell is darkness and stench; Heaven is beautiful, uplifting light.
A sixth
joy is the company of angels and saints. How amazing to be able to visit
with St. Francis, or sit down with our Blessed Mother! We believe in the communion
of saints, which means that we are united to fellow Christians on earth
(the Church Militant, for we are still fighting the battle), our dearly
departed loved ones (the Church Suffering, which is the souls in
Purgatory), and those who have won the final victory (the Church Triumphant,
which is the souls in Heaven). Death changes, but does not negate, the mystical
union we have with the entire Body of Christ, whether on earth or in Purgatory
or in Heaven. And if we have accepted Christ’s invitation to Heaven, then we
too will be reunited with all of the other souls who have arrived before us.
The
final joy is hearing praises of God. Imagine hearing the stories of
everyone in Heaven – the ways in which they cooperated with God’s grace, the
incredible work that God has done in them and through them! Imagine hearing the
songs of the angels as they sing, “Holy, Holy, Holy” to the thrice-holy God!
God
gives us glimpses of Heaven to stir our hearts to desire it, but only glimpses
so that we realize we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth. After all, St.
Paul tells us that “our citizenship is in Heaven.” If life were already
perfect, we would have no desire to leave this world; but as it is, He gives us
small glimpses of those Heavenly joys amidst this valley of tears, to stir up a
burning desire for Him. But the good news is that, as a wise priest once told
me, “Heaven is where God is being enjoyed” – so the more we desire God here,
the more we taste the delights of Heaven here – so much so that, as St.
Catherine of Siena said, “All the way to Heaven is Heaven!”
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