Part 1 (2/2)
This is only a faint image of the darkness and sadness which would seize upon the blessed, could we suppose that G.o.d would at any time withdraw from them the clear and unclouded vision of Himself.
Therefore, we say, that the vision of the Divine Essence is the root or source of the Beatific Vision.
Yet, although this is true, it does not follow that the vision of the Divine Essence const.i.tutes the whole Beatific Vision; for the human mind cannot rest satisfied with knowledge alone, how perfect soever it may be. It must also love and enjoy the object of its knowledge.
Therefore, the vision of G.o.d produces the two other acts which we shall now briefly consider.*
* Dico 1. Essentiam beat.i.tudinis formalis primo ac princ.i.p.aliter consistere in clara Dei visione, in qua, quasi in fonte ac radice tota beat.i.tudinis perfectio continetur. Est enim praecipua ac perfectissima animae operatio in ratione consecutionis finis ultima, et immediate c.u.m ipsius conjunctione, ac forma essentialiter distinguens statum beatum a non beato.... Tamen, dico 2: Amor charitatis et amicitiae divinae est simpliciter necessarius, ut h.o.m.o sit supernaturaliter perfecte beatus: atque ita absolute est de ipsius beat.i.tudinis essentia.--Suarez de Beat. Disput. 7.
2. The second element of the Beatific Vision is an act of perfect and inexpressible love. It is the sight or knowledge of G.o.d as He is, that produces this love; because it is impossible for the soul to see G.o.d in his divine beauty, goodness, and unspeakable love for her, without loving Him with all the power of her being. It were easier to go near an immense fire and not feel the heat, than to see G.o.d in His very essence, and yet not be set on fire with divine love. It is, therefore, a necessary act; that is, one which the blessed could not possibly withhold, as we now can do in this world. For, with our imperfect vision of G.o.d, as He is reflected from the mirror of creation, we can, and unfortunately do withhold our love from him even when the light of faith is superadded to the knowledge we may have of him from the teachings of nature. Not so in heaven. There, the blessed see G.o.d as He is; and therefore, they love Him spontaneously, intensely, and supremely.
3. The third element of the Beatific Vision is an act of excessive joy, which proceeds spontaneously from both the vision and the love of G.o.d. It is an act by which the soul rejoices in the possession of G.o.d, who is the Supreme Good. He is her own G.o.d, her own possession, and in the enjoyment of Him her cravings for happiness are completely gratified. Evidently, then, the Beatific Vision necessarily includes the possession of G.o.d; for without it, this last act could have no existence, and the happiness of the blessed would not be complete, could we suppose it to have existence at all. A moment's reflection will make this as evident as the light of day.
A beggar, for instance, gazes upon a magnificent palace, filled with untold wealth, and all that can gratify sense. Does the mere sight of it make him happy? It certainly does not, because it is not, and never can be his. He may admire its grand architecture and exquisite workmans.h.i.+p, and thus receive some trifling pleasure; but, as he can never call that palace nor its wealth his own, the mere gazing upon it, and even loving its beauty, can never render him happy. For this, the possession of it is essential.
Again, the starving beggar gazes upon the rich man's table loaded with every imaginable luxury. Does that mere sight relieve the pangs of hunger? It certainly does not. It rather adds to his wretchedness, by intensifying his hunger, without satisfying its cravings. Even so would it be in heaven, could we suppose a soul admitted there, and allowed to gaze upon the beauty of G.o.d, while she cannot possess or enjoy Him. Such a sight would be no Beatific Vision for her. The possession of G.o.d is, therefore, absolutely necessary in order that the soul may enjoy Him, and rest in him as her last end. Hence, the act of seeing G.o.d is also the act by which the blessed possess G.o.d, and enter into the joy of their Lord.*
* Si generatim loquamur, verum est quod visio, ut visio, non sit possessio. Nam visio, ut sic, solum dicit claram cognitionem objecti visi. Possessio autem significat habere et tenere objectum, eo modo, quo natum est haberi et genera. Jam vero, quia Deus non aliter potest a n.o.bis haberi et teneri quam per visionem, ideo fit, ut visio sortiatur nomen et officium possessionis respectu Dei.--Beca.n.u.s, de Beat. quaest. 3.
But this is not yet all. We have been considering the acts by which the soul appropriates G.o.d to herself; meanwhile, we must not forget that the active concurrence of G.o.d is as essential in the Beatific Vision as the action of the creature. The Beatific Vision means, therefore, that G.o.d not only enables the soul to see Him in all his surpa.s.sing beauty, but also that he takes her to his bosom as a beloved child, and bestows upon her the happiness which mortal eye cannot see. It means, furthermore, that G.o.d unites the soul to Himself in so wonderful and intimate a manner, that, without losing her created nature or personal ident.i.ty, she is transformed into G.o.d, according to the forcible expression of St. Peter, when he a.s.serts that we are ”made partakers of the divine nature.”* This is the highest glory to which a rational nature can be elevated, if we except the glory of the hypostatic union and the maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
* 2 Pet. i. 4.
In explaining this partaking of the divine nature in heaven, theologians make use of a very apt comparison. If, say they, you thrust a piece of iron into the fire, it soon loses its dark color, and becomes red and hot, like the fire. It is thus made a partaker of the nature of fire, without, however, losing its own essential iron-nature. This ill.u.s.trates what takes place in the Beatific Vision in relation to the soul. She is united to G.o.d, and penetrated by Him.
She becomes bright with His brightness, beautiful with His beauty, pure with His purity, happy with His unutterable happiness, and perfect with His divine perfections. In a word, she has become a partaker of the ”divine nature,” while she retains her created nature and personal ident.i.ty.
Abstract words, however, and reasoning fail to convey a definite idea of this glorious happiness reserved for the children of G.o.d. Let us, therefore, have recourse to an ill.u.s.tration in the shape of a little parable. It will be as a mirror, wherein we shall see faint but true reflections of the Beatific Vision.
A kind-hearted king, while hunting in a forest, finds a blind orphan boy, totally dest.i.tute of all that can make life comfortable. The king, moved with compa.s.sion, takes him to his palace, adopts him as his own, and orders him to be cared for and educated in all that a blind person can learn. It is almost needless to say that the boy is unspeakably grateful, and does all he can to phase the king. When he has reached his twentieth year, a surgeon performs an operation upon his eyes by which his sight is restored. Then the king, surrounded by his n.o.bles and amid all the pomp and magnificence of the court, proclaims him one of his sons, and commands all to honor and love him as such. And thus the once friendless orphan becomes a prince, and, therefore, a partaker of the royal dignity, of the happiness and glory which are to be found in the palaces of kings.
I will not attempt to describe the joys that overwhelm the soul of this fortunate young man when he first sees that king, of whose manly beauty, goodness, power, and magnificence he had heard so much. Nor will I attempt to describe those other joys which fill his soul when he beholds himself, his own personal beauty, and the magnificence of his princely garments, whereof he had also heard so much heretofore.
Much less will I attempt to picture his exquisite unspeakable happiness when he sees himself adopted into the royal family, honored and loved by all, together with all the pleasures of life within his reach. Each one may endeavor to imagine his feelings, joy, and happiness. We can only say that all this taken together is a beatific vision for him--in the natural order.
Here we find the three acts already explained. The first is the sight of the good king in all his glory and magnificence; the second is the intense love which this sight produces; and the third is the enjoyment of the king's society, and all the happiness wherewith his adoption has surrounded him.
The application of the parable is obvious. G.o.d is the great and mighty King who finds your soul in the wilderness of this world. To use the forcible words of Scripture, He found you ”wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.”* Moved with compa.s.sion, He brought you into His holy Church. There, He washed you with his own precious blood, clotured you with the spotless robe of innocence, adorned you with the gifts of grace, and adopted you as his own child. Then He commanded his ministers and others to educate you for heaven. By His grace, and your own co-operation, your soul is being gradually developed into a more perfect resemblance to Jesus Christ, who, in His human nature, is the standard of all created perfection. But you are blind yet, and must remain so until your Heavenly Father calls you home. When that happy day dawns, you will leave this world; your eyes will be opened by the light of glory, and you will see G.o.d as He is, in all his glory and magnificence. You will also see yourself as you are, adorned with the jewels of the many graces He has bestowed upon you. You will also see the beautiful angels and saints, clothed with the beauty of G.o.d himself, standing around his throne to hear the sentence that is to admit you into their society. This sight of the Living G.o.d, and of all the magnificence which surrounds Him, will fill your soul with a perfect knowledge of him; and this knowledge will produce a most ardent and perfect love; and when he presses you to his bosom, proclaims you one of his children, and commands all to honor and love you as such, your joy will be full. This will be emphatically a Beatific Vision for you. you will then enter into the possession and enjoyment of G.o.d, who alone can fill the soul with pure and permanent happiness.
* Apoc. iii. 17.
We shall now close this chapter with a beautiful extract from the great theologian Lessius. Speaking of the three acts which const.i.tute the Beatific Vision, he says: ”In these three acts resides G.o.d's chiefest glory, which He himself intended in all his works; and so, likewise, in these same acts reside the highest good and formal beat.i.tude of men and angels. By these acts the blessed spirits are vastly elevated above themselves, and, in their union with G.o.d, become G.o.dlike, by a most lofty and supereminent similitude with G.o.d, so that the mind can conceive no greater. Thus, like very G.o.ds, they s.h.i.+ne to all eternity in the divine brightness. By these same acts they expand themselves into immensity, so as to be co-equal and co-extensive, as far as may be, to so great a good, that they may take it in, and comprehend it all. They linger not outside, as it were upon the surface of it; but they go down into its profound depths, and enter into the joy of their Lord; some more, some less, according to the magnitude of the light of glory imparted to each.
Immersed in this abyss, they lose themselves, and all created things; for all other good and joys seem to them as nothing by the side of this ocean of good and joys. In this abyss there is to them no darkness, no obscurity, such as now hangs over us about the Divinity; but all is light and immense serenity. There are their eternal mansions, with a tranquil security that they can never fail. There is the fulfilling of all their desires. There is the possession and enjoyment of all things that are desirable. There nothing will remain to be longed for, or sought for any more; for all will firmly possess and exquisitely enjoy every good thing in G.o.d. There the occupation of the saints will be to contemplate the infinite beauty of G.o.d, to love His infinite goodness, to enjoy his infinite sweetness, to be filled to overflowing with the torrent of his pleasures, and to exult with an unspeakable delight in his infinite glory, and in all the good things which he and they possess. Hence comes perpetual praise, and benediction, and thanksgiving; and thus the blessed, having reached the consummation of all their desires, and knowing not what more to crave, rest in G.o.d as their last end.”*
* De Perf. Divin. lib. xiv. c. 5.
CHAPTER II.
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