Consideration XXIX — Paradise

"Tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium" (John 16:20).

Point I

Let us endeavor at present to suffer the afflictions of this life with patience, offering them to God in union with the sufferings Jesus Christ endured for our love; and let us take courage with the hope of paradise. One day all these anxieties, pains, persecutions, and fears will end; and if we are saved, they will become for us joys and consolations in the kingdom of the blessed. Thus the Lord encourages us: "Tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium" (John 16:20). Let us then consider today something of paradise. But what shall we say of this paradise, if even the most enlightened saints have been unable to convey to us the delights that God reserves for His faithful servants? David could say no more than that paradise is a good too desirable: "Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum!" (Ps. 83:2). But you at least, my St. Paul, you who had the fortune of being caught up to see heaven — "Raptus in paradisum" — tell us something of what you saw. No, says the Apostle, what I saw cannot be explained. The delights of paradise are "Arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui" (2 Cor. 12:4). They are so great that they cannot be described unless one enjoys them. All else I can tell you, says the Apostle, is that "oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, neque in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus iis, qui diligunt illum" (1 Cor. 2:9). No man on earth has ever seen, or heard, or conceived the beauties, the harmonies, the joys that God has prepared for those who love Him.

We cannot comprehend the goods of paradise, because we have no ideas other than those of the goods of this earth. If horses could reason, and if they knew that their master, in getting married, had prepared a great banquet, they would imagine the banquet consisted of nothing but good straw, good oats, and barley — because horses have no idea of any food other than these. So we think of the goods of paradise. It is beautiful to see on a summer night the starry sky; it is a great delight in springtime to find oneself at the seashore when the sea is calm, where one sees within it rocks clothed in grass and fish darting about; it is a great delight to find oneself in a garden full of fruits and flowers, surrounded by flowing fountains, with birds flying and singing all around. Someone will say: Oh, what a paradise! What paradise? What paradise? The goods of paradise are of another kind entirely. To understand something, however confusedly, of paradise, consider that there dwells an omnipotent God, engaged in delighting the souls He loves. St. Bernard says: Do you wish to know what is in paradise? "Nihil est quod nolis, totum est quod velis." There is nothing that displeases, and there is everything that pleases.

O God, what will the soul say upon entering that blessed kingdom! Let us imagine that a young virgin or a young man dies, one who, having consecrated himself to the love of Jesus Christ, reaches death and now leaves this earth. The soul is presented at the judgment; the judge embraces it and declares it saved. The guardian angel comes to meet it and rejoices; the soul thanks the angel for the assistance given, and the angel then says: Come now, beautiful soul, rejoice, for you are already saved; come and see the face of your Lord. Now the soul passes through the clouds, the spheres, the stars; it enters heaven. O God, what will it say upon setting foot for the first time in that blessed homeland, and upon casting its first glance at that city of delights! The angels and saints will come to meet it, and jubilantly will bid it welcome. There, what consolation it will have in meeting its relatives or friends who already entered paradise before, and its patron saints! The soul will then wish to kneel before them to venerate them, but those saints will say: "Vide ne faceris, conservus tuus sum" (Rev. 22:9). Then it will be brought to kiss the feet of Mary, the Queen of paradise. What tenderness the soul will feel in seeing for the first time that divine Mother, who helped it so much to be saved! For the soul will then see all the graces Mary obtained for it, and it will find itself lovingly embraced by her. Then the Queen herself will lead the soul to Jesus, who will receive it as His spouse and say to it: "Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni, coronaberis" (Song of Songs 4:8). My spouse, rejoice — your tears, your sufferings, and your fears are over; receive the eternal crown I purchased for you with My blood. Jesus Himself will then bring the soul to receive the blessing of His divine Father, who, embracing it, will bless it, saying: "Intra in gaudium Domini tui" (Matt. 25:21). It will be blessed with the same blessedness that He Himself enjoys.

Affections and Prayers

Here, my God, at Your feet is an ingrate — created by You for paradise, but who so many times, for miserable pleasures, has renounced it to Your face, content to be condemned to hell. But I hope You have already pardoned me all the injuries I have done You, for which I ever anew repent, and wish to repent until death; and I wish that ever anew You would pardon them again. But, O God, although You may have already pardoned me, it will always remain true that I had the audacity to embitter You, my Redeemer, who gave Your life to bring me to Your kingdom. But may Your mercy be ever praised and blessed, O my Jesus, for having endured me with such patience; and instead of punishments, You have increased Your graces, Your lights, and Your calls toward me. I see, my dear Savior, that You truly wish me to be saved; You wish me in Your homeland to love You eternally; but You wish me first to love You on this earth. Yes, I wish to love You. Even if there were no paradise, I would wish to love You as long as I live, with all my soul, with all my strength. Let it suffice for me to know that You, my God, desire to be loved by me. My Jesus, assist me with Your grace; do not abandon me. My soul is eternal — so do I stand in the lot of either loving You or hating You for all eternity? No, I wish to love You forever, and I wish to love You greatly in this life, so as to love You greatly in the next. Dispose of me as You please; punish me here as You will; do not deprive me of Your love, and then do with me whatever pleases You. My Jesus, Your merits are my hope.

O Mary, in your intercession I place all my trust. You freed me from hell when I was in sin; now that I wish to love God, you must save me and make me a saint.

Point II

Once the soul has entered into the blessedness of God, "nihil est quod nolit" — there will be nothing more to distress it. "Absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ab oculis eorum, et mors ultra non erit; neque luctus, neque clamor, neque dolor erit ultra; quia prima abierunt. Et dixit qui sedebat in throno: Ecce nova facio omnia" (Rev. 21:4). In paradise there are no more illnesses, no poverty, no discomforts; there are no more alternations of days and nights, no cold or heat. There is a continual day forever serene, a continual spring forever delightful. There are no more persecutions or envies; in that kingdom of love, all love one another tenderly, and each one rejoices in the good of the other as if it were his own. There are no more fears, for the soul, confirmed in grace, can no longer sin or lose its God. "Ecce nova facio omnia." Everything is new, and everything consoles and satisfies. "Totum est quod velis." There the sight will be delighted by contemplating that city of perfect beauty: "Urbs perfecti decoris" (Lam. 2:15). What a delight it would be to see a city where the pavement of the streets was crystal, the palaces of silver with ceilings of gold, all adorned with garlands of flowers! Oh, how much more beautiful the city of paradise will be! What will it be then to see those citizens all dressed in royal garb, since all are kings, as St. Augustine says: "Quot cives tot reges!" What will it be to see Mary, who will appear more beautiful than all of paradise! What will it be to see the divine Lamb, the spouse Jesus! St. Teresa, upon once seeing only a hand of Jesus Christ, was left struck with amazement at such beauty. The sense of smell will be satisfied with those fragrances — fragrances of paradise. The hearing will be satisfied with celestial harmonies. St. Francis once heard from an angel a single stroke of the bow on a viol, and nearly died of the sweetness. What will it be to hear all the saints and angels singing in chorus the glories of God! "In saecula saeculorum laudabunt te" (Ps. 83:5). What will it be to hear Mary praising God! The voice of Mary in heaven, says St. Francis de Sales, will be like that of a nightingale in a wood, surpassing the song of all the other little birds. In sum, there are all the delights that can be desired.

But the delights considered so far are the lesser goods of paradise. The good that makes paradise is the supreme Good, which is God. "Totum quod exspectamus," says St. Augustine, "duae syllabae sunt, Deus." The whole of what we await is two syllables: God. The reward the Lord promises us is not only the beauties, the harmonies, and the other joys of that blessed city; the principal reward is God Himself — that is, to see and love God face to face. "Ego ero merces tua magna nimis" (Gen. 15:1). St. Augustine says that if God were to show His face to the damned, "continuo infernus ipse in amoenum converteretur paradisum." Hell itself would immediately be changed into a delightful paradise. And he adds that if a soul departed from this life had to choose between seeing God while enduring the pains of hell, or not seeing God and being freed from hell, "eligeret potius videre Dominum, et esse in illis poenis." It would rather choose to see the Lord and be in those pains.

This joy of seeing and loving God face to face cannot be comprehended by us in this life; but let us argue to something of it from knowing, first, that divine love is so sweet that even in this life it has been known to lift from the earth not only the souls but also the bodies of the saints. St. Philip Neri was once raised into the air together with the stool to which he clung. St. Peter of Alcantara was also lifted from the earth while embracing a tree torn up by its roots. Moreover, we know that the holy martyrs, for the sweetness of divine love, rejoiced in the midst of their very torments. St. Vincent, while being tormented, spoke in such a manner, says St. Augustine, that "alius videbatur pati, alius loqui." It seemed as though one person was suffering and another speaking. St. Lawrence, lying on the gridiron over the fire, taunted the tyrant: "Versa, et manduca" — turn me over and eat. Yes, says St. Augustine, because Lawrence, "hoc igne accensus non sentit incendium" — inflamed by the fire of divine love, did not feel the fire. Moreover, what sweetness even a sinner experiences on this earth in weeping for his sins! Hence St. Bernard said: "Si tam dulce est flere pro te, quid erit gaudere de te." If it is so sweet to weep for You, what will it be to rejoice in You? What gentleness then does a soul experience when, in prayer, a ray of light reveals to it the divine goodness, the mercies it has received, and the love Jesus Christ has borne and bears it! The soul then feels itself melting and fainting with love. And yet on this earth we do not see God as He is; we see Him darkly. "Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem" (1 Cor. 13:12). At present we have a blindfold before our eyes, and God stands behind the curtain of faith and does not let us see Him. What will it be when the blindfold is removed from our eyes and the curtain is raised, and we see God face to face? We will see how beautiful God is, how great, how just, how perfect, how lovable, and how loving.

Affections and Prayers

Ah, my supreme Good, I am that wretch who turned his back on You and renounced Your love. Therefore I would no longer be worthy either to see You or to love You. But You are the one who, to have compassion on me, did not have compassion on Yourself, condemning Yourself to die of sorrow, disgraced upon an infamous gibbet. Your death, then, gives me hope that one day I shall see and enjoy Your face, loving You then with all my strength. But now that I am in danger of losing You forever, now that I find I have already lost You through my sins, what shall I do in the life that remains to me? Shall I continue to offend You? No, my Jesus, I detest with all my hatred the offenses I have done You; I am supremely sorry for having injured You, and I love You with all my heart. Will You drive away from You a soul that repents and loves You? No, I already know what You have said — that You, my beloved Redeemer, know not how to drive away anyone who comes repentant to Your feet: "Eum qui venit ad me, non eiiciam foras" (John 6:37). My Jesus, I leave everything and turn to You; I embrace You, I press You to my heart; embrace me and press me to Your Heart as well. I dare to speak thus because I speak and deal with an infinite goodness — I speak with a God who was content to die for love of me. My dear Savior, give me perseverance in Your love.

My dear Mother Mary, for all the love you bear Jesus Christ, obtain for me this perseverance. This I hope; so be it.

Point III

In this life the greatest pain that afflicts souls that love God and are in desolation is the fear of not loving and not being loved by God. "Nescit homo, utrum amore an odio dignus sit" (Eccles. 9:1). But in paradise the soul is certain that it loves God and that it is loved by God; it sees that it is happily lost in the love of its Lord, and that the Lord holds it embraced as a dear child, and it sees that this love will never be dissolved for all eternity. What will further increase the blessed flames in the soul will be the better knowledge it will then have of what a love it was for God to make Himself man and die for it! What a love, the institution of the Most Holy Sacrament — a God making Himself the food of a worm! The soul will then also see distinctly all the graces God gave it in delivering it from so many temptations and dangers of perdition; and then it will see that those tribulations, illnesses, persecutions, and losses that it called misfortunes and punishments from God were all love and designs of divine providence to lead it to paradise. It will especially see the patience God had in bearing with it after so many sins, and the mercies He showed it, giving it so many lights and so many calls of love. From that blessed height it will see so many souls damned in hell for fewer sins than its own, and it will see itself already saved, possessing God, and certain of never having to lose that supreme Good for all eternity.

Always, then, the blessed will enjoy that happiness which, for all eternity, at every moment will always be new to them, as if that moment were the first time they enjoyed it. They will always desire that joy and always obtain it: always satisfied, always thirsting; always thirsting and always satiated. Yes, because desire in paradise brings no pain, and possession brings no weariness. In sum, just as the damned are vessels full of wrath, the blessed are vessels full of contentment, so that they have nothing more to desire. St. Teresa says that even in this life, when God introduces a soul into the wine cellar — that is, of His divine love — He makes it happily intoxicated, so that it loses its affection for all earthly things. But upon entering paradise, oh, how much more perfectly, as David says, the elect "inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae" (Ps. 35:9). Then it will come to pass that the soul, upon seeing face to face and embracing its supreme Good, will become so inebriated with love that it will happily lose itself in God — that is, it will completely forget itself, and from that moment on will think of nothing but loving, praising, and blessing the infinite Good it possesses.

When, then, the crosses of this life afflict us, let us comfort ourselves to bear them patiently with the hope of paradise. St. Mary of Egypt, asked at the end of her life by Abbot Zosimus how she had been able to endure living so many years in that desert, answered: "With the hope of paradise." St. Philip Neri, when offered the dignity of cardinal, threw his cap in the air saying: "Paradise, paradise!" Brother Giles the Franciscan, upon hearing the word paradise, was lifted into the air with joy. So let us likewise, when we see ourselves pressed by the miseries of this earth, raise our eyes to heaven and console ourselves, sighing and saying: "Paradise, paradise!" Let us think that if we are faithful to God, one day all these pains, miseries, and fears will end, and we will be admitted to that blessed homeland, where we will be fully happy as long as God is God. Behold, the saints await us, Mary awaits us; and Jesus stands with the crown in His hand, ready to make us kings of that eternal kingdom.

Affections and Prayers

My dear Savior, You have taught me to pray: "Adveniat regnum tuum." So now I pray You: let Your kingdom come into my soul, so that You may possess it entirely, and it may possess You, the supreme Good. O my Jesus, You have spared nothing to save me and to win my love; save me then, and let my salvation be to love You forever, in this life and in the next. I have so many times turned my back on You, and yet You make me know that You will not disdain to hold me embraced in paradise for all eternity with as much love as if I had never offended You; and knowing this, could I love any other than You — seeing that You wish to give me paradise, after I have so many times deserved hell? Ah, my Lord, would that I had never offended You! Oh, if I could be born again, I would wish to love You always! But what is done is done. Now I can do nothing else but give You this remaining life. Yes, I give it entirely to You; I consecrate myself wholly to Your love. Depart from my heart, earthly affections; make room for my God, who wishes to possess it entirely. Yes, possess me entirely, O my Redeemer, my love, my God. From this day forward I wish to think of nothing but pleasing You. Help me with Your grace; this I hope through Your merits. Increase ever more in me Your love and the desire to give You pleasure. Paradise, paradise! When will it be, Lord, that I shall see You face to face and embrace You without the fear of ever having to lose You again? Ah, my God, keep Your hand upon me, so that I may never offend You again.

O Mary, when will it be that I see myself at your feet in paradise? Help me, my Mother; do not permit me to be damned and to go far away from you and from your Son.