The Beautific Vision of God

 

 

I. There are three factors in the vision of God as in the perception of anything else. The first is the subject which sees; i.e., the person possessing the faculty or organ of vision. God is not corporeal but spiritual: so that He is not to be perceived with the bodily eye but with the spiritual faculty or the elevated intelligence of angels and men. Therefore the Lord said to Moses, “Thou canst not see My face; for man shall not see Me and live” (Ex. xxxiii. 20). The intellect is the power of perceiving intellectual objects; and it has an aptitude and a need for exercising itself on intellectual objects, of which the first and most eminent is God. Further the mind easily acquires an incipient knowledge of God; and this, like every other faculty, is capable of indefinite development, and indicates the possibility of a transcendent degree of knowledge. There is also in man an intellectual hunger for the Infinite, and a tendency towards it, i.e., towards God. This is shown in the fact that nothing created, whether in the material or the intellectual sphere, can satisfy man’s desires and fulfil his ideal of goodness, knowledge and happiness. The natural knowledge of God as seen in the universe does not satisfy this high faculty of vision, this spiritual eye. We require a fuller vision of God here, and a still fuller vision hereafter, if we are to carry out our destiny and develope all the possibilities that are in us. Cultivate clearness of vision according to the indication of Our Lord: “Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. v. 8).

II. The second factor in vision is the medium, like the light which conveys the impression of the object to the eye. Something analogous to this is required to enable man to see God; according to the Scripture: “In Thy light we shall see light” (Ps. xxxv. 10). The nature of God altogether transcends that of man; they are in different spheres; man is absolutely incapable by himself of seeing God as He is. His faculties are such that they are not sensitive to the vibrations of that finer spiritual light which makes God visible. These faculties require to have some quality added to them corresponding to a new sense, so that they may perceive the rays as they come direct from God and not merely as they are reflected from creatures. This supernatural quality is called “the light of glory.” This is the “eternal light” which we implore for the souls in purgatory. Even in this life the faithful can say, “the light of Thy countenance, O Lord, is signed upon us” (Ps. iv. 7). They have a light and a vision, by which they can see, and know, and understand things which for others are wrapped in impenetrable darkness. No happiness is so great as the possession of this. It is a foretaste of the vision which we shall enjoy in heaven.

III. The third factor in vision is the object present before us. Our faculties, which cry out for an infinite object to satisfy them, and that sense in us which has an aptitude for God, are proofs that God will some day be within their range. In heaven the Divine Essence will be present to us in a better way than it is present to every creature in this world. In what way that indescribable Essence will be manifested to us we cannot now conceive. This only we know that God will not be shown to us as at present, in His creatures, His images, His reflections, or in figure, but in Himself, directly, and without intermediary. So the Apostle tells us: “We see now through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know even as I am known” (1 Cor. xiii. 12). How wonderful, how novel, how far beyond all expectation will be the heavenly vision when it is suddenly unveiled before us! How little we can anticipate now that revelation of glory and delight, the revelation of divine love for us, and of our capacity for loving God!

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The Incomprehensibility of God

 
I. God is known to us with perfect certitude; at the same time we cannot now, and never shall fully understand Him. The infinite heights and the infinite depths of His nature, and the multitudinous aspects which His perfection presents to us cannot be grasped and sounded by any less perfect than Himself. “The things that are of God no one knoweth but the Spirit of God” (1 Cor. ii. 11). God is incomprehensible. Man possesses the light of nature for the investigation of truth. His natural faculties, exercised upon the world around him, discover to him the existence of God and some of His attributes, His greatness, wisdom, goodness, and others. “The invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, His eternal power also and divinity” (Rom. i. 20). But our science, while penetrating boldly into the secrets of the universe, is checked at the threshold of God’s sanctuary. It is unable to analyse and catalogue the divine mysteries; it requires to be refined and elevated first by supernatural grace. God, to our natural faculties, is like a great fire beyond the horizon. We have evidence of its existence and know something of what it must be by the volumes of smoke; but we do not know of its details, and still less do we profit by its light and heat and varied power. Take care not to trust too much to natural faculties and mental cultivation in the things of God. As towards God natural science is profoundest ignorance.

II. To satisfy our desires for the unattainable, God gives us a second light, that of faith and revelation. This is of the supernatural order. By this we are able to receive and assimilate knowledge about the Trinity, the Incarnation, the future life, the moral law, the Church; knowledge which is most positive and certain, and yet cannot be gained by natural investigations, nor proved by natural tests. One ray of this light does more for our intelligence, in spiritual matters, than years of study and all the instruments of the laboratory. We may compare this higher light to those marvellous rays which penetrate through solid substance and convey to us a picture of metals or bones enclosed within. Unless we have the secret, no accumulation of ordinary light in its greatest intensity is of any avail. At present even the supernatural light reveals God only as “through a glass in an obscure manner” (1 Cor. xiii. 12). Yet it gives us a knowledge such as worldly wisdom never acquires: a knowledge that is primarily spiritual, but enables us to understand many of the secrets of life, of the practical sciences, of history. Be grateful for the gift of revelation and faith, but do not expect that it will dispel all clouds and explain all difficulties.

III. When we shall have been proved faithful and admitted to the presence of God we shall become capable of a higher manifestation of God by the light of glory. Our eyes will be opened, our intellect perfected, and God will be disclosed to our sight. Then we shall know things, which here below eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart conceived. We shall receive a special influx from God, or a light, which will enable us to apprehend the Beatific Vision. Yet even then the angels and the blessed will find God still unfathomable. For eternity they will go on, progressing in mental illumination and in ever new delights, and yet will never arrive at the end. God will remain for ever beyond all human capacity, however enlarged; for He will always be infinite, and we shall always have a finite receptivity. How miserable then will be the lot of those who have been content with the light of nature, have refused to receive or acknowledge the light of faith, and have thereby excluded themselves from the light of glory! They will remain in the darkness of ignorance for ever. Take care so to profit by faith here as to merit the fulness of illumination hereafter.

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The Peace of God

 

 

I. The peace of God is a most profound tranquillity and repose, like the silence of untrodden mountain summits clothed with eternal snows; or like the lowest depths of the ocean, where the fierce storms that rage on the surface are unfelt, and where the turbulent industry of men can never penetrate. Nothing can equal that peace. Within the Godhead there is its perfect unity without diversity, there is immutability untouched by any changes. The will of God is not disturbed by the need of striving after anything that has to be accomplished or possessed; and nothing happens contrary to its determination. God is not like man, disturbed by the weight of responsibility or the greatness of His operations; nor by any incompetence, or weakness, or failure of His plans; nor by hesitation and doubt as to the issue of events; nor by the loss of the love and esteem which so many of mankind refuse Him; nor even by the exercise of His avenging justice when this becomes necessary. “But Thou, being master of power, dost judge with great tranquillity” (Wisd. xii. 18). In the human soul, as in heaven, God dwells not in an atmosphere of tumult, excitement, passion. Those who are eminently the abode of God are marked always by a peaceful and peace-making spirit, by contentment and joy under all circumstances. May this “peace of God which surpasseth all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. iv. 7).

II. The tranquillity of God is not inaction and stagnation. On the contrary, it is the accompaniment of irresistible power always in activity, and never swerving from its purposes, and never overcome. It is like the silence and quiet of the broad sunshine as it bathes land and sea in its glow. Nothing is more peaceful, yet its activity in a single instant is to be measured by millions of horse-power. It is the source of almost all the mechanical force and heat and motion on this earth. So, too, it is with God. Although He abides in an eternal Sabbath, yet Our Lord says, “My Father worketh until now, and I work” (John v. 17). When we hereafter enter into the repose of the Lord we shall not pass into a state of inactive enjoyment. Life and action are inseparable; and a fuller life means that our faculties will be freed from their present bondage, our powers enlarged, and consequently our activity. God’s whole universe will be open to us. Then will begin our true life of increasing mental activity, and, in some way, of usefulness also in a higher sphere of work.

III. Holy Scripture sometimes speaks of God as angry, or as repenting of what He had done. Such passages are not to be understood literally; they are figures of speech, used to impress on us the evil of sin, and the consequences of withdrawing ourselves from the beneficent operation of the divine law. No ingratitude, insult, or wrong can really ruffle the immutable peace of God. Nothing of earth is able to penetrate into the inner sanctuary of the Divinity and diminish the essential joy and glory of God. We need a like equanimity if we are to be happy amidst the turmoil of this world. It can come only from God abiding in our souls. Forgetfulness of God induces an over-anxiety about earthly things, a feverish activity in the pursuit of them, an intemperate indulgence in pleasure, which rob us of the proper rewards of our activity, and destroy the capacity for enjoyment. Even for its temporal well-being human life requires a large infusion of the peace of God; and activity needs to be tempered by grace in order that it may attain its full efficiency. Act always with vigour and upright intention, but leave the result to God, and be contented with it. Let no wrongs endured, no disappointment, disturb your equanimity. Our Lord has said to His faithful: “My peace I give to you. . . Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid” (John xiv. 27).

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Purity, Sanctity and Beauty of God

I. The purity of God is a negative term indicating that He is exempt from all admixture of anything inferior to Himself, from all fault, taint, imperfection; as gold is pure when it is free from all dross or alloy of inferior metals. “Thine eyes are too pure to behold evil, and Thou canst not look on iniquity” (Hab. i. 13). God is purity most perfect and inconceivable, in Himself, in creation, and in His decrees concerning us, His sinful creatures. Although in such close relations with material things and with sinners, He contracts no imperfection from them. There is in Him no passion or disturbance, for He is immovable in His perfect tranquility. He is not hasty or inconsiderate, for He is never taken by surprise. He does not the smallest wrong to us, for He is perfect justice. He is not harsh or vindictive, for He is infinite mercy and love. The defects which produce sin in us have no place in God. There is no malice in Him on account of His infinite goodness; no ignorance on account of His perfect wisdom; no weakness on account of His omnipotent power. How then can men murmur against God as if any iniquity could be in Him, or His decrees, or His actions? He is not like us who are full of impurities even in our holiest actions. Ask for purity of mind and heart and body, that God may dwell in you without a rival.

II. Sanctity is a positive term indicating the possession of all moral perfections. “The Lord is just in all His ways and holy in all His works” (Ps. cxliv. 17). Every virtue that we recognize, whether by its presence or its absence in men, exists in God in a supereminent degree. The Divine Essence is the first source and the full reservoir of all virtues and holiness. We have seen much excellence in saints and other great men; it has seemed wonderful to us and almost unattainable; but it is all only a shadow compared to the reality of holiness in God. God is upright in all His works, perfectly just without failing in mercy, infinitely merciful without making justice a mockery. He is liberal in His gifts, setting no bounds to them but what we ourselves place. His patience never grows tired under our repeated offences. His prudence foresees all things and orders them for the best. God is not exacting or hard in demanding from us more than we can render to Him; but He is most generous in making broad allowance for our inevitable shortcomings. He is pacific in receiving us back as soon as we accept the overtures of His love. God is most true; His words will never pass away, and He will never forget His promises. Glorify God therefore with His angels, saying, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God of hosts” (Isa. vi. 3). Imitate His holiness by the practice of all virtues.

III. God also possesses the attribute of beauty in an infinite degree. This is another quality of beings when complete and well ordered, and it is the cause of intense delight. Consider how much there is of beauty in the world. We find it in harmonious sounds, in form and colour, in nature and art, in words and in ideas, in the expressions of the countenance, in the moral character of men. It is a special quality different from goodness, truth, utility. How abundant it is, and how much pleasure it affords! It exists also in God in infinite perfection, and in diverse forms more varied and more intense than we can imagine. The beauty of God will ravish us with delight for all eternity. This same beauty of God exists in your soul when you are in the state of grace; you are then more pleasing in the eyes of God than all the wonderful beauty of the material world. Possessing this in yourself and in God, you can afford to dispense with earthly pleasures, to live a life of mortification, and to look forward to the enjoyment of that “Beauty which is ever ancient and ever new.” Cultivate this divine quality in your soul that God may take delight in beholding you. 

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The Unity of God

I. The next great truth after the existence of God is His Unity. “Know that the Lord He is God, and there is no other besides Him” (Deut. iv. 35). This is a wonderful and a necessary perfection. There is a striking grandeur in the idea of a One, sole, supreme, unequalled Being. The Gentile multiplication of gods was ignoble and debased; it was destructive of the very idea of the supreme infinite God as revealed by Moses and Our Divine Lord. Sovereignty, omnipotence, infinity, perfection, independence are meaningless terms as soon as we attempt to conceive them as divided amongst a number of equal beings. Supremacy is necessarily vested in one or it does not exist. The multiplication of beings is an acknowledgment that no one of them is absolutely perfect: it is a vain attempt to make up the perfection which does not exist in any one of them. So, too, the authoritative manifestation of God in religion must be one and sole. The idea of a multiplicity of religions, all equally good, is a survival of that tendency to deterioration which expressed itself of old in polytheism. If religion be the divine system for the communication of truth and grace, it does not need to be multiplied, like the cells of an electric battery, in proportion to the increase of the circuit. Religion is a representation of God, and is the exercise of His divine action. A number of them, if they are uniform, are at variance with the supreme unity of God; if they are contradictory, they cannot be the manifestation of Him who is harmony and peace. Thank God for calling you to a Church whose unity proclaims its divine origin and its all-sufficiency.

II. Reason, proceeding on the data which the visible world supplies, sufficiently indicates the Unity of God. Science shows us a surpassing unity underlying all things and carries us back towards one great original principle of life, motion and law. Harmony and strength are marks of all the works of God; and the source of them is unity and not division. Divided power is weakness, divided authority is no authority. In the spiritual and religious sphere, even more than in nature, we should expect to find the impress of God’s Unity. If there is to be among men unity of mind and heart, of doctrine, worship and morals, there must be unity of spiritual laws and religious organization. Disorder and contradiction do not accord with the Divine Ideal. No kingdom divided against itself shall stand. One Church alone maintains the principle of unity and possesses unity in itself. Endeavour always to promote “the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. iv. 3).

III. In relation to man individually, the unity of God demands unity of service from us. We cannot serve two masters; we must serve God alone “with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, with all our mind.” If we render partial service to the world or any creature, to our pride, our interests or our lusts, we are putting a false god in God’s place. It is equivalent to dividing our loyalty among a number of gods, or attempting to worship God simultaneously in discordant religions; it is compounding together light and darkness, truth and falsehood. Our hearts are too small to love the one great Being sufficiently; much more insufficient is their service if part of it be withdrawn and bestowed on creatures. In any pursuit we can only secure success by concentrating all our thoughts and energies upon it alone. In this respect, the children of light may well take a lesson from the children of this world. Seek God alone and always. Let one principle guide your life in all its diverse operations. Let nothing turn you from the path of consistency, from whole-hearted loyalty and affection towards God. Do not dissipate your energies on any other object; but let all the various duties of life look to God and be turned to His service.

The Eternity of God

I. The eternity of God is His infinite tenure of life. His life is nothing else but Himself; it is entirely beyond our understanding and cannot be described in human words, any more than the essence of God could be painted with brushes. As creatures bound to time, we naturally think of existence as unfolding in moments—with beginnings and endings—and so we speak of life in temporal terms. But God’s eternity stands apart from all that. Time and eternity are not just different—they are opposed in every way. While time is the unfolding of life in successive instants, eternity is the simultaneous possession of life in its completeness. God’s eternity is not made of past, present, or future. As St. Denis tells us, there is no “was” in God, for He never had a past. He never “will be,” for there is no unrealized future before Him. Nor can we say that He simply “is,” for our present is passing and incomplete, but His existence is full and without change.

Because we are unable to grasp eternity as it truly is, we often imagine God’s life as if it were stretched out over an infinite timeline—“He always was,” we say, and “He always will be,” with a present moment in between, “He is.” We picture eternity by stacking countless moments upon each other, as if adding more and more time could eventually amount to eternity. But this is not the way to understand God. In fact, such imagining misleads us, because it tries to use the very element—time—that eternity denies. So we must mortify our curiosity. Scripture warns us: “Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy ability: for it is not necessary for thee to see with thy eyes the things that are hid.” We must humbly adore what we cannot explain.

II. Eternity is the possession of a life without any limits. This boundlessness includes the complete absence of beginning and end, which belong only to time and to the creatures that exist in time. We cannot measure backward through the vast stretches of created existence, nor can we calculate its duration. But we do know that everything we see was once nothing, and every created thing—whether a force, a planet, or a human soul—is gradually using up its strength and will one day fall silent in death. All things in time fade and pass. Yet beyond all this stands God, the all-pervading and unchanging Existence. “The heavens are the works of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou remainest. Thou art always the same, and Thy years shall not fail.” Therefore, as Scripture proclaims: “To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.”

III. God’s eternity is also said to be complete and perfect because it is entirely free from all the limitations and deficiencies that mark life lived in time. Our life, by contrast, is always unfolding. It is never whole in a single moment, and there is always something just beyond us—something we hope for or something we regret. While each phase of life brings its own work and joys, each also comes with struggles and losses. We do not possess our life in fullness. We live it in dependence on others and alongside countless other souls. Though we are immortal, and though we may one day pass through an endless series of moments, we still do not live as God lives. His life is absolute, ours is not. Even the life of glory that we will receive in heaven will not be equal to His in independence, completeness, or perfection.

And yet, God in His mercy promises us some measure of participation in that eternal life—so far above our comprehension. We shall be raised one day into the glory and beauty and happiness of His own life, a joy we cannot now imagine or fully understand. Let us give thanks to God for this promise, and desire that happy day with all our hearts. 

The Resurrection

I. “His sepulchre shall be glorious” (Isa. xi. 10). The extremity of Christ’s abasement is the first beginning of His glory. Everything had appeared to be at an end. The shepherd was stricken and the flock dispersed (Zach. xiii. 7). One more was added to the multitude of lost causes. Evil had again triumphed over good. Satan and his instruments on earth were jubilant. Pilate was uneasy, but relieved that all was over. The chief priests felt that Judaism had escaped from the greatest peril that as yet had threatened it, and that it had taken a new lease of existence. The believers in Jesus had lost all heart; His name was to them no more than a memory of a disappointment, an illusion perhaps. There was only one who kept the faith in the silence of her heart, the Mother of Jesus. The tension of men’s minds was relaxing; when suddenly the rumour ran that the Dead had risen, and evidence accumulated that He had been seen alive. Dread and awe and despair invaded the minds of Herod and Pilate, Pharisees and Chief Priests. Satan perceived that he was conquered at the moment of his greatest success. Never had there been so sudden and complete a revulsion, such a victory for the cause of God. That cause is yours. That history repeats itself continually in each man’s life, and in the Church. To all the followers of Jesus will come similar disappointments and similar triumphs. Give glory to your Lord.

II. “Thou wilt not leave My soul in hell; nor wilt Thou give Thy Holy One to see corruption” (Ps. xv. 10). The Resurrection was the necessary termination of Our Lord’s Passion. Death could not hold dominion over the Son of God. The Sacred Body, elevated by its union with the Divinity, could not pass through corruption into dust. These things are necessary stages in our evolution, in order that all which is of sin in us may be eradicated, and our bodies re-formed afresh, adapted to the conditions of heavenly life. In Our Lord’s case, it would have been a retrogression, an undoing of the work of God, a recalling of His gift, if, after matter and human nature had completed their cycle by being united with the Divinity, this union had been broken by the return of the Sacred Body to original dust. Further, as being our true Life, and as being Lord of life and death, Jesus necessarily triumphed over death; and His triumph was more manifest in His submitting to death and rising from it by His own power, than if He had not undergone it. Again, it was the fitting reward merited by Our Lord’s unparalleled sufferings. “According to the multitude of My sorrows in My heart, Thy comforts have given joy to My soul” (Ps. xciii. 19). Congratulate with Our Lord on His supremacy over the universal domination of death. Thank Him that He will make its domination over you only temporary, and that He will grant you one day to rise superior to it.

III. Our Lord’s Resurrection was necessary on our account as well. 

1. It established the faith of the Apostles, and through them of all mankind in His Divinity; and it gave them the energy to propagate His religion. “…Predestinated Son of God in power, according to the Spirit of sanctification, by the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead” (Rom. i. 4). 

2. It confirms our confidence, by showing that no obstacles of violence or fraud, no sophisms of incredulity, can cause one iota of His words to fail. He, and His Church, and His elect will in like manner triumph over the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

3. It is the assurance of our resurrection and glory. “Christ is risen from the dead, the first-fruits of them that sleep. … And as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Cor. xv. 20, 22). You can hardly calculate the immense influence that the Resurrection of Christ has on your life and your happiness. It gives you a definite certainty as to the hereafter, it is the solution of the most urgent problems of humanity, it is your comfort and strength in life and death.