What will we be like in Heaven?
The Deacon gave the homily at the Mass when 1Corinthians 15:19 was the 2nd Reading. He mentioned St. Thomas Aquinas' Five Properties of a Glorified Body:1. Identity. We will know each other when we are in Heaven. We'll be able to recognize family members and loved ones.
2. Quality. We will be at our highest powers.
(I think Catholic Answers combined these 2 into "Subtlety", meaning "we will have a spiritual nature as did our Lord..." This reminded me of a book I read a few years ago: Angel on Board: Watch out for angels watching you! (EJ Thornton). Even though this book is fiction (although it's based on a true story), it will make you stop and think about things that have happened. Well worth a read!
3. Impassability. The glorified body will not diminish or change. It will not know sickness or any aches and pains.
4. Agility. This is the utter submission of the body to soul. We can go anywhere any time, all we have to do is think it and we will be there. Catholic Answers: We define agility as to be as our Resurrected Lord's ability to bilocate and travel great distances in an instant.
5. Clarity. We will be filled with beauty and light.
Is that not amazing? Doesn't that make you want to see Jesus right now? Deacon was really hyped up about it!
It's all about hope and humility
How can we plan for eternal life? Besides the 10 commandments, the Beatitudes is another good place to turn. In Luke 6:20-23, Jesus tells us how we will be rewarded with heaven. He gives us hope. But then in Luke 6:24-26, it's almost as if He gives us a warning. In my opinion, He is telling us to have faith, to not get too comfortable with our earthly lives. He's telling us to remember our reason for being on this earth and what our ultimate goal is. To me, He's telling us to remain humble.💜Woe to you who are rich...(Luke 6:24)Even though we may be rich monetarily, don't get sucked into the materialistic way of thinking. Live modestly and within your means. Don't get tricked into thinking that material things will bring you happiness.
💜Woe to you who are filled now...(Luke 6:25) How can we be filled if God isn't the center of our lives? And, if He is the center of our lives, we remain hungry for more of Him.
💜Woe to you who laugh now...(Luke 6:25) I don't think we're being told to be unhappy and to be all solemn all the time. There is a time for jokes and there's a time for solemness. We have to know the right time for each.
💜Woe to you when all speak well of you...(Luke 6:26) I hear this one loud and clear. Talk about humility! We shouldn't live our lives for God to be noticed by other people. If we are, then we aren't truly living our lives for God. It's not about us.
"We bow our knees
We must decrease
You must increase
We lift you high"
(From the song Humble by Audrey Assad)
The Beatitudes are words of hope yet still remind us to be humble...to not get too full of ourselves. Paired with Memento Mori, it's a pretty good way of keeping our ultimate goal at the forefront of our mind and our daily lives.
A Catholic Woman's Perspective of Death
Deliver Me
Another wonderful post, Mary!
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