ARTICLE
XII
"
Life Everlasting "
Importance
Of This Article
The
holy Apostles, our guides, thought fit to conclude the Creed, which is the
summary of our faith, with the Article on the eternal life: first, because after the resurrection of the
body the only object of the Christian's hope is the reward of everlasting life;
and secondly, in order that perfect happiness, embracing as it does the fulness
of all good, may be ever present to our minds and absorb all our thoughts and
affections.
In
his instructions to the faithful the pastor, therefore, should unceasingly
endeavor to light up in their souls and ardent desire of the promised rewards
of eternal life, so that whatever difficult duties he may inculcate as a part
of the Christians life, the faithful may look upon as light, or even agreeable,
and may yield a more willing and cheerful obedience to God.
"
LIFE EVERLASTING "
As
many mysteries lie concealed under the words which are here used to declare the
happiness reserved for us, they are to be explained in such a manner as to make
them intelligible to all, as far as each one's capacity will allow.
The
faithful, therefore, are to be informed that the words, life everlasting,
signify not only continuance of existence, which even the demons and the wicked
possess, but also that perpetuity of happiness which is to satisfy the desires
of the blessed. In this sense they were
understood by the lawyer mentioned in the Gospel when he asked the Lord our
Savior: What shall I do to possess
everlasting life? 1 as if he had said, What shall I do in order to arrive at the enjoyment of perfect
happiness? In this sense these words
are understood in the Sacred Scriptures, as is clear from many passages. 2
" Everlasting
"
The
supreme happiness of the blessed is called by this name (life everlasting) principally to exclude the notion that it
consists in corporeal and transitory things, which cannot be everlasting. The word blessedness is insufficient to
express the idea, particularly as there have not been wanting men who, puffed
up by the teachings of a vain philosophy, would place the supreme good in
sensible things. But these grow old and
perish, while supreme happiness is to be terminated by no lapse of time. Nay more, so far is the enjoyment of the
goods of this life from conferring real happiness that, on the contrary, he who
is captivated by a love of the world is farthest removed from true
happiness; for it is written: Love not the world, nor the things which
are in the world. If any man love the
world, the charity of the Father is not in him, 3 and a little farther on we read: The world passeth away, and the
concupiscence thereof. 4 {a}
The
pastor, therefore, should be careful to impress these truths on the minds of
the faithful, that they may learn to despise earthly things, and to know that
in this world, in which we are not citizens but sojourners, 5 happiness is
not to be found. Yet even here below we
may be said with truth to be happy in hope, if denying ungodliness and worldly desires, we. .
. Live soberly, and justly, and godly
in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the
great God and our Savior Jesus Christ. 6 Very many who seemed to themselves wise, 7 not
understanding these things, and imagining that happiness was to be sought in
this life, became fools and the victims of the most deplorable calamities.
These
words, life everlasting, also teach us that, contrary to the false
notions of some, happiness once attained can never be lost. Happiness is an accumulation of all good
without admixture of evil, which, as it fills up the measure of man's desires,
must be eternal. He who is blessed with
happiness must earnestly desire the continued enjoyment of those goods which he
has obtained. Hence, unless its
possession be permanent and certain, he is necessarily a prey to the most
tormenting apprehension. {b}
"
LIFE "
The
intensity of the happiness which the just enjoy in their celestial country, at
its utter incomprehensibility to all but themselves alone, are sufficiently
conveyed by the very words blessed life. For when in order to express any idea we make use of a word
common to many things, it is clear that we do so because we have no exact term
by which to express it fully. Since,
therefore, to express happiness, words are adopted which are not more
applicable to the blessed than to all who are to live for ever, this proves to
us that idea presents to the mind something to great, to exalted, to be
expressed fully by a proper term. True,
the happiness of heaven is expressed in Scripture by a variety of other words,
such as the kingdom of God, of Christ, of heaven, paradise, the holy city, the
new Jerusalem, my Father's house; 8 yet it is clear that none of these
appellations is sufficient to convey an adequate idea of its greatness.
The
pastor, therefore, should not neglect the opportunity which this Article
affords of inviting the faithful to practice of piety, of justice and of all
the other Christian duties, by holding out to them such ample rewards as are
announced in the words life everlasting. Among the blessings which we instinctively desire life is
certainly esteemed one of the greatest.
Now it is chiefly by this blessing that we describe the happiness (of the just) when we say life everlasting. If, then, there is nothing more loved, nothing dearer or sweeter,
then this short and calamitous life, which is subject to so many and such
various miseries that it should rather be called death; with what ardor of
soul, with what earnestness of purpose, should we not seek that eternal life
which, without evil of any sort, presents to us the pure and unmixed enjoyment
of every good?
Negative and Positive Elements of Eternal Life
The happiness of eternal
life is, as defined by the Fathers, an exemption from all evil, and an
enjoyment of all good. 9
The
Negative
Concerning ( the exemption from all ) evil the Scriptures bear witness in the most
explicit terms. For it is written in
the Apocalypse: They shall no more
hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat; 10 and again, God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning nor crying, nor
sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away. 11
The Positive
As
for the glory of the blessed, it shall be without measure, and the kinds of
their solid joys and pleasures without number.
Since our minds cannot grasped the greatness of this glory, nor can it
possibly enter into our souls, it is necessary for us to enter into it, that
is, into the joy of the Lord, so that immersed therein we may completely
satisfy the longing of our hearts. {c}
Although,
as St. Augustine observes, it would seem easier to enumerate the evils from
which we shall be exempt than the goods and the pleasures which we shall enjoy;
12 yet
we must endeavor to explain, briefly and clearly, these things which are
calculated to inflame the faithful with a desire of arriving at the enjoyment
of this supreme felicity.
But
first of all we should make use of a distinction which has been sanctioned by
the most eminent writers on religion; for they teach that there are two sorts
of goods, one of which constitutes happiness, the other follows upon it. The former, therefore, for the sake of
perspicuity, they have called essential blessings, the latter, accessory.
Solid
happiness, which we may designate by the common appellation, essential,
consists in the vision of God, and the enjoyment of his beauty who is the
source and principal of all goodness and perfection. This, says Christ our Lord, is eternal life: that they may know thee, the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 13 These words St. John seems to interpret
when he says: Dearly beloved, we are
now the sons of God; and it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. We know that when he shall appear, we shall
be like to him: because we shall see him as he is. 14 He shows, then, that beatitude consists
of two things: that we shall behold God
such as He is in His own nature and substance; and that we ourselves shall
become, as it were, gods.
The Light Of Glory
For
those who enjoy God will they retain their own nature, assume a certain
admirable and almost divine form, so as to seem gods rather than men. Why this transformation takes place becomes
at once intelligible if we only reflect that a thing is known either from its
essence, or from its image and appearance, consequently, as nothing so
resembles God as to afford by its resemblance a perfect knowledge of Him, it
follows that no creature can behold His Divine Nature and Essence unless this
same Divine Essence has joined itself to us, and this St. Paul means when he
says: We now see through a glass in a dark manner; but then face to face.
15 The
words, in a dark manner, St. Augustine understands to mean
that we see Him in a resemblance calculated to convey to us some notion of the
Deity. 16
This
St. Dennis {d} also clearly shows when he says 17 that the things above cannot be known by
comparison with the things below; for the
essence and substance of anything incorporeal cannot be known through the image
of that which is corporeal, particularly as a resemblance must be less gross
and more spiritual than that which it represents, as we easily know from
universal experience. Since, therefore,
it is impossible that any image drawn from created things should be equally
pure and spiritual with God, no resemblance can enable us perfectly to
comprehend the Divine Essence.
Moreover, all created things are circumscribed within certain limits of
perfection, while God is without limits; and therefore nothing created can
reflect His immensity.
The
only means, then, of arriving at a knowledge of the Divine Essence is that God
unite Himself in some sort to us, and after an incomprehensible manner elevate
our minds to a higher degree of perfection, and thus render us capable of
contemplating the beauty of His Nature.
This the light of His glory will accomplish. Illumined by its splendor we shall see God, the true light, in
His own light. {e}
In
Beatific Vision
For
the blessed always see God present and by this greatest and most exalted of
gifts, being made partakers of the divine nature, 18 they enjoy true and solid
happiness. Our belief in this happiness
should be joined with an assured hope that we to shall one day, through the
divine goodness, attain it. This the
Fathers declared in their Creed, which says:
I expect the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to
come.
An Illustration Of
This Truth
These
are truths, so divine that they cannot be expressed in any words or
comprehended by us in thought. We may,
however, trace some resemblance of this happiness in sensible objects. Thus, iron when acted on by fire becomes
inflamed and while it is substantially the same seems changed into fire, a
different substance; so likewise the blessed.
who are admitted into the glory of heaven and burn with a love of God,
are so affected that, without ceasing to be what they are, they may be said
with truth to differ more from those still on earth than red hot iron differs
from itself when cold. 19
To
say all in a few words, supreme and absolute happiness, which we call
essential, consist in the possession of God; for what can he lack to consummate
his happiness who possesses the God of all goodness and perfection? {f}
To
this happiness, however, are added certain gifts which are common to all the
blessed, and which, because more within the reach of human comprehension, are
generally found more effectual in moving and inflaming the heart. These the Apostle seems to have in view
when, in his Epistle to the Romans, he says: Glory and honour, and peace to
everyone that worketh good. 20
Glory
For
the blessed shall enjoy glory; not only that glory which we have already shown
to constitute essential happiness, or to be its inseparable accompaniment but
also that glory which consists in the clear and distinct knowledge which
each ( of the blessed ) shall have of the singular and exalted
dignity of his companions ( in glory ).
Honor
And
how distinguished must not that honor be which is conferred by God Himself, who
no longer calls them servants, but friends, brethren and sons of God! Hence the
redeemer will address His elect in these most loving an honorable words: Come,
ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you. 21 Justly,
then, may we exclaim: Thy friends, O
God, are made exceedingly honorable. 22 They shall also receive the highest praise
from Christ the Lord, in presence of His heavenly Father and his Angels.
And
if nature has implanted in the heart of every man the common desire of securing
the esteem of men eminent for wisdom, because they are deemed the most reliable
judges of merit, what an accession of glory to the blessed, to show towards
each other the highest veneration!
Peace
To
enumerate all the delights with which the souls of the blessed shall be filled
would be an endless task. We cannot
even conceive them in thought. With
this truth, however, the minds of the faithful should be deeply impressed-that
the happiness of the Saints is full to overflowing of all those pleasures which
can be enjoyed or even desired in this life, whether they regard the powers of
the mind or of the perfection of the body;
albeit this must be in a manner more exalted than, to use the Apostles
words, eye hath seen, ear heard, or the heart of man conceived. 23 {g}
Thus the body, which was before gross and
material, shall put off in heaven its mortality, and having become refined and
spiritualized, will no longer require corporal food; while the soul shall be
satiated to its supreme delight with that eternal food of glory which the
Master of that great feast passing will minister to all. 24
Who
will desire rich apparel or royal robes, where there shall be no further use
for such things, and were all shall be clothed with immortality and splendor,
and adorned with a crown of imperishable glory? {h}
And
if the possession of a spacious and magnificent mansion contributes to human
happiness, what more spacious, what more magnificent, can be conceived than
heaven itself, which is illumined throughout with the brightness of God? Hence
the Prophet, contemplating the beauty of this dwelling-place, and burning with
the desire of reaching those mansions of bliss, exclaims: How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of
hosts! my soul longeth and fainteth for
the courts of the Lord. My heart and
my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. 25
That the faithful may be all filled with the same
sentiments and utter the same language should be the object of the pastors most
earnest desires, as it should also be of his zealous labors. For in my father's house, says our
Lord, there are many mansions, 26 in which he shall be distributed rewards
of greater and of less value according to each one's desserts. He who soweth sparingly, shall also reap
sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings. 27 {i}
The
pastor, therefore, should not only encourage the faithful to seek this
happiness, but should frequently remind them that the sure way of obtaining it
is to possess the virtues of faith and charity, to preserve in prayer and the
use of the Sacraments, and to discharge all the duties of kindness towards
their neighbor.
Thus,
through the mercy of God, who has prepared that blessed glory for those who
love Him, shall be one day fulfilled the words of the Prophet: My people shall sit in the beauty of peace,
and in the tabernacle of confidence, and in wealthy rest. 28
Endnotes Article XII
1.> Matt.
xix. 16; Mark x. 17; Luke xviii. 18. 16.>
De Trin., lib. xv. c. 9.
2.> Matt.
xxv. 46; John iii. 15; Rom. vi. 22 17.> De Divin. Nom. c. I.
3.> John
ii. 15. 18.> 2 Pet. i. 4.
4.> 1
John ii. 17. 19.> Anselm., De Simil., c. 67.
5.> 1
Pet. ii. 11. 20.> Rom. ii. 10.
6.> Tit.
ii. 12, 13. 21.> Matt. xxv. 34.
7.> Rom.
i. 22 22.> Ps. cxxxviii. 17.
8.> Mark
ix. 46; Acts xiv. 21; 1 Cor. vi. 9; 23.> 1 Cor. ii. 9.
Eph.
v. 5; 2 Pet. i. 2; Matt. vii. 21; 24.> Luke xii. 37.
Luke
xxiii. 43; Apoc. iii. 12; xxi. 2, 10. 25.> Ps. lxxxiii.
9.>
Chrysost., Ep. I. ad Theod. lapsum;
Aug., 26.> John xiv. 2.
De
Civ. Dei, lib. xxii. cap. 30. 27.> 2 Cor. ix. 6.
10.> Apoc.
vii. 16 28.> Is. xxxii. 18.
11.> Apoc.
xxi. 4.
12.> Serm.
cxxvii. n. 3.
13.> John
xvii. 3.
14.> 1 John
iii. 2.
15.> 1 Cor.
xiii. 12.
{a} On this
subject see Summa Theol. 1a. 2ae. ii
{b} On the
meaning of eternity see Summa Theol. 1a. x.
{c} On the
last end of man see Summa Theol. 1a.
2ae. i-v.
{d} The
writings ascribed to Dionysius the Areopagite, while very ancient, are not the
work of St Paul's Athenian convert, according to modern patrologists.
{e} On
the "light of glory" see Summa Theol. 1a xii. 6.
{f} On the
beatific vision see Summa Theol. 1a. xii; Suppl. xcii.
{g} On the
accidental rewards of heaven see Summa Theol. Suppl. xcvi.
{h} On the
corporal and spiritual adornments of the blessed see Summa Theol. Suppl. xcv.
{i} On the
mansions of the blessed see Summa Theol.
Suppl. lxix ; xciii.