The Catechism of the Council of Trent/Part 1: Article 12
ARTICLE XII.
"LIFE EVERLASTING."
THE wisdom of the Apostles, our guides in religion, suggested to them the propriety of giving this Article the last place in Creed. the Creed, which is the summary of our faith; 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, will unceasingly endeavour to light up in their souls, an ardent desire of the proposed rewards of eternal life; that thus they may look upon whatever difficulties they may experience in the practice of religion, as light, and even agreeable, and may yield a more willing and an entire obedience to God.
But 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 their respective capacities will allow. The faithful, therefore, are to be informed, that the words, "life everlasting," signify not only that continuity of existence, to which the devils and the wicked are consigned, but also, that perpetuity of happiness which is to satisfy the desires of the blessed. In this sense they were understood by the " ruler," mentioned in the Gospel, when he asked the Redeemer: " Lord! 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 everlasting happiness? In this sense they are understood in the Sacred Volumes, as is clear from a reference to many pas sages of Scripture. [2] The supreme happiness of the blessed is thus designated, principally to exclude the notion that it consists in corporeal and transitory things, which cannot be ever lasting. [3]
The word "blessedness" is insufficient to express the idea, particularly as there have not been wanting men, who, inflated with the vain opinions of a false philosophy, would place the supreme good in sensible things; but these grow old and perish, whilst supreme happiness is defined by no limits 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 that are in the world; if any one love the world, the love of the Father is not in him:" [4] and a little after, " The world passeth away and the concupiscence thereof." [5] The pastor, therefore, will 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, [6] 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 great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." [7] Many "who seemed to themselves wise," [8] 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 good without admixture of evil, which, as it fills up the measure of man's desires, must be eternal. He who is blessed with its enjoyment must earnestly desire its continuance, and, were it transient and uncertain, should necessarily experience the torture of continual apprehension. [9]
The intensity of the happiness which the just enjoy in their celestial country, and its utter incomprehensibility to all but to themselves alone, are sufficiently conveyed by the very words which are here used to express that happiness. When, to express any idea, we make use of a word common to many others, we do so, because we have no proper term by which to express it clearly and fully. When, therefore, to express happiness, we adopt words which are equally applicable to all who are to live for ever, as to the blessed; we are led to infer that the idea presents to the mind something too great, too 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," [10] " of Christ," [11] " of heaven," [12] " Paradise," [13] "the Holy City," "the New Jerusalem," [14] "my Father's house;" [15] yet it is clear that none of these appellations is sufficient to convey an adequate idea of its greatness.
The pastor, therefore, will not neglect the opportunity which this Article affords, of inviting the faithful to the practice of piety, of justice, and of all the other virtues, by holding out to them such ample rewards as are announced in the words " life everlasting." Amongst the blessings which we instinctively desire, life is, confessedly, esteemed one of the greatest: by it principally, when we say " life everlasting," do we express the happiness of the just. If then, during this short and chequered period of our existence, which is subject to so many and such various vicissitudes, that it may be called death rather than life, there is nothing to which we so fondly cling, nothing which we love so dearly as life; with what ardour of soul, with what earnestness of purpose, should we not seek that eternal happiness, which, without alloy of any sort, presents to us the pure and unmixed enjoyment of every good? The happiness of eternal life is, as defined by the Fathers, " an exemption from all evil, and an enjoyment of all good." [16] That it is an exemption from all evil, the Scriptures declare in the most explicit terms: " they shall no more hunger and thirst," says St. John, " neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat;" [17] 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." [18] But the glory of the blessed shall be without measure, and their solid joys and pleasures without number. The mind is incapable of comprehending or conceiving the greatness of this glory: it can be known only by its fruition, that is, by entering into the joy of the Lord, and thus satisfying fully the desires of the human heart. 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; [19] yet we must endeavour 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.
Before we proceed to this explanation, we shall make use of a distinction, which has been sanctioned by the most eminent writers on religion; it is, that there are two sorts of goods, one an ingredient, another an accompaniment of happiness. The former, therefore, for the sake of perspicuity, they have called essential; 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 eternal beauty who is the source and principle of all goodness and perfection: " This," says our Lord, " is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." [20] These sentiments 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." [21] These words inform us that the happiness of heaven consists of two things: to see God such as he is in his own nature and substance, and to be made like unto him.
Those who enjoy the beatific vision, whilst they retain their own nature, shall assume a certain admirable and almost divine form, so as to seem gods rather than men; and why they assume this form, becomes at once intelligible, if we only reflect that every thing is known from its essence, or from its resemblance and external appearance: but as nothing resembles God, so as to afford, by that resemblance, a perfect knowledge of him, no creature can behold his divine nature and essence, unless admitted by the Deity to a sort of union with himself; according to these words of St. Paul: " We now see through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face." [22] The words, "in a dark manner," St. Augustine understands to mean that we see him in a resemblance calculated to convey to us some faint notion of the Deity. [23] This, St. Denis clearly shows, when he says: " The things above cannot be known by comparison with the things below; for, the essence and substance of any thing incorporeal must be known, through the medium of that which is corporeal: particularly as a resemblance must be less gross and more spiritual, than that which it represents, as we know, from universal experience. Since, therefore, we can find no thing created, equally pure and spiritual with God, no resemblance can enable us, perfectly to comprehend the divine essence." [24] Moreover, all created things are circumscribed within certain limits of perfection; but God is circumscribed by no limits, and therefore nothing created can reflect his immensity. The only means, therefore, 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 splendour, we shall see God, the true light, in his own light. [25] The blessed always see God present, and by this greatest and most exalted of gifts, " being made partakers of the divine nature," [26] they enjoy true and solid happiness. Our belief of this truth should therefore be animated by an assured hope of one day arriving, through the divine goodness, at the same happy term; according to these words of the Nicene Creed: " I expect the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." These are divine truths which defy the powers of human language, and mock the limits of human comprehension. We may, however, trace some re- semblance of this happy change in sensible objects, for as iron, when acted on by fire, becomes ignited, and, whilst it is sub stantially the same, seems changed into fire, which is a different substance; so the blessed, who are admitted into the glory of heaven, and who burn with a love of God, although they cease not to be the same, are yet affected in such a manner, as that they may be said with truth to differ more from the inhabitants of this earth, than iron, when ignited, differs from itself when cold.
To say all in a few words: supreme and absolute happiness, which we call essential, consists in the possession of God; for what can he want to consummate his happiness, who possesses God, the fountain of all good, the fulness of all perfection?
To this happiness, however, are appended 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 exciting the mind and inflaming the heart. [27] These the Apostle seems to have in view, when, in his epistle to the Romans, he says: " Glory, and honour, and peace, to every one that worketh good." [28] 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 comprehensive knowledge, which each of the blessed shall have of the singular and exalted dignity of his companions in glory.
But how distinguished must not that honour be which is conferred by God himself, who no longer calls them servants, but friends, [29] brethren, [30] and sons of God! [31] Hence the Redeemer will address his elect in these words, which at once breathe infinite love, and bespeak the highest honour: " Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you." [32] Justly, then, may we exclaim with the psalmist: " Thy friends, O God! are made exceedingly honourable." [33] They shall also receive the highest praise from Christ the Lord, in presence of his Heavenly Father, and before the assembled hosts of heaven. And, if nature has interwoven in the human heart, the desire of honour, particularly when conferred by men eminent for wisdom, who are, therefore, the most authoritative vouchers of merit; what an accession of glory to the blessed, to evince to wards each other the highest veneration?
To enumerate all the delights with which the souls of the blessed shall be inebriated, would be an endless task: we can not even conceive them in idea: 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 the perfection of the body: a consummation more exalted in the manner of its accomplishment, than, to use the words of the Apostle, " eye hath seen, ear heard, or the heart of man conceived." [34] The body, which was before gross and material, having put off mortality, and now refined and spiritualized, shall no longer stand in need of corporal nutriment: whilst the soul shall be satiated with that eternal food of glory, which the master of that great feast will minister, in person, to all. [35] Who will desire rich apparel or royal robes, when; these appendages of human grandeur shall be superseded; and all shall be clothed with immortality and splendour, and adorned with a crown of imperishable glory! And, if the possession of a spacious and magnificent mansion forms an ingradient in human happiness, what more spacious, what more magnificent, can imagination picture, than the mansion of heaven, illumined, as it is throughout, with the blaze of glory which encircles the Godhead! 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." [36] That the faithful may be all tilled with the same sentiments, and utter the same language, should be the object of the pastor's most earnest desires; as it should be of his zealous labours. " In my Father's house," says our Lord, " there are many mansions," [37] in which shall be distributed rewards of greater and of less value, according to each one's deserts: for "He who soweth sparingly, shall reap sparingly: and he who soweth in blessings, shall also reap of blessings." [38]
The pastor, therefore, will not only move the faithful to a desire of arriving at this happiness; but will frequently remind them that, infallibly to attain it, they must possess the virtues of faith and charity; they must persevere in the exercise of prayer, and the salutary use of the sacraments, and in a faithful discharge of all the good offices which spring from fraternal charity. Thus, through the mercy of God, who has prepared that blessed glory for those who serve him, shall be one day fulfilled the words of the prophet: " My people shall sit in the beauty of peace, and in the tabernacles of confidence and of wealthy rest." [39]
- ↑ Luke xviii. 18.
- ↑ Matt. six. 29; xxv. 46. Rom. vi. 22.
- ↑ Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 19. c. 11.
- ↑ 1 John ii. 15.
- ↑ 1 John ii. 17.
- ↑ 1 Pet. ii. 11.
- ↑ Tit. ii. 11. 13.
- ↑ Rom. i. 22.
- ↑ Vid. Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 12. cap. 20. lib. 22. c. 29, & 30. de libero arbit, cap. 25. de verb. Domini, serm. 64, & serm. 37, de Sanctis.
- ↑ Acts xiv. 22.
- ↑ 2 Pet. i. 11.
- ↑ Matt v. 3. 20.
- ↑ Luke xxiii. 43.
- ↑ Apoc. xxi. 10.
- ↑ John xiv. 2.
- ↑ Chrysost. in 30. cap. ad Thood. lapsum. Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. 22. cap. 30. Ansselm. epist 2. et de similit. c. 47. et seq.
- ↑ Apoc. vii. 16.
- ↑ Apoc. xxi. 4.
- ↑ Serm. vi. 4. de verb. Domini et de Symb ad Catech. lib. 3.
- ↑ John xvii. 3.
- ↑ 1 John iii.
- ↑ 1 Cor. xiii. 12.
- ↑ Aug. lib. 15. de Civ. Dei, c. 9.
- ↑ Areop.de. divin.nom. c. 1.
- ↑ Ps.xxxv. 10.
- ↑ 2 Pet. i. 4.
- ↑ Aug. de Civ. Dei, lib. xxii. c. 30.
- ↑ Rom. ii. 10.
- ↑ John xv. 14.
- ↑ Matt.xii.49.
- ↑ Rom. viii . 15 16
- ↑ Matt. xxv. 34.
- ↑ Ps. cxxxviii. 17
- ↑ 1 Cor. ii. 9.
- ↑ Luke xii. 37.
- ↑ Ps. lxxxiii 1, 2.
- ↑ John xiv. 2.
- ↑ 2 Cor. ix. 6.
- ↑ Isaias xxxii. 18