Tag Archives: heaven

Children of a loving Father

 

 

 

 

One of the great revelations that Jesus gives us, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, is that God is not just the Supreme Being, the creator of the universe, but truly our loving Father. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture and of St Josemaria Escriva to consider what God’s Fatherhood means for us:

  • Our Father God has a plan, a mission for each one of us
  • He loves us dearly and we want to love him in return
  • He invites us to talk with him in prayer, including the Our Father
  • He respects our freedom, allowing us to sin but always welcoming us back
  • He disciplines us, as all good fathers do with their children
  • He watches over us in his loving providence, moving us always to trust in him and not be anxious
  • He wants us to come home to heaven with him

Easter with Pope Francis

Resurrection icon

For Easter Sunday 2005, Pope Francis wrote a beautiful homily to be read in the morning Mass in St Peter’s Square by the celebrant, Cardinal Angelo Comastri. Less than 24 hours later, God called Pope Francis to eternal life with him. In this meditation, we use the text of that homily to consider how:

  • Mary Magdalene, and the apostles Peter and John, all ran in their eagerness to find Jesus
  • We too should be eager to find Jesus, who waits for us in our prayer, in the Scriptures, in Mass, in our workplace, in our family…
  • We should welcome Jesus into our heart so that we, in turn, can share him with others
  • Jesus’ resurrection from the dead fills our life with the hope that we too can overcome the difficulties and crosses that weigh us down
  • The ultimate object of our hope is eternal life with God in heaven

The hope of Heaven

A depiction of heaven

As we know from children’s catechisms, the reason why we exist is to know, love and serve God on earth in order to be happy with him forever in heaven.  We know it but we tend to forget it in the busyness and distractions of everyday life. In this meditation, we consider how we can keep this most important goal in mind in order to reach it:

  • Asking God to increase our hope of going to heaven
  • Longing for heaven in our prayer
  • Having a daily plan of spiritual activities to help us grow in love for God and speed us on toward the goal
  • Having our heart in God, not in goods
  • Doing what sports people do to win a crown that fades: having a rigorous training program, having a coach, following the rules, taking time out to consider how we are going, finishing the race

One in the Communion of Saints

One of the most consoling truths of our faith is the reality of the Communion of Saints – the Church triumphant in heaven, the Church suffering in purgatory, and the Church militant on earth, all helping one another. In this meditation we use texts from Scripture, the Catechism, St Bernard, St Therese of Lisieux and St Josemaria to consider how:

  • The saints in heaven “fix the Church more firmly in holiness” by their example and prayer for us
  • We should have as the goal of our life to be with them for all eternity
  • The souls in purgatory suffer greatly and are exceedingly happy, relying on our prayer for them and interceding for us before God
  • In the Church militant, we are helped by the prayers of all in this Communion and we should feel responsible to help the others by our struggle for holiness and our prayers and works.

The spiritual Olympics

Spirirtual olympics

Athletes go through a rigorous training regime in order to achieve their goal of winning a medal in the Olympic games. Our goal is much higher: eternal life with God in heaven. We too need a training regime. In this meditation we use texts of Scripture, especially of St Paul, and of saints like Augustine, Bernard and Josemaria, to consider how, like athletes, we need:

  • A goal
  • Determination to reach the goal
  • Sacrifice and self-control
  • A training program: a plan of life
  • A coach: a spiritual director
  • Ability to keep going when we encounter failures and disappointments
  • Someone to heal our injuries: a priest
  • Effort to follow the rules: the moral law
  • Time-outs to rest and reconsider our plan: retreats and recollections
  • Determination to finish the face and receive the prize

Lessons from the Transfiguration

Transfiguration by Raphael

The Transfiguration of our Lord

Our Lord’s Transfiguration on Mount Tabor can teach us many lessons. In this meditation, we use passages from Scripture to consider some of them:

  • The climbing of the mountain calls to mind the difficulties in our own life in climbing the mountain of holiness
  • Seeing Christ transfigured in his divinity is a reminder that we too will see him transfigured in glory in heaven
  • This should spur us on to lift our thoughts above to the goal of life, especially when we are bogged down in the here and now
  • When Peter says “It is well for us to be here” we are reminded that we should often say the same thing, in good times and in bad
  • When the Father says, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” we should listen to Christ often:  in our prayer, in our conscience throughout the day, in the Scriptures, in Mass…
  • Like the apostles, we should share our faith with the many others who do not know Christ

Lesssons of the Assumption of Mary

Assumption of Mary Rubens

A depiction of our Lady’s Assumption painted by Rubens

Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven teaches us many lessons. In this meditation we use a text from the book of Revelation to consider some of these lessons:

  • Mary sanctified herself in her ordinary life in the home, as we do
  • She is the new Ark of the Covenant, bringing the very Word of God into the world
  • Mary is rewarded for her humility and docility to God
  • Mary’s Assumption fills us with hope for our own resurrection to eternal life
  • Mary had many crosses on the way, as we will
  • The woman in the book of Revelation overcomes the attacks of the devil, as we must
  • Mary’s intercession for us is all-powerful

My new book: Dying to Live

Dying To Live: Reflections on Life After Death

After many months of work, I am happy to announce the proximate publication of my latest book, “Dying to Live – Reflections on Life after Death”. As you will see by clicking on the title, the book has been written primarily for people who don’t know what awaits them when they die.

It begins by arguing from reason and experience, and then progresses to the Catholic Church’s teaching on the question, which should fill everyone with hope. The book should be out in the next few weeks, and you can order it online at the link above, or obtain it from a bookshop. We all think this book can do a lot of good and I ask your prayers for that intention.

I trust that you will get some helpful insights from reading the book and I thank you for your support.

The Communion of Saints

Pope Francis called the Communion of Saints one of the most consoling truths of our faith. Indeed it is. In this meditation we use texts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, St Bernard, St Therese of Lisieux, St Josemaria, Pope Francis and Kimberly Hahn to pray about this union of the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory and the faithful on earth, all helping one another on the way to heaven. We consider how:

  • The Communion of Saints is both communion in holy things and communion of holy persons.
  • We should endeavour to grow in holiness and increase our desire to be one day with the saints in heaven.
  • We should pray much for the souls in purgatory.
  • We should pray for those on earth and help them to come close to God so that they too may be one day in heaven.
  • By our good deeds we contribute to the Communion of Saints and by our sins we withdraw from it.