"I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: We shall go into the house of the Lord" (Ps. 121). Truly great and unspeakable is the cause of rejoicing for a good and faithful servant, when he has either labored painstakingly in the vineyard, or in trading has multiplied his talents, or in the race has been the first to seize the prize, or in war or in the combat has earned the crown, or the sheep entrusted to him has diligently fed, and strenuously and bravely defended them from wolves: and having discharged all these labors, he enters with joy the house of his Lord. But let us see why it is called a house, which a little before was called a city. For the reason of this is not that it is narrow, and therefore does not deserve the name of city; since indeed it is so spacious that it yields in greatness to no city, or even to any kingdom. For hear what the Prophet Baruch says: O Israel, how great is the house of God, and how vast the place of His habitation! It is great, and has no end (Bar. 3). Why, then, should not so great a dwelling rightly be called a house? The first reason, then, is this: that the blessed, although spread throughout the whole kingdom of heaven, are all of the household and family of the Lord. For one might have supposed, if mention were made only of a kingdom or a city, that many in the kingdom of heaven, and in the city of our God, would never see God, and would never have access to speak with Him, unless they were admitted through certain of the greater blessed. But the matter does not stand so; rather, all without exception ever see God, and abide with Him, and converse with Him face to face, whether they be the eminent Seraphim and Cherubim, Apostles and Prophets, or lesser Angels and the lesser of the blessed. For of the guardian Angels, who belong to the last order of the Angels, He says: Their Angels in heaven always see the face of My Father who is in heaven (Matt. 18). And the Apostle, writing to the Ephesians, says that all the blessed are not only fellow citizens with the saints, but also members of the household of God (Eph. 2). Therefore their dwelling is called not only a city, but also a house. There are indeed in heaven diverse mansions, greater and lesser; and there are also diverse crowns, more and less illustrious, according to the diversity of merits: yet those citizens are all blessed and happy, all clean of heart and full of charity. Therefore there is no one who is not also in that house, and who does not see God and abide with Him as one of His household and a friend; although in other kingdoms and cities there are many who never see the king, and very few who are admitted to his conversation and company.
A second reason seems to be this: that in a city many see the king and speak with him, but not all are sons and heirs of the king; only those are who dwell in the palace and are acknowledged by the king as sons and heirs. But in the kingdom of heaven and the city of our God, all the blessed, whether greater or lesser, are truly sons of God and brothers of Christ, and heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, and thereby also brothers to one another; nor do the greater despise the lesser, nor is there any ill will or envy among them. For when the Lord taught that foremost prayer, to be recited daily — Our Father, who art in heaven (Matt. 6) — He excluded no one; and when in the judgment He shall say, Come, ye blessed of My Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world (Matt. 25), He will except none of the just; and when the Apostle said to the Romans, Whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God (Rom. 8), and a little further on, The Spirit Himself gives testimony to our spirit, that we are the sons of God; and if sons, heirs also: heirs indeed of God, and joint heirs with Christ — he too excluded no one, neither great nor small, provided he have the Spirit of God and suffer himself to be led by Him. Which gift is surely common to all who are regenerated in Christ and persevere in faith, hope, and charity. St. Peter likewise in his first Epistle promises to all the regenerated an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled (1 Pet. 1). Finally, St. John in his first Epistle says to all the just without exception: Behold what manner of charity the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called, and should be, the sons of God (1 John 3).
Rightly, therefore, is that dwelling of the blessed called a house, and not only a city and a kingdom: for in it all are sons and heirs of the great King, and all are loved by God as sons and by Christ as brothers; and they can justly say with the Prophet: Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! (Ps. 132) For what greater joy can be imagined than to abide with innumerable Angels, and with men greater, equal, and lesser, and to be loved by all with the most sincere affection as a brother, treated as a brother, embraced as a brother?