«Tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium» — "Your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:20).
Point I
Let us endeavor for the present to suffer patiently the afflictions of this life, offering them to God in union with the pains that Jesus Christ suffered for love of us; and let us take heart from the hope of paradise. One day all these anguishes, sorrows, persecutions, and fears will end; and if we are saved, they will become for us joys and delights in the kingdom of the blessed. So does the Lord encourage us: «Tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium» — "Your sorrow shall be turned into joy" (John 16:20). Let us then consider today something of paradise. But what shall we say of this paradise, if not even the most enlightened saints have been able to make us understand the delights that God reserves for His faithful servants? David could say of it only that paradise is a good too greatly to be desired: «Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum!» — "How lovely are Your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!" (Ps. 83:2). But you at least, my St. Paul, you who had the fortune of being caught up to see heaven («Raptus in paradisum» — "caught up into paradise"), tell us something of what you saw. No, says St. Paul, what I have seen cannot be explained. Such are the delights of paradise: «Arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui» — "secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter" (2 Cor. 12:4). They are so great that they cannot be explained unless they are enjoyed. Nothing else can I tell you, says St. Paul, but that «oculus non vidit, nec auris audivit, neque in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus iis, qui diligunt illum» — "eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, what things God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Cor. 2:9). No man on earth has ever seen, heard, or comprehended the beauties, the harmonies, the delights that God has prepared for those who love Him.
We cannot have any capacity for the goods of paradise, because we have no ideas other than those of the goods of this earth. If horses had the use of speech and knew that their master, upon marrying, had prepared a great banquet, they would imagine that the banquet consisted of nothing but fine straw, good oats, and barley, because horses have no idea of any foods but these. So do we think of the goods of paradise. It is beautiful to see the starry sky at night in summertime; it is a great delight in springtime to be by the seashore when the sea is calm, where one can see within it rocks clothed with grass and fish darting about; it is a great delight to find oneself in a garden full of fruits and flowers, surrounded by flowing fountains, with birds flying and singing all around. Someone will say: Oh, what a paradise! What paradise? What paradise? The goods of paradise are of another order. To form some dim notion of paradise, consider that there dwells an almighty God, engaged in delighting the souls He loves. St. Bernard says: Do you wish to know what is in paradise? «Nihil est quod nolis, totum est quod velis» — "There is nothing you would not wish; there is everything you would wish." There there is nothing that displeases, and there is all that pleases.
O God, what will the soul say upon entering that blessed kingdom! Let us imagine that a young virgin dies, or that young man who, having consecrated himself to the love of Jesus Christ, when death arrives, already leaves this earth. The soul is presented for judgment; the Judge embraces her and declares that she is saved. Her Guardian Angel comes to meet her and rejoices over her; she thanks him for the assistance he gave her, and then the Angel says to her: Come, beautiful soul, rejoice, for now you are saved; come and see the face of your Lord. Behold, the soul now passes beyond the clouds, the spheres, the stars: she enters heaven. O God, what will she say as she sets foot for the first time in that blessed homeland, and casts her first glance upon that city of delights! The angels and saints will come to meet her and, exulting, will bid her welcome. What consolation she will have there in meeting her relatives, or friends who had already entered paradise before her, and her holy advocates! The soul will then wish to genuflect before them to venerate them, but those saints will say to her: «Vide ne faceris, conservus tuus sum» — "See that you do not do it; I am your fellow servant" (Rev. 22:9). Then she will be brought to kiss the feet of Mary, who is the Queen of paradise. What tenderness the soul will feel at beholding for the first time Mary Most Holy, who helped her so much to be saved! For then the soul will see all the graces that Mary obtained for her, and she will see herself lovingly embraced by her. Then by that same Queen the soul will be led to Jesus, who will receive her as a bride and say to her: «Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni, coronaberis» — "Come from Lebanon, my bride, come, you shall be crowned" (Song 4:8). My bride, be glad: the tears, the sorrows, and the fears are ended; receive the eternal crown that I have won for you with my blood. Jesus himself will then lead her to receive the blessing of his divine Father, who, embracing her, will bless her, saying: «Intra in gaudium Domini tui» — "Enter into the joy of your Lord" (Matt. 25:21). She shall be blessed with the very blessedness that He enjoys.
Affections and Prayers
Behold, my God, at Your feet an ungrateful man, created by You for paradise, yet so many times he renounced it to Your face for wretched pleasures, contenting himself with being condemned to hell. But I hope that You have already forgiven me all the injuries I have done You, for which I repent ever anew, and I will repent of them until death; and I want You always to forgive me for them anew. But O God, although You have already forgiven me, it will always nonetheless be true that I had the heart to grieve You, my Redeemer, who to lead me to Your kingdom gave Your life. But may Your mercy be forever praised and blessed, O my Jesus, for with such patience You have borne with me; and instead of punishments You have increased toward me Your graces, lights, and calls. I see, my dear Savior, that You truly want me saved; You want me in Your homeland to love You eternally, but You want me first to love You on this earth. Yes, I do want to love You. Even if there were no paradise, I want to love You, as long as I live, with all my soul, with all my strength. May it suffice me to know that You, my God, desire to be loved by me. My Jesus, help me with Your grace; do not abandon me. My soul is eternal — am I then bound either to love You or to hate You for eternity? No, for eternity I want to love You, and I want to love You greatly in this life, so as to love You greatly in the next. Dispose of me as You please; chastise me here as You will; do not deprive me of Your love, and then do with me whatever pleases You. My Jesus, Your merits are my hope.
O Mary, in Your intercession I place all my trust. You delivered me from hell when I was in sin; now that I wish to love God, You must save me and make me holy.
Point II
Once the soul has entered into the bliss of God, «nihil est quod nolit» — "there is nothing it would not wish" — it will have nothing left to trouble it. «Absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ab oculis eorum, et mors ultra non erit; neque luctus, neque clamor, neque dolor erit ultra; quia prima abierunt. Et dixit qui sedebat in throno: Ecce nova facio omnia» — "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; neither mourning, nor crying, nor pain shall be anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who sat upon the throne said: Behold, I make all things new" (Rev. 21:4). In paradise there is no more sickness, no poverty, nor discomfort; there are no more alternations of days and nights, nor of cold and heat. There is one continual day, ever serene; one continual spring, ever delightful. There are no more persecutions or envies; in that kingdom of love all love one another tenderly, and each one rejoices in the good of the other as if it were his own. There are no more fears, because the soul, confirmed in grace, can no longer sin and lose its God. «Ecce nova facio omnia» — "Behold, I make all things new." Everything is new, and everything consoles and satisfies. «Totum est quod velis» — "Everything is whatever you could wish." There the sight will be contented in gazing upon that city of perfect beauty: «Urbs perfecti decoris» — "the city of perfect beauty" (Lam. 2:15). What a delight it would be to see a city where the pavement of the streets was of crystal, the palaces of silver with ceilings of gold, and all adorned with festoons of flowers! Oh, how much more beautiful will the city of paradise be! What will it be to see those citizens all clothed in royal fashion, since all are kings, as St. Augustine says: «Quot cives tot reges!» — "As many citizens, so many kings!" What will it be to see Mary, who will appear more beautiful than all paradise! What will it then be to see the divine Lamb, the spouse Jesus! St. Teresa, having once seen only a hand of Jesus Christ, was left spellbound by such beauty. The sense of smell will be contented with those odors — but odors of paradise. The hearing will be contented with the celestial harmonies. St. Francis once heard from an angel a single stroke of a viol, and nearly died of the sweetness. What will it be to hear all the saints and angels singing in chorus the glories of God! «In saecula saeculorum laudabunt te» — "They shall praise You for ever and ever" (Ps. 83:5). What will it be to hear Mary praising God! The voice of Mary in heaven, says St. Francis de Sales, will be like that of a nightingale in a wood, surpassing the song of all the other birds that are there. In short, there are all the delights that can be desired.
But these delights considered thus far are the lesser goods of paradise. The good that makes paradise is the supreme good, which is God. «Totum quod exspectamus (dice S. Agostino), duae syllabae sunt, Deus» — "All that we await (says St. Augustine) is two syllables: Deus." The reward that the Lord promises us is not only the beauties, the harmonies, and the other joys of that blessed city: the principal reward is God himself, that is, seeing and loving God face to face. «Ego ero merces tua magna nimis» — "I will be your reward exceeding great" (Gen. 15:1). St. Augustine says that if God were to show his face to the damned, «continuo infernus ipse in amoenum converteretur paradisum» — "hell itself would at once be turned into a delightful paradise" (Tom. 9. de Tripl. habit.). And he adds that if a soul departed from this life had to choose either to see God and remain in the pains of hell, or not to see him and be freed from hell, «eligeret potius videre Dominum, et esse in illis poenis» — "it would choose rather to see the Lord and to be in those pains."
This joy of seeing and loving God face to face cannot be comprehended by us in this life; but let us form some idea of it, first, from knowing that divine love is so sweet that even in this life it has come to lift from the ground not only the souls but also the bodies of the saints. St. Philip Neri was once rapt into the air together with the stool to which he clung. St. Peter of Alcantara was also raised from the ground while embracing a tree torn up by the roots. Moreover, we know that the holy martyrs, through the sweetness of divine love, rejoiced in the very midst of their torments. St. Vincent, while he was being tormented, spoke in such a way (says St. Augustine) that «alius videbatur pati, alius loqui» — "one seemed to suffer, and another to speak." St. Lawrence, lying on the gridiron over the fire, taunted the tyrant: «Versa, et manduca» — "Turn me over and eat"; yes, says the same St. Augustine, because Lawrence, «hoc igne (del divino amore) accensus non sentit incendium» — "kindled with this fire (of divine love), did not feel the burning." Furthermore, what sweetness does a sinner experience on this earth, even in weeping over his sins! Hence St. Bernard used to say: «Si tam dulce est flere pro te, quid erit gaudere de te» — "If it is so sweet to weep for You, what will it be to rejoice in You?" And what suavity does a soul not experience when, in prayer, the divine goodness is revealed to it in a ray of light — the mercies God has shown it, and the love that Jesus Christ has borne and still bears it! Then the soul feels itself melt and faint away with love. And yet on this earth we do not see God as he is: we see him darkly. «Videmus nunc per speculum in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem» — "We see now through a glass in a dark manner, but then face to face" (1 Cor. 13:12). At present we have a bandage before our eyes, and God stands behind the curtain of faith and does not let himself be seen by us; what will it be when the bandage is taken from our eyes, the curtain is lifted, and we see God face to face? We shall see how beautiful God is, how great, how just, how perfect, how lovable, and how loving.
Affections and Prayers
Ah, my supreme good, I am that wretch who turned his back on You and renounced Your love. For this I would no longer be worthy either to see You or to love You. But You are He who, in taking pity on me, had no pity on Yourself, condemning Yourself to die of sorrow, in shame, upon an infamous wood. Your death, then, gives me hope that one day I shall see and enjoy Your face, loving You then with all my strength. But now that I am in danger of losing You forever — now that I find I have already lost You by my sins — what shall I do in the life that remains to me? Shall I go on offending You? No, my Jesus, I detest with all my hatred the offenses I have committed against You; I am exceedingly sorry for having injured You, and I love You with all my heart. Will You cast away from You a soul that repents and loves You? No — I already know what You have said: that You cannot, my beloved Redeemer, cast away anyone who comes repentant to Your feet: «Eum qui venit ad me, non eiiciam foras» — "He who comes to me, I will not cast out" (John 6:37). My Jesus, I leave all, and turn to You; I embrace You, I press You to my heart; do You also embrace me and press me to Your Heart. I dare to speak thus, because I speak and deal with an infinite goodness: I speak with a God who was pleased to die for love of me. My dear Savior, give me perseverance in Your love.
My dear Mother Mary, by the love You bear Jesus Christ, obtain for me this perseverance. So I hope, so may it be.
Point III
On this earth, the greatest pain that afflicts souls who love God and are in desolation is the fear of not loving and of not being loved by God. «Nescit homo, utrum amore an odio dignus sit» — "Man knows not whether he is worthy of love or of hatred" (Eccl. 9:1). But in paradise the soul is certain that it loves God and that it is loved by God; it sees that it is happily lost in the love of its Lord, that the Lord holds it embraced as a dear child, and it sees that this love will never again be dissolved for all eternity. The blessed flames of the soul will be increased by the clearer knowledge it will then have of what love it was in God to have made himself man and to have died for it; what love was the institution of the Blessed Sacrament — a God making himself the food of a worm! Then the soul will also see distinctly all the graces God granted it in delivering it from so many temptations and dangers of being lost; and then it will see that those tribulations, infirmities, persecutions, and losses which it called misfortunes and punishments of God were all love and the pullings of divine providence to draw it to paradise. It will see especially the patience God had in bearing with it after so many sins, and the mercies he showed it, giving it so many lights and so many calls of love. From that blessed mountain it will see so many souls damned in hell for fewer sins than its own; and it will see itself already saved, possessing God, and secure in never having to lose that supreme good for all eternity.
The blessed soul, then, will forever enjoy that happiness which, throughout eternity, will be ever new to it at every moment, as if that moment were the first in which it enjoyed it. It will always desire that joy, and will always obtain it: ever content, ever thirsting; ever thirsting, and ever satiated — yes, because the desire for paradise brings no pain, and the possession brings no weariness. In short, as the damned are vessels full of wrath, the blessed are vessels full of contentment, so that they have nothing more to desire. St. Teresa says that even on this earth, when God introduces a soul into the cellar of wine — that is, of his divine love — he makes it happily drunk, so that it loses all affection for earthly things. But on entering paradise, oh, how much more perfectly, as David says, will the elect «inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae» — "be inebriated with the richness of Your house" (Ps. 35:9). Then it will come to pass that the soul, in seeing unveiled and in embracing its supreme good, will remain so inebriated with love that it will happily lose itself in God — that is, it will wholly forget itself, and from then on think only of loving, praising, and blessing that infinite good which it possesses.
When, therefore, the crosses of this life afflict us, let us take comfort in bearing them patiently with the hope of paradise. St. Mary of Egypt, when asked at the end of her life by Abbot Zosimus how she had been able to endure living for so many years in that desert, replied: «With the hope of paradise». St. Philip Neri, when the dignity of the cardinalate was offered to him, threw his cap into the air, saying: «Paradise, paradise». Brother Giles the Franciscan, on hearing paradise named, was lifted into the air for joy. So likewise we too, when we see ourselves distressed by the miseries of this earth, let us raise our eyes to heaven and console ourselves, sighing and saying: «Paradise, paradise». Let us reflect that, if we are faithful to God, all these pains, miseries, and fears will one day end, and we shall be admitted into that blessed homeland, where we shall be fully happy for as long as God is God. Behold, the saints await us, Mary awaits us; and Jesus stands with the crown in His hand, to make us kings of that eternal kingdom.
Affections and Prayers
My dear Savior, You have taught me to pray to You: «Adveniat regnum tuum» — "Your kingdom come": so now I pray to You: may Your kingdom come in my soul, so that You may possess it wholly, and it may possess You, the supreme Good. O my Jesus, You have spared nothing to save me and to win my love for Yourself; save me, then, and let my eternal salvation be to love You forever, in this life and in the next. So many times I have turned my back on You, and yet You let me know that You will not disdain to hold me clasped to You in paradise for all eternity with as much love as if I had never offended You; and I, knowing this — could I love anyone but You, seeing that You wish to give me paradise after I have so many times deserved hell? Ah, my Lord, would that I had never offended You! Oh, if I could be born again, I would love You always! But what is done is done. Now I can do nothing but give to You this life that remains to me. Yes, I give it all to You; I consecrate myself entirely to Your love. Depart from my heart, earthly affections; give place to my God, who wishes to possess it wholly. Yes, possess me entirely, O my Redeemer, my love, my God. From this day forward I wish to think of nothing but pleasing You. Help me with Your grace; so I hope through Your merits. Increase ever more in me Your love and the desire to give You pleasure. Paradise, paradise! When will it be, Lord, that I shall see You face to face, and embrace You without fear of losing You anymore? Ah, my God, keep Your hands upon me, so that I may never offend You again.
O Mary, when will it be that I shall see myself at Your feet in paradise? Help me, my Mother; do not permit me to be damned, and to go dwell far from You and from Your Son.