Are we prepared for our own life after death?

Yesterday when I heard about Ms. Fawcett's and Mr. Jackson's deaths I thought of a delightful and quite imaginative book written by Dr. Peter Kreeft called Between Heaven and Hell. It is written in dialogue prose and focuses on a conversation taking place between President John F. Kennedy, C.S. Lewis, and Aldous Huxley, who die within hours of each other in November of 1963. I wondered if Ms. Fawcett and Mr. Jackson were engaging in a similar conversation. The dialogue is philosophical in nature regarding the truth of heaven, hell and purgatory. It is quite thought provoking to say the least.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us that "Death is the end of man's earthly pilgrimage, of the time of grace and mercy which God offers him so as to work out his earthly life in keeping with the divine plan and to decide his ultimate destiny" (CCC 1013). The Church encourages us to live our life in Christ and to prepare for our death to this earthly life and to live in the fullness of life with Christ in heaven. The question then becomes how do we prepare and are we prepared to let go of this earthly life and live in Heaven? Christ came to show us how to prepare. He was the perfect man exemplar for us. The teachings of the Church remind us of our obligation and responsibilty to live our baptismal call. It is through Baptism that sacramentally we have already "died with Christ" in order to live a new life, (CCC 1010).

There are people who believe that Faith alone will get them to heaven. Jesus taught us the corporal works of mercy and gave us the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes give us attitudes to adopt in living our vocation characteristic of the Christian life with the promise of sharing in the Kingdom of God, our just reward. This is about action, the workings of Christ, not just faith alone. Christ was all about faith and actions.

The Church teaches that heaven is the state of supreme and definitive happiness, the goal of the deepest longings of humanity (CCC 1023). Human beings are all about happiness and the perfect happiness can be found resting in the presence of the Face of God, the Beatific Vision. Whereas hell is a state of self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed. This self-exclusion is a free choice to refuse to believe and be converted from sin (CCC1033). It comes down to our choice and the choices we make in living our life here on earth. It begins here and now. Purgatory, the Church teaches, is a final purification after death for those in friendship with God, a final cleansing of human imperfection before being able to enter the perfection of heaven, (CCC 1031). I have been taught that one must walk through fire so to speak for this cleansing to take place, sounds painful to say the least.

So, what's it going to be, heaven, hell, or purgatory? God is our Judge, but the choice is up to us?

Do we realize the Mass is heaven on earth?

I recently read Scott Hahn's The Lamb's Supper and I was fascinated with the comparisons he made between the Mass and that which was revealed to John in the Book of Revelation. Now I had been made aware of this in my liturgy class at Our Lady of Holy Cross and this peaked my interest enough to read the book, Dr. Hahn's not John's. Of course after reading Dr. Hahn's I felt compelled to read Revelation again. Which leads me to the question, how many of us enter the Mass with the notion we are in heaven? When I was a child I went with my friend to her Mass, not being Catholic, I was in awe of the beauty and glory of the liturgy. My protestant service was dull in comparison, there were no candles, incense, beautiful vestments, our meeting room was just that, a meeting room. Many years later I returned to a Mass and I was surprised to find some of the glory and beauty a little faded, so to speak. No longer did I see any incense or hear any bells ringing. The words were now in English and the people now seemed bored. They were dressed differently as well. As a child we went to that Mass in our dresses and I had to wear a veil on my head, I felt like a princess or a bride(ummm!). This time there were no veils, the girls had on shorts and jeans, no men in suits. Later I asked my friend what had happened and he said things had relaxed a little since the second Vatican Council. Well at the time I had no idea what that meant and didn't concern myself since I was not Catholic, yet.

I have come to understand many things since that time so long ago. I have come to understand that not all Masses are as lifeless as the one attended when I was older. I have attended many Masses that do seem to be heaven on earth with all the beauty and glory that was written about in Revelation. What I understand is the fact that no matter when and where a Mass is being celebrated it is Heaven on earth. The invisible reality is that there is a heavenly liturgy taking place at the moment the visible signs of the Mass on earth are taking place. The reality for us as Christians is that the moment we walk through those doors we have entered heaven. We bring our sacrifice, ourself, to the altar to offer to Christ the true and living sacrifice all our cares and woes. Now I ask you, if you are in heaven standing before the Lord what will your attitude and posture be? I wonder if people think about what the Mass re-presents and the meaning of all the words, symbols and signs(for an explanation of the incense see previous blog). People say they believe that Jesus is truly in the Sacrament at the words of consecration, but do they stop and think about the ritual that leads up to that consecration?

If you are someone thinking about this or wondering, I recommend Dr Hahn's book and then maybe you should read John's as well. Fascinating!