Get To Heaven
The Ascension of our Lord Jesus
Christ into heaven is the completion of the Paschal Mystery. He shows us that where he has gone, we are
to follow. His physical presence in eternity
shows us that the new heavens and the new earth will be a physical reality
where "he will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no
more death, and no more mourning or sadness" (Revelation 21: 4).
For the past seven weeks we have
been celebrating the most joyous season of the Catholic liturgical year. The Easter season has filled us with immense
joy and profound hope. The Lord has
truly risen.
Today, we
celebrate the Ascension of the Lord into heaven. The risen and glorified Jesus physically returns to the
Father. We await with joyful
expectation his return in glory. Where
he has gone, we are to follow. This is
our ultimate goal: get to heaven.
What is Heaven? Heaven has been defined for us in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church. “Those who die in
God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with
Christ. They are like God for ever, for they see him as he is, face to
face. This perfect life with the Most
Holy Trinity - this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the
Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed - is called heaven. Heaven is the
ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of
supreme, definitive happiness” (1023 – 1024).
In the Gospels, Jesus speaks of this mystery through images. He calls it the kingdom, a place of life,
light and peace. He refers to it as a
wedding feast, the Father’s house, the heavenly Jerusalem and paradise. St. Paul tells us that “no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the heart of man conceived
what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2: 9). And St. John tells us that in heaven “we shall see him as he really is” (1
John 3: 2).
St. Paul's awe is echoed in the words of a child taking an evening
walk with her father. Wonderingly, she looked up at the stars and exclaimed;
"Oh, Daddy, if the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what must the
right side be!"
Life confined to the boundaries of
time and space without the promise of eternal life would be cruel and
unbearable to live. Without the
certainty of an eternal paradise, the trials and tribulations of this present
life would have no meaning and purpose.
The judgments of time will be
corrected by the judgments of eternity.
The injustices of this world will be replaced by the justice of the
world to come. The tears shed now, will
be replaced by the joy lived forever in eternal life.
The martyrs throughout the history of
the Catholic Church were able to sustain unbearable trials precisely because
they were certain of a place called heaven.
They were able to persevere and resist sin because their love for the
next life was greater than their love for this present life.
There is a heaven and we need to get
there. There is a hell, and we need to do everything that we can to avoid the
possibility of losing our immortal soul.
Our number one priority is to get to heaven.
However, the Second Vatican Council,
in one of its most important documents, teaches us that although our goal is to
reach eternal life, this does not excuse us from our earthly obligations. “Therefore,
while we are warned that it profits a man nothing if he gains the whole world
and lose himself, the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather
stimulate our concern for cultivating this one. For here grows the body of a
new human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of
foreshadowing of the new age” (The
Church in the Modern Word, I, III, 39).
We cultivate this earth by being
passionate and responsible stewards of our time, talent, and treasure. As creatures of God, everything that we have
is a gift from God. “Every best gift, and every perfect gift, is
from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
change, nor shadow of alteration” (James 1: 17). Discipleship and stewardship
are one and the same reality. We are
called to give of ourselves and what we have been given. Stewardship must be seen as the way we live
out our vocation as a Christian people.
When we understand that everything
that we have is a gift from God, we will journey through life totally detached
from everything, but at the same time, never aloof from the needs of
others. It is our task to make this
world a better place for all.
Tithing, then, is not an option for
the true disciple of the Lord. Tithing
is a command. “Honor Yahweh with what goods you have and with the first-fruits of all
your returns; then your barns will be filled with wheat, your vats overflowing
with new wine” (Proverbs 3: 9-10). “All tithes of the land, levied on the
produce of the earth or the fruits of trees, belong to Yahweh; they are
consecrated to Yahweh” (Leviticus 27: 30).
“Bring the full tithes and dues to
the storehouse so that there may be food in my house, and then see if I do not
open the flood gates of heaven for you and pour out blessing for you in
abundance” (Malachi 2: 10).
Yes, it is true that the feast of the
Ascension does direct our gaze toward eternal life. However, our struggle to attain eternal life must never serve as
an escape from our duties here on earth.
Our journey towards eternity necessarily means that we be passionate and
responsible stewards precisely because the reward for fidelity is not in this
life but in the life to come.
