Sixth Sunday of Easter, May 13, 2012
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Gospel: John 15:9-17 That you should bear fruit and your fruit should abide….
(Full text of sermon) As a child I would spend my time always looking forward to the next “big event,” the next holiday, or the next trip. In January, I began looking forward to baseball season. In March, I looked forward to summer. During the late summer, I thought about football season or Halloween. And, yes, after Halloween my focus turned to Christmas. Yet, as the years passed I began to notice that my day-dreams were always better than the reality.
He was “cut to the heart” in discovering Christian captivesSt. Peter Nolasco was shocked and moved in finding Christians held captive and in danger of losing their faith. Read more about his heroic life and what he did about it on the website of the .
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This is an experience of many of us. When we are teenagers we want to be adults. When we are young adults we want to be married. Then, we look forward to moving up in society or getting that dream job or position. After years of hard work we long for the day when we can retire. Yet, the fact is that we are never truly satisfied with things in this life. This “restlessness” points to an eternal desire within us all for a fulfillment that cannot be experienced in this life of limitations. We are truly “restless” creatures, but God allows us to be “restless.” He places within us the desires that can only be fulfilled in the Divine life. These desires spur us on or they leave us in an endless futile search for fulfillment in created things.
Joy and fruit
Jesus, though, promises us eternal things in the Gospel today. He tells us that those who remain in His love and keep the Commandments are promised “joy” that is complete and “fruit” that will remain. This joy is not meant to be fulfilled in this life, though it can begin here. The total fulfillment of our longing takes place only in Heaven. Many people would accept this notion, but we must admit that there are a lot of different concepts of Heaven out there. Some would say that it is a place of pleasure where we can do whatever we want. Others would say that everyone goes on to Heaven and we become angels.
Well, it is important as Catholics that we understand what two thousand years of Christian tradition tells us about Heaven. We are told that it is a “place and state of perfect and eternal happiness.” Here we share in the communion, love, and self-gift of the Trinity. This experience has commonly been called the Beatific Vision. The Beatific Vision is the sight of God “face to face.” The vision includes the spiritual possession of God and the love of Him. We can have this intense experience of communion with God, because we are finally free of the “lack of love,” or sin which has separated us from God who is Love.
No more desire to sin
Our sins and desire to commit sin or concupiscence will be no longer a part of our experience. By the time we enter Heaven, we are necessarily “purified” of all sin and the effects of sin. The experience of Heaven is a fulfillment of all the legitimate desires that we have had throughout our life. The restlessness finally comes to an end as we rest in God. Our happiness will be complete at our union with God.
We will experience many other joys in Heaven, which include the “sight of Christ’s humanity, the companionship with the angels and saints and an understanding of the wonders of creation.” At the Second Coming, we will experience great joy as we receive our glorified bodies similar to Christ’s Resurrected Body.
The Sacraments of the Church are intended solely to lead us to heaven. They enable us to come to conversion from sin and be reconciled with Christ and His Church. All seven Sacraments will be fulfilled in Heaven in the Beatific Vision.
Yearning for union
So, while we still are on Pilgrimage on this earth we must recognize that the desires we have for “more” or the “restlessness” is in fact a yearning for union with God who is Love. These legitimate desires are meant to find fulfillment in the next life. So let us strive not for the passing things of this earth, but for those things that endure. Communion with God and others begins now by following the Commandments and living rightly. That we may look forward to the completion and fulfillment of all things in the Eternal Happiness of the life to come.