Heaven: The view from Time, Mother Theodore, and you

Do you ever think about Heaven? Do you plan to end up there? What does it look like to you? Will it be a garden? Will it be a banquet room? Will it be a Cathedral in which we will have a sacred seat? Could it be a glorious Disney World?

Time magazine tried to examine some of those thoughts in its April 16, 2012, cover story called “Heaven Can’t Wait. Why rethinking the hereafter could make the world a better place.”

Making the world around us better surely would not be a bad idea.

Author Jon Meacham examines many different ideas and offers images of Heaven from the perspective of different faith traditions, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity and Catholicism.  In the story, one spiritual leader said Heaven is not a place to go, it is how you live your life. Even the opinion of expert cosmic scientist Steven Hawking is offered: “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for a broken-down computer; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

But, the one glaring oversight in the essay is that author Meacham did not research some of Saint Mother Theodore’s thoughts about Heaven. So let’s fix that! In the Saint Mother Theodore perpetual calendar filled with her quotes (and available in The Gift Shop at Providence Center), you can find several references to Heaven:

She talked about the expected perfect love and holiness that is to be found there:

“To love in the right way is to accomplish the whole Law; it is to begin that happy life which will have its perfection only in heaven, where we shall live forever with a holy and perfect love.”

She talks about Heaven as our true home, our true nation:

“Oh, adieu, dear country … we exclaimed. … hence, interiorly, we said to ourselves: The true country of a Christian, but above all a Religious, is Heaven. It is toward this we are tending.” (Leaving France for Indiana)

She talks about how Heaven is given to all, and the eternal joy that awaits:

“It seems to the saint that heaven has been given away, and it is true. It has been given to them for very little; for what is a brief time of humiliation compared to an eternity of joy?”

She talks about the anticipated beauty:

“What will Heaven be if our poor Earth is at times so beautiful?”

She recognizes the challenges and tests that present themselves to us on the way to Heaven:

“Let us take courage, my very dear Sisters; the Cross, it is true, awaits us at every turn, but it is the way to Heaven.”

And, she envisions Heaven as the ultimate: 

“Whatever may please our Lord! Pray and suffer – Heaven is the reward.”

Are you among the 85 percent of U.S. citizens who believe in Heaven? What do you think you will find in the afterlife? Do you expect to enjoy eternal rest as your reward? Will you reunite with loved ones and enjoy one another’s spirit again? Share your thoughts.