Thought for the Day – 19 April – During this Season of Alleluias and Joy, we will consider Fr von Cochem’s Reflections upon our Heavenly Homeland.
Excerpts from THE FOUR LAST THINGS —- DEATH, JUDGMENT, HELL and HEAVEN
FR MARTIN VON COCHEM (1625-1712) OSFC
Nihil Obstat: Thomas L Kinkead, Censor Liborium
Imprimatur: Michael Augustine — Archbishop of New York (New York 5 Oct 1899)
PART IV
ON HEAVEN
III.3 On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven
Thirdly, the will of each one of the blessed will be crowned with felicity and kindled with the love of God and of the blessed, in whose company he is.
The noblest pleasures a man can enjoy come from his will.
A man is happy when all succeeds with him according to his wishes; when he acquires and possesses all that which his heart can desire; when he is generally esteemed and praised by his fellow-men; when he loves and is loved, by the object of his affections.
This and much more besides, is the portion of the
blessed but in the highest degree and in the greatest possible perfection.
The Love of God for them and, their love of Him, is so profound, they are enflamed and consumed, with Divine Charity, their will resembles a live coal, glowing with light and heat, until it is absorbed by the fire of which it is a part.
So it is with the Saints in Heaven; imbued with Divine Charity, they burn and shine in the Light of God and
reflect His Image more and more.
St John says: “We know that when He shall appear we shall be like to Him because we shall see Him as He is” (i John iii. 2).
In the Love of God and in union with Him, they find such ineffable delight that, inebriated by the sweetness of Divine Charity, they lose themselves in Him!
AnaStpaul 