Tag: fr martin von cochem

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote of the Day – 31 August – Waiting in Anticipation

Posted on by AnaStpaul

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, Let your loins be girt about and your lamps burning, and you yourselves like men waiting for their master’s return from the wedding.

Luke 12:35-40

So, then, all these things, care of funeral, bestowal in sepulture, pomp of obsequies, are more for comfort of the living, than for help to the dead. If it at all profit the ungodly to have costly sepulture, it shall harm the godly to have vile sepulture or none. Right handsome obsequies in sight of men did that rich man who was clad in purple receive of the crowd of his housefolk; but far more handsome did that poor man who was full of sores obtain of the ministry of Angels; who bore him not out into a marble tomb, but into Abraham’s bosom on high. 

St Augustine

Learn, beloved, the wickedness of the men of that time, how they spoil houses and fields, and take even justice from the just; for when these things come to pass, you may know that it is the end. For this reason are you instructed in the wisdom of the prophet, and the revelation that is to be in those days. And all the prophets, as we have already said, have clearly signified the things that are to come to pass in the last times, just as they also have declared things of old.

Psuedo-Hippolytus

 But we who hope for the Son of God are persecuted and trodden down by those unbelievers. For the wings of the vessels are the churches; and the sea is the world, in which the Church is set, like a ship tossed in the deep, but not destroyed; for she has with her the skilled Pilot, Christ. And she bears in her midst also the trophy (which is erected) over death; for she carries with her the cross of the Lord. For her prow is the east, and her stern is the west, and her hold is the south, and her tillers are the two Testaments; and the ropes that stretch around her are the love of Christ, which binds the Church; and the net which she bears with her is the layer of the regeneration which renews the believing, whence too are these glories.

Hippolytus

The first event that will follow upon the end of the world is the general resurrection of the dead. All men, whoever they may be, and whenever and wherever they have lived, not excepting infants whose existence has been but one brief moment, will rise again. However long ago the body of a man may have crumbled into dust, whatever changes it may have passed through, every portion and every particle will unite to form again the same body which was his during his lifetime.

Fr Martin von Cochem

Consider this solemn truth, O Christian, for it concerns thee closely. As certainly as thou now livest, so certainly wilt thou one day rise again from the grave. 

Fr Martin von Cochem

Posted in QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH

Quote/s of the Day – 16 August – Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!

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Quote/s of the Day – 16 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart” – Readings: Ps 69:2-3, Ps 69:4, 2 Cor. 3:4-9, Luke 10:23-37

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I say to you, many prophets and kings have desired to see what you see, and they have not seen it; and to hear what you hear, and they have not heard it.

Luke 10:23-37

Deign, O God, to rescue me; O Lord, make haste to help me. Let them be put to shame and confounded who seek my life.

Ps 69:2-3

The Lord has heard those supplications which you, my best beloved Donatus, pour forth in His presence all the day long, and the supplications of the rest of our brethren, who by a glorious confession have obtained an everlasting crown, the reward of their faith. Behold, all the adversaries are destroyed, and tranquillity having been re-established throughout the Roman empire, the late oppressed Church arises again, and the temple of God, overthrown by the hands of the wicked, is built with more glory than before. 

Lactantius

For there is no proper place for sadness, when we keep the birthday of the Life, which destroys the fear of mortality and brings to us the joy of promised eternity. No one is kept from sharing in this happiness. There is for all one common measure of joy, because as our Lord the destroyer of sin and death finds none free from charge, so is He come to free us all. Let the saint exult in that he draws near to victory. Let the sinner be glad in that he is invited to pardon. Let the gentile take courage in that he is called to life.

St Leo the Great

The Law laid hold on one that gathered sticks on a sabbath day, and stoned him. This is the meaning of, the letter kills. The Gospel takes hold on thousands of homicides and robbers, and baptizing delivers them from their former vices. This is the meaning of, the Spirit gives life.

St John Chrysostom

We must abandon the way of iniquity, and now, while there is yet time, make our peace with the Judge whom we have offended.

Fr Martin von Cochem

Posted in CATHOLIC Quotes

Quote/s of the Day – 11 August – The Fear of God

Posted on by AnaStpaul

God arises; His enemies are scattered, and those who hate Him flee before Him.

Ps 67:2

The conversion of the heart begins with fear and finishes with love. If fear did what love should do, wo should have less to complain of – what is so shocking is, that nowadays we have reached that pitch of indifference which is neither moved by fear nor by love, and that the most frightful things do not make any impression on our hearts.

Half-hours with the Saints (Charles Kenny)

The loss of holy fear is the mischief of all mischiefs. For this fear is a special gift of the Holy Ghost, to be sought for by prayer and penance, by tears and cries, by patience and impatience, and by the very yearnings of an earnest and familiar love. It has always seemed to me very and unexpectedly beautiful when in the special office of St Phillip Neri, knowing what manner of man he was, and what peculiar spirit he was of, it says in the antiphon of the Magnificat, “Come, my children, and I will teach you the fear of the Lord,”…for how else shall the saint teach us divine love?

Fr Faber

Let us pass in review before ourselves the ancient patriarchs and their deep awe of God, how they trembled with holy fear when God was nigh, and looked upon all things as unspeakably hallowed over which He has so much as cast His shadow.

Fr Faber

 When all mankind are assembled in the valley of Josaphat, the prediction of Our Lord will be fulfilled: Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole earth.” For they will be in such anxiety and terror in anticipation of the approaching judgment that, if such a thing were possible, they would faint away. They will look up to the Heavens continually with fear and trembling, and every moment that the coming of the dreaded Judge is delayed will serve to increase their apprehension of this advent. At length the Heavens will be opened, and the sign of Christ’s triumphant victory, the sign of the holy Cross, will be carried down by a host of Angels and exhibited to the whole world.

Fr Martin von Cochem (The Four Last Things)

The powers of Heaven shall be moved, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in Heaven, and then shall all tribes of the earth mourn.

Matt. xxiv. 29, 30

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN

Quote/s of the Day – 6 August – How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts!

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Quote/s of the Day – 6 August – Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord – Readings: Ps 76:19, Ps 83:2-3, 2 Pet. 1:16-19, Matt 17:1-9

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O Lord of Hosts! My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the Lord.

Ps 83:2-3

Your lightning illumined the world; the earth quivered and quaked.

Ps 76:19

But not men only, but women also practise this self-denial, overcoming the weakness of their nature by the abundance of their zeal. Let us be abashed then at their earnestness, we who are men, let us cease to be fastened to the things present, to shadow, to dreams, to smoke. For the more part of our life is passed in insensibility.

St John Chrysostom (Homily 55 on Matthew)

Wherefore, I pray, let us seek the unmovable and eternal goods, and the life that never has old age.

St John Chrysostom (Homily 55 on Matthew)

Think what happiness it will be for thee, when thy body shines like the sun at midday. Everything that lives and moves rejoices in the light and warmth of the sun: it gladdens all the face of nature. In like manner thy body will be a joy and delight to thyself and all around thee in Heaven, because of its beauty and its glory.

Fr Martin von Cochem (The Four Last Things)

We must not, as some do, picture to ourselves heaven as a purely spiritual realm. St Dorothea sent to Theophilus by the hands of an angel a basket of flowers culled in the gardens of the celestial paradise, of such surpassing beauty that the sight of them led him to become a Christian, and lay down his life for the faith of Christ.

Fr Martin von Cochem (The Four Last Things)

We know that when He shall appear we shall be like to Him, because we shall see Him as He is.

St John the Evangelist

Posted in AUGUST - The Immaculate Heart of Mary

Quote/s of the Day – 1 August – Hail, holy Mother

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Quote/s of the Day – 1 August – “Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Readings: Sedulius, Ps 44:2, Ecclus 24:14-16, Luke 11:27-28

Hail, holy Mother, who in childbirth brought forth the King Who rules heaven and earth world without end.

Sedulius, Ps 44:2

She is clothed with the eternal Sun of the Godhead and with all the perfections of the Divine Essence, which surround, fill and penetrate her to such an extent that she has become transformed, as it were, into the power, goodness and holiness of God.

St John Eudes (The Admirable Heart of Mary)

That which denotes the grandeur and the charm of maternity in a woman are grief and tenderness. Grief which rends the heart as it rends the body in order to give life. Tenderness which binds the child to the mother and the mother to the child in such a way as to form only one being, as they form only one flesh. All these characteristics are found physically in the human maternity of Mary, in her relations with Jesus, and mystically in the spiritual maternity of Mary vis-a-vis all Christians but more especially Religious. The poem of maternal love which each mother lives, often without knowing it, is found in Mary with more grandeur and glory.

Thomas a Kempis (The Imitation of Mary)

Fifthly, on nothing will thine eyes rest with such keen delight as on the inexpressible beauty of Jesus and Mary, whose glorified bodies are so irresistibly charming, attractive, beautiful and majestic, that if the damned were permitted to behold them, they would no longer find Hell intolerable.

Father Martin von Cochem (The Four Last Things: On Heaven)

Mary has produced, together with the Holy Ghost, the greatest thing which has been, or ever will be, which is a God-Man; and she will consequently produce the greatest things that there will be in the latter times. The formation and education of the great Saints, who shall come at the end of the world, are reserved for her. For it is only that singular and miraculous Virgin who can produce, in union with the Holy Ghost, singular and extraordinary things.

St Louis de Montfort (True Devotion to Mary)

Before all ages, in the beginning, He created me, and through all ages I shall not cease to be. In the holy Tent I ministered before Him, and in Sion I fixed my abode. Thus in the chosen city He has given me rest, in Jerusalem is my domain. I have struck root among the glorious people, in the portion of my God, His heritage, and my abode is in the full assembly of Saints.

Ecclus 24:14-16

Posted in QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 24 April – On Heaven – CONCLUSION

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Thought for the Day – 24 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

CONCLUSION

Let us all, my dear reader, courageously and cheerfully do all, undertake all, sacrifice all that we may gain the ineffable happiness of Heaven, for we never can purchase Heaven at too dear a price.
Let us not be disheartened at the difficulties on our road, for, after all, it is not so difficult to merit Heaven. Were we to do for Heaven half as much as people do to earn a living, to acquire a little wealth, power or fame, or to enjoy life, we would be sure of securing a high place among the Saints.

All we have to do to gain Heaven is to keep the Commandments of God and of His Church, to bear our little crosses, to discharge the obligations of our state of life, to overcome temptation and although this is above our natural strength, we nevertheless. can count on the Grace of God, if we pray earnestly for it and with God’s help, everything will become comparatively easy, for, as St Paul says: “I can do all things in Him Who strengtheneth me” (Phil iv. 13).
Earnest, persistent prayer will secure Heaven.

I now, dear reader, address to you the words the mother of the Machabees addressed to her youngest son, a mere boy, when he was about to be tortured to death, as his six brothers had been before him: “My son, I beg thee to look up to Heaven.”
Look up to Heaven everyday, especially in time of trial and temptation.
Heaven is well worth every suffering and every sacrifice and every combat required of us and even a thousand times more!

Life is short; it is trials, it is sufferings, it is labours, it is combats, it is crosses too are short and transitory but Heaven and its joys, are inconceivable, satiating every desire of the heart and neverending!

“ Our present momentary and light tribulations, worketh above measure exceedingly, an eternal weight of glory” (2 Cor iv. 17).

May God in His Mercy grant this happy end to the writer of this book and all into whose hands it may fall!

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, QUOTES on HEAVEN, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 23 April – On the Number of the Saved 3

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Thought for the Day – 23 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

IV:3 On the Number of the Saved

… What object in life have the great majority of mankind?
What is it they strive after and crave for?

They desire to be rich, to be prosperous, to live in luxury and to be praised by their fellowmen. Nobody considers this to be a sin.
And yet Our Lord declares that everlasting death will be the doom of such persons and He denounces them in forcible language.

From these and similar passages which abound in Holy Scripture, thou seest that God is more strict than thou dost imagine and, it is a more easy matter to lose thy soul than thou perhaps thinkest. Wherefore do not any longer live so heedlessly but work out thy salvation with fear and trembling, as the Apostle exhorts thee.
The Saints did so at all times, having the fear of God’s judgements ever be fore their eyes.
The Godless, on the contrary, are ever wont to say, as many do at the present day: God is merciful, He will not condemn us so lightly to eternal damnation.
But remember what is said in Holy Scripture: “Be not without fear about sin forgiven and add not sin to sin. And say not, The Mercy of the Lord is great, He will have mercy upon the multitude of my sins. For mercy and wrath come quickly from Him and His wrath looketh upon sinners” (Ecclus v. 5-7).

We also find St Catharine of Siena saying: “O unhappy sinners, do not rely upon the greatness of God’s Mercy; believe me, the more you provoke the anger of this merciful God by willful sin, the deeper you will be cast into the abyss of perdition.”

It is undoubtedly true that we ought to place our trust in God’s Mercy but what the nature of our confidence should be, we are taught by St Gregory.
He says: “Let him who does all that he can, rely firmly upon the Mercy of God. But for him who does not do all that lies within his power to rely upon the Mercy of God would be simple presumption.”
To each and all of us the Apostle Peter says: “Labour the more, that by good works you may make your calling and election sure” (2 Pet.i. 10).

Several of the Fathers of the Church consider that from the fact that at the time of the deluge only eight persons were saved, at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah,
only four namely, Lot, his wife and his two daughters escaped with their lives and of the six hundred thousand able men who departed out of Egypt, not more than two reached the Promised Land, the others all dying in the desert, it may be concluded that the number of the Elect amongst Christians will be proportionately small.
This agrees with what St John Chrysostom said on one occasion when he was preaching in the City of Antioch: “What think you, my hearers, how many of the inhabitants of this City may perhaps be saved? What I am about to say is very terrible, yet I will not conceal it from you. Out of this thickly populated City with its thousands of inhabitants, not a hundred will be saved; I even doubt whether there will be as many as that. For what indifference we see amongst the aged, what wickedness amongst the young, what impiety amongst all classes of people.”

Such words as these may well make us tremble.
We should hesitate to believe them, did they not come from the lips of so great a Saint and Father of the Church.
And if it is true that in the first five centuries, when the zeal and devotion of Christians was much more fervent than it is now, so small a number attained everlasting salvation, what will it be in our own day, when crime and vice prevail to so fearful an extent?

Since it is impossible for anyone to deny, or even to doubt that the number of the Elect is small in proportion to that of the reprobate, I beseech thee, O Christian reader, exert thyself to the utmost to accomplish the work of thy salvation.
Thou knowest what an awful thing it is to be damned eternally!

Posted in THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 22 April – On the Number of the Saved 2

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 22 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

IV:2 On the Number of the Saved

Now because Christ knew that these words of His would be misinterpreted and understood in a false sense by both believers and unbelievers, on another occasion He accentuated and emphasised what He had already said concerning the small number of the Elect.
For when one of the disciples asked Him: “Lord, are they few who shall be saved?”
He answered and said: “Strive to enter by the narrow gate; for I say unto you, many shall seek to enter and shall not be able” (Luke xiii. 24).

Listen to the Words of the Divine Teacher. He bids us strive, take trouble, make use of all our powers, in order to enter unto the narrow gate.
And what is still more calculated to appal, He adds that many shall seek to enter and shall not be able!

If those who desire and endeavour to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, fail to do so, what will become of those who lead a careless, perhaps an Godless life and manifest no zeal, no interest in what concerns their eternal salvation?

We have already heard Christ declare 3 times, the number of the Elect is small; that in proportion to the great mass of mankind only a few will be saved.
And because He was aware that we should not take this weighty truth to heart, as we ought,, He reiterates it in yet more explicit language.

After He had told a rich man who came to Him, to leave all his possessions and follow Him and the man had gone away sorrowful, He said, addressing His disciples: “How hardly shall they who have riches enter into the Kingdom of God!?
And the disciples were astonished at His words.
But Jesus again answering saith: Children, how hard it is for them who trust in riches to enter into the Kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God. Then the disciples wondered the more, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
And Jesus looking on them saith: With men it is impossible but not with God; for all things are possible unto God” (Mark x. 23-27).

Truly these words, coming from the lips of our Divine Master, are enough to inspire us with profound alarm; they are almost enough to cause us to despair.
For they expressly tell us that the work of our salvation is a work of immense difficulty, an almost miraculous achievement and it is well-nigh impossible for poor humanity to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.
It is in reality, as much of a miracle for a man to escape everlasting perdition and to attain eternal felicity, as it would be for one man, single-handed, to vanquish and put to flight, a whole army.

For all the powers of Hell are leagued, together with the wicked world, against us; all the powers of Hell put their forces in array in order to conquer and enslave everyone of us mortals.
And with the awful powers of darkness, the evil, crafty world makes common cause and the concupiscences of the flesh, do the same, for the purpose of completing our ruin!

Posted in THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 21 April – On the Number of the Saved

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 21 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

IV.1 On the Number of the Saved

IN the 3 previous Chapters it has been our pleasurable task to point out how beauteous the Celestial Paradise is, the size thereof and how great is the happiness enjoyed by the Redeeed.
And doubtless in the heart of each one of our readers, a fervent desire has arisen to gain admission to the realms of eternal light and become a partaker of its joys. Perhaps each one will feel sure that his hopes in this respect will be fulfilled.

It is, however, greatly to be feared that many will … forever be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven, as this Chapter is intended to demonstrate. …
My only motive in writing this Chapter is to open the eyes of the reader and show him his danger. For were I not to do this, he might go blindly on the incorrect road and only become aware that it is the road to perdition, when it is too late to retrace his steps, when the hand of death draws the veil over his eyes.
Thereupon, I consider that I shall do the wanderer a service if I enlighten him as to the risk he is incurring and endeavour to direct his steps into the path to Heaven.

What does Christ say about the number of the Elect? His Words are these:
“Many are called but few are chosen.”
He repeats these words when He speaks of the guest who had not worn a wedding garment:
“Bind his hands and his feet, and cast him into the exterior darkness. For many are called but few chosen.”
Were nothing further to be found to this intent in the whole of the Scriptures, this passage could not fail to alarm us.
But there are many other similar instances of which I will quote a few.

In the Gospel of St Matthew, we read that Our Lord said:
“Enter ye in at the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way which leadeth unto destruction and many there are, who go in thereat. How narrow is the gate and straight is the way, which leadeth unto life and few there are who find it” (Matt vii. 13).

Are not these words calculated to inspire us with anxiety and apprehension?
May we not be amongst those who go in at the wide gate, who walk on the broad road which ends in everlasting perdition?

In order that thou mayst better appreciate the meaning of Our Lord’s Words and perceive more clearly how few are the Elect, observe that Christ did not say that those were few in number who walked in the path to Heaven but there were but few, who found that narrow way.
“How narrow is the gate which leadeth unto life and few there are who find it.”

It is as if the Saviour intended to say: The path leading to Heaven is so narrow and so rough, it is so overgrown, so dark and difficult to discern that there are many who never find it, their whole life long. And those who do find it are exposed constantly to the danger of deviating from it, of mistaking their way and unwittingly wandering away from it because it is so irregular and over grown.
This St Jerome says, in his commentary on the passage in question. Again, there are some who when they are on the right road, hasten to leave it because it is so steep and toilsome.

There are also many who are enticed to leave the narrow way by the wiles and deceits of the devil and thus, almost imperceptibly to themselves, are led downwards to Hell.
From all that has been said we may gather that those are but few in number who find the way to Heaven and yet, fewer are those, who persevere in following it unto the end!

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem

Thought for the Day – 20 April – On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven 4: The Beatific Vision

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 20 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.4 On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven: The Beatific Vision

There is no greater happiness upon earth than to love and be loved in return and the more tender, pure and ardent this love be, the greater the joy and delight it affords us.

Now, the love of Heaven, the love of the Redeemed for God and for each other, is the most tender, the most pure, the most ardent affection, an affection infinite and boundless; consequently it is a source of immense delight and happiness unspeakable.
May the God of all Grace make us partakers of this love and we shall then know, by experience, that of which words fail to convey an idea.
No-one will be privileged to partake in this love, unless here below, he lives in the love of God and dies in His Friendship.
Let us, therefore, strive to increase within ourselves, this Divine Charity, in order that we may be admitted hereafter into the full enjoyment of His Love.

The Beatific Vision of the Divine Countenance is a joy above all joys, a delight far surpassing all the Celestial pleasures of which we have spoken.
Without this, all other joys would lose their savour, they would be changed to bitterness.

On one occasion, when the devil was speaking by the mouth of a person who was possessed, he said: “If the whole Heavens were a sheet of parchment, if the whole ocean were ink, if every blade of grass were pens and every man on earth a scribe, it would not suffice to describe the intense, immeasurable delight which the Vision of God affords to the blessed.”
And at another time he said that if God would but vouchsafe to grant him the privilege of beholding His Divine Countenance for a few moments, he would, if it were possible, gladly bear in his own person, all the torments of Hell until the Day of Judgement.

This teaches us that if a man spent his whole life in works of most severe penance and, after his death were permitted only for one instant to gaze on the Face of God, he would have received an ample recompense for all his mortifications.

Now, consider how transcendent must be the bliss which the Saints derive from the contemplation, the enjoyment, the possession of the Supreme God!
If to gaze on the Divine Countenance for one passing moment is a joy beyond all that which a life of pleasure offers to the worldling, what rapture will it be to gaze for evermore, with undimmed eyes, on His Infinite Beauty, what rapture to call this Supreme Good one’s own, for all eternity!

God is a being in Whom all that is most admirable and desirable exists in the highest degree.
In Him is all that which is most attracts and fascinating to us; clemency, beauty, justice, compassion, wisdom, majesty, every sweet and sublime attribute in its fullest perfection.
From God proceeds all Grace, all we need for our spiritual and temporal welfare, all the happiness, the joy, the repose, the consolation, all the benefits and blessings which His creatures enjoy in Heaven and on earth.
And when the Redeemed enter upon the contemplation of this Infinite Good, upon the possession of this source of all that is to be loved and admired and longed for, their joy will indeed be full.
What unspeakable delight it will afford them to understand the Mystery of the Incarnation, the Mystery of the Holy Eucharist!

What unspeakable delight it will be to them to comprehend how God can be invisible Himself,and yet, see everything; how He can Himself be unmoved and yet the source of all motion; how He can be Himself immutable and yet the Author of all change.
These and many other Mysteries will be made clear to the blessed in the Light of God and this fount of knowledge will not be exhausted to all eternity.
The more they know God, the more will their desire to know Him better increase and of this knowledge there will be no limit and no defect.

Thus they will ever hunger and yet be perfectly satisfied; this rich treasury will ever be open to them and never will they exhaust all the wealth it contains.

Meditate frequently upon this subject, O reader and excite within thy soul an earnest desire to enjoy God forever and ever.

Posted in GOD ALONE!, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on HEAVEN, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem

Thought for the Day – 19 April – On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven 3

Posted on by AnaStpaul

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!

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on JOY, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem

Thought for the Day – 18 April – On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven 2

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 18 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.2 On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven

Secondly, inasfar as their memory is concerned, the blessed will also find fullness of joy in Heaven, for it will, like the understanding, be enlightened by God and all the events of their past life, will be as fresh and as distinct to their remembrance, as if they beheld them inscribed on tablets before their eyes.

Then they perceive by what a marvellous way, God led them to their eternal goal, how mercifully He pardoned their transgressions, how He succoured them in the hour of temptation and how He made all things work together for their good.

This retrospect will arouse in the heart of each one, the holiest gratitude towards God and, oft-times they will give expression to it thus:
O my God, Whom I love above all things, how great are the gifts and graces Thou hast bestowed upon me, how generous Thou hast been towards me, how often Thou hast rescued me from the danger of falling into sin, how mercifully Thou hast preserved me from eternal damnation and how wonderfully Thou hast guided me in the way of salvation! How can I sufficiently praise and magnify Thine Infinite Bounty? How can I sufficiently thank Thee and adore Thee for the benefits Thou hast lavished upon me?

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, QUOTES on MYSTERIES of our FAITH, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem

Thought for the Day – 17 April – On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 17 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. On the Spiritual Joys of Heaven

WITH regard to the spiritual joys of the Redeemed in Heaven, they are in such great abundance that in speaking of them, one does not know where to begin or where to end!
Think of the spiritual consolations granted to eminent servants of God in this world.
We know concerning some Saints that their life on earth was more akin to the Angels than of men, so frequently were they favoured with ecstasies, visions, interior lights and Divine consolations of all kinds.
And yet, all these favours were but as a drop out of the boundless ocean of Celestial Sweetness.
What rapture it will be for holy souls in Heaven to drink from the fountainhead and draw freely from the inexhaustible Source of all felicity!

All the powers of the mind, the understanding, the memory, the will, the imagination, every thought, every desire, the whole intellectual being, elevated and perfected by God Himself, will be fully satisfied and will add to and heighten the joys of the soul.

With the understanding the blessed will behold all created things in the Light of God and thoroughly penetrate the secrets of nature.
It is recorded of King Solomon that “God gave to Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, as the sand that is on the seashore. And the wisdom of Solomon surpassed the wisdom of all the Orientals and of the Egyptians and he was wiser than all men.
He also spoke three thousand parables and his poems were a thousand and five. And he treated about trees from the cedar that is in Lebanon unto the hyssop which cometh out of the wall and he discoursed of beasts and of fowls and of creeping things and of fishes. And they came from all nations to hear the wisdom of Solomon and from all the Kings of the earth, who heard of his wisdom“ (3 Kings iv. 29-34).

We have never heard of wisdom equal to this, nor can we cease to wonder at the wide range and astuteness of this great King’s understanding.
Yet compared with the wisdom of the least of the Saints in Heaven, it ranks no higher than does the knowledge possessed by a child of 3 years old, beside the erudition and wisdom of the most learned of men.

For all the operations of nature, all the powers of the universe are open and revealed to the least of the Saints in Heaven.
Nothing is hidden or mysterious in his eyes. He knows all that the Holy Trinity has accomplished from all eternity, in how marvellous a manner the Heavens and the earth were created out of nothing, how wisely all has been ordered and maintained from the beginning to the end of time. He knows how the Son of God was begotten of the Father before all ages; he knows how the Holy Ghost proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son.

He knows how Christ was born of an earthly Mother without violation of her virginity; he knows all Our Lord accomplished and suffered throughout His whole Life and how each Saint and Servant of God lived for God and laboured in His service.

All which is mysterious and incomprehensible to us in the Holy Scriptures, the Mysteries of our Religion and of nature, he understands without a moment’s reflection.

Hadst thou been on earth but a simple, illiterate peasant, on thy entrance into Heaven thy eyes would be opened and thou wouldst see clearly and understand all things perfectly.
What joy, what happiness this knowledge and clear insight will be to thee.
What grateful thankfulness thou wilt render to God forever and ever!

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem

Thought for the Day – 16 April – On the Joys of Heaven 2

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 16 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
FATHER 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

II:2 On the Joys of Heaven

… In fact, what can be wanting to the glorified body in Heaven?
It is in the enjoyment of perpetual health, perpetual rest, perpetual happiness, so that in the super-abundance of joy and satisfaction, it can scarce realise how enviable is its condition.

Finally, the Redeemed will take very great pleasure in beholding one another, in conversing with one another, in kindly exchanges and friendly communication.
Think how beautiful a sight it will be, to see hundreds of thousands of beings in all the splendour of their glorified state. If on earth we esteem it a pleasure to look upon a handsome face, we can appreciate, in some slight degree, what it will be in Heaven, the lowliest of whose inhabitants is possessed of a beauty far exceeding the personal attractions of any mortal man.

Moreover, the Redeemed are united together by the bond of mutual charity, for they love one another more dearly than the most affectionate of brothers and sisters. If they have never met on earth, yet they know one another better than if they had been brought up together.
Each one will know the incidents of his earthly career.

Each one will be able to see into the other’s heart, and know how great is the affection he feels for him.
Each one will rejoice in the other’s glory as much as if it were his own and the lowliest in the Kingdom of Heaven exults, as much in the glory of the highest as the latter can possibly do.
This was explained to St Augustine by St John the Baptist in a vision. “Know,” he said to him, “on account of the inexpressible charity which the blessed have towards one another, each takes no less pleasure in the exaltation of another than if it were his own. Nay, more, he who is greater, wishes that the lower were equal to him and even more honoured than himself; for in his triumph he, too, would triumph.
In like manner, those who are in a lowly place rejoice in the glory of those who are in the highest place; they do not envy them, far from it.
They would not desire the high position if the others had it not; they would rather give them a part of their own glory, were this possible. ”

Hence it may be seen, the Saints take pleasure in the splendour wherewith their fellows are crowned and entertain for each and all of them, a heartfelt affection. More especially do they love one who has, by word or example, helped them on their way to Heaven; to such a one they know not how they can sufficiently testify their gratitude.

Each one will also feel a particular affection for the Saint whom he chose as his Patron upon earth and whom he honoured with a special devotion and this affection will be reciprocated by the object of it.
Those who stood in this relationship to one another, will meet together more often; they will converse on holy subjects and mutually relate their experiences on earth, telling how marvellously the providence of God saved them from eternal perdition.
In a word, the pleasures afforded to the Redeemed by this intercourse, will be innumerable and they will do everything in their power to gratify and show kindness to one another.

O God of All Mercies!
who would not desire to enter into this Land
of eternal peace, where are joys
beyond all which mortal man can conceive,
joys so many and so manifold,
so wondrous and so sweet!
Sometimes, the pleasures of this world
have such a fascination for a man,
he cannot renounce them,
even though he sees Hell open before him.
And yet those pleasures are less than nothing
in comparison to the joys of Heaven;
in fact, all the joys one can picture
or desire for oneself, cannot equal the least
and the lowest of the joys which will be ours
for all eternity!

O my God, how unspeakable will be
the bliss of Heaven! May it be my happy lot to share
in that felicity!
Urged by this desire, I will give Thee no rest,
everyday I will implore Thee to take me to Thyself.
I will detach my heart from this world,
I will entirely renounce all earthly pleasures;
all my aspirations, all my affections
shall be fixed upon the heavenly treasures
and I will hold myself ready everyday
to leave this earthly scene.
The sooner death comes to fetch me hence,
the more welcome will it be,
for I shall leave this land of exile
and enter into my true country.
God grant that so it may be!
Amen

Posted in QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem

Thought for the Day – 15 April – On the Joys of Heaven

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 15 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

I.1 On the Joys of Heaven

Now that we have meditated upon the Heavenly Jerusalem, the City of God, we will proceed to consider the happiness which the Saints, who dwell therein enjoy, both in regard to body and soul.
It is true as yet they have not their bodies, as a general rule but at the Last Day, they will all have them again and those bodies will then be so beauteous, nothing in the world can compare with them.
And this will principally be because every member will be endowed with four qualities or attributes, namely: beauty, impassibility, agility and subtlety.

By reason of its beauty or glory the body of each one of the Elect will shine like a star, yet, as one star differs from another in glory, so the Saints will shine with greater or lessser splendour according as their lives upon earth have been more or less holy.

In these glorified and radiant bodies, the blessed will be so inexpressibly beautiful, that if a mortal man were now to behold one of these resplendent beings, he would be dazzled by its brilliance and be ready to expire for joy of heart.

In her revelations to St Bridget, the Blessed Mother of God once said: “The Saints stand around my Son like countless stars, whose glory is not to be compared with any temporal light. Believe me, if the Saints could be seen shining with the glory they now possess, no human eye could endure their light, all would turn away, dazzled and blinded.”

Think what happiness it will be for thee, when thy body shines like the sun at midday. Everything which lives and moves, rejoices in the light and warmth of the sun, it gladdens all the face of nature.
In like manner, thy body will be a joy and delight to thyself and all around thee in Heaven because of its beauty and its glory.

The second attribute is impassibility, for the glorified body is incapable of suffering.
It will never be sick or infirm, it will not grow old or unsightly.
It will never again be inconvenienced by hunger or thirst, by heat or cold, by draught or dampness.
It can nevermore be burned by fire, drowned in water, wounded by the sword or crushed beneath a weight; it will be immortal, unchangeable, eternally endowed with perfect health and unfailing strength.
If anyone on earth could purchase this gift of impassibility, how gladly would he give all he possessed to obtain it!

The third attribute is agility.
The glorified body will be able to traverse the greatest distance with the speed of thought.
In one moment it can come down from Heaven to earth; in one moment it can pass from one end of the Heavens to the other, without labour, without fatigue, without difficulty.
We often wish we could fly like the birds, that we could speed on our way like clouds on the wings of the wind, that we could follow thought in its rapid flight.
If it were possible to purchase this power, everyone would part with all his worldly wealth for it, if only to obtain it for one single year.
How is it, then, that thou dost take so little trouble to ensure for thyself, the possession of this gift for all eternity?

The fourth attribute of the glorified body is subtlety which consists in the faculty of penetrating all matter, of passing in and out wheresoever it will.
No wall is too thick, no iron gate too massive, no mountain too great to form an obstacle to the glorified body.
As the sun’s rays pass through glass, so the bodies of the redeemed as they are in Heaven, penetrate all matter, however dense and solid it may be.
They can also make themselves visible or invisible at will.
What wouldst thou not give to become possessed of such a faculty?

How great is Thy bounty, Almighty God, towards Thine Elect!
Thou bestowest upon them precious and sublime gifts which no amount of this world’s riches can purchase.
Who would not gladly spend his life in Thy Service and suffer afflictions in this world, in order to possess these inestimable gifts to all eternity?!

Ask this poor frail body if it would not fain shine as the light, be exempt from suffering, move with the speed of thought, be unfettered as a spirit?
To own such powers would indeed, be a joy and a consolation unspeakable.

Posted in QUOTES on HEAVEN

Thought for the Day – 14 April – Concerning the Size of Heaven (b)

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 14 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
FATHER 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

1.2 Concerning the Size of Heaven:

(b) Who shall describe the majesty and glory of these heavenly mansions? If the Kings and Princes of this world build grand and costly palaces for themselves, what must be the splendour and beauty of the Celestial City which the King of kings has built for Himself and those who love Him and are His friends?
Hear what St John says concerning this City: “An Angel showed me the Holy City Jerusalem, having the glory of God. The light thereof was like to a precious stone, as to the jasper stone, even as crystal. The City itself was of pure gold, like unto glass and the foundations of the wall of the City were adorned with all manner of precious stones” (Apoc xxi. u, 18, 19).

Speaking of the size of the City, the same Apostle writes : “The Angel who spoke with me had a measure of a reed of gold, to measure the City and the Gates thereof and the wall. And the City lieth in a four-square and the length thereof is as great as the breadth and he measured the City with the golden reed for twelve thousand furlongs and the height and the breadth thereof, are equal. And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred forty-four cubits, the measure of a man and used by the Angel.”

A furlong is two hundred and twenty yards and eight furlongs make a mile. It must be observed that the Angel did not measure the circumference of the City, but only the length of the wall which was twelve thousand furlongs. When this is multiplied by four, it gives forty-eight thousand furlongs, as the circumference of the City, that is equivalent to six thousand miles. To people a City of this size many thousand millions of inhabitants would be needed.

From the information given by St John, who tells us that the length, the breadth, and the height of the City are equal, we form some idea of the imposing height of this Celestial structure. This City does not constitute the whole of the Heavenly Jerusalem, it is the special dwelling place of the most high God, wherein the sacred humanity of Christ abides, together with many companies of Angels and of the most eminent Saints.
For besides this august City, there are others innumerable in the heavenly plains, wherein the Redeemed dwell in the society of Angels.
The more good which a Saint has achieved on earth, the grander is the residence assigned him in Heaven.
These palaces and mansions are transparent as crystal and built of precious stones of the costliest kind.
And we may add on the authority of a learned theologian that the blessed hold intercourse with one another and meet together to laud and magnify the Omnipotence of the Most High, Who prepared for them such glorious abodes and join in extolling His Wisdom and His Love.

Dost thou not, O my soul, feel an intense longing to behold this Heavenly City, and, what is more, to dwell therein for evermore?
We esteem it a pleasure to visit a fine city, renowned for its architectural and other attractions and many are the travellers who journey all over the world to see foreign towns and feast their eyes on their beauty.
What are these cities of earth in comparison with the Celestial Cities?
Could we but look into it for a few moments only, what wondrous things we should behold!
We should assuredly exclaim, in the words of King David: “How lovely are Thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God. Blessed are they who dwell in Thy House, O Lord; they shall praise Thee forever and ever. For better is one day in Thy Courts above thousands; I have chosen to be an abject in the House of my God rather than to dwell in the tabernacles of sinners” (Ps Ixxxiii.).

If we may venture to speak of the interior of the Celestial realm, we may assume that the vast, immeasurable space of Heaven does not only contain these Heavenly Cities but, much more besides, all of which enhances the delights of that blissful land. For as Kings and Princes on earth, have gardens and pleasure grounds laid out beside their palaces, where they amuse themselves in the summer season, so, many theologians assert, there are Heavenly Paradises which afford increased delight to the blessed.

For not only the souls of the saved but their glorified bodies too, will be conducted by the Angels of God into Heaven after the Day of JudgEment.

St Augustine, St Anselm and many other Saints do not hesitate to maintain, there are, in Heaven, real trees, real fruits and real flowers, indescribably attractive and delightful to the sight, taste, smell and touch, different from anything we can imagine!

In the revelations of the Saints mention, is made of the gardens in Heaven and the flowers which blossom there and we know it is recorded in the legend of St Dorothea, that she sent to Theophilus by the hands of an Angel, a basket of flowers culled in the gardens of the Celestial Paradise, of such surpassing beauty that the sight of them led him to become a Christian and lay down his life for the Faith of Christ.

We also read in the life of St Didacus that on coming to himself after a trance into which he fell shortly before his death, he cried aloud “O what flowers there are in Paradise! what flowers there are in Paradise!”
Similar incidents are frequently to be met with in the legends of the Saints.

Consider how delightful it will be for the happy ones who are saved, to wander in the Celestial gardens and contemplate those fair flowers. How pleasing the lovely blossoms are to the eye, how delicious is the fragrance they exhale! Of a truth, if a man were to obtain possession of a single one of these heavenly flowers, it would produce the same effect as on Theophilus. He would be spoiled for all the beauty of earth and would strive with his whole soul after the perfect beauty of Heaven.

Meditate often, therefore, upon the things of Heaven; raise thine eyes and thy heart to the bright firmament above and awaken within thy heart,by this or other means, a keen desire to behold the mansions of the Eternal Fatherand to dwell in them forevermore.

O God, Who hast enriched the Heavenly Jerusalem with such beauty in order that we, poor children of earth, might have a greater longing to behold it, I beseech Thee, inflame my heart with an ardent affection and longing for the Celestial Abode which Thou hast prepared for us.
For blessed are they, O Lord, who dwell in Thy House, they shall enjoy consummate felicity forevermore and forevermore, they will praise the Power, the Wisdom, the Bounty of our God.
Would that I were worthy to be associated with that sinless company, to behold that fair City, to become one of its happy denizens. Grant me this Grace, O God, I pray Thee; let me not be excluded from the number of Thine Elect.

O blessed Saints of God, you who dwell within the Courts of the Heavenly Jerusalem, I humbly entreat you to intercede for me that in His Infinite Clemency the God of Mercy may grant me so to live, that I may be found worthy to be admitted to your blissful company.
Hear the prayers of Thy Saints, O most compassionate God and through the Merits of Jesus Christ, give me a share in that inheritance which He purchased for us with His Precious Blood.
May the things of this world lose all value in my eyes and do Thou make my heart to glow with the burning desire to behold Thee and the City Thou hast built, the Heavenly Jerusalem. Amen.

Posted in QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem

Thought for the Day – 13 April – Concerning the Size of Heaven

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 13 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
FATHER 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

1.2 Concerning the Size of Heaven:

(a) All we know is that it is immeasurable, inconceivable, incomprehensible!

A learned man, speaking on this subject, says : “If God were to make every grain of sand into a new world, all these innumerable spheres would not fill the immensity of Heaven.”
St Bernard too says, we are warranted in the belief that everyone of the saved will have a place and an inheritance of no narrow limits assigned him in the Celestial Country.

How immeasurably vast in extent must Heaven then be! Well may the Prophet Baruch exclaim: “O Israel, how great is the House of God and how vast is the place of His possession. It is great and hath no end; it is high and immense” (Baruch iii. 24, 25).

We can readily believe this, for we have before our eyes the boundless realms of space. But of the nature of the Infinite realms of Heaven, we know nothing and yet, we can to some extent, picture them in our imagination. It would be against common sense to think that these vast celestial domains are empty and bare, that the great Artificer, to whom the creation of worlds is a very little thing, would leave them unbeautified and unadorned.

If Princes and Lords fill every space and leave no corner in their palaces or their grounds unembellished and unadorned, shall we suppose that the great King of Heaven would permit His Regal Palace, His Celestial Paradise, to be lacking in magnificence and in beauty? What would there be to delight the senses of the Saints, if Heaven were a large empty space? What enjoyment, except the Beatific Vision of God, would there be for them, if they stood all together in a barren plain, like sheep in a penfold? Are we not justified in believing that there are splendid and spacious mansions in Heaven constructed of incorruptible materials?

Nay more, a learned expositor of Holy Scripture considers it probable that by the wondrous skill and wisdom of the great Creator, these fair palaces and dwellings are of varied form and size, some being lower, others higher, some more richly adorned than others. Towering above all and surpassing all in grandeur and magnificence, the Palace of the great King, Jesus Christ stands pre-eminent and next in splendour and dignity ranks the abode of our Sovereign Lady, the Queen of Heaven. Then come the twelve palaces of the Twelve Apostles which are so rich and beautiful that Heaven itself marvels at their magnificence.
Besides these are mansions and dwellings innumerable which render the heavenly Jerusalem indescribably imposing and attractive. These splendid abodes were created when Heaven itself was made and destined to be the dwellings of the redeemed.

The Church teaches us, in the Office for Martyrs that each one of the Elect will have his own place in the Kingdom of Heaven. … “I will give to My Saints an appointed place in the Kingdom of My Father.”
And the Royal Psalmist says: “The Saints shall rejoice in glory; they shall be joyful in their beds” (Ps cxlix. 5).

We have also Christ’s Own Words: “Make unto you friends of the mammon, of iniquity that when you shall fail, they may receive you into everlasting dwellings” that is to say, spend what you have over and above on works of charity and benevolence that these may prove as friends to you, who will obtain for you admittance into the eternal and Celestial dwellings (Luke xvi. 9).

Again : “In My Father’s House there are many mansions.”
Hence it may be inferred that each one of the redeemed has his separate abode in Heaven. For as a just and prudent father divides his real and personal property amongst his children, assigning to each one his particular share, so our Heavenly Father apportions to each of His Elect a part of His Celestial Treasures, both visible and invisible, giving to each one more or less, according to the amount he deserves to receive.

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, QUOTES on ETERNAL LIFE, QUOTES on HEAVEN, THE 4 LAST THINGS : HEAVEN By Fr Martin von Cochem, The LAST THINGS

Thought for the Day – 12 April – On the Nature of Heaven

Posted on by AnaStpaul

Thought for the Day – 12 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
FATHER MARTIN VON COCHEM (1625-1712) OSFC .

Nihil Obstat: Thomas L Kinkead, Censor Liborium
Imprimatur: Michael Augustine — Archbishop of New York (5 Oct 1899)

PART IV
ON HEAVEN

I.1 On the Nature of Heaven:

WE must not, as some do, picture Heaven to ourselves as a purely spiritual realm. For Heaven is a definite place, where not only God and the Angels are but where Christ is also in His Sacred Humanity and Our Lady with her human body. There too, all the blessed will dwell with their glorified bodies after the Last Judgement.

If Heaven is a definite locality, it must accordingly be a visible, not a spiritual Kingdom; for a place must, in its nature be to some extent conformable to those who abide in it.

Besides, we know that after the Last Judgement the Saints will behold Heaven with their bodily eyes and consequently it must be a visible Kingdom. We are ignorant of what the material structure of Heaven will be composed, we know only that it will be something infinitely superior to and more costly than, the matter of which the other spheres, the sun, the moon and other heavenly bodies, are formed.

For since God has created Heaven for Himself and for His Elect, He has made it so beautiful and so glorious that the blessed will never tire of the contemplation of its splendours for all eternity!

Yet, I repeat, it is not within the power of the writer to describe, nor within that of the reader, to comprehend, of what Heaven is actually composed of. Something may perhaps be learned concerning this from what St Teresa writes. Speaking of herself, she says :
“The Blessed Mother of God gave me a jewel and hung around my neck, a superb golden chain, to which a Cross of priceless value was attached. Both the gold and the precious stones thus given to me, are so unlike those which we have here in this world that no comparison can be instituted between them. They are beautiful beyond anything which can be conceived and the matter whereof they are composed, is beyond our knowledge. For what we call gold and precious stones, beside them appear dark and lustreless as charcoal! ”

From these words we may form some idea of the beauty, the rarity, the costly nature of the stones wherewith the walls of Heaven are built. We gather from them that the Light of Heaven is so dazzling as not only to eclipse the sun and stars but to cause all earthly brightness to appear as darkness. We have besides every reason to believe that in the Light of Heaven, all the colours of the rainbow are seen to flash, giving an indescribable charm to the eyes of the blessed. Moreover, the bodies of the redeemed are resplendent with light and the more Saintly their life on earth has been, the more brilliantly do they shine in Heaven.

What must be the glory of that celestial firmament, glittering with the radiance of many thousand stars! Nothing is more pleasing to the eye than light ; how brilliant, how beautiful must the light of Heaven be since, compared with it, the sun s bright rays are but darkness.

How the redeemed must delight in the contemplation of this clear and dazzling brightness!

O my God, grant me grace that on earth I may love the Light and eschew the works of darkness, in order that I may attain to the contemplation of the Eternal and Perpetual Light! Amen