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!
One Minute Reflection – 19 April – “The Month of the Resurrection and the Blessed Sacrament” – Easter II – 1 Peter 2:21-25 – John 10:11-16 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“I am the Good Shepherd and I know Mine and Mine know Me.”- John 10:14
REFLECTION – “I am the good shepherd. I know My Own—by which I mean, I love them—and My Own know Me. In plain words – those who love Me are willing to follow Me, for anyone who does not love the Truth, has not yet come to know it.
My dear brethren, you have heard the test we shepherds have to undergo. Turn now to consider, how these words of our Lord, imply a test for yourselves too. Ask yourselves whether you belong to His flock, whether you know Him, whether the Light of His Truth shines in your minds. I assure you that it is not by faith that you will come to know Him but, by love, not by mere conviction but, by action. John the Evangelist is my authority, for this statement. He tells us that anyone who claims to know God, without keeping His commandments, is a liar.
Consequently, the Lord immediately adds: ‘As the Father knows Me and I know the Father and I lay down My life for My sheep.‘ Clearly, He means that laying down His life for His sheep, gives evidence of His knowledge of the Father and the Father’s knowledge of Him. In other words, by the love with which He dies for His sheep, He shows, how greatly He loves His Father.
Again He says: ‘My sheep hear My voice and I know them; they follow Me,and I give them eternal life.’ Shortly before this He had declared – ‘If anyone enters the sheepfold through Me, he shall be saved, he shall go freely in and out and shall find good pasture.‘ He will enter into a life of faith; from faith, he will go out to vision, from belief to contemplation and will graze in the good pastures of everlasting life.
So our Lord’s sheep will finally reach their grazing ground, where all who follow Him in simplicity of heart, will feed on the green pastures of eternity. These pastures are the spiritual joys of Heaven. There, the elect look upon the Face of God with unclouded vision and feast at the banquet of life, forever more.
Beloved brothers, let us set out for these pastures ,where we shall keep joyful festival with so many of our fellow citizens. May the thought of their happiness urge us on! Let us stir up our hearts, rekindle our faith and long eagerly for what Heaven has in store for us. To love thus, is to be already on our way. No matter what obstacles we encounter, we must not allow them to turn us aside from the joy of that heavenly feast. Anyone who is determined to reach his destination, is not deterred by the roughness of the road which leads to it. Nor must we allow the charm of success to seduce us, or we shall be like a foolish traveller who is so distracted by the pleasant meadows through which he is passing that he forgets where he is going.” – St Gregory the Great (540-604) Bishop of Rome and Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (An excerpt from his Sermon 14).
PRAYER – Grant us, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy lasting health of mind and body and by the intercession of glorious and blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may we be delivered from present sorrow and partake of the fullness of eternal happiness. Through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
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?
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!
AnaStpaul 
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