What is heaven like?
When I was newly ordained and serving at St. Elizabeth Anne Seton in Wichita, I stopped by the 4th grade classroom at their Catholic school and asked the children, if they have any questions. One boy raised his hand and said, “I have a question. Is there any sin in heaven?” I said, “No there is no sin in heaven.” He said, “Are you sure, there is no sin in heaven?” I said, “Yes, there is no sin in heaven.” He then said, “But didn’t the angels sin in heaven?” I was shocked at the depth of his question and replied, ‘Well, you are right, there was sin in heaven, when a 1/3 of the angels disobeyed God and were cast out. But, that was a one time event. Now there is no sin in heaven.”
He was a very good and smart kid. He was doing something most of us rarely do. He was wondering what heaven is like. Heaven is different then we think.
In the Gospel today, James and John wanted to sit and the right and left hand of Jesus in heaven. By asking that question, we can see they really love Jesus and want to be with Him in heaven. And this what we should all do. But, their motive for asking the question was most likely not as good as they thought and Jesus knowing their hearts would have saw right through why they asked the question. James & John were two the three Apostles with Peter, who were the most intimate friends of Jesus. They were with Jesus at the transfiguration and the raising of the little girl from the dead. But, perhaps their motive was they wanted the glory because they were His close friends. The other apostles became indignant, that they asked the question, because they were envious of them.
In the first reading, it explains how Jesus would give His life to justify many. “The Lord was pleased to crush him in infirmity.” Jesus helps the apostles to know those next to Him in heaven, would have to also be crushed and give their life out love. He said, “Can you drink the cup I will drink or be baptized with the baptism I am to be baptized?” He was referring to the cup of His suffering and the baptism of blood speaking of His crucifixion where He would die and rise. He said, “Whoever wishes to be great, must be a servant of all”.
Have you heard of the movie Heaven is for Real? Its about an 8 year old boy, Colton Burpo, who had a near death experience and went to heaven. While in heaven he saw Jesus and he met his sister, who died by miscarriage, and who he never knew he had in heaven.
Don’t we all wish we could see heaven and see who is there and what goes on in heaven?
On June 24, 1981, two young girls were walking in the hamlet of Bijakovici in the parish of Medjugorje when a woman holding an infant appeared high on a hill among the boulders and brambles of Mount Podbrdo. Instinctively, they knew it was the Virgin Mary, but they did not approach Her. They and four other children felt called to return the next day, and Our Blessed Mother drew them to her, effortlessly transporting them up the mountain, over boulders and thorny bushes. The Blessed Mother introduced herself as the Queen of Peace. They fell to their knees and began to pray. She prayed with them and promised to return the next day.
The following day the 6 children Vicka who was 16, Ivanka 10, Maria 16, Ivan 15, Mirjana 15, Jokav 8, saw the Virgin Mary.
The first message of Mary was "Peace, peace, peace and only peace, peace must reign between God and man and between all people."
One of visionaries said that when they see the Virgin Mary, they don’t have any desire to be on earth, they just want to stay with Mary and be in heaven with Her.
On All Soul’s Day, Nov. 2nd, 1981, the Seers – were gathered together except Ivan, and the Virgin Mary showed them heaven. Ivan would later have a vision of heaven.
They all have said that there are no words to describe the beauty of Heaven and if we knew what awaits us in Heaven, there are no difficulties or trials that we experience that won’t be worth eternal life in Heaven.
A reporter from Radio Maria, asked Vicka to describe heaven and she said, “It can’t be described. That is something beyond description. It is filled with some sort of beautiful light…people…flowers…angels…All is filled with some indescribable joy. Your heart stands still when you look at it.” She said, “Heaven is a vast space, and it has a brilliant light which does not leave it. It is a life which we do not know here on earth. We saw people dressed in gray, pink, and yellow robes. They were walking, praying, and singing. Small angels were flying above them. The Blessed Mother showed us how happy these people are.” Question: “How could you tell they were happy? Vicka: “You can see it on their faces. But it is impossible to describe with words the great happiness I saw in Heaven…In Paradise, when the Blessed Mother passed, everybody responded to Her, and She to them. There was a recognition between them…They were standing there communicating with Her, like in a tunnel, only it wasn’t exactly like a tunnel, but a tunnel is the closest comparison. People were praying, they were singing, they were looking…People in Heaven know the absolute fullness of a created being.” Question: “How long were you there? Vicka: “Maybe twenty minutes”. Question: “…Did the people talk to you?” Vicka: “It was very unusual. They were speaking, but I could not understand them…The people were in small groups. I was with Jakov and the Blessed Mother. We spoke to each other, but there was no communication with anyone else.” About the people there, the Blessed Mother only said to us, ‘You see how people who are in Heaven are happy?’”
When the reporter asked Marijana, what heaven was like, she said, “They were different from what we are like now. Perhaps they were all around 30 years of age…They were walking in a beautiful park. They have everything. They need or want nothing. They are totally full…They were dressed in the types of clothing that Jesus wore.”
All six children originally had daily apparitions and Mary is giving each of them 10 secrets, but at different times. Once they receive all secrets, the Virgin Mary discontinues seeing them daily, but will see them once or twice a year.
Vicka, Ivan, and Maria have received 9 secrets and continue to receive daily apparitions.
The other three received all 10 secrets and no longer see Mary daily.
Mirjana receives apparitions on March 18 each year. Ivanka, every year on June 25, the anniversary of the Medjugorje apparitions, and to Jakov, once a year on Christmas Day.
Our Lady told the seers that one day God would place a permanent indestructible “sign” on Apparition Hill to prove to non-believers that the apparitions took place.
The messages that our Blessed Mother has shared with the visionaries are messages of peace and love. Our Lady says God sent her to Medjugorje as an act of grace to remind us God exists, and He loves us. She comes as the Queen of Peace to bring the world back to her Son. She has given us five “stones”, or weapons, to combat evil and bring us closer to Jesus.
1. Pray with the heart. Pray Rosary every day with the family 2. Fast on Wed and Friday on bread and water. 3. Read scripture daily. 4. Eucharist -attend Mass daily and adore Jesus in Adoration. 5. Go to Confession monthly.
Through her miraculous works and messages, she longs to open our hearts to God and help us to reorient our lives towards His Church and the Sacraments. She said the time is short and soon God will punish the world through chastisements and Her call is urgent for people to return to God before its too late.
On Sept 19th, 2024, this year, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, with the assent of Pope Francis, granted approval for devotion linked to Medjugorje, recognizing the abundant spiritual fruits received at the Sanctuary of the Queen of Peace without making a declaration on the supernatural character of the Marian apparitions. The DDF explained that “through the ‘nihil obstat’ (there is no obstacle to the faith) about a spiritual event, the faithful ‘are authorized to give it their adherence in a prudent manner.’
On the 25th of every month the Virgin Mary gives a message to the world. Since the Vatican ruling, now when the messages are given, on the bottom of the message it states, “with ecclesiastical approval.”
The last message on Sept 25th, 2024, said, “Dear children, God has sent me among you, to love you and encourage you to prayer and conversion, for peace in you and in your families and in the world. Little children, do not forget that true peace comes only through prayer, from God Who is your peace. Thank you for having responded to my call.”
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.