No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined the things that God has prepared for those who love him

With these words St. Paul is intending to encourage and lift the spirits of the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 2:9) to whom he is writing in this letter from the New Testament. In this uplifting conversation about reflecting on the Glory of Heaven, Mark and Frances discuss what so many of the Saints have written and spoken about the remarkable joy that awaits us in our final home. After a brief explanation of the various definitions of what the Catholic Church teaches about the nature of Heaven and how the faithful will dwell there, Mark and Frances go on to describe what matters now, what should we and must we be doing in this life to prepare ourselves, both for entry into and the fullest experience of our life to come. Drawing from the reflections of the Beautiful soul known as Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, this conversation emphasizes that we are in possession of eternity even now, but we still have a role to play in bringing clarity to our vision of it, “We will be glorified in the measure in which we have been conformed to the image of His Divine Son.” (Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, the Complete Works) This is a program that will provide great consolation as it reflects on the Glory and Majesty of our future, but will also challenge the listener to step out in faith and do whatever our Lord asks of us that we might more fully conform ourselves to His image.   RESOURCES Visions of Heaven Article by Tim Staples at  http://www.catholic.com/blog/tim-staples/what-is-heaven   Book: “Inside Heaven and Hell: What History, Theology, and the Mystics Tell Us about the Afterlife” by Thomas W. Petrisko, St. Andrew’s Productions.

 

The Carmelite Conversations Podcast is an apostolate of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites community of Our Mother of Good Counsel in Dayton, Ohio. Discalced Carmelite Seculars are practicing members of the Catholic Church who, under the protection of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and inspired by St. Teresa of Jesus and St. John of the Cross, make the commitment to the Discalced Carmelite Order to seek the face of God for the sake of the church and the world. For more information about Secular Carmelites, visit our website.