Heaven

Faithful Christians, when they die, go to Purgatory.  While we are there our souls will little by little become more healthy and pure, until at last we are fit to live with God in Heaven.  Then, when the end of the world comes, we shall be given new spiritual bodies, something like the body of Jesus when he appeared to the disciples on Easter Day, after he had risen from the dead.

Heaven is where God is seen and it will be so wonderful that we cannot possibly imagine it.  It will be as different from this life as spring, with its sunny days and bright flowers and singing birds, is different from the cold and gloomy winter.  Just as we could have no idea of what the spring is like if we had known nothing else but winter, so we cannot picture Heaven when all we know is this life. 

Life there is full of everlasting joy, because the people in Heaven not only see God, but they are also filled with him like a crystal ball is filled with sunlight, except of course that, unlike the crystal and the sunlight, both they and God are alive.  To love God and be loved by him and to be filled with him, for ever, will be unimaginable happiness, for he is the source of all true joy and beauty and goodness (Ephesians 3:19).  If you possess God, you have all you can ever want.

The Saints

Those Christians who have already entered Heaven are called ‘the Saints’ and we know the names of many of them. In fact most of our churches are named after them.  Can you give me some examples?

Besides the Saints we know, there are very many we do not know.  These are people who perhaps no one noticed much while they lived on earth, but they had a great love for God and are now with him for evermore in Heaven.

The Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM)

The first of the Saints is Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, because it was she whom God chose out of the whole human race to be the Mother of his Son.  Because God has so greatly honoured her and Jesus loves her so much, so we also honour and love her, and you will hear her referred to as ‘Queen of Heaven’.  So Bishop Ken’s hymn (1) describes Mary’s entry into Heaven:

“Heaven with transcendent (i.e. greatest possible) joys her entrance graced,
next to his throne her Son his Mother placed;
and here below, now she’s of heaven possessed,
all generations are to call her blessed”.

The Apostles

Next to the Mother of Jesus come his special disciples, the Apostles.  They were his friends and companions during the three years of his Ministry, and afterwards they were sent out by him into far off places as his personal representatives to tell people about him and to make them members of the Church.

Martyrs

Many of the saints are Martyrs.  This means that they were killed because they would rather die than give up being Christians.  Some were men and women, others boys and girls.  For example, St Prisca was beheaded when she was only 13 years old.  Then there is the old bishop St Polycarp who, when ordered to curse Christ, said, “Eighty-six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Savior?” (2)

Confessors

Some Saints are called Confessors because they were not ashamed to own up or confess to being Christians and by their lives they showed something of what Jesus himself is like.  One of them is St Augustine of Canterbury who brought Christianity to England, and we have probably all heard of King Edward the Confessor who built the first Westminster Abbey.

Virgins

Others of the Saints are known as Virgins, women who were called by God to give up thought of marriage and home in order to serve him better.

Remembering the Saints

You will find the names of some of the Saints in the Common Worship Calendar and the Prayer Book Calendar, alongside the days in the year when each is honoured and remembered.  But as there are so many whom we do not know, we honour all the Saints together on November 1st, All Saints’ Day.

The Church Triumphant

Although they are now in Heaven, the Saints still belong to the Church.  We call the Church in Heaven the Church Triumphant or Victorious because the Saints have won the victory over sin and the Devil.

In holy pictures you will find that the Saints are painted wearing a halo (a circle of light) round their heads so that we can pick them out.  (Our Lord’s halo is usually marked with a Cross so as to make it easy to recognise him).

Prayers to the Saints

You remember how important it is for us to pray for the souls of the Faithful Departed in Purgatory.  We do not, however, pray for the Saints in Heaven because, since they live with God, they do not need our prayers.  Instead, they pray for us; so when we pray we should ask them for their prayers. 

As we make our way through this world, enjoying good times and coping with the difficult and sometimes sad times, it is a wonderful thing to think that each year brings us nearer to Purgatory and so to Heaven.  And all the time the Saints with the angels are praying for us, and helping us on our way, and waiting for the day when they hope we also shall join them.

SUMMARY

1. People who are in Heaven see God and are filled with him.  They are called the Saints, and we know the names of many of them.

2. First is Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and after her the Apostles.  Those who were killed for the Christian Faith are called Martyrs, and those who led very holy lives are called Confessors.

3. We honour many Saints on their own Feast Days, and we honour all the Saints, known and unknown, on All Saints’ Day, November 1st.

References

1. Ken, T. (1637 – 1711) Her Virgin eyes saw God incarnate born.  Available from: http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/h/h203.html  (Accessed 16 August 2010) (Internet).

2. The Encyclical Epistle of the Church at Smyrna (2nd century A.D.) cited in Aquilina, M. (2006) The Fathers of the Church.  An introduction to the first Christian teachers, Indiana: Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.