The Door of Death
by Fr. Gus Carter
3/13/05

People are fascinated by and fearful of death. We have heard the saying, "The hero dies but once, the coward a thousand times." We all know people who are crippled by fear of death. There are those who will not fly because the danger seems too great, those who will not let you speak of death in their presence, will not visit friends or relatives who have cancer, will not go near certain ovens because of fear of microwaves. Fear Of death is natural. For us observers death can seem like the end of everything we know. Yet there are people who face death bravely and even gladly. The thought that we have an eternal destiny should be consoling.

The Gospel of John calls Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead a sign, a miracle that reveals some truth about Jesus. In conversation with Martha Jesus tells all of us, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, even is he dies, will come to life." The whole Gospel of John promises that those who are faithful to Jesus will join him after this life and live with the Blessed Trinity forever.

We live in an age when there is a lot of skepticism about after life. People have a hard time imagining what heaven will be like. Yet the thought that we have an eternal destiny is consoling. The thought that life has meaning is important for the human psyche. About fifty years ago an Austrian psychiatrist, Viktor Frankel, wrote about his discovery of the importance of meaning for survival in the concentration camp where he had been imprisoned. He founded a psychological method based on what he called the "Will to meaning." We humans have a great need to feel that our lives have significance. The modem philosophers who said that life has no meaning are the ones who introduced the word "angst" into our vocabulary. "Angst" designates the acute anxiety of those who find no meaning in life.
We humans have a hard time imagining what heaven will be like. I have individuals tell me that what they have heard of heaven sounds "boring." The late Cardinal Bernadine, Archbishop of Chicago, was dying of cancer. Those close to him asked him what he thought heaven would be like. He told them of going to Italy for the first time as a youngster with his Italian-born parents. When he got there, he said to himself, "I know this place." He had heard his parents so often speak of their homeland that he felt he knew the place upon seeing it. "I felt that I, too, was coming home." He said, 'That is what I think heaven will be like."

Some members of all the major religions of the world, for example, our Catholic mystics, report that they have had experiences of incredible goodness at the heart of the universe. They felt, at times, profound and peaceful senses of elation in the presence of someone incredibly good. There was nothing boring about these experiences. They felt that they were possessed by and that they possessed this goodness. We believe that these are experiences of God but not yet total unity. These holy people spent the rest of their lives being faithful to that vision and looked forward with great yearning to being in that presence again.

Mystical experiences of God among humans are rare but they do give us an idea of our future. Most of us have had some experiences of God. Through nature is one of the ways that the Lord reveals Himself to us. Remembering our most beautiful experiences of nature gives us a hint of heaven which will be a magnificent vision of God. St. Francis delighted in God's gifts to us in nature. He looked forward to seeing the Creator of all these things face to face.

The mark of a person who genuinely loves is joy. I remember my sister telling me how much easier it was to get along with one of her sons when he had a girlfriend. I recall witnessing weddings in which the brides seemed to be full of love. They loved everyone. Those women seemed to be close to ecstatic experiences. It was a joy to be in their presence. They would never say that these were boring times.

One definition of virtue is enjoying doing the right thing. When we unselfishly help others, there is often an inner glow that tells us our God is pleased with us. What will be the extent of our happiness when the Lord reveals to us the full extent of the good that we have accomplished through following Jesus. Those in heaven have done much good on earth. The Lord will reveal to them the full extent of the good they have done. Personal peaceful moments are also a foreshadowing of heaven. When we rest from the labors of a job well done, we have another indications of heaven's rewards. Those who live according to the reality that they experience have great stability in their lives. They live the truth as best they can. They are free of many of the tensions some people face because they have a hard time dealing with what is really happening. Those who love the truth will enjoy being open to the Lord's scrutiny.

Most people have had some experience of happy family gatherings. By appreciating others we add to our own joy and that of others. Delighting in others will be an aspect of the bounty of heaven, being with all those truly beautiful people. It just seems so right that we shall meet again and enjoy the company of those we loved in this life. We pray that we may be more sensitive to the joys the Lord offers us now that prepare us for the happiness of heaven. Through the grace of Christ, divine life has already begun in us. We should not wonder that some experiences of life with Christ on this earth have touches of heaven in them. We have something marvelous to look forward to.