solation to him. And here again we have the cause of the bitterness that spoils the poor and mean pleasures that we sometimes enjoy on this earth: namely, that we do not know for certain how long we can enjoy them. All that can give us enjoyment here is short-lived; if the pleasure lasts an hour, we are not sure even of that hour. Every hour makes us afraid that the end is coming; every moment we must be in dread of death. And the greater and more agreeable the good we possess, the greater too is our fear of losing it.
Even the elect would not be happy if they were not sure of their happiness. My dear brethren, to inherit the eternal kingdom of heaven, always without end to live with God in the abode of joy—oh, what happiness! what immense good fortune! The mere hope and confidence of going to heaven is the greatest consolation, and one that really sweetens our labor and trouble, our suffering and misery, in this mortal life; I rejoice in this hope whenever I think of it. Ah, let each one think to himself: if God were now to say to me: you will save your soul, you will go to heaven and be happy with Me forever, how could I contain myself through sheer joy and satisfaction at this assurance? If I might say like Job: “I know that my Redeemer liveth…and in my flesh I shall see my God”?[1] I am certain of it; God has said it; not only do I hope this, but this certainty is laid up in my bosom; I shall surely go to heaven! But as it is, I have to waver between hope and fear, and the greater my wish and desire to be eternally happy, the greater my dread of being disappointed through the sins that I may still commit. O chosen saints of God! you are beyond all this doubt and anxiety; you are already in heaven, and are actually enjoying everlasting delights! But how would it be with you if you did not know how long your happiness is to last? if uncertainty filled you with the fear of losing the kingdom of joy and the vision of God that you now have? Oh, my dear brethren, in that case there would be an end to the happiness of the elect, and heaven could no longer be called the abode of bliss; for, as theologians teach, happiness to be perfect must have two qualities: it must be eternal in itself, and also eternal in the memory and sure knowledge of the blessed. If this latter condition were wanting, there would not be complete happiness in heaven; for the greater the bliss caused by the beatific vision and the possession of the immense goods of heaven, the greater too
- ↑ Scio quod Redemptor meus vivit…et in carne mea videbo Deum meum.—Job xix. 25, 26.
