The unity of the wandering church and the church in heaven.
He expressed most beautifully the unity of the wandering Church and the heavenly Church. Andrea Pozzo, in one of his murals in the church
S. Ignazio in Rome. On the ceiling of the central nave, the monumental Baroque architecture gives way to an infinite sky. On a cloud, St. Ignatius ascends to the Holy Trinity. He is joined by several other saints of the Society of Jesus; at the sides, they are accompanied by ascending and descending angels, forming a union of the allegorically depicted four continents that seek this heavenly communion and move towards them.
As the Church of Heaven descends, the Church ascends, journeying towards its heavenly homeland; no, the two are drawing closer together, “merging into one church,” into a church “to which all, though in different degrees and different ways, belong” (LG 49), whether they wander on earth or “already removed from this world, they are being purified,” not being glorified in belonging to God (LG 49). In the church of S. Ignazio, there is also the tomb of St. Robert Bellarmine, dedicated in one of the volumes of his work, “De controversies christianae fidei,” to the three stages of the Church: the Church militant, the Church in a state of purification, and the Church triumphant.1 It has often been blamed the ecclesiology of the Counter-Reformation for overemphasizing the social and institutional aspect of the Church Militant while setting aside its eschatological character. The Council sought to correct this situation, replacing2 the term “Church Militant” with the word “Church Wandering,” thus showing that the Church is wandering towards her fullness and perfection “in heavenly glory” (LG 48); perspective is redacted in Chapter VII of the document “Lumen Gentium.
The Council held that the question of the veneration of the saints should be placed in a broader theological context, namely the eschatological character of the Church. Msgr. G. Philips comments on the result of this work as follows: “This idea leads us, unintentionally, to a happy enrichment of the constitution of the Church. The extension enables us to conceive of the Church, including its fulfillment in perfection. Still, it also shows us the meaning of our journey forward, precisely the sense of hope. Only now can we fully understand chapter 2 about the wandering people of God.
The second and seventh chapters of Lumen Gentium correspond to each other and thus contribute to establishing a balance. Ted, we can consider where we are coming from, what has already taken place, where we are going, and what the future holds. “4 Although this view somewhat corrects the not-so-eschatological notion of the “Church Militant” in post-Tridentine Council theology, “it remains true that the decision for ‘the people of God’ as the fundamental and default concept associated with today’s two-church arrangement, the earthly Church, of which we are members, and the heavenly Church, whose members are the elect who have already succeeded in reaching ‘homeland,’ has led to a certain narrowing of the patristic horizon”.5 Admittedly, care must be taken not to make these contrasts too not to exaggerate and exacerbate them, six, but it is worth pointing them out.

The Lord God can do whatever He wants. God is omnipotent.
God is the Lord of the whole world. The badges of power are the apple and the scepter. He created everything, minerals, plants, animals, and man. He made many creatures and could do even more. He can do anything he wants.

We have already talked and thought a lot about prayer, and we can say that we pray regularly and want to be focused when we pray. And yet, even today, we can talk about prayer, and we can talk about it because the Lord Jesus Himself wants to talk about it. Jesus says to the disciples: “Ask, and you shall receive, that your joy may be full” (Jn 16:24).

After one conversation with His Father, Jesus was approached by the apostles to teach them to pray. Then He taught them the prayer we call the O t h e n a s s e, which we consider the most beautiful because the Lord Jesus Himself taught it to us. Today, however, he admonishes us as his brothers and sisters to take advantage of his friendship with us and pray in his name, his and our heavenly Father’s. It is similar to when our good friend says to us:” Don’t be afraid, go and say that I am sending you.”

Jesus, by his passion and death, has obtained for us from the Father a new fountain of gifts and graces. Jesus wants us to address our petitions directly to our typical Father in his name. He wants us to do this so that we may realize what a distinguished position we have been given by his passion and death, that we can appeal directly to our Father and receive what we ask for, precisely because of the merits of Jesus Christ. We shall feel even greater joy in such a course of action. Jesus encourages us even more, to be successful and to have our needs heard by our Father when He remarks: “In that day, you will ask in my name. And I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God” (Jn. 16:26-27).

Thus, we have received the address directly to the body. It is up to each one of us how we use this excellent opportunity to obtain graces and love for ourselves and the world. The Lord Jesus, in His love for us, greatly desires that we would ask in prayer and that our encounters in this conversation would be frequent, as the Apostle says: “Brethren, pray without ceasing.”

This is a great confidence for us when there is to be so immediate an encounter with God, who created all this around us and in us and directs it. Let us make the best of it, for much depends on it even for the most severe encounter in our lives, at the hour of death. Yet, we can also ask for this encounter already here on earth to be a meeting of those who truly loved each other, who longed for each other. God has done everything for us to learn to ask, give thanks, forgive, and take time in our lives already here on earth to glorify our God.
Let us realize that our prayers will gain in value, and our encounter with Jesus will be transformed into fruitful dialogue, a conversation between two lovers – God and man. We can only come away from such an encounter happy and enriched beyond anything of the riches and beauty of this world. Jesus will give us all that will benefit our salvation if we take the time to meet him in prayer.

So let us thank the Lord Jesus for a new invitation to speak with him, for we understand that our God is always near us. We don’t need to go to a particular place; we don’t need to stand in line; we don’t need favoritism. He is just waiting for us when we take the time. He doesn’t need our prayers. He wants to bless us again, strengthen us, and fill us with His peace, love, and grace. Amen.

The Christian is to be a witness to heaven (Luke 24:46-53)
The joy of faith manifests itself in different ways and is also an original witness of heaven.

Do you also watch the entertaining program “Even the Wise Shrink” on television? How about choosing the answers? We aren’t usually the ones that handle that. Now let us ask ourselves: How would we answer if we had something to say about heaven? Wouldn’t that provoke laughter? Surely. But also severe thought. Indeed, pointing their finger to the sky, those would say heaven is there. But a well-mannered child will tell his little heart that heaven is there. Some would say they would like to go to heaven, but not yet today. Others, especially those suffering and living in friendship with God, desire to get to heaven as soon as possible. For others, heaven is a fairy tale, and still, others fulfill their duties responsibly and faithfully and expect to be rewarded by God in heaven. Some leave heaven to the birds and the stars. Still others, at the sight of a starry sky or the presence of a skylark aloft, experience at the same time the nearness of heaven and its joy. There are certainly those who philosophize about heaven, where all things will be abundant, and do not realize the words about heaven: “…eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (1 Cor. 2:9). Some are already looking forward to heaven on earth, which awaits them after death; others prefer heaven on earth and do not care what happens after death. During their lifetime, they have not remembered God, and when old age and sickness come, and the end of life approaches, they change their mindset, attitude, and opinion. This is an even better case. But what about the one who curses God at the hour of death? What kind of life, what kind of death? God is a righteous Judge.

At His ascension, Jesus said: “You are witnesses of this” (Lk 24:48).

According to St. Luke, today’s Gospel passage is from the end of the Gospel, who is also the author of the Book of Acts. St. Luke tells the story of the ascension of the Lord Jesus. Jesus led the disciples out of Jerusalem and into Bethany. There he said goodbye to the apostles. He raised his hands and blessed them. “As he blessed them, he withdrew from them and ascended into heaven” (Lk 24:50-51). “He was lifted before their eyes, and a cloud took him from before them” (Acts 1:9). It is a different departure of Jesus from the apostles that they had become accustomed to after Jesus’ resurrection when Jesus came and went. Jesus was preparing the apostles for this departure. After the resurrection, the apostles received new commands and commissions that they would not have understood before Jesus’ death. Even before their final release to the Father, there is much they still do not understand. The Holy Spirit, whom the Father promised to send, has not yet descended upon them. But even then, Jesus took care of the apostles as they looked heavenward. “Two men in white stood by them and said: “Men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up into heaven, will come just as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11). The apostles respond to these words with their lives. “With great joy, they returned to Jerusalem. They were still in the temple, glorifying God” (Lk 24:53).

As he put it, Jesus’ ascension had to be preceded, “… that the Messiah would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead” (Lk 24:46). This is so that every person who encounters the teachings of Christ will realize the importance of Christ’s death to salvation. The spread of the teachings of the Lord Jesus is to be taken care of by everyone who believes in the mission of Christ. The ever-present meaning of Christ’s words is, “Ye are witnesses of this” (Lk 24:48). The apostles fulfilled their mission as witnesses. But the crowning witness is God Himself, His Holy Spirit, who uses the human word to endow them with God’s graces and gifts. The apostles will return to Jerusalem with joy. They have believed the words of Christ. Jesus had spoken many times of his Kingdom. After sending the Holy Spirit, the Apostles understood what they had been competing for wrongly among themselves when they longed to take their places at Jesus’ right and left in His Kingdom.

What is heaven? We encounter misconceptions that in heaven, we will only pray. Heaven is only for the elect. Mostly with irony and mockery, heaven, God, saints, and angels are presented. We know that heaven is not just our folded hands, downcast eyes, serious to sad faces, boredom… What is the heaven Jesus is talking about really like? He speaks of heaven in union with the Father, who is love. The Father has prepared for those who persevere in goodness a dwelling place of love, and happiness, which the tongue, reason, and heart of man cannot and does not imagine. Let us think about how to explain to the blind the colors, the deaf the sound of a child’s laughter, the song of a lark, or the voice of a confession of love?
Whoever would give a detailed description of heaven would resemble what Herakles speaks. Do you know what he did? He wanted to sell his magnificent palace, so he took one stone from it and called out to the people: “Do you want to buy my palace? This is his painting!” And he showed them just one precious, precious stone from the palace.
Jesus left us several symbols, comparisons, and images. For example, the parable of the wedding of the king’s son. What does a wedding evoke in our hearts and minds? Likewise, the description of the heavenly Jerusalem in St. John the Apostle’s account permeates us with the beautiful thought of an eternity close to God. How much beauty we have seen on earth and in heaven we will see God face to face (cf. Rev 22:4). Elsewhere we are reminded, “… we shall see Him as He is…” (1 Jn 3:2). Jesus himself says: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Mt 5:8). How to understand seeing God? In Scripture, it means not only intellectual knowledge, contemplative, which can be realized in natural life, it means living in the presence of someone. The commoner very rarely saw his sovereign, and it was from a distance if he did. Only those closest to him, those who dined with him, saw him indeed. Seeing God is understood not only as intellectual knowledge but as an eternal and endlessly lasting presence with God. To be in constant, more than natural, personal contact with God, the angels, and the saints. In heaven, he will not marry or be given in marriage (cf. Matt. 22:30).

We also understand the happiness of heaven as the joy of the beautiful works of God, of the victory of truth and love in our lives and the lives of others. Heaven is the reward and crown of life and, therefore, the fruit of life on earth when one has earned it in one’s lifetime. Heaven is the joy of victory over sin. This means there will also be degrees of glory and joy in heaven. Everyone will receive a just reward according to merit, and no one will envy anyone. Everyone will encompass the happiness appropriate to him. Heaven is a world of love. And we enter this world already here on earth, today, by our life, by our relationship to how we love God, our neighbor, and ourselves. Heaven begins today. We have already decided on heaven today. How do we cooperate with the graces, the gifts that God gives us? God, our reward, our goal, blesses us today, and our response to his talents becomes our ticket.
Today, on the Solemnity of the Ascension, we realize that our goal is not our earth. Life on earth is but a stage, at the end of which the Father’s house awaits us. Heaven is truly our homeland. God himself invites us. There is God, our true happiness and reward. Life on earth must come to an end one day. For the world is also God’s creation, and God is eternal. And in the same way, we need to remember that we are the engineers of our eternity, happiness, and rejection.
The older woman is dying. She prays the entire holy rosary daily. The priest asks her which tithe she likes to pray best. “Which one entered heaven, and: which one took you, Virgin, to heaven.” “Why?” “‘Cause I look forward in advance, when I glorify them here on earth, they will allow me to continue doing so in heavenly glory. I trust that I will see it through and experience it with them in heavenly glory.”
Imagine you are standing at the crib of a small child. What do you say to his little face? In the eyes of such children, it is said that you can see heaven. And can you imagine such a child dying? I know a woman who has had several such innocent children die. She can say that it was great pain in her heart then. But today, she invokes them daily and asks for help for her now-grown children, her husband, and herself.

May the thought of Christ going to the Father stir in us an even greater desire and effort to work in this life for eternal life. When we can approach the values of this world correctly, the more we want to come to eternal values responsibly and honestly.

We are not here for the entertainment of the foolish. We may have also made mistakes in our life so far, but we would like to make things right. God is. That is why we are already on earth to live as if we were in the antechamber of heaven. To be friends of God. To love the truth, live in love, and stand on the side of righteousness.

Man, the -mason built the house. He needed bricks, stones, sand, mortar, wood, tools, and more. But God made heaven and earth and the universe in general out of nothing. To create is to make something out of nothing. Only God can do that. It is sometimes to us that even a magician can create something. For example, he pulls a live rabbit out of a hat where nothing was before. But that’s just a trick.

The first people in paradise were holy. /Aureola over their heart./ They were blissful. /In paradise, they had everything/. They were bodily immortal./ An open gate to heaven were to come without death.

Among the most-watched information is the weather forecast. According to this, we can arrange many things to our better satisfaction or avoid inconveniences and difficulties.

This gospel also has the character of information. Jesus said to His disciples: “When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into the full truth…” (Jn. 16:13).

This information about the Holy Spirit is valuable to us as believers. First of all, we knew very little about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus spoke more often about the Holy Spirit, but he says it in more detail today. The Holy Spirit causes the disciples and us to know the fullness of the truth and become teachers of it. That is why many things, initially, the apostles and believers were not ready to accept and understand. It is only with the coming of the Holy Spirit that significant obstacles such as unstable faith and fear-filled hearts are removed. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will do nothing that contradicts the teachings of Jesus Christ. He will not speak for Himself, but only what He has heard from the Father and the Son. Thus, he is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, and therefore he cannot begin to teach a new doctrine that the Lord Jesus has not already preached. His mission will be to make people aware of what is to come, that is, to give people a sign of the times so that the teachings of Jesus must be interpreted correctly and acceptably in the spirit of the times, for the needs of the times because every age wants to find for itself a satisfactory answer to the problematic questions and pains of the teachings of the Lord Jesus, and this will be the task of the Holy Spirit. In this way, the Church will understand the message of the Lord Jesus ever more fully and present it ever better in changed circumstances.

When we think of the history of the Church, we see the admirable vitality of the Church, which is the work of the Holy Spirit. We see that already ancient man was satisfied with the teaching of the Lord Jesus. Jesus became the summit even in the Middle Ages. Therefore, the Holy Spirit works so that in every age, He wants to captivate the whole man: his thinking, his desires, his wishes. Therefore, there is nothing new under the sun when we witness that the teachings of Christ also interest the attention of a modern man. Nothing prevents man from pursuing his art, sport, science, and politics; only let it be for his eternal salvation and that of other immortal souls.
It would be ridiculous if, in this atomic age, the teachings of Christ were preached in the spirit of antiquity or the medieval manner. But even today, the Holy Spirit directs the Church and her leaders so that not error but truth is proclaimed because even today, man has his task, which must be carried out in Spirit and truth. Today, there is always talk about the actual freedom and dignity of man, his purpose, the content of his life, and man’s place in God’s plan.

Today, the believing Christian is not impoverished by being a believer; on the contrary, he is distinguished from the unbeliever by the still more wonderful idea that he believes in eternal life. He does not live only for this world but, in cooperation with the Holy Spirit, directs and corrects his actions to pass successfully through life, stand the test of life, and thus merit eternal life.

Nothing has changed in words recorded for us by the scribe:
– We are in the world to know the Lord God, to love him, to serve him, and so to come to eternal life -.