Are all things made right in heaven?

[chazk728]

I was listening to Fr. Benedict Groeschel who said that Catholics who are suffering can find hope and joy in knowing that this evil will come to an end, and that God will bring all things to a just conclusion. He gives an example of a man with a terribly disfiguring illness who asked him “Will I be like this in heaven?” Fr. Groeschel says of course not - that all things will be made right in heaven. And this gives me such hope.

But it is so hard for me to believe. Does the Church teach this? And if so are there resources (the Catechism, writings of the saints or the Church) that you recommend on this topic?

At times my sufferings seem so fundamental to who I am - I cannot even imagine what life would be like without them. I live with a great deal of sorrow - a traumatic and lonely childhood, severe depression since being a teenager, an inability to marry or have children. I find some peace and consolation in living a life as best I can according to God’s will. But what hope it would give me to know that after our journey on this earth is over, that all things will be made right. That I will not feel the pain of loneliness or depression, or the unfulfilled longing for marriage or children. Is this something that I can look forward to?

 

[o_mlly]

I was listening to Fr. Benedict Groeschel who said that Catholics who are suffering can find hope and joy in knowing that this evil will come to an end, and that God will bring all things to a just conclusion. He gives an example of a man with a terribly disfiguring illness who asked him “Will I be like this in heaven?” Fr. Groeschel says of course not - that all things will be made right in heaven. And this gives me such hope.

But it is so hard for me to believe. Does the Church teach this? And if so are there resources (the Catechism, writings of the saints or the Church) that you recommend on this topic?

At times my sufferings seem so fundamental to who I am - I cannot even imagine what life would be like without them. I live with a great deal of sorrow - a traumatic and lonely childhood, severe depression since being a teenager, an inability to marry or have children. I find some peace and consolation in living a life as best I can according to God’s will. But what hope it would give me to know that after our journey on this earth is over, that all things will be made right. That I will not feel the pain of loneliness or depression, or the unfulfilled longing for marriage or children. Is this something that I can look forward to?

vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2M.HTM

As a theological virtue, hope is a gift of God. But I believe He offer it to all who ask. I hope the above reference gives you some solace.

 

[tonyrey]

At times my sufferings seem so fundamental to who I am -

Chaz, your sufferings are certainly not fundamental to your nature as a person created in the image of God with a capacity for love but they have given you a much deeper capacity for compassion and understanding the suffering of others - and the Passion of Our Lord. They can bring you closer to Him if you offer them for your faults and the faults of others…

I cannot even imagine what life would be like without them.

Our imagination is based on what we have experienced. How could it reveal the full glory of life in heaven?

I live with a great deal of sorrow - a traumatic and lonely childhood, severe depression since being a teenager, an inability to marry or have children.

Every disadvantage has a corresponding advantage! Your love is less restricted. Your childhood and loneliness have given you a greater need for love and therefore a greater capacity for love - which will be fulfilled and can be fulfilled even now! It is better to love than to be loved just as it is better to give than to receive. We have the example of God Himself…

I find some peace and consolation in living a life as best I can according to God’s will.

That is the greatest peace of all. As long as we fail to do that we cannot be truly content.

But what hope it would give me to know that after our journey on this earth is over, that all things will be made right. That I will not feel the pain of loneliness or depression, or the unfulfilled longing for marriage or children. Is this something that I can look forward to?

How could the Creator of this magnificent universe be evil and unjust? The immense value of life should be enough to convince us that we all obtain what we deserve. Nothing happens by chance at the spiritual level. Every sacrifice brings its reward while every selfish act incurs its own punishment. Even small children know what is fair even if they have never been taught about fairness.

The Beatitudes sum up the teaching of Jesus beautifully. Blessed are those who suffer…
You will be consoled and comforted in heaven but even now you are loved with a love far greater than any love on earth and any love you can imagine. You need never feel alone… Everything you are and possess comes from Him… We are not here by chance but for a definite reason. I leave you to decide what it is…

 

[KyivAndrew]

But what hope it would give me to know that after our journey on this earth is over, that all things will be made right. That I will not feel the pain of loneliness or depression, or the unfulfilled longing for marriage or children. Is this something that I can look forward to?

ABSOLUTELY Christ on the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted! Be glad and rejoice for your reward is very great in heaven!” (Matthew 5:4,12)

In Luke 12:7 Christ instructs us to fear not as each hair on our head has already been counted by God.

And in Revelation 21:4 John writes of the New Heaven and the New Earth: “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things are passed away.”

Or a favorite verse from St. Paul in Romans 8: “Who then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation? Or distress? Or famine? Or nakedness? Or danger? Or persecution? Or the sword? 36 (As it is written: For your sake, we are put to death all the day long. We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.) 37 But in all these things we overcome, because of him that has loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor might, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

and

And also in Romans 8:17+ “…if we share Christ’s suffering, we will also share his glory. For I reckon that the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed to us.”

And the Catechism in 1024: “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme and definitive happiness.”

No depression, suffering, loneliness endured on this earth on our short time here can compare to the Eternal Glory and Happiness in God. (and don’t get down on yourself, as St. Paul said in his suffering and anguish, he realized that when he is weak, it is then that Christ is most strong in Him.) And did not Jesus suffer on this earth from loneliness and abandonment. Attach your ills to Christ and throw all worry on Him as the Bible instructs us.

God Bless,

Andrew

 

[Bob_Crowley]

I was listening to Fr. Benedict Groeschel who said that Catholics who are suffering can find hope and joy in knowing that this evil will come to an end, and that God will bring all things to a just conclusion. He gives an example of a man with a terribly disfiguring illness who asked him “Will I be like this in heaven?” Fr. Groeschel says of course not - that all things will be made right in heaven. And this gives me such hope.

But it is so hard for me to believe. Does the Church teach this? And if so are there resources (the Catechism, writings of the saints or the Church) that you recommend on this topic?

At times my sufferings seem so fundamental to who I am - I cannot even imagine what life would be like without them. I live with a great deal of sorrow - a traumatic and lonely childhood, severe depression since being a teenager, an inability to marry or have children. I find some peace and consolation in living a life as best I can according to God’s will. But what hope it would give me to know that after our journey on this earth is over, that all things will be made right. That I will not feel the pain of loneliness or depression, or the unfulfilled longing for marriage or children. Is this something that I can look forward to?

I’m a bit curious as to why you think you can’t marry or have children. According to your public profile, you are a 3rd year medical student at the Mayo Clinic, and enjoy snowboarding, running and backpacking. You must be in reasonable physical condition, and you’re studying in a prestigious institution.

As to whether all things will be made right - I think that depends on the person’s own faith, response and actions.

I’ve brought this up before ad infinitum. The night my father died, he appeared in my room, apologised for his considerable cruelty, we argued and then he disappeared with one almighty terrifying scream.

Now whatever his faults, he did suffer in a number of ways. Clearly, for him, his suffering did him no good. But he’d lost his faith long ago, and treated his own family like a real little mongrel. This went on for 20 years.

It’s a two-way deal. We are expected to continue in faith, and offer up our sufferings to God.

In fact, I once had the term jump out at me, “Your suffering heals others”. So if you are suffering a great deal, then it may be that God is using you in some spiritual way to heal others.

Indeed it would be a lot easier to tolerate suffering if we could see HOW our suffering heals others. Then we’d know it actually serves a worthwhile purpose, rather than just being something that makes us miserable.

But if we could see that, we wouldn’t need faith. How did Christ know for example that His pending scourging and crucifixion would “heal many”? If I’d been in his shoes, I’m pretty sure I’d have chickened out. He’d have seen crucified people at some stage, and he’d have known what to expect.

 

[chazk728]

I’m a bit curious as to why you think you can’t marry or have children. According to your public profile, you are a 3rd year medical student at the Mayo Clinic, and enjoy snowboarding, running and backpacking. You must be in reasonable physical condition, and you’re studying in a prestigious institution.

As to whether all things will be made right - I think that depends on the person’s own faith, response and actions.

I’ve brought this up before ad infinitum. The night my father died, he appeared in my room, apologised for his considerable cruelty, we argued and then he disappeared with one almighty terrifying scream.

Now whatever his faults, he did suffer in a number of ways. Clearly, for him, his suffering did him no good. But he’d lost his faith long ago, and treated his own family like a real little mongrel. This went on for 20 years.

It’s a two-way deal. We are expected to continue in faith, and offer up our sufferings to God.

In fact, I once had the term jump out at me, “Your suffering heals others”. So if you are suffering a great deal, then it may be that God is using you in some spiritual way to heal others.

Indeed it would be a lot easier to tolerate suffering if we could see HOW our suffering heals others. Then we’d know it actually serves a worthwhile purpose, rather than just being something that makes us miserable.

But if we could see that, we wouldn’t need faith. How did Christ know for example that His pending scourging and crucifixion would “heal many”? If I’d been in his shoes, I’m pretty sure I’d have chickened out. He’d have seen crucified people at some stage, and he’d have known what to expect.

I appreciated your reply because it is good for us to remember that faith may allow us to make the bridge from meaningless suffering to meaningful suffering. I am reading a reflection on Pope John Paul II’s Salvifici Doloris, and in it the author tells a story about an individual who was asked by their confessor to offer their suffering for a very specific cause. In this case, it was to offer a physical suffering for the good of one’s family - and then to believe in faith that the suffering truly had meaning, that it would truly be a cross that wouldn’t be meaningless, a suffering that the individual could know with confidence was being used on behalf of someone close to them. And so the suffering became both an act of trust in God and a self-sacrificing act of charity.

Yet it is a tragedy when suffering is wasted. It is easy to see in many cases that suffering has meaning when we suffer specifically on Christ’s behalf, for the Gospel beatitudes teach us this clearly. But perhaps if we can think of our other sufferings in this way too - as an atonement for our sins, as an offering on behalf of those close to us, for a specific intention, or for the holy souls in Purgatory - the meaning that is brought to suffering will help us not only to get through it but also to use it as a means of growing closer to God.

The answer to your first question is two things, first same sex attraction and second depression since my teenage years. I’m physically healthy and I am going to be a pediatrician, so I would otherwise be able to care for a family. But the two issues I mention make me very disappointed with my life. Yet as spiritual mentor Fr. Groeschel continues to teach me, these things may be a means to grow closer to Christ and trust in Him. In his words, we all have our crosses and we have to carry them.

Thanks everyone for your good replies and your encouragement - it is an awesome faith that we share.