Desire for Heaven

[Awake]

About a half a year ago, I came to the realization that I don’t have a desire to go to Heaven when I die. I would definitely rather go to Heaven than Hell, but I don’t like the idea of any sort of eternity even if it is completely good. I secretly hope that the atheists are right: that when I die, I simply cease to exist.

I don’t have a real question, but I’m curious what your thoughts and opinions are on the subject.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

About a half a year ago, I came to the realization that I don’t have a desire to go to Heaven when I die. I would definitely rather go to Heaven than Hell, but I don’t like the idea of any sort of eternity even if it is completely good. I secretly hope that the atheists are right: that when I die, I simply cease to exist.

I don’t have a real question, but I’m curious what your thoughts and opinions are on the subject.

Sometimes our thoughts and desires are not exactly in our control and seem to have a life of their own, other than the fact that we have free will and we can choose and decide. Faith in essence is in the will and expressed in what we choose and decide and often against our thinking and desires. What do you choose and decide in relation to eternity and Heaven/Hell and believing in them? There is a beautiful aspiration : “Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief”.

I would definitely rather go to Heaven than Hell

That says much!

To have positive and comforting feelings and thoughts in relation to our Faith (Heaven/Hell in this instance) is in essence a consolation - and consolations are gifts of God. Sometimes, we must walk on in Faith (choosing and deciding - following through with action if asked for) without consolation(s).

God’s blessings…Barb

 

[Awake]

What do you choose and decide in relation to eternity and Heaven/Hell and believing in them?

I’m not sure I understand the question.

 

[wjp984]

An eternity in this world might very well be Hell. An eternity with anything we can imagine might very well be Hell eventually as boredom and lack of purpose can be one of the most aganizing things.

However, none of us can grasp what Heaven is like. When you eventually make it to Heaven and I’m sure everyone here will pray that you do, you will never have these thoughts again and God will provide whatever you desire. You can not possibly judge in this lifetime whether you would rather be non existent than have eternal life in Heaven.

 

[srferdave]

About a half a year ago, I came to the realization that I don’t have a desire to go to Heaven when I die. I would definitely rather go to Heaven than Hell, but I don’t like the idea of any sort of eternity even if it is completely good. I secretly hope that the atheists are right: that when I die, I simply cease to exist.

I don’t have a real question, but I’m curious what your thoughts and opinions are on the subject.

Your desire for there not to be an afterlife comes from earthly experiences. If you try to imagine heaven using an earthly view, I can see how you come to this aspiration. If you were in absolute paradise and felt as happy as you could possibly be I think your desire for Heaven might be more strong. If I believed that Heaven was like anything I’ve experienced on earth than I would probably have the same desire. If you were in Heaven today I don’t think that you would have the desire to leave. Try to think of Heaven as your most happiest time of your life… then multiply that by a billion… and then you still haven’t experienced heaven yet.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

I’m not sure I understand the question.

Sorry! I’ll try to explain. There is what your thoughts may be telling you even what your feelings are telling you. But what is your decision as to the existence of Heaven and Hell? - do you choose to believe in them, or do you choose not to believe? If you choose to believe, well and good. This is an act of pure Faith. If you choose not to believe then you have a problem and one of Faith.
As an example only. Most often concepts of Heaven and Hell can totally elude me and the concept of an eternity in either I cannot experience as a potential reality either, because “eternity” or time not existing just leaves me cold. They are my thoughts and feelings. The concept of living on after death can leave me totally without concepts too…but I still believe, and because I simply choose to believe, in Heaven and Hell and life after death. My Faith remains active and intact despite my thoughts and feelings often.

Blessings…Barb

 

[PhilotheaZ]

… I don’t like the idea of any sort of eternity even if it is completely good. I secretly hope that the atheists are right: that when I die, I simply cease to exist.

Why would you want to cease to exist, if the alternative is perfect joy and union with a God who loves you immensely?

Perhaps your concept of “eternity” is the stumbling block. People may think of eternity as time drawn out endlessly in a linear fashion, as we on earth understand it, and that it would get “boring.” But God exists outside the confines of time as we know it. Heaven would be the eternal “now,” and would certainly not be boring. We will be perfectly happy there, even if we do not now understand how.

But what concerns me more is the part of your profile where you describe yourself as “Catholic struggling with atheism.” There must be more to it than your concept of heaven and hell and eternity. Do you have a relationship with God? Do you pray? Do you participate in the Mass and sacraments regularly? Anything you can do to deepen your relationship with God should instill in you a burning desire to be with God forever, since He is perfect love, joy, truth, and happiness. Since I have begun to take prayer seriously, I cannot imagine NOT being with God forever. The very thought of being separated from Him, either by hell or by “simply ceas(ing) to exist,” is terrifying. (But I do not really need to fear, since, by faith, I know with absolute certainty that God exists, and that heaven exists.)

 

[beckycmarie]

About a half a year ago, I came to the realization that I don’t have a desire to go to Heaven when I die. I would definitely rather go to Heaven than Hell, but I don’t like the idea of any sort of eternity even if it is completely good. I secretly hope that the atheists are right: that when I die, I simply cease to exist.

I don’t have a real question, but I’m curious what your thoughts and opinions are on the subject.

I think you are lacking hope, and recommend saying the “Act of Hope” every day until you begin to internalize the desire for Heaven. In fact I recommend for you all three of the act prayers:

Act of Faith

O my God, I firmly believe that you are one God in three divine Persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. I believe that your divine Son became man and died for our sins and that he will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe these and all the truths which the Holy Catholic Church teaches because you have revealed them who are eternal truth and wisdom, who can neither deceive nor be deceived. In this faith I intend to live and die.
Amen.

Act of Hope

O Lord God, I hope by your grace for the pardon of all my sins
and after life here to gain eternal happiness because you have promised it who are infinitely powerful, faithful, kind, and merciful. In this hope I intend to live and die. Amen.

Act of Love

O Lord God, I love you above all things and I love my neighbor for your sake because you are the highest, infinite and perfect good, worthy of all my love. In this love I intend to live and die. Amen.

This lack of desire for Heaven explains a lot about the lukewarmness and apathy you’ve experienced lately. Without hope of heaven, what reason is there to be faithful and close to God in this life?

God made us to desire only Him in eternity. I think you are being given the grace of experiencing a holy dissatisfaction with the way life is going without being close to Him. Right now it sounds like you stuck with such apathy for this life that it’s hard to see value in eternal life. Make an effort to draw near to Him and you will begin to understand that this world is not our home, and there is much to look forward to in Heaven.

 

[Awake]

Why would you want to cease to exist, if the alternative is perfect joy and union with a God who loves you immensely?

I don’t really know. I just don’t like the thought of eternity anywhere, even if it is perfect joy.

Perhaps your concept of “eternity” is the stumbling block. People may think of eternity as time drawn out endlessly in a linear fashion, as we on earth understand it, and that it would get “boring.” But God exists outside the confines of time as we know it. Heaven would be the eternal “now,” and would certainly not be boring. We will be perfectly happy there, even if we do not now understand how.

Admittedly, nobody on earth can have an accurate concept of what it means to be outside of time.

But what concerns me more is the part of your profile where you describe yourself as “Catholic struggling with atheism.” There must be more to it than your concept of heaven and hell and eternity. Do you have a relationship with God? Do you pray? Do you participate in the Mass and sacraments regularly?

No, yes, and yes.

Anything you can do to deepen your relationship with God should instill in you a burning desire to be with God forever, since He is perfect love, joy, truth, and happiness. Since I have begun to take prayer seriously, I cannot imagine NOT being with God forever. The very thought of being separated from Him, either by hell or by “simply ceas(ing) to exist,” is terrifying. (But I do not really need to fear, since, by faith, I know with absolute certainty that God exists, and that heaven exists.)

I pray that I feel the same way one day.

 

[Awake]

I think you are lacking hope, and recommend saying the “Act of Hope” every day until you begin to internalize the desire for Heaven. In fact I recommend for you all three of the act prayers:

After thinking about this for a while, I think you may be right: I really do lack hope.

Just thinking about my own life right now: I’m not miserable but I’m also not happy. I have dreams of what my life might be some day, but deep down inside I have a very strong feeling that it will never happen. I dream, but I don’t hope.

Perhaps I can’t truly desire heaven because deep down inside, I don’t believe it exists or I don’t believe I’ll ever get there.

This lack of desire for Heaven explains a lot about the lukewarmness and apathy you’ve experienced lately. Without hope of heaven, what reason is there to be faithful and close to God in this life?

Fear of hell. Unfortunately, that’s all that keeps me going

God made us to desire only Him in eternity. I think you are being given the grace of experiencing a holy dissatisfaction with the way life is going without being close to Him. Right now it sounds like you stuck with such apathy for this life that it’s hard to see value in eternal life. Make an effort to draw near to Him and you will begin to understand that this world is not our home, and there is much to look forward to in Heaven.

I’ll try…

 

[DL82]

Something a monk said at the end of the movie documentary ‘Into Great Silence’ (by the way, watch the movie, it’s really amazing), is worth repeating here I think.

“In God there is no past. Solely the present prevails. And when God sees us, he always sees our entire life. And because he is an infinitely good being, he eternally seeks our wellbeing. Therefore, there is no cause for worry in any of the things which happen to us.”

To God, the eternal is always present. To live all the moments of our life in God’s love and favour, seeking Him and asking His forgiveness for our faults, seeking to become more like Him and have more of Him in us, this is heaven. I think Pope John Paul II said something similar about seeking God in the eternal present, experiencing heaven right now, here on earth: “The future begins today, not tomorrow.”

Eternal life isn’t just an infinite extension of time. When we are in heaven, we will live in the eternal present, like God, in that way we will be like the angels, as our Lord tells us (Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25 and Luke 20:36).

A great priest I know once said that he was asked why he believed in life after death. He replied that he believed in life before death, and trusted Jesus’ promises that this life would never end (John 11:26) - that seems like the most convincing argument I’ve ever heard.

Sometimes people think of heaven as just an endless series of moments, and that does sound rather boring, but in reality what we hope for is much much more than that.

Believe in the heaven that is here now, believe in life before death.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Sometimes people think of heaven as just an endless series of moments, and that does sound rather boring, but in reality what we hope for is much much more than that.

Sometimes it is not our Faith in Heaven or any other Truth that collapses, it is the concepts that our imagination may form about those Truths that collapse on us - and we either form new ones or there may even come a time when we must go on in simplicity of belief in the Truths of our Faith without forming any concepts about them at all.

Blessings…Barb

 

[fhansen]

About a half a year ago, I came to the realization that I don’t have a desire to go to Heaven when I die. I would definitely rather go to Heaven than Hell, but I don’t like the idea of any sort of eternity even if it is completely good. I secretly hope that the atheists are right: that when I die, I simply cease to exist.

I don’t have a real question, but I’m curious what your thoughts and opinions are on the subject.

The promise of eternal life is that we’ll never thirst again. Here, and more so in hell, our thirst is unquenchable. God is so unimaginably awesome that His presence quenches that thirst.
There’s no time for boredom in eternity because there’s no time. Each “moment” is continuous joy and completely satisfying.

 

[puzzleannie]

I don’t have a real question, but I’m curious what your thoughts and opinions are on the subject.

my thoughts and opinions on this topic are worthless. divine revelation has already answered this question so discussion is pointless.

 

[Awake]

The promise of eternal life is that we’ll never thirst again. Here, and more so in hell, our thirst is unquenchable. God is so unimaginably awesome that His presence quenches that thirst.
There’s no time for boredom in eternity because there’s no time. Each “moment” is continuous joy and completely satisfying.

I guess I’d rather have no thirst than a quenched thirst.

 

[fhansen]

I guess I’d rather have no thirst than a quenched thirst.

The thirst we have is a thirst for love and all it entails and yes, some apparently prefer death to love-no life, no hope, no passion, no thirst.

 

[beckycmarie]

I guess I’d rather have no thirst than a quenched thirst.

God created you to have that thirst, and it won’t go away until you are in Heaven.

You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.
-Saint Augustine

 

[marlap2]

St. Paul once told the believers in Corinth: “What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him, this God has revealed to us through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10). This is a key distinction. Human understanding alone cannot grasp the full meaning—or glory—of God’s promises. It is only by revelation that these promises can come alive in our hearts and spark in us a desire to set aside our plans and embrace His instead.

I believe that it our first desire for hope that leads us to faith, and that leads us to love. If you say you have no hope or desire, perhaps ask God for that grace. I believe God always answers that prayer, but be patient and keep your heart and eyes awake. He will show you Himself in surprising ways. Speaking from experience. The joy you will feel from the Mercy of His love will make you thirst for more and more and more and more and…

then you will be excited for heaven. I hope to meet you there one day, giggling with joy! Blessings to you…

 

[Michael038]

The Human soul can only be satisfied by God himself. Nothing in this world can ever complete a person, only God can and that is by design. I love my life and thank him every day for it, but ultimately I long to be with the Lord and serve him forever.

 

[wjp984]

Since we are going to be eternally happy with God if we are fortunate to make it to Heaven, then hypothetically, if for you being eternally happy means to no longer be aware of your existence then I wonder what God would do.