A
Abba
Guest
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus,
I am trying to understand if people can experience the Beatific Vision before death. I wonder if some of you can help me to understand. I just read the encyclical of Pope Benedict XII: On the Beatific Vision of God, and there he establishes that after death and before the Last Judgement souls can and do experience the beatific vision and:
Moreover, by this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died are truly blessed and have eternal life and rest. Also the souls of those who will die in the future will see the same divine essence and will enjoy it before the general judgment.
Such a vision and enjoyment of the divine essence do away with the acts of faith and hope in these souls, inasmuch as faith and hope are properly theological virtues. And after such intuitive and face-to-face vision and enjoyment has or will have begun for these souls, the same vision and enjoyment has continued and will continue without any interruption and without end until the last Judgment and from then on forever.
But, how about before death, can a soul experience the beatific vision? Can it be said, for instance, that Saint Faustina experienced the beatific vision when Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to her? Certainly after see our Our Lord she had no need for ‘faith and hope’, right? I mean, there is always temptation while we are in the world which can lead us to blindness once again and we may come to not value our spiritual experiences and may find ourselves in need of faith and hope once again, but, this is not very probable after an encounter with God.
I am just wondering if, let’s say, the experience of Saint Faustina can be understood to be the beatific vision.
Thanks for your help,
Abba
I am trying to understand if people can experience the Beatific Vision before death. I wonder if some of you can help me to understand. I just read the encyclical of Pope Benedict XII: On the Beatific Vision of God, and there he establishes that after death and before the Last Judgement souls can and do experience the beatific vision and:
Moreover, by this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died are truly blessed and have eternal life and rest. Also the souls of those who will die in the future will see the same divine essence and will enjoy it before the general judgment.
Such a vision and enjoyment of the divine essence do away with the acts of faith and hope in these souls, inasmuch as faith and hope are properly theological virtues. And after such intuitive and face-to-face vision and enjoyment has or will have begun for these souls, the same vision and enjoyment has continued and will continue without any interruption and without end until the last Judgment and from then on forever.
But, how about before death, can a soul experience the beatific vision? Can it be said, for instance, that Saint Faustina experienced the beatific vision when Our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to her? Certainly after see our Our Lord she had no need for ‘faith and hope’, right? I mean, there is always temptation while we are in the world which can lead us to blindness once again and we may come to not value our spiritual experiences and may find ourselves in need of faith and hope once again, but, this is not very probable after an encounter with God.
I am just wondering if, let’s say, the experience of Saint Faustina can be understood to be the beatific vision.
Thanks for your help,
Abba