Fr. Arminjon, author of “The End of the Present World” (the Little Flower’s favorite book, apparently) believed it was and seemed to indicate that until at least his time it was widely believed to be such.
Are we truly sure that there are no physical properties involved in some mysterious way? Has that been dogmatically defined? I’m also curious, always have been, about heaven and persons that have been Assumed into it (all three-ish of them plus our Lord who Ascended). Heaven, I always thought, was also outside of space (I won’t say time because I haven’t studied that enough and Apocalypse seems to indicate that there is a concept of the passage of time there). But if it is outside of space, then must there not be at least some type of material properties involved in a mysterious way, in order for the bodies to “be there”?
Until Bl. John Paul and now Pope Benedict XVI no pope had ever taught that heaven, purgatory or hell were physical places. The point was never truly addressed by the Holy See, though it was written about by many theologians and spiritual writers. Popes have spoken about the three, but no one has attempted to explain it until now. To quote John Henry Newman, this is how doctrine develops. You begin with the seed, but inside the seed, there is a tree that will be fully visible with the passage of time. There is nothing new when you see the oak years later. It was always there, inside the seed.
When the pope, using the ordinary magisterium states that these are states not places, these require an assent of faith. The ordinary magisterium is the authoritative voice of the Church.
We know that there there is no time in heaven, because we know that God lives in an eternal present. All things are seen to him. There are many references to this in the Torah and in the Psalms. “A thousand years are but a day in your presence.” For this reason God can see what has been, what is and what will be. They are all present to him and to those who share eternity with him. The term eternity itself implies no time. If there were time, there would have to be a beginning. Time is measured from a starting point. We know that there is not beginning to God’s existence.
As to the physical states of Jesus and Mary in heaven, we must remember the Church’s teaching. They exist in their glorified bodies. These bodies do not need physical space. They can pass through walls, appear and disappear at will, change their appearance. Yet, they can eat, as did Jesus after the resurrection. But they need not eat. They do not experience hunger. We’re not talking about bodies like our own. The glorified body is just that, glorified. It is free of all limitations allowing it to exist without the need for a physical place or even a physical appearance.
Look at the different apparitions of Our Lady. It’s truly her body, yet she looks different in each apparition. Our Lady of Guadalupe looks nothing like Our Lady of Fatima. Our Lady of Fatima is European looking, dressed in white. Our Lady of Guadalupe is an Aztec Princess, dressed in Aztec clothing. It would be silly to believe that she has a change of wardrobe or that she uses makeup to change her appearance. The logical conclusion is that her body does not have the limitations that our bodies still have.
Look at Jesus on the way to Emaus. The disciples did not recognize him. It was truly his physical body. Mary Magdala did not recognized him when she met him in the garden. It’s a body that has an ability to change its appearance or even disguise it without the use of any physical aids such as wardrobe or makeup. Why? Because it has been liberated from the physical world. It exists outside of the space and time. It never grows old, because there is no time and it can live outside of physical space, because it does not need it.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, OSF
