Beatific Vision

               BEATIFIC VISION IS THE ULTIMATE DESTINY OF MAN.  This is a conviction that filled my heart and mind when I visited the tombs of loved ones on the Feast of All Saints and All Souls day (Nov. 1-2, 2013).  I reasoned out that as I come from God, Who is my Creator, then my greatest joy will be to go back to God and have the privilege of seeing Him face to face.  This prompted me to search for further viewpoints on what  Beatific Vision is.  The following are some excerpts on this subject matter.

            From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, we read:

“In Christian theology, the beatific vision is the ultimate direct self communication of God to the individual person.  A person possessing the beatific vision reaches, as a member of redeemed humanity in the communion of saints, perfect salvation in its entirety, (i.e. heaven). The notion of vision stresses the intellectual component of salvation, though it encompasses the whole of human experience of joy, happiness coming from seeing God finally face to face  and not imperfectly through faith (1 Cor 13:11-12).

            Our human understanding of God while alive is indirect (meditation/prayer, not actually looking at Him). The beatific vision, on the other hand, is direct (immediate, visual) or literal seeing God.  In other words, the beatific vision means a soul is actually looking at God, as is, viewing Him without any sort of censorship like that depicted by the prophet Isaiah. 

            In Christianity, the Bible teaches that God “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has even seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16), but when God reveals Himself to us in heaven we will then see Him face to face (1Cor 13:12).

            Thomas Aquinas defined  beatific vision as the human being’s “final end” in which one attains  perfect happiness. … This kind of perfect happiness cannot be found in any physical pleasure, any amount of worldly power, any degree of temporal fame or honor, or indeed in any finite reality.  It can only be found in something that is infinite and perfect – and this is God.  The only perfect and infinite good, therefore, is God Himself, which is why Aquinas argues that our perfect happiness and final end can only be the direct union with God Himself and not with any created image of Him; that the Beatific Vision surpasses both faith and reason.  Rational knowledge does not fully satisfy humankind’s innate desire to know God, since reason is primarily concerned with sensible objects and thus can only infer its conclusions about God indirectly.  Thus, only the fullness of the Beatific Vision satisfies this fundamental desire of the human soul to know God.

            The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “God Himself will be the goal of our desires; we shall contemplate Him without end, love Him without surfeit, praise Him without weariness.  This gift, this state, this act, like eternal life itself will assuredly be common to all.” (CCC 2550)

             I hope and pray that GOD shall bestow on me, all my loved ones and all the faithful  this wonderful Gift of BEATIFIC VISION.

by: Buddy Cagurangan

Nov. 10, 2013