Br. Peter Damian speaks on our Heavenly Home: “Recently, I have experienced a profound loss with the passing of two of my uncles and one cousin within just ten days. This series of unfortunate events has made me ponder on the world to come (the afterlife) even more deeply. It has led me to question what I truly long for while living in this world.
Each person may have their own answers to this question, as there are many things one can long for in life. However, there is one longing that never disappoints us: our eternal home in heaven.
Longing for our heavenly home is not about discussing when or how we want to depart from this life. That is not for us to decide. God has called us to be present in this physical world for His glory. As St. Irenaeus of Lyon said, “For the glory of God is the living man.” It is God who will call us out of this life according to His divine will.
Longing for our eternal home means that while we are aware of living on earth, we direct our desires toward our heavenly home. As long as we reside in this world, “our souls are restless until they find rest in God” (St. Augustine). We are restless because we yearn to be with God, the source of all happiness. We are restless because we acknowledge that this temporal world will pass away, while the eternal life promised by God will be forever, everlasting, and has no end. Therefore, we long for the heavenly kingdom.
I would like to conclude with the quotation from Dom Jean Leclercq, OSB, who offers a different perspective on desiring Heaven:
“To desire Heaven is to want God and to love Him with an impatient love, as the monks often describe it. The more intense this desire becomes, the more the soul finds rest in God. All faithful individuals are called to detach themselves from the world and cling to God, who is symbolized by Heaven” (The Love of Learning and the Desire for God).
We commemorate loved ones who have gone before us, keeping them in our thoughts and prayers.
Thank you for reading.
#HeavenlyHome #Death #RestlessSouls #Trappist #Cistercian #Monks #NewClairvaux
