Paradise, Heaven

One of the representations of Paradise.

Heaven or Paradise is the place of eternal rest of the soul that dies in a "state of grace," in a state of union with God, this soul having followed the Commandments of God during its life, and/or having repented before its death of its sins. The soul sees God face to face and lives the eternal beatitude that this vision and unimpeded union with its Creator provide.

In "The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me"

Parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus - Paradise and Hell.^[1]-^[2]
"He descended into hell"^[3]
The sight of God, the possession of God, are the sources of a beatitude so infinite that no pain remains for the blessed.^[4]
Many will be with Me in Paradise. Some will have the reward after expiation in Purgatory, others immediately after death, but the reward will be such that just as you forget the Earth and its pains, so you will forget Purgatory with its penitential nostalgias of love.^[5]
These are not the thoughts here, in any of the three realms. In Hell, hatred and punishment cause fierce blindness. In Purgatory, the thirst for expiation annihilates all other thoughts. In Limbo, the blessed waiting of the just is not profaned by any sensuality. The Earth is far away with its miseries; it is only near for its supernatural needs, needs of the souls, not needs of objects.^[6]
The Virgin Mary: What joy has spread through all the kingdoms of God: in Paradise, in Purgatory, in Limbo.^[7]

In other works of Maria Valtorta

The Notebooks of 1943

Catechesis of July 1: Now I truly understand what "Paradise" means. It means living by always seeing this Sun, One and Trin.^[8]

The Notebooks of 1944

Catechesis of January 10: Vision of Paradise: How beautiful! How beautiful! How beautiful what I see is!^[9]
Catechesis of May 25: Vision of Paradise, where Love reigns and to which only the "living," as Isaiah says, can enter, that is, those who have erased their faults by charity. The writer sees the Father creating the souls; the Son judging the dead; the Holy Spirit, the Virgin, the angels and the blessed.^[10]

In fundamental Christian texts

In the Bible

My dear friends, we are now children of God, but what we will become has not yet been clearly revealed. However, we know this: when Christ appears, we will be like him, because we will see him as he is.^[11]
Now I know only in part; but then I will know God fully, just as he himself knows me.^[12]
There will no longer be anything cursed by God there. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and the servants of God will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be written on their foreheads.^[13]

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Man in Paradise.^[14]
Those who die in the grace and friendship of God, and who are perfectly purified, live forever with Christ. They are forever like God, because they see him as he is, face to face.^[15]

In other sources

Mystics speak of Heaven: Excerpts from the Dictionary of Catholic Theology published by JesusMarie.free^[16]

Notes and references

[1] Luke 16:19-31

[2] EMV 191

[3] EMV 194

[4] EMV 376

[5] EMV 424

[6] EMV 456

[7] EMV 630

[8] Catechesis of July 1, 1943

[9] Catechesis of January 10, 1944

[10] Catechesis of May 25, 1944

[11] 1 John 3:2

[12] 1 Corinthians 13:12

[13] Revelation 22:3-4

[14] CCC 374

[15] CCC 1023

[16] Mystics speak of Heaven: Excerpts from the Dictionary of Catholic Theology published by JesusMarie.free.

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