HEAVEN, purgatory, hell … are they places that exist? Where are they? Are they places like our cities and countries? Are they just fantasy, imaginary places of ultimate happiness or extreme suffering and pain?
Our limited understanding of God’s world will not give a satisfactory answer to those questions.
Some ideas, though, may enlighten us. One such idea is that “heaven and hell are relationship concepts”. For example, in summer our family used to go every year on vacation to a most beautiful place in the mountains. We would often say “this truly is heaven!”
However, when I visited the place 10 years later for a nostalgic visit, the familiar friends and places of interest had disappeared or died. It felt like coming back 100 years later and the place was no longer heaven to me. This experience showed me that relationships are an important part of what makes a place heaven or hell.
Where do relationships, where do heaven and hell begin? It is in our minds and hearts. Wars, like any conflict, do not begin on the battlefield!
So Jesus instructs us, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door and there pray to your Father in secret, and your Father who is in secret will reward you.” Matthew 6:6 It is there that happiness and joy begin and find their fulfilment in the embrace of the Trinity.
In this context, Jesus’ hidden life and prayer life are important even though the references to them are but few and far between Luke 5:16; Matthew 14:14; Mark 1:34 etc. They will help us understand the meaning of “go into your room and shut the door”.
What was the purpose of Jesus’ hidden life? Or even more, why did he pray? Isn’t he God, part of the Trinity, one with the Father and the Holy Spirit? Let us look at Luke 2:49-51 line by line and my inserted commentary.
After being lost in Jerusalem, Jesus tells his parents rather bluntly:
“How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” Everything he did was to please the Father!
“And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them..”. To make them understand what he said, he went to Nazareth and was obedient to them.
“..and his mother kept all these things in her heart.” Mary, the Alma (meaning “hidden, secret”) Mater, received Jesus first of all in her heart and only after that in her womb.
She, therefore, does what Jesus tells us to do, namely “go into her room and shut the door”. For “whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.” Mark 3:35
Heaven and hell begin in the mind and heart when we seek to please God.
How do we please him? “What must we do the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “…you believe in him whom he has sent” John 6:28-29
God is not an idea, a theory or a philosophy of life. He is a person with whom we can talk.
When I was six years old and had my First Communion, I experienced him in the Eucharist. The joy I felt made me often slip back into church and chat with him.
Fostering a friendship with him helps us “increase in wisdom, in stature, in favour with God and man” (Luke 2:49-52)
Wisdom is not “beautiful thoughts” like we find on the internet. Wisdom gives practical ways of doing things better and more efficiently. A wise person is sensitive to the needs and feelings of others.
Read for instance Proverbs 31:10-31 and see the qualities of a wise woman. These qualities are simply the fruits of her spending time with God. Such people are very popular and everyone wants to spend time with them.
If heaven begins now in our hearts, we may look forward to the final commendation from the Father who will say “‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:23
Questions:
- Who are your friends and do they lead you to friendship with God?
- What is practical wisdom you have learned in prayer?
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Fr Guido Gockel MHM
A member of St Joseph’s Missionary Society of Mill Hill, headquartered near London, Father Guido was ordained a priest in 1969. Shortly after ordination, he was sent to Malaysia (Sarawak) where he served as a missionary for 18 years.
While on a vacation to Sabah, he was introduced to a group of young people who had become involved in the Charismatic Movement (CCR). This experience helped him to be instrumental in introducing CCR to Miri, Sarawak, where he was assigned to a mission outpost.
Since his first missionary stint of seven years in the early 70’s, he has been back to Malaysia three more postings, and numerous short visits. He has acquired a basic knowledge of “Melayu pasar” and other languages of Sarawak.
Catholic Sabah has the privilege of being acquainted with Fr Guido, who has been generous in giving his time to write for a year under the column titled “I’m on My Way” since the launching of the Catholic Sabah online portal in 2020.
With a little encouragement, Fr Guido has agreed to continue to write, and thus Catholic Sabah decided to upload his writings, once every month, in both English and Bahasa Melayu. Father is open to questions, to offer further discussion/explanation. He can be reached through email or whatsapp @ frguidomhm@gmail.com.
