 | Father Richard James Cleary was born and reared in Wichita. After graduation from Cathedral High School in 1947, he attended the seminary operated by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey in Northwestern Missouri. There he came to appreciate the life of the monks and, having obtained the permission of Bishop Mark Carroll of Wichita, he became a monk of that monastery. After being ordained a priest in 1955, his superiors sent him to get his master’s degree at the University of Ottawa, Canada, then to study in Athens, Greece, and then in Rome, Italy, where he obtained his doctor’s degree in Theology. Finally, he spent a year of study at Harvard University. Later, Fr. Cleary was assigned to teach for many years in Rome. In 1998, he returned to Wichita, where he served in parish ministry at St. Mary’s Cathedral and at Blessed Sacrament parishes. In 2001, his abbot (superior) transferred him to Arkansas, where he served as chaplain of the Benedictine Sisters of Holy Angels Convent in Jonesboro, and helped in the parishes of northeast Arkansas. In March 2010, he was re-assigned to his monastery, Conception Abbey, Conception, in Missouri 64433. He can be contacted there at, 660-944-2877, or by email: rjcleary@juno.com. |
Religion
2002-04-01 13:45:00
In heaven... will everyone be treated the same?
Question: In heaven, is there any difference in the way people are treated? For instance, will those who have lived exemplary lives be treated better than those who did not?
Answer: In his treatise about resurrection of the body (1 Cor 15) St. Paul observes in verse 41: "The stars differ among themselves in splendor." Or, as an older translation has it: Star differs from star in glory." The Apostle is referring to final resurrection at the end of time and the different degrees of splendor or glory in the resurrected bodies of those in heaven.Somewhere in the gospels Jesus states that "whoever gives a cup of cold water, in his name to someone who is thirsty, will not be lacking a reward."If this is true for so simple and humble an act of mercy, how much greater will be the reward for someone who has lived an exemplary good life? Everyone who is saved goes to heaven, where there is a diversity of rewards according to the different merits of the individuals who are saved. These merits are acquired primarily from the grace of God through Jesus Christ, but also correspond to the good will and the good works of each person.During this life everyone has opportunity to increase their capacity for happiness in eternity. What you call "better treatment," I call: capacity for happiness.Everyone in heaven is completely happy, all their desires being fulfilled. But everyone does not have the same degree of happiness. I use a crude illustration: imagine in succession the following containers: a thimble, a drinking-glass, a large bowl, a bathtub, a swimming pool, a lake, and an ocean. Each of these containers is filled with water. (Here the water is a symbol of happiness.) If I ask: which is more full?... you must reply: "Well, each is full. But it is evident that the lake holds more water than does the drinking-glass." Each container is full according to its capacity. But not everyone has the same capacity. During this life each person is given by God the ability to increase his/her capacity for happiness in eternity. That capacity is fixed at the moment of death, i.e. of our passing from this life into eternity. Then it is fixed forever. In heaven there is no jealousy or sadness over another person having a greater capacity for happiness. But various individuals have attained a greater or larger capacity for happiness than others. The saints, those friends of God who passed their lives on earth in loving and serving God and their neighbor, certainly have a greater degree of happiness than do those individuals, who neglected God and their neighbor until their deathbed, when they repented and received forgiveness.The holy Virgin Mary is compared with the ocean in her capacity for happiness. Every moment of her life was completely in accord with the Will of God for her: "Let it be done to me according to your word" (Lk 1:38). By contrast, the person who has led a sinful and selfish life, but who receives the grace of repentance on his/her deathbed, will be saved and go to heaven. But their capacity for happiness is like that of the thimble. Thus each person ought to strive, while they have life, to increase their capacity, which will be fixed forever at death. I remember that Mother Teresa of Calcutta and Princess Diana of Wales were personal friends and died within a few days of each other. Journalists and news-reporters associated both ladies as walking hand-in-hand together in heaven. I doubt it turned out that way. Mother Teresa seems to have died in perfect love for God, after a lifetime of generous service to her poor neighbor. Princess Diana seems to have died in a situation of adultery, which is a serious offense against God. Thus the capacity for happiness in both women was not the same, could not be, as God is perfect Justice.We have reason to hope that the princess was saved by her faith and her charity, in addition to being aided by the prayers of her friend, the holy foundress of the Missionaries of Charity. The circumstances of their respective deaths would seem to indicate quite a difference in their respective capacities for happiness.
