What Is the Glory of Heaven Like?

Gospel for the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord

I – The Manifestation of the Lord’s Glory

In leafing through the pages of the holy Gospels, we see that there is no other Transfiguration of Jesus besides the one of Tabor. It is true that after He resurrected, He appeared to the Apostles in the Cenacle (cf. Mk 16:14-18; Lk 24:36-49; Jn 20:19-29), to St. Mary Magdalene (cf. Mk 16:9; Jn 20:1-18) and to the Holy Women (cf. Mt 8:9-10), but nothing indicates that He showed them the resplendence described in this grandiose scene that we now contemplate. In it, He revealed a diminished reflection of His glory, concealing the plenitude of His splendour. How can we interpret this sublime episode? What relationship does it have with us, two thousand years later? This passage offers many insights, with useful implications for the spiritual life. It seems, at first, to have no obvious connection with the Christian vocation, so aptly outlined by the Second Vatican Council: “If therefore in the Church everyone does not proceed by the same path; nevertheless, all are called to sanctity and have received an equal privilege of faith through the justice of God (cf. Rom 12:4-5).”¹ Perfection is not something exclusive to the clergy or religious, but should also shine in the laity, so that the Catholic spirit pervades the temporal reality. To be a saint, it is not necessary to perform miracles, or have extraordinary gifts or be transfigured, as Jesus was. Even in the Old Testament, God convoked Israel to holiness: “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel, you shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’” (Lv 19:1-2). Consequently, it is not easy to establish a strict relationship between the general vocation of the sons of God to holiness and the Transfiguration of Our Lord, a miraculous phenomenon. Let us examine the question more closely.

Three chosen witnesses

When did the Transfiguration occur? According to St. Mark, six days, and St. Luke, eight days, after the decisive act in which St. Peter declared Jesus to be Christ, the Son of the living God (cf. Mt 16:13-17; Mk 8:27-30; Lk 9:18-21), and the Divine Master replied: “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build My Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” (Mt 16:18). Yet, directly following this, Jesus had foretold the sufferings that awaited Him in Jerusalem, even though His followers had not understood the meaning of His words. The Apostles had followed Our Lord for some time, but, regrettably, had formed a twofold vision of Him. One was human, for, having assumed our nature, He suffered the needs of the human state. He felt hunger and thirst; He experienced fatigue, as, for example, in the dialogue with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (cf. Jn 4:1-26), when He asked her for water as the Apostles went to buy food; or when He slept in the boat (cf. Mt 8:23-24; Mk 4:37-38; Lk 8:22-23). Alongside these common occurrences were episodes that demonstrated His superiority, such as His spending the entire night in prayer without this affecting His activity the next day (cf. Lk 6:12-13); healing the sick and casting out demons with all ease, by a simple command; and even His teaching a doctrine that was new and different from any school in existence, without having applied Himself to study. Both aspects presented a picture of Our Lord that was difficult to grasp at a glance… He exhibited alternately human and divine facets, and everyone, Apostles and disciples alike, could see that this was the Saviour. Yet because of their erroneous Messianic notions, seeing Him crucified would be a tremendous dashing of their hopes, and a shakeup of their convictions; they would suffer psychological disorientation. Their most ardent desires would clash with the painful outcome of the Passion; when faced with Christ’s death the crucial question would arise: Was He or was He not the promised Messiah? Jesus, the zealous shepherd of His small flock, did everything to prepare them for these impending events. He knew how much they needed reinforcement and encouragement to stand fast in their faith. However, this was not to be given to all equally, as St. Thomas of Villanova affirms, in his explanation for why only three Apostles witnessed the wondrous scene of the Transfiguration: “So that the testimony of what was seen would be more firm and conclusive for the others, it was necessary to have few witnesses, so that sheer evidence and a high number of witnesses not let them lose the merit of faith.”² Later, these three would sustain the others in their trial, mitigating their feelings of uncertainty at what seemed to be the Messiah’s defeat. Thus, supported by the words of those who had witnessed the Transfiguration, all would remain firm in the belief of the divinity of Jesus. The ones who had been chosen would have to witness many of the humiliations of Our Lord Jesus Christ during the Passion and His Agony in the Garden of Olives. Providence normally asks more sacrifices of those who are more favoured by grace, those who are more loved. And if a person is privy to supernatural marvels, he will very possibly be put to the test to prove his love of God through his love of the cross. When the soul is bent under tribulations and the burden seems too much to bear, that is the time to recall that the cross is the sign of the predestined and that the time of trial foretells the hour of consolation. God always acts with balance, supporting souls in proportion to their needs.

Our Lord with the three Apostles after the Transfiguration - Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg (Russia)

The sight made such a deep impression on these three witnesses that it is narrated in all three synoptic Gospels, as well as in St. Peter’s reference to the voice of the Father in his second letter: “We ourselves heard this voice come from Heaven while we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Pt 1:18). In his Gospel, St. John also records the splendorous vision of the glory of the Son of God, most likely referring to this episode with these words: “full of grace and truth; we have beheld His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (Jn 1:14).

Mount Tabor (Israel)

Glory manifested in refulgent light

Christ chose to reveal His glory “as He was praying.” This is a lesson for us, who often give little importance to prayer, putting the practical concerns of daily life first. Prayer makes our soul celestial; it is vital that we never leave off prayer. How should Jesus’ dazzling appearance on this occasion be understood? He wished to show a flicker of what we will behold in Heaven. Actually, Peter, John, and James could not have contemplated the divinity of Our Lord with the sense of sight, since it is a reality that lies beyond the grasp of human nature on earth. We will only be able to see it in Heaven, with spiritual eyes. But during the Transfiguration, they captured what the human eye captures, that is, the exterior brilliance of the Sacred Body of the Lord. The glory of the Body was a reflection of the much more splendorous glory of the Soul.

The apogee of the Old Law bows before the Gospel

Moses was the high point of the impressive history of the Hebrew people, marked by great figures such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and many others. The life of this providential man is filled with amazing events. He is, perhaps, unequalled in the Old Testament, not only because of his important calling, but also for his intimacy with God, which was such that the Sacred Author affirms: “Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend” (Ex 33:11). Elijah, for his part, whose life was also characterized by divine action and grandeur, was considered the apogee of prophetism, and was revered in a special way by pious Israelites, for his mission was not completed. Despite having been mysteriously taken up in a fiery chariot, the prophet Malachi prophesied his eventual return to fulfil yet another special mission pertaining to the Chosen People (cf. Mal 3:23-24). Because of this set of circumstances, his memory endured almost as if he yet lived among them. The fact that both appeared on Mount Tabor, undoubtedly assuming an attitude of submission to Jesus – the details of which the simple evangelical narration does not give – was further confirmation to the three witnesses of what the Transfiguration was saying: Jesus Christ is truly the promised Messiah, the Son of God.

An enormous grace that escaped their understanding

Peter’s reaction shows how difficult it was for him to refrain from expressing in words all that unfolded before him. And there was good reason for what he said, for it reflected the desire to perpetuate that state of paradisiacal felicity. They were enraptured by marvels the likes of which they had never seen, yet they were afraid (cf. Mk 9:5-6), for they still had a degree of attachment to many principles that did not correspond with what was happening in their sight. The desire for a temporal Messiah who would resolve Israel’s problems was eclipsed by this magnificent scene. In seeing Jesus’ resplendence, they likely did not understand the full scope of the Transfiguration, for they were not yet prepared to assimilate everything He had to impart. The true notion of the Saviour had yet to be formed in their spirits and that episode clashed with the distorted concepts that held sway in their minds. This contradiction did not keep them from experiencing what a body is like after reuniting with its own soul. “Now faith” – St. Paul tells us – “is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb 11:1). And in that instant they had a foretaste of a reality announced by faith, namely, the splendour pertaining to a glorious body. Grace was not lacking, for if Our Lord transfigured Himself without supporting them with especially sensible supernatural assistance, what good would it do? Reason alone could not sustain them, for these graces with which God educates and leads us to sanctity are essential.

Adoptive sons, God loves us as an only child

The phenomenon narrated in these verses took place to ground the tremendous importance of this vision even more deeply in the sensibility of the Apostles. Let us pause to reflect on the word “Son.” Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, God the Son, the only Son begotten of the Father. But we are included in this sonship, for we are adoptive sons of God by Baptism. We are thus Jesus’ brothers, and part of the divine family. The glory revealed on Tabor was a foretaste of the eternal glory that awaits us, if we are faithful to this sublime condition. For this we must “listen to Him,” for “you have one master, the Christ” (Mt 23:10). In “My chosen Son,” the Father deposited everything He could – infinite Goodness, Truth and Beauty. To us also, His chosen ones, He grants measureless gifts in Baptism and in all the other Sacraments. It was He Who instilled whatever good is in us, through His love. To be loved by God is an extraordinary privilege that we should jealously guard, by fleeing from sin. And if we are ever so unfortunate as to lose the state of grace, we should immediately set out to regain God’s friendship, following the path of repentance to the merciful tribunal of Penance.

Jesus manifests His glory, detail of the “Transfiguration of the Lord” - Cathedral of Avila (Spain)

Consolations do not last forever

In this world, every joy comes to an end. After this great mystical experience, the three Apostles had to descend the mount and turn to evangelization with all of its obstacles and difficulties. When sensible grace ceases we are left with cooperative grace – which never fails – but which requires our collaboration, which is often inadequate. This is where problems start, since in day-to-day life we lack the clarity of understanding of the supernatural life that we have when operative grace is acting in us.³ The Evangelists describe how the Apostles struggled with the topic of Death and Resurrection presented to them by Our Lord on Tabor (cf. Mt 17:21-22; Lk 9:44-45; Mk 9:31-32), tending to interpret what they had seen according to human criteria – in the other evangelical narration they asked one another what “the rising from the dead meant” (Mk 9:10) – and, shortly after, they argued about who would be greater (Lk 9:46). They had already forgotten the consolations of the Transfiguration. And at the dolorous spectre of Christ’s Passion, they wavered and fled. There is a lesson in this for our spiritual life. In order not to lose sight of the supernatural and fall into temptation, we should revolve our lives around the outlook that mystical graces provide. They are much more frequent in the spiritual life of the faithful than we imagine, and are valuable aids for persevering through difficult times.

II – A Reflection of the Absolute

The Transfiguration gives us an idea of the reflection of the Absolute that awaits those who go to Heaven. Let us keep our eyes trained on this final goal, our resurrection in a state of glory, if by God’s mercy we attain salvation. For a better understanding of what this state involves, let us first consider the state of the God-Man. He shows Himself to us in a mortal body, but we know that it ought to. be glorious,⁴ for several reasons: because of the hypostatic union – that is, the union of the divine with the human nature in the Person of the Word; because His soul never left the beatific vision from the moment of conception; and, finally, by the merits gained by His Death on the Cross. Obviously, we do not have hypostatic union with a Divine Person, but, respecting due proportions, we are called to see God face to face in Heaven, in addition to profiting from the merits of our Divine Redeemer, transferred to us by His infinite mercy. We have, then, like Jesus, the requisites that guarantee our acquiring a glorious body after the resurrection of the dead. The Transfiguration gives us an idea of our life in eternity and imparts hope, for, as the Apostle affirms, we will be similar to Christ in the future life and we will triumph with Him, “provided we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom 8:17). The three Apostles’ testimony of this miracle sheds light on the happiness of Heaven; Peter was prompted to suggest setting up three tents and staying on Tabor. He felt an inner joy that made him want to remain on the mount and to forget the battles and labours that still awaited him below, just like us when we are filled with supernatural consolation… we wish it would never end!

The Apostles behold the dazzling brightness of Jesus, detail of the “Transfiguration of the Lord” - Cathedral of Avila (Spain)

The heavenly inheritance

Now, as we know, Heaven is the inheritance of the sons of God. To gain a deeper understanding of this truth, we can form a contrast. If we reflect on hell, we recognize the total absence of love there. In that place, no one loves his neighbour; there is crazed hatred for the blessed souls in Heaven as well as for those sharing the same disgrace. It is a perpetual hatred, for everything and everyone. Life in Heaven, conversely, is an existence of eternal love. Love produces happiness, and this is Heaven’s essence, springing from the beatific vision, for the intelligence has the need to adhere to truth, and the will has the need to love the good within its reach. This aspiration of the powers of the soul is fully satisfied with the attainment of the vision of God Himself. An image illustrates this reality: when we are offered an appetizing fruit, such as a ripe and fragrant mango, our intelligence perceives its authenticity, which entices our will all the more. And if its taste corresponds with the expectations that we have formed of it, the will and intelligence are attended to, and we feel satisfied. The existence of evil could be held up to challenge the previous statement, for it seems that when man sins, for example, he loves evil. But, in practicing evil, man deceives himself, incorrectly believing that he will find good in sin, for he cannot love evil for its own sake or embrace error as such.⁵ False appearances suggested by the senses are what cloud the intelligence and weaken the will.⁶ In theft, to mention a particular sin, the thief wants to obtain a good for himself – the property of another – without the inconvenience and effort of working honestly for it. He knows that this is a violation of God’s Law, a serious transgression against the victim and against order, but he egoistically opts for his own advantage. To quell his troubled conscience, he will devise sophisms to justify the illicit act and cloak it with appearances that seem good, without which he would not be able to commit it. For the same reason, heresy disguises itself as truth in order to achieve free rein: if it flaunted its error without any masks, no one would accept it. In Heaven, where there is no fraud, Good and Truth are found in essence, and thus, it is impossible for man not to love. Thus, from the moment in which the soul sees God, in the beatific vision, the intelligence and the will immediately adhere to Him, absolutely and irrevocably.

What will heavenly happiness be like?

We were all created for God, and our soul yearns for Him. This plenitude of satisfaction comes from the possession of Him in Heaven. Why plenitude? Because the intensity and the duration of joy depend on the quality of the object possessed. If it is small, with time it fades and we tire of it, as usually happens, sooner or later, with material goods and all worldly things. Human pleasure is fleeting. Who can listen uninterruptedly to the same music, however beautiful, or look at just one landscape fixedly for years without moving on? In this life, everything eventually becomes tiresome. But not God, because in Heaven He will be seen in His entirety, but not totally. And as He is the supreme Truth and Beauty, He will eternally present us with new aspects, and we will never experience boredom. “Then,” St. Robert Bellarmine comments, “wisdom will no longer consist in a quest for the divine in the mirror of created things, but in the revealed vision of God’s essence, Cause of all causes, and of the first and Supreme Truth.”⁷ The natural desire to find out and to know is satiated with this vision, for our understanding will be elevated by God’s light – lumen gloriæ – to the capacity of comprehending Him in the most perfect way possible for our state. And if in this life the notion of certain truths brings us joy, what will be the happiness stemming from the dilation of the human intelligence by a loan of the divine intelligence? Nevertheless, heavenly happiness would be incomplete if it were limited to heeding only the desires of the intelligence. The will also attains the fullness of its satisfaction therein. The heart needs to love and be loved, and nothing produces so much happiness as fulfilling this ideal, even if in a transient manner. When someone whom we regard highly, especially if they are superior to us in some way, says “I esteem you greatly!” the heart expands with the feeling of being loved. How great our joy will be when God says to us: “My child, I truly love you! I love so much that I created you, and My love instilled in your soul all the good that it has. Come, My child! I am here to be your eternal joy!” St. Alphonsus says that the souls “in Heaven are certain that they love and are loved by God. They see that the Lord embraces them with a great love, which will endure for all eternity.”⁸ This is the happiness in Heaven! It is a happiness that satisfies without satiating, for it does not produce boredom. Thus, just like the Truth, the Goodness of God is also infinite, always offering man something new and worthy of love. The Saints have created an expressive image to compare eternal delight to a thirst that, being satisfied, is never satiated: a thirst for thirst. “The heavenly goods satisfy. and always give joy to the heart [...]. And, even though they fully satisfy, they always seem new, as if it were the first time enjoying them; we always enjoy them and always desire them; we always desire them and always obtain them.”⁹

III – Jesus was Transfigured for Each One of Us

These considerations on the glory of Heaven help us understand the meaning of Tabor. When Jesus transfigures Himself in the sight of the Apostles, He also does- - so before each one of us, for the Liturgy enables us to profit, today, from the graces that were poured out two thousand years ago during that event. We participate in the wonderment of Sts. Peter, John, and James. And from afar we understand, perhaps even better than the Apostles themselves, the message that the Divine Teacher wants to transmit for our benefit.

Paradise, “Les très riches heures du Duc de Berry” - The Condé Museum, Chantilly (France)

Every Christian who faithfully follows in the footsteps of Jesus experiences spiritual Tabor moments – moments in which the splendour of Our Lord Jesus is clearly seen. It is the moment of Transfiguration. Such experiences can be felt during liturgical celebrations, when receiving the Eucharist, during a Confession, during a moment of fervent prayer, or even in circumstances that crop up in daily life. The Holy Spirit chooses the time and place to favour the soul with mystical graces. The remembrance of such consolations should be carefully cherished in our memory, like snapshots of life’s most special moments in an album, so that these unique moments can be later relived. The opposite also holds true; the good Christian undergoes “Good Fridays” during his earthly journey, when he most resembles the Saviour. These can consist of simple problems, painful illnesses, family issues, financial setbacks, calamities, disillusionments, deceptions, or tragedies of which no existence is devoid… We can even feel abandoned by God; we can feel that He does not hear our prayer, our cry of anguish, and we are tempted against faith, we waver, and we doubt. Jesus seems so far away. But, the truth is that He is closer to us than ever, even though we do not feel Him at our side. So, we must make the small effort, which is neither tiring nor toilsome, to recall the moments of transfiguration, in which we felt His help with greater intensity, His love for us as a Father and His concern as a Shepherd. This simple recollection will fortify us in faith; it can revive the consolations with which we were favoured in the past and help us to bridge times of aridity or life’s trials and tribulations. The hope of eternal reward is precious encouragement in carrying our daily cross with Christian resignation, just as the three Apostles were the most confident during the Passion because they had witnessed the Transfiguration, and St. John was able to remain at the foot of the Cross on Calvary, beside the Blessed Virgin and Holy Women. Let us give these flashes of Tabor their due value, for they are the key to our spiritual life, the foundation for our perseverance. ◊  

Notes

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¹ SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL. Lumen gentium, n.32.

² ST. THOMAS OF VILLANOVA. Dominica secunda Quadragesimæ, n.1. In: Obras Completas. Madrid: BAC, 2011, v.II, p.735.

³ Cf. ST. THOMAS AQUINAS. Summa Theologiæ. I-II, q.111, a.2.

⁴ Cf. Idem, III, q.14, a.1.

⁵ Cf. Idem, I-II, q.77, a.2.

⁶ Cf. Idem, q.75, a.2, ad 1; q.77, a.1.

⁷ ST. ROBERT BELLARMINE. De ascensione mentis in Deum per scalas rerum creatarum, gradus XV (Ex consid. magnitud. iustitiae Dei). São Paulo: Paulinas, 1955, p.247.

⁸ ST. ALPHONSUS MARIA DE LIGUORI. Sermoni compendiati per tutte le domeniche dell’anno, Dom. II di Quaresima: Del Paradiso. In: Obras Ascéticas. Madrid: BAC, 1954, t.II, p.918-919.

⁹ Idem, p.919.