In this world, we receive a portion of our light from the moon; but that light is still from the sun, because the moon has no light of her own. She is a mere reflector, or instrument by which, during the night, the sun conveys to us a portion of his light. So in heaven. God is the only source of happiness and joy; and no creature is or can be a source of happiness independently of Him. But He can and does make use of creatures to adorn, perfect, and complete the happiness of the whole man.
* Beatitudo accidentalis, proprie et generatim loquendo, est quælibet beati perfectio supernaturalis quæ versatur circa aliquid quod est extra objectum beatificum, prout beatificum est…. Quia nulla est essentia creata quæ non egeat aliquo accidente ad consummationem suæ perfectionis. Essentialis autem beatitudo est quid creatum; ergo ornatur accidentibus. Et sicut essentialis beatitudo consistit in operatione, ita et hæc accidentalis. Jam vero, istius accidentalis beatitudinis causa, seu præmii accidentalis meritum provenit ex bonis operibus, quæ dum merentur præmium seu beatitudinem essentialem, etiam simul merentur accidentalem tamquam proprietatem in essentiali radicaliter contentam…. Ita qui meretur beatitudinem essentialem, simul meretur accidentalem, et utramque per modem unius præmii.—Suarez. de Beat. disput. 11.
Nevertheless, though this accidental glory comes to the blessed from creatures, it is radically contained in the essential, and is given with the essential as one reward, and not as two. For there are not two beatitudes in heaven. There is only one, which comprises both the essential and the accidental. It is true, we make a distinction between them, because the one comes immediately from God, while the other comes from creatures. But it does not, in the hast, follow that this last is of little use or to be despised. Considering the needs of our nature, which is not destroyed, but perfected in heaven, accidental glory is necessary to perfect and complete the blessedness of God's children, and to gratify every rational craving of human nature.
Thus the crown of the virgins—who sing a canticle that no one else can sing, and who follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth—is a mere accidental glory; and yet it is one so much prized that many have given life itself, amidst the most cruel torments, in order to enjoy it. Thus again, our social intercourse with the saints, and the pure joys resulting therefrom, the meeting of our kindred and friends in heaven, the ravishing music which resounds through the vaults of heaven, the pleasures of the glorified senses these and a thousand other joys are the accidental beatitude with which God perfects and completes the happiness of the whole man.
The third error which we shall now examine flows naturally from the mistaken and exclusive views which some persons take of the Beatific Vision. They imagine that the vision of God will so completely absorb and monopolize every faculty of man, that, practically, he will become motionless and inactive as a statue. There can be no greater mistake. It is true that our union with God, in the Beatific Vision, is happiness and joy, greater than mortal man can conceive; but it by no means follows that it will hinder the free exercise of our mental faculties, or the activities of our glorified bodies. Indeed, the very reverse will take place; for glory does not destroy nature, but perfects it.
We are active by nature. Action, therefore, both of mind and body, is a law of our being, which cannot be changed, without radically changing, or rather destroying our whole nature. As glory perfects our whole nature, instead of destroying it, it follows that in heaven we shall be far more active than we can possibly be here below; for there all our powers will exist in their highest perfection. Therefore, the intellect, elevated and strengthened by the light of glory, will continue to think and to contemplate the truth; for such is the natural action of the human intellect. Thus, also, the will, which is the loving power of the soul, shall continue forever to love; for its natural action is to love the good, the beautiful, and the perfect. The memory, also, will forever continue to recall the many graces received from God, thus keeping alive a deep sense of gratitude for His benefits; while the imagination will still continue to make to itself new and captivating pictures of beauty. Thus, also, the eye will continue to see material objects; for such is the natural action of that organ. The ear will continue to hear delightful sounds, and the whole body will continue to receive pleasurable sensations, and to perform all other actions which are natural to it, if we except those that belong to the animal life of man; for, as we have already seen, such actions are incompatible with a life and state of incorruption.
The soul of Jesus Christ enjoyed the Beatific Vision, even while here on earth in mortal flesh. Was He, on that account, prevented from doing anything, except contemplating the Divine Essence? He certainly was not. He labored and preached; he ate, drank, and slept; he visited his friends, and did a thousand other things, without losing sight of the Divine Nature.*
* Ad quartum dicendum, quando unum duorum est ratio alterius, occupatio animæ circa unum non impedit nec remittet occupationem eius circa aliud…. Et quia Deus apprehenditur a sanctis ut ratio omnium quæ ab eis agentur vel cognoscentur: ideo occupatio eorum circa sensibilia et sentienda, vel quæcumque alia contemplanda aut agenda, in nullo impediet divinam contemplationem, nec e converso. Vel dicendum quod ideo una potentia impeditur in actu suo quando alia vehementer operatur, quia una potentia de se non sufficit ad tam intensam operationem, nisi ei subveniatur per id quod erat aliis potentiis vel membris instituendum a principio vitæ: et quia erunt in sanctis omnes potentiæ perfectissimæ, una poterit ita intense operari, quod ex hoc nullum impedimentum præstabitur actioni alterius potentiæ; sicut et in Christus fuit.—S. Thom., Suppl., q. 82, art. 8.
Moreover, if the Beatific Vision is to overpower us, suspend our activities, and change us into statues, what would be the use of bestowing upon us the gift of agility? As we have seen, by that wonderful gift we shall be empowered to transport ourselves, with the rapidity of thought, to the most distant parts of God's universe. Is such a power to be given as a reward to God's children, and then rendered totally inactive and useless? We might as well say that though we shall have eyes, we shall not see. Wherefore, St. Thomas maintains that the blessed will go from place to place, according to their will, to exercise the power of agility which they have received, and to enjoy the beauty of God's creatures, which eminently reflect the divine wisdom.* nor shall they, on this account, lose anything of their essential happiness, which consists in the vision of God, for they will find Him everywhere present.
* Respondeo dicendum, quod corpora gloriosa aliquando moveri necesse est ponere…. Verisimile est quod aliquando movebuntur pro suæ libitu voluntatis, ut illud quod habent virtute actu exercentes, divinam sapientiam commendabilem ostendant; et ut etiam visus eorum reficiatar pulchritudine creaturarum dtversarum, in quibus Dei sapientia eminenter relucebit. Sensus autem non potest esse nisi præsentium, quamvis magis a longinquo sentire possint corpora gloriosa, quam non gloriosa: nec tamen per motum aliquid deperibit eorum beatitudini quæ consistit in Dei visione, quem ubique præsentem habebunt.—S. Thom., Suppl., q. 84, art. 2.