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Saint Josemaria Quotations from Saint Josemaria

Twelve Points about the Next Life

We impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our

glorification. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have

crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, "What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of

man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Cor 2:7-9

2 God himself will be with them; he will wipe away

every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no

more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying

nor pain any more, for the former things have

passed away. Rev 21: 3-4.

They shall see his face, and his name shall be on

their foreheads. And night shall be no more; they

need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and

ever. Rev 22: 4-5

3 Human love, the love we experience on earth when it is really genuine, helps us to savour divine

love. That is how we grasp the love by which we rejoice in God and which we will share in heaven

when the Lord is "everything to everyone." If we begin to understand God's love, we will feel impelled

to become increasingly more compassionate, more generous, more dedicated. Christ is Passing By,

166

4 'What does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and suffers the loss of his own soul?' What

use to man are all the things of the earth, all that our intelligence and will can aspire to? What is the

point of all that, if it is all to come to an end and sink out of sight; if all the riches of this world are

mere theatre props and scenery, and if after all this there is eternity for ever, and ever, and ever?

(…) Men lie when they say 'for ever' about things on earth. The only true, totally true, 'for ever' is that

which we say with reference to God. This is how you ought to live your life, with a faith that will help

you to taste the honey, the sweetness of heaven whenever you think about eternal life which is

indeed 'for ever'. Friends of God, 200

5 Look: what we have to try to do is to get to heaven. If we don't, nothing is worthwhile. Faithfulness

to Christ's doctrine is absolutely essential to our getting to heaven. To be faithful it is absolutely

essential to strive doggedly against anything that blocks our way to eternal happiness. Christ is

Passing By, 76

6 Our Lord speaks frequently to us of the reward which he won for us by his Death and Resurrection.

'I am going away to prepare a home for you. And though I do go away, to prepare you a home, I am

coming back; and then I will take you to myself, so that you too may be where I am.' Heaven is the

final destination of our path on earth. Jesus has gone ahead of us and awaits us there, in the

company of Our Lady and of St Joseph, whom I so much revere, and of all the angels and saints.

Friends of God, 220

7 In the hour of temptation, practise the virtue of Hope, saying: ‘For my rest and enjoyment I have the

whole of eternity ahead of me. Here and now, full of Faith, I will earn my rest through work and win

my joy through suffering. What will Love be like in Heaven?’ Better still, you should practise your

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Men — this has always happened

in history — bind their lives

together to accomplish a

collective mission and destiny. Is

the unique destiny of eternal

happiness worth less to the men

and women of today?

Love by saying: ‘What I want is to please my God,

my Love, by doing his Will in all things, as though

there were neither reward nor punishment — simply

to please him.’ The Forge, 1008

8 'This man is dying. There is nothing more to be

done... 'It happened years ago in a hospital in

Madrid. After his confession, when the priest gave

him his crucifix to kiss, that gipsy started to shout,

and no one could stop him: 'I can't kiss Our Lord

with this filthy mouth of mine!' 'But listen: very soon

you are going to embrace him and give him a big

kiss, in Heaven!’ Have you ever seen a more

startlingly beautiful way of expressing contrition?

The Way of the Cross, Third Station

9 How that sick woman, whom I tended spiritually, loved the Will of God! She saw her many, long-

lasting and painful illnesses (not a single part of her body was healthy), as a blessing from Jesus and

a sign of his special love. Although in her humility she used to say that she deserved punishment, the

terrible sufferings that she felt all over her were not a punishment, but a mercy. We spoke of death.

and of Heaven. And of what she was going to say to Jesus and to Our Lady. And how she would be

“working” much more from up there than she could down here. She was ready to die whenever God

wanted... but, she exclaimed, full of joy, “If only it could be today!” She looked forward to death with

the joy of one who knows that when we die we go to meet our Father. The Forge, 1034

10 I like to say that there are three things that fill us with gladness in this life and which will bring us

the eternal happiness of Heaven: a firm, refined, joyful and unquestioning fidelity to the faith, to the

vocation that each of us has received, and to purity. The person who gets entangled in the brambles

along the way (sensuality, pride, etc.) does so because he wants to and, if he doesn't change, he will

be miserable all his life because he will have turned his back on Christ's Love. Friends of God, 187

11 Men — this has always happened in history — bind their lives together to accomplish a collective

mission and destiny. Is the unique destiny of eternal happiness worth less to the men and women of

today? Furrow, 729

12 In this life, the contemplation of supernatural reality, the action of grace in our souls, our love for

our neighbour as a result of our love for God — all these are already a foretaste of heaven, a

beginning that is destined to grow from day to day. We Christians cannot resign ourselves to leading

a double life: our life must be a strong and simple unity into which all our actions converge. Christ is

Passing By, 126

Points from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

"God our Saviour desires all men to be saved and to come

to the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim 2:3-4). "There is no

other name under heaven given among men by which we

must be saved" (Acts 4:12) than the name of JESUS.

Prologue

The desire for God is written in the human heart, because

man is created by God and for God; and God never

ceases to draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the

truth and happiness he never stops searching for. CCC, 27

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"We believe that the multitude of those gathered around Jesus and Mary in Paradise forms the

Church of heaven, where in eternal blessedness they see God as he is and where they are also, to

various degrees, associated with the holy angels in the divine governance exercised by Christ in

glory, by interceding for us and helping our weakness by their fraternal concern" (Paul VI, Credo of

the People of God § 29). CCC, 1053