[Mortal Sin destroys your Ticket-to-Heaven]
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The Madonna of Carmel and the Souls of Purgatory - by TIEPOLO, Giovanni Battista - from Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan The Souls in Heaven, the Church Triumphant, intercede to God on behalf of the Souls in Purgatory, the Church Suffering. Our Blessed Mother in Heaven, the 'Throne of Mercy' and 'Queen of the Angels', takes great delight in sending her Angels to release those Souls mercifully pardoned by her Son Jesus. Although depicted with Bodies, members of the Church Triumphant and Suffering actually have no Bodies, and will not receive their Glorified Bodies until the Final Judgment at the World's End. Currently, there are only Two (2) known Bodies in Heaven, belonging to Jesus Christ and His Blessed Mother. Popular speculation attributes a Third Body belonging to Saint Joseph, based on God's Commandment to 'Honor thy Father and Mother'. Jesus will never be outdone by Man in bestowing Honor on His parents. |
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Fruits of the Spirit and the Beatitudes
In his letter to the Galatians, Saint Paul provides a listing of the Fruits of the Flesh and the Fruits of the Spirit. The latter Fruits are Nine (9) in number: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Generosity, Fidelity, Meekness, and Continence. Theologians from the time of Saint Augustine have maintained that Saint Paul's enumeration of the Gifts is by no means a complete list, but only a sampling, as it were, of the Fruits of the Spirit. This is indicated by the fact that Saint Paul lists Fifteen (15) Fruits of the Flesh and makes it clear that the list is not complete.
The First Thing to be noted about the Fruits of the Spirit is that they are Virtuous Acts or Works performed by those who are "guided by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:18). These Works are in opposition to those that proceed from the Flesh, as Saint Paul states: "My point is that you should live in accord with the Spirit and you will not yield to the Cravings of the Flesh. The Flesh Lusts against the Spirit and the Spirit against the Flesh; the two are directly opposed" (Galatians 5:16-17). Consequently, the Works of the Spirit give Testimony that One is being guided by and is Obedient to the Holy Spirit. The Second Observation is that Saint Paul demands of Christians that they be detached from the things of the Flesh and of this World. He says, after enumerating the Fruits of the Spirit: "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have Crucified their Flesh with its Passions and Desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us follow the, Spirit's lead" (Galatians 5:24-25). Thirdly, though the Fruits of the Spirit are Highly Perfected Virtuous Acts, they are called Fruits precisely because of the Spiritual Delight that they produce. "If these Works are so Perfect, Abundant and Permanent," says John Arintero, "that one is found to be in the state of producing them with Facility and Perfection, then they are so Joyful and Delightful that they constitute, as it were, a prelude to Eternal Happiness. Although they may be performed at the Cost of Annoyance and Tribulation, yet they produce in us an Ineffable Joy to which nothing in this life can be compared. They are truly comparable to the Joys of Heaven". Still more Perfect than the Fruits are the Beatitudes. Like the Fruits, they are Acts that flow from the Virtues and the Gifts, but they are so Perfect that they are more closely related to the Operations - of the Gifts than of the Infused Virtues. In a strict sense there is only One (1) Gift and One (1) Fruit - the Holy Spirit; and there is only One (1) Beatitude - the Beatific Vision in Glory. But the Beatitudes enunciated by Christ are a Foretaste of the Delights of Heaven.
Each Beatitude contains Two (2) Parts; the First Part refers to a Meritorious Act, and the Second Part refers to a Reward. The Reward applies primarily to the life to come, and yet there is likewise the promise of Happiness even in this life. Saint Thomas discusses the Beatitudes by linking them with the
Three (3) Types of Life in which we hope to find Happiness: the Life of Pleasure,
the Active Life, and the Contemplative Life. But the Life of Pleasure is False Happiness;
therefore the First Three (3) Beatitudes
refer to the Detachment required from Worldly Pleasures and Satisfactions if one is to
receive the Reward that is promised. The Active Life, on the other hand, is a disposition
for the Happiness to come, since it consists in the Practice of Virtue; therefore the
Fourth and Fifth
Beatitudes refer to the Active Life, and the Sixth and
Seventh Beatitudes refer to the effects of
the Active Life that are Proximate Dispositions for the Contemplative Life.
The Beatitudes provide a Summary of the Magnificent Ideals proposed for Christian Living. They also provide a contrast between the life of those attached to the Things of this World, and the Life of those who follow Christ. This is clearly Manifested in Luke 6:17-26, where we are told that Jesus came down from the Mountain to a stretch of level ground and, fixing His gaze on His Disciples amid the Crowd, He said:
- End of Part V -
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Man is born a Rational Creature, with Body and Soul,
into the Natural Order.
The Supernatural Organism - Part V of V
The Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Isaiah 11:1-2
Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. 
The Eighth Beatitude, according to Saint
Thomas, is a Manifestation and Confirmation of all those that precede it.
