St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church, offers profound insights on the reality of Heaven and Hell to assist us on the narrow way. Read on to learn the eternal rewards of Heaven and punishments of Hell.
Eternal Rewards and Punishments
Joy vs. Misery
While the just shall enjoy such a supreme and overflowing abundance of happiness in the life to come, it remains to say that the unjust, on the contrary, shall be miserable with unimaginable sorrow. We have described the life of the blessed (insofar as we are able) as being, through the gift of God, suffused with miraculous beauty, limitless velocity, invincible strength, unfettered liberty, perfect health and well-being, as well as the highest degree of pleasure. And those who attain to this wonderful life shall rejoice in unimaginable and unending jubilation.
But, on the contrary, those who are deprived of this blessed state and condemned to eternal damnation shall experience an unimaginable foulness, sluggishness, weakness, stupor, and abject servitude. Unceasing languor and pain shall leave then mourning and wailing for all eternity. And the limitless duration of life, which the blessed shall receive with the greatest love on account of the felicity which they enjoy, shall be endured with the greatest odium by the damned on account of the untold miseries with which they are tormented.
Wisdom vs. Darkness
As for wisdom, as has been noted, this shall be a source of profound joy and honor in the minds of all the souls in heaven. But for the wicked, whatever knowledge they possess shall become a source of regret or confusion.
Unity vs. Hatred
As has been noted, there shall be a chaste and unwavering friendship which unites all those who have attained to the kingdom of God so that they are united in perfect peace and the most harmonious concord. But if there is any unity or fellowship amongst the damned, it shall only be through the fact that they share in torments and are fellow sufferers. However, much more such persons may feel affection towards each other, so much more shall their pains be increased, as they witness those to whom they feel sympathy also suffering. But, on the contrary, there will be no genuine love or harmony amongst such unfortunate and condemned beings at all. For they shall be in continual discord and conflict with all creatures, and all creatures shall likewise be in conflict with them.
Royal Inheritance vs. Depravity
And—in contrast to the plenitude of power which will be enjoyed by all those in heaven—those who find themselves in the realms of eternal suffering shall find themselves utterly without power. They will be continually frustrated in all their efforts, endeavors, desires, and wishes. For they shall be able to do or possess nothing which they desire, but, on the contrary, whatever they do not want shall befall them.
Honor vs. Disgrace
And instead of the immense honor which the saints shall possess, the souls of those condemned shall be afflicted with unrelieved shame and disgrace. And shall there be any end to their state of woe, you ask? Alas, no!
Contentment vs. Despair
Just as those in heaven will feel their happiness augmented by the knowledge that they are absolutely sure that it shall last forever, so those who have made themselves enemies of God will despair when they realize that their torments shall never reach an end. Instead of the timeless and ineffable joy which the just shall receive in heaven, those who have—through their wicked works and lack of repentance—made themselves the companions of demons shall inherit unimaginable sorrows without end or relief.
How to Choose the Path to Heaven
Having considered all of these things, it is very easy to see how useful and profitable it is for a person to spend their earthly lives in the eager performance of works of justice and righteousness and the cultivation of good morals.
Conversely, it is plain how dangerous and foolish a thing it is to neglect good deeds during this life and to become enmeshed in vice and iniquity. For one is a path to unlimited and everlasting joy, whereas the other leads to unspeakable miseries which go on forever and ever!
We may consider the matter more broadly—that is, how useful and profitable it is for a person to live a righteous life and to cultivate a good character, and thus to win final admittance into the kingdom of heaven. For it is useful not only to the person concerned (insofar as it leads to their tranquility in the present life and their eternal happiness in the next), but it is pleasing also to God Himself, and to the holy angels. Indeed, the cultivation of personal virtue and goodness is useful, profitable, and pleasing also to our fellow human beings and to all of creation!
Serving God
Firstly, it is pleasing to God. Of course, the actions of any created being cannot affect God’s own perfect beatitude in the slightest, or be “useful” to Him in any way. For God is entirely self-sufficient. But rather, our good works help to build up the “City of God,” which is constructed by the actions of all people who do what is right. This City of God comes into being through humans beings living in accordance with divine laws, and both glorifies God and promotes our own happiness and peace.
Serving the Holy Angels
How human righteousness is pleasing to the holy angels can be understood by considering the rejoicing felt by a community of good people when one of their number who was missing is returned to them. In a similar way, when a good soul is admitted to the company of the angels in the celestial homeland, great joy abounds amongst them all. For the arrival of this priceless, immortal soul has helped to complete their destined number and to bring closer to perfection the glorious communion of the blessed in God’s eternal court.
Serving Others
We have stated also that the goodness and virtue of any individual is useful and pleasing to all other good human beings and, indeed, to creation itself. For each good person is inflamed by an ardent desire for the eternal joys of heaven and must rejoice when they see the perfection of God’s kingdom approaching more quickly. So in witnessing the good and virtuous actions of others and realizing that these other good people are similarly hastening towards the same heavenly homeland, they must experience genuine joy and satisfaction.
Serving Creation
And all of creation naturally strives for the perfection of the City of God, which is the final consummation of its own ultimate purpose. Creation itself therefore rejoices to see the soul of any good person make its way towards heaven, and finally to enter it. This entrance into heaven (following the death of a good person) is not experienced as a loss by the created world but rather is another step towards its own ultimate perfection, and hence the source of a profound joy.
The City of God
How great a thing is this virtue and goodness which leads a soul to the eternal happiness of heaven! For each individual instance is an indispensable part of the pre-destined reparation of the entire cosmos and a precious component of the ultimate consummation of the celestial kingdom, the glorious bringing to perfection of God’s universal plan. And truly, this divine plan will not be perfected until each and every individual soul who is destined to be saved shall have attained to eternal bliss and have entered into the number of the elect.
The perfection and consummation of this ultimate good is necessarily delayed in this realm of time and space until the very last of the whole multitude of the elect will have reached heaven. Thus God Himself, the holy angels, all blessed souls, and all of creation rejoice whenever a person advances towards heaven and eventually attains it. They desire this with a single, unanimous will, and all the denizens of heaven welcome each new fellow citizen and co-heir of their celestial kingdom with heartfelt and boundless exultation. For each new arrival contributes to the perfection of the City of God, and the eternally predestined number of the host of the blessed, comprising both the holy angels and the souls of the saints.
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This article is taken from a chapter in The Glories of Heaven by St. Anselm of Canterbury which is available from TAN Books.
