'Heaven is Loading....Please Wait...'

So I arrived at work and turned on my computer and the screen said. 'please wait ...loading'. The circular spinning thing kept turning over and over.

Me: "I turned the computer off and restarted it but the same thing happened. See? How long is this gonna take?”

IT Guy: “You’re just gonna have to wait. Be patient.”

Me: ”Ya, but for how long?”

IT Guy: “Don’t worry, it won’t take forever. Just give it some time. It’s probably cleaning out a bug in the system.”

Me: "Hmmm. Ok.  Well that’s good cause I don't have forever; at some point my life will end. I need to get this going now. I thought technology was supposed to make our lives better. Whatever happened to that?”

This got me thinking. What if when I die I see a giant screen with the words,

“Please wait…Heaven is loading…”

Honestly, I was relieved. 'Yes! I made it to heaven. Well I guess not yet. This must be purgatory...' I thought. 

I leaned in to my guardian angel who has never abandoned me and has turned out to be a wise guide and great consolation in the state of purgation.

Me: “Uh excuse me. Hi there. How long will this take?”

My Guardian Angel: “According to scripture some sins are forgiven in this age and others are forgiven in the age to come”  (Mt 12:32).

Me: “The age to come? So I could be here for ages?”

My Guardian Angel: “That depends on what kind of  bugs need to be cleared out of the system. See, scripture also says, 'Nothing unclean will ever enter heaven'(Rev21:27. But really, only God knows. For thou O Lord, thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men (2 Chron. 6:30).

Me: “I don’t get it. I died in a state of grace. I was in a friendship and communion with the Lord.” 

My Guardian Angel: “All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.”(CCC 1030). 

Me: “Ok. Ya that’s what I thought... Wow, it’s getting hot in here! This kinda feels like a prison.”

My Guardian Angel: Yes, that is what the Lord said, “ Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny” (Matthew 5:25-26).

I look up and see the screen. The circle keeps spinning but nothing is happening. It still says, ‘Heaven is loading’. 

Me: “Dear angel. The worst part about this. What really pains me… my greatest torment is the intense longing to behold God and to enjoy his possession. How long has it been so far?’

My Guardian Angel: “One hour.”

Me:  “What! I have been here only one hour and it seems to me like ten thousand. Every second feels like a burning fire.”

My Guardian Angel: “That’s good because the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). 

Me: “I hope that they didn’t automatically assume I went to heaven. I hope my family didn't do a 'canonization' at my funeral, or even worse, saying that I am now an angel. I hope there are people praying for me down there. Please. Anyone?"

My Guardian Angel:  “The Church is praying for you. From the beginning the Church has honored the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. The Church also commends almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance undertaken on behalf of the dead. (CCC 1032). 

Me: “My certainty that I will enter heaven is both the source of my happiness and my pain. The more I wait for heaven the more slowly the time passes and the greater is my suffering in this waiting” 

As I stared at the screen and waited in agony for ‘heaven to load' it dawned on me that I should have been more patient with my loved ones and I definitely should have prayed more for the poor souls in purgatory when I had the chance.