Virtual Eternity (the Serialized Novel) Episode 51 - Heaven

This is Episode 51 of the serialized version of the novel, Virtual Eternity: An Epic 90s Retro Florida Techo-Pro-Life Love Story and Conversion Journey. These 52 episodes are presented here free for you every Friday. You can buy the paperback version from Mike Church’s Crusade Channel Store or at Amazon.

Or you can start reading at the Table of Contents: here

Heaven

“I now understand, Dante. But the people of our culture, myself too often included, seem to avoid these graces. Most would rather be distracted, would rather jump about and endanger themselves, or would rather soothe their souls with passive entertainments, mood drugs, easy work, or, worst of all, easy new religions. Many seek conflict resolution and therapy. Are these people judged as evil?”

“Jonathan, remember that is not a question you should ever attempt to determine. But it is understandable why you ask. Most of the Westerners you speak of have not died yet. Of those that have, we have not discerned their intentions. It is a subject we discuss at great length. Your strange, earthly, Western aim is simple: happiness. But it seems your people forget that you have Original Sin to resist. That means the character upon which you are basing your drive for happiness and self-fulfillment is flawed with the inherent tendency to fall away from God, such as in the distractions and fears I detailed. So, your desires for earthly fulfillment are often flawed also.

“It is probable that these fears, and these strivings for self-absorption and material growth that are a response to those fears, will grow only into evil. But did anyone hear Mary when she spoke at Lourdes? She said that God never promised us this kind of earthly happiness. He gave us heaven. The world cannot make us happy. Only Christ can cleanse us of our flaws, perfect us, and re-unify us with the Holy Trinity, somehow, clearly through His great pain.

“And now, my friend, I have finished, and will say goodbye. Now, my Lord will send you forth to your goal.” He slowly floated backward, his palms facing me.

At that moment, before I could whisper farewell to my guide, the most resplendent being I had ever seen emerged: Mary. No human words can illustrate the Beauty of the mother of God. She was not a speck of light or a representation, but a human body. The light burgeoned off the column of love behind the trees, filling her and wrapping around her. She wore a crown of stars that drew their light from the Beatific.

“Come, Jonathan,” Mary said with her hand outstretched. “I am the one who asks that the wayward ones be gathered.” I reached out my glowing hand and placed it into hers, touching something solid for the first time there. Mere descriptions of my bliss are not worthy. We floated above Dante and the other souls, over the grasses to the gold-laden gates on the edge of the forest. Souls bowed as she passed. The gates swung. The soft bright light entered me. My exhilaration increased. My glow increased.

The source of the light emanated beyond the trees inside. Mary led me over a path through the forest. Flowery air filled me. The angelic chorus elevated. The touch of Our Lady’s hand and the sight of her face calmed me.

The woods cleared. A vast city unfolded before me. Countless souls hovered and walked over streets of gold. They leaned on its walls of marble and tall palm trees. They prayed and stared upward at its steeples and golden domes.

“It is beautiful, Mother.”

Angels flitted from steeple to dome, softly floating and waving their wings, like the butterfly at which I gazed when I was a year-and-a-half old. “Life on earth can resemble this at times,” Mary said. “God created this, and the beauty of the earth, and sustains it.”

“Blessed Mother. How can I recognize the Holy Trinity in us?”

“The Holy Trinity is known through its workings in others, in writings and words, and in visible effects on the soul of others. Love and care for all people. It will unfold in feelings of peace, acts of gentleness, and faithfulness to God. Know that It dwells in you. Where It is, heaven is. Where heaven is, I am too. Always.”

“What of my fate, Blessed Mother? Am I staying here to discuss the gifts to our individual souls and participate in the Beatific Vision? Or to first be purified, as I need. Or am I to return to my four dimensions? If so, what else should I do in avoiding and helping to defeat the dark one on earth? And the pain I have caused others disturbs me. I am most concerned that I have anguished you, other saints, and especially the Holy Trinity. What have I done to deserve such joy now? I certainly did not lead a virtuous life. Will I resume life on earth, Blessed Mother?”

“Yes. My Son desires to use your life to make me known and loved, to help make Him known. Serve my Son. Know that for those who ask my help in their work and in their sorrows, I will console them, and they will be at peace.

“In earthly life, strive to return to God and the life He designed for you: creating and teaching souls, serving, praying. That is how you experience peace, joy, and love. Only in God and in His ways. Consecrate all your feelings and thoughts to God. Seek to be cleansed from all your sins so that you will gain heaven.

“You have seen hell. To save further sinners from eternally abiding there, many more must devote themselves to my Immaculate Heart. This will save many souls. Many souls go to hell because no one prays for them.

“Maintain a devotion to my Immaculate Heart. Some on earth have done this. Seek them out.”

The city expanded outward for hundreds of miles, it seemed. It had grassy hills, forests, round buildings, and golden roads. In the center, the light of the Almighty streamed up from an enormous stadium. Being closer to that source filled me with more inexpressible love and peace.

Mary floated with me through perfumed air. Mary seemed to savor each invocation the souls sent to her as she flew.

We hovered before the stadium. Then we set down at its outer gates.

“I pleaded for your soul to be saved from the dark one and for your aspirations to be fulfilled here. Farewell, Jonathan. May you return to us, one day. For now, you shall now meet my Son.”

“Thank you, wonderful Mother.”

I rested outside the rose-shaped stadium from which God emanated. Spirits floated in and out of the building, which I knew only constructed itself as an analogy in my mind. But the effect and meaning of the light were certainly True. No other wonder could elicit the inconceivable rapture my soul beheld. I was unable to catch glimpses of the pure light of God, even through the entrances to the stadium. Later I must reflect on Its mystery, Its extension into all material dimensions, and Its earthly depiction of holy love.

“Peace be with you, Jonathan.” All that I ever strove for on earth culminated into the one that appeared before me. My being erupted with the joy of all that I ever desired. Before me stood the Christ. He had once been a body that had this pure light of the Almighty within Him, on earth. I kneeled and wept.

“Peace be with you, Jonathan.”

“Oh, my Lord, my God, how can I ever have peace being as lowly as I am, yet being so close to you and the Almighty? How can I thank you for your presence? Are you now preparing me for the Empyrean vision, of the light behind you?”

“Know that the Father and I are one, Jonathan.”

“Yes, Lord. I am seeing the vision of God. You are with me because I am still of the earth, and I will return there. Lord, how can you forgive me for the horrific sins I have committed, and the further ones I will commit once the world attacks me again?”

“I do not condemn you. You have been forgiven. Go, and from now on, do not sin. The Father did not send Me here to condemn you, but that you might be saved through Me.”

“On earth, Jesus, what path should I take? What is the proper way to show love for God?”

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments: Love God, and love others. The Father will honor whoever serves me.”

“I know you will help me to learn how to love. I also know that serving you entails teaching about this experience, in words. How can I explain what I have seen here to my fellow man? I am not worthy of this undertaking, Lord.”

“Remember that if you speak on your own, you merely seek your own glory. Whoever seeks the glory of the One who sent him is truthful, and there is no wrong in him. Whoever belongs to God hears the words of God.”

“Oh, yes, Lord. I must listen to the Holy Spirit. Lord, how is it possible You love me, that You shower me with the Holy Spirit?”

“God does not ration His gift of the Spirit, Jonathan. He gives you that Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of Truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows It. But you love, because It remains with you, and will be in you. The Holy Spirit comes to you, so It will testify to Me, to you.”

“Lord, I am worried about the world. I fear that my fellow men will resist, and will scorn me.”

“If the world hates you, realize that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world will hate you.

“You will return to your family now, Jonathan. Again, peace be with you. I also say again, from now on, do not sin. And God sent me to you, that you might be saved, through Me.”

I drifted, away from Christ, the divine light, and the harmonious angels. At the last possible moment, I turned my sights away from heaven. Another light pulled my eyes away from the white and gold joy. I accelerated through a misty cave. Gray light slowly broke through the fog. This light neither comforted nor frightened me. I only accepted it. I accepted the weight with which my unity became encumbered.

Then, in the tower above the melting plains, the sheer force of my travels pushed me back into my shell.

Next week: Episode 52 – The End

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