09/05/2026
Meditation for Friday of the Fifth Week of Easter:
Longing for Eternity
1. "Grant to Thy people to love that which Thou commandest and to desire that which Thou dost promise; so that amid the changing things of this world, our hearts may be set where true joys are to be found.” We should long to ascend to heaven and should be absorbed by the desire for eternity.
2. As our high priest our Savior recited this prayer: "Father, I will that where I am, they also whom Thou hast given Me may be with Me. That they may see My glory which Thou hast given Me, because Thou hast loved Me before the creation of the world" (John 17:24). The Father promised that we shall be taken to that place where Jesus is in the glory of the Father. Through our baptism we have become the children of God, "and if sons, heirs also, heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ" (Rom. 8:17). The Lord has prepared a place for us in heaven, that "our fellowship may be with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ" (I John 1:3); that is, we are to possess and enjoy the life and the fruits of the three divine per-sons, to see God, to repose eternally in the presence of God, to love Him. The joy of God will then be our joy; the life of God will be our life. We shall share a perfect life, in which all our powers will find their most perfect exercise and complete fulfillment. If we could only perceive what things God has prepared for us, what great efforts we would exert to obtain this one thing necessary! Father, grant us to desire with all the powers of our soul the things which Thou hast promised us. Let us forget all worldly things, all that is temporal and passing, and exert ourselves to obtain those things that await us.
"Grant that our hearts may be set where true joys are to be found" (Collect). The baptized soul must linger here on earth, but he allows transitory things to pass by as if they were no concern of his. He possesses them and he makes use of them as if he possessed them not and used them not. All his powers and thoughts and endeavors are concentrated on eternity, on the world above the stars. He lives entirely for the things that are to come when this world has passed away. His mind is occupied with the consideration of future joys, and of the perfect and glorious happiness of eternity. He is assured of possessing it because he possesses the Holy Ghost, and because he has become the son of God through his baptism. It is guaranteed to him by the resurrection and ascension of the Lord, who is the head of the body into which he has been incorporated. "But God (who is rich in mercy), for His exceeding charity wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together in Christ (by whose grace you are saved) and hath raised us up together and hath made us sit together in the heavenly places, through Christ Jesus. That He might show in the ages to come the abundant riches of His grace in His bounty towards us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-7).
What value can the things of this world have for him who is firmly rooted in a world that is above all transitory, temporal things? He can afford to wait, for the world can never give him peace or enjoyment. He exerts his energies and directs his impulses to rise to higher things, to obtain the one thing necessary, to obtain those things which have a lasting value. Earthly possessions, difficulties and hardships, pain and disappointments, cannot deter him. His treasure is buried in the field of heaven. He has discovered one precious pearl, and he sacrifices all else to purchase this field, this pearl, this blessed eternity. The thought of eternity gives him the strength to sacrifice and struggle, to pardon injuries, and to suffer in patience. He acquires a zeal for the salvation of immortal souls. He learns to sacrifice himself in works of charity, to acquire for his brothers and sisters in Christ the riches of eternal life. The thought of eternity gives him a driving force that is stronger than the memory of earthly joys, more insistent than the cravings of nature, more persistent than self, more enduring than death. "Grant to Thy people... to desire that which Thou dost promise."
3. "Blessed are the poor in spirit. ... Blessed are the meek.... Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice....Blessed are the merciful....Blessed are the clean of heart" (Matt. 5:3 ff.). These are the true Christians, heroic souls who are firmly fixed on heaven.
The worldly man delights in "the concupiscence of the flesh, and the concupiscence of the eyes, and the pride of life" (I John 2:16). Unfortunately so many Christians are completely occupied with the things of this world. Easter should find them new men, risen from the dead, with their hearts firmly set on heaven, men of heroism. And yet they will still be lost in the abyss of the old man, spiritual weaklings, worldly men. Thus with the liturgy we pray for them from the depths of our souls, that "our hearts may be set where true joys are to be found." Before we approach the sacred moment of consecration at Mass, the priest admonishes us, Sursum corda: "Lift up your hearts." And we answer, Habemus ad Dominum. Have we indeed lifted up our heart to the Lord? Or have we lifted it up only to earthly affairs, good health, or worthless trifles? Let us consider all things in the light of eternity and ask ourselves under all circumstances: "Of what value is this for eternal life?"
—Benedict Bauer, O.S.B, from The Light of the World, Vol II
