I love to celebrate the weekly Mass for the students at St Peter’s School. I do so once a month. This week (November 16) we had one powerful first reading from the Book of Revelation 4:1-11, where St John has a VISION OF AN OPEN DOOR TO HEAVEN! I asked the students to raise their hands if they wanted to go to Heaven. All hands went up...Then, I asked: “WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU ARE IN HEAVEN?

To find the answer, I told the children to ask their parents or their teachers to read with them those first 11 verses of chapter 4 of the last book in their Bible: the challenging Book of Revelation...

St John has a vision of four LIVING CREATURES around the “throne”, who DAY AND NIGHT DO NOT STOP EXCLAIMING:

“HOLY, HOLY, HOLY IS THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY, who was, and who is, and who is to come.”

At every Mass, the Preface (preceding the Eucharistic Prayer and Consecration) ends with our singing with all the Angels and Saints in Heaven. On this Feast Day of St Gertrude the Great (she died on this very day November 16...721 years ago), I prayed the First Preface for Saints, with the following ending:

“And so, WITH the ANGELS and Archangels, and with the GREAT MULTITUDE OF SAINTS, WE SING THE HYMN OF YOUR PRAISE AS WITHOUT END WE ACCLAIM:
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY, LORD GOD OF HOSTS, HEAVEN AND EARTH ARE FULL OF YOUR GLORY.
HOSANNAH IN THE HIGHEST, BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD. HOSANNAH IN THE HIGHEST! “

Some of these joyful words of praise to God are also found in PSALM 150, which concludes the entire Book of Psalms (also called Psalter):

“HALLELUJAH!
PRAISE GOD IN HIS HOLY SANCTUARY; GIVE PRAISE IN THE MIGHTY DOME OF HEAVEN. GIVE PRAISE FOR HIS MIGHTY DEEDS, PRAISE HIM FOR HIS GREAT MAJESTY.
Give praise with blasts upon the horn, praise Him with harp and lyre. Give praise with tambourines and dance, praise Him with crashing cymbals. Let everything that has breath GIVE PRAISE TO THE LORD!
HALLELUJAH!”

The Church teaches that “To be in Heaven is to be with God all the time!” We know that the MASS is an anticipation of the Heavenly Banquet: the wedding of Jesus Christ and the CHURCH. St John Paul II says 

to each one of us: “MASS IS HEAVEN ON EARTH”. At MASS we are with GOD, and we PRAISE HIM with the entire Church, including WITH ALL THE SAINTS IN HEAVEN. When we enter Heaven, we join the multitude of saints. We believe that we will then join all the faithful on earth in singing hymns of praise to God...

So what will we do in Heaven? We will constantly PRAISE AND LOVE GOD! We will also pray for those on earth in need of our intercessory prayer. As Little Flower said: ‘When I am in Heaven, I will come down on earth to help those in need!”

Let us remind all those who eagerly desire to go to Heaven, that they should also have the same great desire ‘to be with God” while on earth. As SIN is what separates us from GOD, and we are all sinners, WE SHOULD ALL GO TO CONFESSION and obtain FORGIVENESS TODAY! TOMORROW MIGHT BE TOO LATE!

Next time, you hear that someone no longer goes to Mass regularly, ask the question:’ DO YOU WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN? “ Then ask the follow-up question: “HOW COME YOU CANNOT FIND ONE HOUR TO BE WITH GOD AT MASS ON SUNDAY IF YOUR GREATEST DESIRE IS TO BE WITH GOD FOR EVER AND EVER?” To miss Sunday Mass when we are not sick is a grave sin. We need to go to Confession as early as possible so that we can receive the Holy Communion in a state of grace.

Let us join the Angels and Saints praising God: “Holy, Holy Holy! Lord God Almighty! Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee: Holy, Holy Holy! Merciful and mighty. God in three Persons, blessed Trinity.”
“Holy, Holy, Holy! All the saints adore thee, Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea: Cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee, Which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be”

May you all have a most blessed Thanksgiving Day with your family and friends! Praise the Lord, and give Him thanks for everything!

One in Christ,

Father Alain