shing music which resounds through the vaults of
heaven, the pleasures of the glorified senses these and a thousand
other joys are the accidental beatitude with which God perfects and
completes the happiness of the whole man.

The third error which we shall now examine flows naturally from the
mistaken and exclusive views which some persons take of the Beatific
Vision. They imagine that the vision of God will so completely absorb
and monopolize every faculty of man, that, practically, he will
become motionless and inactive as a statue. There can be no greater
mistake. It is true that our union with God, in the Beatific Vision,
is happiness and joy, greater than mortal man can conceive; but it by
no means follows that it will hinder the free exercise of our mental
faculties, or the activities of our glorified bodies. Indeed, the
very reverse will take place; for glory does not destroy nature, but
perfects it.

We are active by nature. Action, therefore, both of mind and body, is
a law of our being, which cannot be changed, without radically
changing, or rather destroying our whole nature. As glory perfects
our whole nature, instead of destroying it, it follows that in heaven
we shall be far more active than we can possibly be here below; for
there all our powers will exist in their highest perfection.
Therefore, the intellect, elevated and strengthened by the light of
glory, will continue to think and to contemplate the truth; for such
is the natural action of the human intellect. Thus, also, the will,
which is the loving power of the soul, shall continue forever to
love; for its natural action is to love the good, the beautiful, and
the perfect. The memory, also, will forever continue to recall the
many graces received from God, thus keeping alive a deep sense of
gratitude for His benefits; while the imagination will still continue
to make to itself new and captivating pictures of beauty. Thus, also,
the eye will continue to see material objects; for such is the
natural action of that organ. The ear will continue to hear
delightful sounds, and the whole body will continue to receive
pleasurable sensations, and to perform all other actions which are
natural to it, if we except those that belong to the animal life of
man; for, as we have already seen, such actions are incompatible with
a life and state of incorruption.

The soul of Jesus Christ enjoyed the Beatific Vision, even while here
on earth in mortal flesh. Was