--with whom we
were united by the bonds of the purest love. As glory does not
destroy our nature, neither does it destroy our natural virtues, but
perfects them. Hence, we shall take along with us our natural love
for our relatives and friends. Thus Jesus Christ, our Model, now
loves His Blessed Mother with the natural love of a dutiful son. He
loves her, not only because she is so pure and holy, but also because
she is His own mother. The elevation of His human nature above
everything that is not God, has neither destroyed nor diminished in
him that natural love which every child has for its mother. Thus,
again, Mary now loves Jesus most tenderly, not only because he is her
God, but also because he is her own son--flesh of her flesh, and bone
of her bone. Her elevation to the highest glory, after that of Jesus,
has neither destroyed nor diminished in her the natural love which
every mother has for her child. If anything, it has made her love
more ardent even than it was in this world.

So we, also, shall enter heaven with the natural love we now have for
our kindred and friends; but in us it will be purified from
everything inordinate or imperfect. What a delight that meeting must
be for the blessed! We can even now form some faint idea of that
heavenly joy, by reflecting on what takes place when a beloved father
returns home from a long and perilous Voyage, or from some cruel war,
where he was daily exposed to captivity and death. What outbursts of
gladness among the members of his family! How happy they are to see
him and embrace him! If these joys are so great in this world, what
must they be in heaven! Especially since there they are coupled with
the thought that there is no more separation. No, no more separation!
What delightful music there is in that short sentence! Death shall be
no more, and therefore we shall never more be torn away from the
society of our kindred and friends.

However, it seems to me I hear you say, "There is no difficulty in
believing that the meeting of our own in heaven is an unspeakable
joy; but suppose we do not meet them there--what then? Suppose that
on entering heaven we learn that our father, our mother, or some
other loved one is lost forever; shall we still be happy? Will there
not be in such a case an essential element wanting to complete our
happiness?" We shall devote the next chapter to answering this
difficulty, which is a lifelong torture to many a pious mind.

CHA