From - ETERNAL MYSTERIES BEYOND THE GRAVE by Archimandrite Panteleimon 1

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ETERNAL MYSTERIES BEYOND THE GRAVE 1

by Archimandrite Panteleimon

Human beings who approach perfection and have achieved purity of heart, they who have “acquired the Spirit of God” [from St Seraphim’s conversation with Motovilov] even while they are still in this world, have the daring to enter the place of the Creator, and to join angels and the spirits of the saints. While they are still in their earthly bodies, they well know that they will reign with Christ; for already here on earth they have come to know the sweetness of divine illumination and the effect of God’s power. The supernatural gifts of communion with God, which the soul can receive when it is still in the body, are only an indication of those heavenly rewards which cannot even be told to man, since we possess no images or words fit for their description. Once they had risen to the heights of spiritual elevation while still in this life, these holy men experienced a blessedness and joy which resemble the eternal heavenly joy of the life to come. Hence these men were already angels and healed all kinds of illnesses, both mental and physical. When they were praying they were transfigured and shone with the light with which the Savior shone on Mt Tabor. The forces of nature obeyed them; men and beasts, plants, water, and air did their will. Their thoughts, their visions and contemplations have been left for us in their works, and these works, illumined from above, contain accounts of the future life, that life which begins beyond the grave. Some of these accounts are included in this book. Their teachings on immortality can briefly be summarized in a single paragraph: Man is a being destined to immortality. Thus he cannot help having a concept and an expectation of it. In some individuals, however, this feeling is strong, while in others it is so weak that it hardly shows itself. Why is this so? The reason is that man in his present condition contains two parts. One of these is immortal and will not disappear with death; the other one is mortal and lives only until death. Each of these parts produces in man a disposition related to it. Both are so tightly knit that they form one whole. Therefore, the feeling of immortality together with the feeling of mortality merge into one indefinite and vague feeling. When a man lives relying chiefly on that which in him is truly immortal, that is, his spirit and his conscience, then the feeling of immortality grows stronger. If, on the other hand, he gives himself over to that which in him is temporal and dead, namely, his flesh and blood, the feeling of mortality grows. Our soul avidly desires heavenly light and cannot therefore be satisfied with earthly goods. This is why many people who apparently possess all that is necessary for earthly happiness still often experience great sorrow of soul. Blessed Augustine, after he had tasted all the joys and beauties that the earth offers, exclaimed to God, “You have created us for Yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds rest in You.”