A life of bliss is what I desire. I think most people do, if not everyone. A life where there is perfect joy. Where problems cannot be found and hurt is unknown. Where everyone is sincerely nice to each other.
As Christians, we believe that there is such perfect place and that is in the kingdom of our God, the Father. It is in heaven. Everlasting life is one of my beliefs. You can know more about my faith in the following link.
https://truehomejoy.com/good-reasons-why-i-keep-my-faith/
According to the Bible, many are invited to the Kingdom of Heaven but only few are chosen. The Lord sends people to give us the invitation and if it reaches us then we should be glad to accept it. If not then we lose the chance of being chosen.
Preparation for Heaven
After accepting the invitation, we really have to prepare ourself well to be worthy of God’s inheritance. Preparing ourself well means doing the best that we can to make our heart and soul clean. How do we do that? First, we have to repent. We have to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness from Lord and if possible, to the people whom we have sinned. Then we have to accept Jesus as our king and savior.
The preparation for the kingdom of heaven is not a one-day act but a daily action to follow Jesus Christ until the end of our earthly life or until His next coming whichever comes first. We have to repent every time we offend the Lord and others especially when it is a mortal sin. We have to follow the precepts of Jesus Christ as written in the bible. We have to aim to be Christ-like in everything we do.
It may sound impossible but the bible says that it is not. We have to pass thru the narrow gate which will truly test our faith. Always remember that everything is possible to God and we truly have to believe in Jesus Christ, surrender everything to Him and allow His Holy Spirit to work in our life.
Saints in Heaven
There are people who are believed to be in heaven right now. These are the saints who accepted the invitation to the kingdom of heaven and surrendered their life to Jesus. In Catholicism, we believe that after dying, the saints go directly to heaven because they lived a life worthy of God’s kingdom.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Catholic Church bestows sainthood after three stages. These are veneration, beatification and canonization. Veneration is when the petitioned individual is recognized by the Pope to have lived a life of holiness and service to others or has given up his life in the name of Jesus Christ. Once venerated by the pope, the candidate becomes Venerable.
Except when the candidate is martyred, a miracle that can be attributed to the candidate’s intercessory prayer is required before he or she is beatified. It must be proven that a miracle happened after the intercession of the candidate is requested. This stage is called beatification. For instance, Carlo Acutis was beatified after it was proven that a boy was healed from a serious birth defect when he and his mother asked for the intercession of the Venerable Carlo Acutis. Whether martyred or not, another miracle must be attributed to the candidate’s prayer before he or she is canonized to be a saint.
By the way , we also need prayers for Venerable Father Simpliciano. Please click the link below to know the full story.
https://truehomejoy.com/venerable-father-simpliciano-of-the-nativity-who-is-he/
Intercessory Prayers
It is believed that when God performs the miracle requested thru the intercession of the candidate, He agrees to the beatification or the canonization offered. As stated in the book of John chapter 9 verse 31, it says that “We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him “. So, when the Lord listens to the prayer of the candidate, it means the candidate is a devout follower of Christ.
We pray novenas to the saints to invoke them to pray for our intentions to the Lord our God. We celebrate feast day of the saints as a thanksgiving to the Lord for giving them to us. Saints whose life we can admire and imitate in living out the Christian faith.
Every Christian is called to be a saint and we all have to answer that calling. Let us follow the example of St. Therese of the Child Jesus who said that “God would never inspire me with desires which cannot be realized; so in spite of my littleness, I can hope to be a saint.”
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References
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Saints
Angelus
The miracle attributed to Carlo Acutis’ prayers
https://angelusnews.com/faith/the-miracle-attributed-to-carlo-acutis-prayers/
Catholics striving for holiness
INSPIRING QUOTES FROM ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS
FOR YOUR PERSONAL PRAYER.
