How Does In God's Love relate to the Catholic Church?

How does In God's Love 
written by Janet Hurlow
relate to 
the Catholic Faith ?

  Chapter 5  We Believe in Heaven, Hell and Purgatory
                       (continued) 2/5

            Part 1 Heaven  (continued)
                      Section 2 Who and What is in Heaven

320          God is in heaven.  The Catechism states, “Those who die in God's grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live forever with Christ. They are like God forever, for they ‘see him as he is,’ face to face: <596>  By virtue of our apostolic authority, we define the following: According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints . . . and other faithful who died after receiving Christ's holy Baptism (provided they were not in need of purification when they died, . . . or, if they then did need or will need some purification, when they have been purified after death, . . .) already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment - and this since the Ascension of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ into heaven - have been, are and will be in heaven, in the heavenly Kingdom and celestial paradise with Christ, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the Passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and do see the divine essence with an intuitive vision, and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature.<597>”(20)    Those who are in heaven will be in the presence of God and see God face to face. 

321           The messengers assert that “In God’s Spirit is Heaven, a place where wise saints live forever in God’s presence.”(21)   “When you see God, you will see all love and peace and joy.  You will see all beauty.”(22)   Being in God’s presence, those who are in heaven receive God: “those who seek God’s love on Earth shall receive His glory in Heaven.”(23)   In heaven, “His (God’s) love will shine in each little soul and never leave.”(24)   Both the messengers and Catholics believe that after death those who are in heaven remain in heaven forever.  The messengers state, “What a time of rejoicing, when all God’s saints shall gather in His Kingdom to spend eternity in His presence.”(25)   In regards to Jesus, the messengers comment that “When you see Jesus as He is, you will be so thankful that you believed in Him and accepted Him.”(26)

322           Being in God’s presence is also addressed in the following “down to Earth” phrases: “This is a God who blesses and heals in His Kingdom.”(27)   “He has many wondrous things to tell (you) of treasures past.”(28)  

323           Who is in heaven and where is it?   Well, for those people who are in heaven, God is with them and so are the messengers, for they are with God as well:  “Sing with us (the messengers) in this beautiful garden, and run and play with us among the flowers.”(29)   “This is a wonderland that is yours to keep.  It will fill you with its existence.  God’s display will make you a part of itself.  You will be a part of this world, and it will be a part of you”(30)   “A world seen in God’s Spirit is your reward.  So well have you served God on Earth.  So pleased is your God with His dear ones.  Such songs are reaching Heaven.  Most welcome are you in our world.”(31)   “Saints of Earth are coming to this paradise which God has prepared for His children.”(32)   “These are the saints who will see God and live with Him in His place He has prepared for them.”(33)   Pause.  Did you just read what you thought you just read?  It said, “world.”  Perhaps the messengers are only using the word world, metaphorically as a “world” describing the existence of heaven as a reality, a world.  Perhaps they mean a world as in “planet”.  The latter may be the case.

324           The writers of In God’s Love   almost casually mention that Satan does not have any power beyond our sun.(34)   No explanation is given.  I sense that it is written in almost a “didn’t you know that” type of fashion.  Now the writers tell us that their world is heaven, and saints of earth will be there.  (What follows in the rest of this paragraph is from me and not from In God’s Love).  How many times have we heard this phrase, “Heaven is not a place, it is a state of being in the presence of God.”  That phrase is not in the Catechism.  Jesus says He is going to prepare a “place” for us.(35)   Yes, heaven is a state of being in the presence of God, “spend eternity in His presence”, but at the same time it can be in a place.  I do not see anywhere in the Catechism or the Bible proclaiming that heaven cannot be a place.  It has already been noted that the place heaven is is God’s Spirit or in God’s Spirit, but God’s Spirit is in every place that God has created except where evil dwells.  Evil is in the world, and if we assume that Satan is everywhere in the universe, like he is in our world, then the rest of the universe cannot be a place where heaven is in its full glory.   Yet if Satan is limited to only the Earth,   because he was cast down to the Earth (which is what the messengers and Revelation 12:9 proclaim) then everyplace else in the universe (and beyond) can be a place called “heaven” for there, in that place, is God the Father, God the Christ and God the Holy Spirit.  The above assertion is an assertion not made in the book In God’s Love, but seems to be a logical conclusion from what they present about Satan, their world, and the rest of the universe.  The Catechism states, “For life is to be with Christ; where Christ is, there is life, there is the kingdom.<600>”(36)     So if Satan is limited to a miniscule speck of the universe, then the rest of the universe is the kingdom of God, is heaven.  The nighttime sky just took on a whole new meaning.  Let us truly look up into the heavens tonight. 

325           As noted in the quote from Pope Benedict XII at the beginning of this section, in heaven there will be saints and angels.  The messengers agree there are saints and angels in heaven:  “Such saints who were on the Earth and are now with God.” (37)  Furthermore, “Saints and angels are your (God’s) dear treasures.  We are yours forever and ever.  Heaven is our home, real and true.”(38)   In the Catechism it is noted that Saint Cyprian believes it will be wonderful “to delight in the joy of immortality in the Kingdom of heaven with the righteous and God's friends. <602>”(39)   The messengers echo this as well with “Heaven is a sanctuary for all beings who are righteous and wise.”(40)

326           God takes his own, virtuous, adopted children who are in His spirit to be with Him in heaven.  Heaven is for those who are of Christ: “Heaven calls your name under God’s blessed symbol, sisters and brothers of Christ.”(41)    Heaven is for those who search for God during their life on Earth, for the messengers state that “those who seek God’s love on Earth shall receive His glory in Heaven,”(42)  and also “It is in such reaching out to God’s Spirit on Earth that inscribes your name in Heaven.”(43)   God longs for us to want Him.  They explain, “God is your dear Father who loves you with an endless love.  Try to understand this: He thirsts for your spirit.  Those who come to His heart will receive life everlasting.  You who sing with God will live forever in perfect happiness.”(44)   “God takes His own into His Kingdom”(45)  which are those who have trusted in his mercies,(46)  and served God.(47)  “Small spirits of God, soon, you will see Him in His glory.  Soon, you will be called into His Spirit.  Soon, it is time to see your God and live with Him forever.  This is your heritage on the Earth, you who have served God. …Bless this small race on Earth, sons and daughters of God, adopted into His Kingdom with His divine grace.”(48)

327           According to the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, Jesus told a parable about a Master who gave a wedding banquet and invited many to come, but those who were invited excused themselves and did not come.  So the Master replaced those who had been invited with others.(49)   In Matthew’s version, one person showed up without a wedding garment and was tossed out.  The messengers echo this parable with the need to bring a clean, virtuous spirit which is the white wedding garment, when we attempt enter to heaven.  They state that “when you look upon this Being who is God, it is with a clean heart.”(50)  They emphatically announce, “Rise, all you who are of Christ.  In the Son, take your blessings.  Virtue is a saint dressed in white robes.  She is the key to Heaven.  Come, all you saints of God, in her spirit.  In this is such beauty, when all good is joined to the Lamb as a bride in a white gown…. In this, it is written: ‘In white garments, enter at the gate.  In this wedding feast, if anyone is not clothed in virtue, soiled is his robe on Earth.  His soul is not in God’s Spirit, and his spirit is cast out, never again to take this journey.”(51)   Two themes are present in both Biblical accounts of the parable of the Wedding feast. First, that the Master wants his banquet full and second, that people who came later took the places of those who were invited, but did not come.  In a joyful, but somber tone, the messengers explain that “For every soul that is lost, one is sent to replace it.  Every sorrow is replaced by happiness.  Every defeat is replaced by those who win.  Souls who are in God’s Spirit, come and replace the empty spot where some soul might have been.”(52)   

328           People who became saints on Earth by doing God’s work will be in heaven.  As the messengers state, “Become saints on Earth so that you can live forever in Heaven.”(53)   The Catechism proclaims that Christ asserts that deeds are required to enter into the Kingdom: “Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. <261> Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything. <262> Words are not enough, deeds are required. <263>”(54)   The messengers assert in a very mystical way of writing and also by using a humorous consumer language (though they may not have intended it to be humorous) that works are needed to enter heaven.  The former states, “In all creation, bring your works.  On wings of silver, edged in gold, each one is inscribed in heaven.”(55)   Then there is the humorous: “Your blessings laid away in Heaven are of true value.  Have you signed up on our lay-away plan?  Earn your reward in merits earned.”(56)   Paul wrote about striving for a goal of heaven: “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.  From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who have longed for his appearance.”(57)   The messengers also speak of working for the reward.  They write, “You have worked hard.  You have suffered much, yet you have kept this day in your sight, and you have been brave and true to what you believe in.”(58)   

329           People who love God and others will be in heaven.  The messengers assert, “Beloved ones who are kind, take your place in Heaven.  In God’s Spirit, you are most welcome.”(59)   According to the Gospel of Luke, a scholar of the law asked Jesus, “’Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘What is written in the law, how do you read it?’  He said in reply, ‘You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength and with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself.’”(60)   Standing in the strong Biblical tradition of the complete primary commandment of Jesus of the Shema prayer of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 combined with Leviticus 19:18 (which according to the Gospel Mark and Matthew, Jesus sites as the greatest two commandments(61)  and according to the Gospel of Luke Jesus affirms and links as one(62) ) the messengers proclaim, “Blessings are upon those who are in God’s Spirit, those who have loved God with all of their heart, soul and mind and loved each other. His blessings are upon His children on Earth. These are the saints who will see God and live with Him in His place He has prepared for them.”(63)  

330           The welcoming of the people who have been kind does not just extend to those who have been kind to God and other people, but to those who have been kind to animals: “Who are these small creatures who have been invited to dine with the King?....They are the ones who have been kind to all God’s creatures.”(64)   God who knows the flight of each sparrow,(65)  would He not also be touched by those who care for them as well.  St Francis was well known for his love of animals and that was a part of his character.  We believe he is in heaven, (although not solely because of his love for animals.)  I have often observed that those who have a soft heart for animals, particularly those who are not being cared for, also are soft hearted when it comes to helping people in need as well.
 
331           People who suffered during their life on this Earth will be in heaven.  According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus said, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”(66)   I have already alluded to the belief that suffering can lead one to holiness and heaven.(67)   The messengers reassure us that those who suffer and remain true, will be in heaven.  They write, “You have suffered much, yet you have kept this day in your sight, and you have been brave and true to what you believe in."(68)  

332           The messengers mention two particular types of suffering.  They mention poverty, which echoes the parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man.(69)  They write, “Who are these small creatures who have been invited to dine with the King?  They are the ones who were not given everything on the Earth, so that they might receive more abundantly in Heaven.”(70)   They mention false accusation which echoes the Beatitude above.  The messengers state that “God has blessed His children with many devices to enter through the gates of His Kingdom.  Remember, when others falsely accuse you, lift up your hands to God and praise His name.  This is the key to salvation.  These stones tossed at your heart are little keys to locks that open treasure chests in Heaven”(71)

333           The suffering that we experience will lead to joy.  They proclaim, “Sweet are the rewards for the sorrows spent in life’s song.  Beloved saints on Earth’s journey, this is why you must accept suffering patiently on Earth.  The very sorrows of Earth are the cause of your joys in worlds to come.  This is why you arrive so blessed.”(72)   They also state, “In such a short while, your sorrows are over.  Soon is singing heard where sorrow signed her name.”(73)

334            Those who forgive and those who are forgiven are saved from hell.  Jesus gives us, in the   Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”(74)   The messengers plead with us to exercise this tremendous power of forgiveness as: “Have you forgiven all the offenses committed against you?  Heaven drinks in all who forgive.  She soaks up a forgiving spirit….If you do not forgive, those poor souls are not forgiven…. Forgive those who have offended you.  Mighty is a forgiving spirit.  God is with you when you forgive.  For those who forgive and those who are forgiven, it is a very good way out of the fires of hell.(75)   As already noted,(76)  the messengers observed that Jesus exercised the forgiveness of his executioners who crucified Him:  “That kind, blessed God let His subjects nail Him to a cross, yet He kept right on being King, and, in His love, saved His executioners from the fires of hell.”(77)

335            Will you or I be in heaven?  The messengers hope so, for they state, “Come, make Heaven a little more interesting.  With you here, more blessings shall fill Earth.  Heaven will be more fulfilled, and God will bless you forever and ever.”(78) 

  The next section of Part One   Chapter  5  : 3/5