The Quote
“Heaven is not really the goal. The Beatific Vision, which is what makes Heaven truly Heaven, is the goal. To see God and live forever.”
— Godwin Delali Adadzie
Context and Inspiration
This quote addresses a common misunderstanding about the Christian hope of heaven. Many believers focus on heaven as a destination—a place of comfort, reunion with loved ones, and relief from earthly suffering. While these aspects are real, they miss the central reality that makes heaven truly heavenly: the direct vision of God Himself. The Beatific Vision—seeing God face to face—is not merely one feature of heaven among many; it is the essence of eternal life and the fulfillment of humanity’s deepest longing. Understanding this distinction transforms how we think about salvation, sanctification, and our ultimate purpose.
What is the Beatific Vision?
The term “Beatific Vision” comes from the Latin visio beatifica, meaning “the vision that makes one blessed” or “the vision of blessedness.” It refers to the direct, unmediated knowledge of God that the blessed souls in Heaven experience for all eternity.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
“This perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity—this communion of life and love with the Trinity, with the Virgin Mary, the angels and all the blessed—is called ‘heaven.’ Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness.” (CCC 1024)
More specifically:
“Those who die in God’s grace and friendship and are perfectly purified live for ever with Christ. They are like God for ever, for they ‘see him as he is,’ face to face.” (CCC 1023, referencing 1 John 3:2)
Biblical Foundation
Scripture provides glimpses of this ultimate reality, though human language strains to describe it:
1 Corinthians 13:12
“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall understand fully, even as I have been fully understood.”
St. Paul contrasts our current limited knowledge of God with the direct vision we will have in Heaven. No longer will we see God through created things, Scripture, or the sacraments—we will see Him directly, as He truly is.
1 John 3:2
“Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
John emphasizes that seeing God will transform us to be like Him. The Beatific Vision is not passive observation but transformative union.
Matthew 5:8
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
Jesus himself promises this vision to those who pursue holiness. Purity of heart is the prerequisite for the Beatific Vision.
Job 19:26-27
“And after my skin has been thus destroyed, then from my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see on my side, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.”
Even in the Old Testament, Job expresses the hope of seeing God directly after death.
Psalm 27:4
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.”
The psalmist’s deepest desire is not comfort or security, but to behold God’s beauty.
Theological Understanding
St. Thomas Aquinas on the Beatific Vision
St. Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, wrote extensively about the Beatific Vision in his Summa Theologiae. He taught that:
- The Beatific Vision is the ultimate happiness – Human happiness consists in the vision of the Divine Essence. Nothing less than God Himself can satisfy the human heart.
- It requires divine grace – No creature can see God by natural power alone. We need God to elevate our intellect through what Aquinas calls the “light of glory” (lumen gloriae).
- It is incomprehensible yet real – While we see God directly, we cannot comprehend Him exhaustively (only God comprehends Himself fully). Yet we truly know Him in a real, direct way.
- It transforms us completely – Those who see God become confirmed in goodness, unable to sin, perfectly happy, and transformed in their very being.
The Church Fathers on Seeing God
St. Augustine described the Beatific Vision as the fulfillment of the restless human heart: “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
St. Gregory of Nyssa emphasized that even in eternity, the vision of God continues to grow, as finite creatures continually discover more of the infinite God—a concept he called epektasis.
St. John Chrysostom preached that seeing Christ face to face would be worth more than a thousand heavens: “I would choose to be cast into hell with Christ than to be in heaven without Him.”
Why Heaven Without the Beatific Vision Would Not Be Heaven
Consider what people often imagine Heaven to be:
Scenario 1: Eternal Paradise Without God
Imagine a place with no suffering, perfect weather, unlimited pleasures, reunion with loved ones, but God is absent. Would this be Heaven? No—it would be a gilded cage, ultimately empty and meaningless.
Scenario 2: Heaven as Extended Earth
Imagine eternity doing earthly activities you enjoyed—hobbies, entertainment, conversations—but never experiencing God directly. This would eventually become tedious, even torturous. Finite pleasures cannot satisfy an infinite longing.
Scenario 3: Knowing About God vs. Knowing God
Imagine spending eternity learning facts about God, reading about Him, but never seeing Him face to face. This would be like spending eternity reading love letters from someone you never meet—profoundly unsatisfying.
The point is clear: Heaven is Heaven precisely because of the Beatific Vision. Remove the direct vision of God, and you remove everything that makes Heaven desirable.
St. Catherine of Siena expressed this truth powerfully: “All the way to heaven is heaven, because Jesus said, ‘I am the way.'” Heaven begins wherever we encounter God, and reaches its fullness in the Beatific Vision.
Practical Implications
1. It Reorients Our Desires
Understanding that the Beatific Vision is the goal helps us evaluate our desires correctly. We should ask ourselves:
- Am I seeking Heaven because I want to see God, or merely to escape hell?
- Do I desire eternal life for God’s sake, or for my own comfort?
- Am I cultivating a taste for God now, or only for created goods?
St. Philip Neri used to pray, “Lord, if I serve you for fear of hell, cast me into hell. If I serve you for hope of heaven, exclude me from heaven. But if I serve you for love of yourself alone, grant me yourself.”
2. It Transforms Our Prayer Life
If the goal is to see God face to face, our prayer should be preparation for that vision. Prayer is not primarily about getting things from God, but about knowing God Himself.
Contemplative prayer becomes essential—simply being in God’s presence, gazing upon Him with love, preparing our souls for the eternal gaze of Heaven.
The Rosary, when prayed contemplatively, trains us to meditate on the mysteries of Christ’s life, preparing us to see Him face to face.
Eucharistic Adoration is especially powerful, as we gaze upon Jesus truly present in the Blessed Sacrament—a foretaste of the Beatific Vision.
3. It Clarifies the Purpose of Suffering
Our earthly trials are not meaningless. They purify our hearts so we can see God:
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)
Suffering, when united to Christ’s passion, purifies us from attachment to sin and created things, making room in our hearts for God alone. Purgatory serves this same purpose—final purification so we can behold God’s holiness without being consumed.
4. It Elevates Our Understanding of the Saints
The saints are not merely good people who avoided hell. They are men and women who now see God face to face, experiencing joy beyond all human comprehension. Their intercession is powerful precisely because they stand in the direct presence of God.
When we ask for their prayers, we’re asking those who behold God to speak on our behalf before His throne.
5. It Gives Urgency to Evangelization
If the Beatific Vision is the goal, then we should be passionate about helping others reach it. Every soul lost is a tragedy not merely because they suffer, but because they miss the purpose of their existence—to see and love God forever.
This understanding should motivate us to share the Gospel, live holy lives that attract others to Christ, and pray for the conversion of sinners.
Common Questions
Q: Will we still have bodies in Heaven?
A: Yes! After the resurrection of the dead at the end of time, we will have glorified bodies reunited with our souls. We will see God with both our spiritual intellect and in some mysterious way with our glorified bodily eyes. Christ’s resurrected body is the model for ours.
Q: Will we recognize our loved ones?
A: Absolutely. We will know them even better than we did on earth, seeing them as God sees them. But our primary joy will be in God, and our love for others will be perfectly ordered within our love for Him.
Q: Won’t eternal contemplation of God become boring?
A: This question reveals how little we understand God’s infinity. God is inexhaustible. The blessed in Heaven will continually discover new depths, new beauty, new truth in God for all eternity. Far from boredom, there is ever-increasing wonder and joy.
Q: What about the new heavens and new earth?
A: Scripture speaks of a renewed creation (Revelation 21-22). We will inhabit this renewed creation in our glorified bodies, but the center of our existence will always be the vision of God. Creation will be transformed to reflect God’s glory perfectly, and we will enjoy it while enjoying its Creator infinitely more.
Q: Can we experience a foretaste now?
A: Yes! Mystical experiences, deep prayer, the sacraments (especially the Eucharist), moments of transcendent beauty—these are glimpses of the Beatific Vision. But they are like a single drop compared to the ocean of Heaven.
The Goal Defines the Journey
Understanding that the Beatific Vision is the goal radically transforms how we live now:
We pursue holiness not just to be good people, but to prepare our hearts to behold infinite Holiness.
We seek knowledge of God not just for intellectual satisfaction, but to deepen our capacity to know Him eternally.
We participate in the sacraments not just for grace to avoid sin, but to encounter Christ who prepares us for the eternal encounter.
We practice virtue not just for moral improvement, but to become the kind of persons who can stand in God’s presence.
We love others not just for their sake, but because we will love them perfectly when we all see God together.
Personal Reflection
I have known this doctrine intellectually for years, but understanding it experientially is a lifelong journey. There are moments in Eucharistic Adoration when I feel an overwhelming desire to see Christ’s face—not just to know about Him, but to behold Him directly. These moments are simultaneously joyful and painful: joyful because they remind me of my destiny, painful because they highlight how far I am from that goal.
Every sin is, at its root, a turning away from God toward something lesser. Every act of virtue is a turning toward God, preparing my heart for the vision. The spiritual life is training for eternity.
St. Teresa of Ávila wrote in her autobiography about experiencing a brief mystical vision of Christ’s beauty. She said that if she had known such beauty existed, she would have pursued it with all her strength from her youth. After that vision, all earthly beauty seemed like soot compared to the sun.
This is what awaits us: infinite Beauty, infinite Truth, infinite Love—beheld directly, enjoyed eternally, shared completely.
Conclusion
Heaven is not the goal—the Beatific Vision is the goal. Heaven is simply the place where the Beatific Vision occurs. This distinction is not mere semantics; it is the difference between understanding Christianity as a self-improvement program (with eternal rewards) versus understanding it as preparation for union with the living God.
We were created for this: to see God and live forever in His presence. Every human longing—for beauty, truth, love, meaning, happiness—finds its fulfillment not in created things, however good, but in the uncreated Source of all goodness.
C.S. Lewis captured this perfectly: “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
That “other world” is not merely a place of comfort or reward. It is the realm where we will see God face to face, know Him as we are known, and find in Him the satisfaction of every desire we’ve ever had.
Let us live now in light of that ultimate reality, pursuing not just moral goodness or earthly success, but the purification of heart that will enable us to see God—which is Heaven’s true and only goal.
Reflection Questions
- When you think about Heaven, what comes to mind first? Is it the Beatific Vision, or other aspects of heavenly life?
- How would your prayer life change if you viewed it primarily as preparation for seeing God face to face?
- What attachments or sins might be hindering your capacity to desire God above all things?
- Can you recall a moment when you experienced a glimpse or foretaste of God’s presence? How did it affect you?
- How does understanding the Beatific Vision as the goal change your approach to evangelization or helping others grow in faith?
Related Quotes
- “It is possible knowing all the Scriptures. It is not possible comprehending all the Scriptures.”
- “Academic credentials are good. However, life is not all about masters and doctorates but about master Jesus our doctor.”
- “Faith is a journey. Not a one day trip. It is a life’s journey.”
Want to deepen your understanding of Catholic faith? Explore my Catholic Apologetics Guide 101 or read more theological reflections on my blog.
