Let Me Tell You When I Had a Glimpse of Heaven

I would like to share with you some of my personal experiences that have helped me catch a glimpse of heaven. I do not wish to convince you that I have had a supernatural experience or that I’ve witnessed some kind of miracle. But I would share with you my experiences for what they were to me.

What is heaven like? It is like falling in love. And how marvelous to always feel in love! How blessed to always have your beloved with you—never ever to part, never ever to lose the treasure you have found.

If such a bliss could really last, would you ever look for anything more? Would the word “boredom” still mean anything to you? Surely not. You could hold each other’s hands for all eternity and it would still seem like the very first day you’ve met. Such is heaven. Such is perfection. Such is the full blessedness of love.

Here on earth however, all we could hope for are glimpses of heaven that God sends our way. Sometimes all that we have are moments—glimpses of heaven, sweet scents of love. They are foretastes of eternity. And though they last but for a moment, the strength they give us lasts, and the warmth they leave us lingers.

A Holy Experience

“God is an ocean, a fire, a living fountain...That is the essence of prayer: this contact with a living God, a God who reacts not like a simple inanimate being but like a living person, with a thrill of joy, with the gift of Himself.” – Marie-Eugene of the Child Jesus, OCD (Where the Spirit Breathes)

I would like to share here an unforgettable experience I had while I was attending mass with my sister. Here is how I wrote it at my journal:

Had a very “blessed” moment while in St. Michael the Archangel Chapel today.

This feeling is “spiritual”. It was not caused by any physical external stimuli. I have attended mass at this chapel before without feeling this way. It couldn’t have come from the singing or music of the choir because there was nothing unusually peculiar in their singing that time. They just sang the way they used to sing with simple ordinary songs. There was also nothing new to the outward architecture or decor of the chapel. And it also couldn’t have come from an eloquent sermon because the feeling started even before the priest started his homily.

This feeling could only be heavenly. I felt loved. I understood how God could really love me as a Father, how Jesus could love me as a Husband, how deep and true and pure His love is that even went so far as His passion and death at the cross.

PURE LOVE. Only that can make us truly Happy!

This kind of happiness is not like anything we could ever find in this world. We may feel comfortable with material things, we may be amused or excited, but we can never find this joy! The closest is the happiness we find in loving another person, but even this pales in comparison for it is never as pure.

There were a few other instances when I felt a similar level of this spiritual feeling:

-when I was once praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament

-when I was in a mass at our local church

-after a confession

It is a feeling of being blessed and loved and cleansed and purified by that love. It is communing in love without words. It is peace and contentment and being one with God. It is having the questions in your heart answered. It is being elevated in spirit. It is having FAITH. It is having a taste of eternity. It is being in the sweetness of God’s holy, gentle and loving presence.

After being enlightened much about God’s love, I have asked Him to help me know and feel it in a personal level. And He has answered my prayer!

“You shall seek me, and find me, when you search for me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:13, WEB-BE

Another Spiritual Experience

I don't know if it is just my imagination or ardent desire, but for what seems to be the first time, I saw in my mind's eye how amiable and homely and sweet Jesus really is. How gentle, loving and friendly. How warm, pure and humble His love is. He is not the distant and formal figure I have often had at the back of my mind, someone that I would fear approaching. He is not harsh, not sarcastic, not demanding. He is not too serious at all in demeanor at that time. But He wears this beautiful smile and no child would ever fear approaching Him. "It's alright", He seems to say. "I see you, I love you, and my heart is very near. I come to you in the gentlest yet in the most intimate way. I'm here, I will take care of you. You can rest in Me."

I know how unworthy I am. But Jesus often takes us by surprise with the sweetest revelations of His love.

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A Glimpse Of Him

There are times when,
In the midst of silence
I catch a glimpse of Him
And just for a moment
My heart is stilled
My heart is filled
My heart is satisfied.

In the midst of a barren land,
Streams of water flow
And my thirst is quenched
I know I can only rest
in his sweet presence
And all the happiness I seek
Is there only
In his embrace.

The voice of my beloved!
Behold, he comes,
leaping on the mountains,
skipping on the hills.
My beloved is like a roe or a young deer.
Behold, he stands behind our wall!
He looks in at the windows.
He glances through the lattice.
- Song of Solomon 2:8-9, WEBBE

All I Have Are Glimpses

All I have are glimpses,
a glance,
a touch,
a memory of your voice.

Glimpses that
take my breath away,
that draw me from
the monotony of each day.

Glimpses that
give me life,
that give me a new heart
and a new soul.

For when those glimpses come,
I feel a lifetime has also gone by,
a lifetime with you,
well spent in a moment of love.

And I let each memory
sink as deeply as it could,
so I may remember
and never forget.

How each glimpse of you
has changed me,
has found me,
has saved me.

And all I could ever do now,
is wait for you,
content with glimpses of your love,
until you come and make me live again.

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If my soul has one true desire, it is to be in Your presence Lord—to see your face, and to remain always upon Your loving arms.

"The great, essential joy of heaven will be the Vision wherein we shall see God face to face, shall know even as we are known, and love as we are loved... To love and strive for the object of desire is a natural beatitude. But God is infinite perfection, and the knowledge we shall have of Him is direct, face to face, the most intimate possible to creature; and love in heaven is not merely that of desire, but of fruition, derived from the possession of Him. We love and are loved, we possess and are possessed, we enjoy and are enjoyed, we are united to God... as heat to the molten iron... dissolved in Him as two pieces of wax fused together." (Cassilly, 1917, 129)

“Yet while waiting this joyful consummation, the Heavenly Bridegroom vouchsafes us many an intimation of His gracious Presence, for without any endearments the soul would not be drawn, nor run after the savour of His ointments. Therefore the Bride says," Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His Mouth." But these are all but foretastes of that best of all embraces which shall last for ever, compared with which all the others are as nothing, a mere shadow and token of the embrace which shall last for ever, the eternal union of the Bride and her Bridegroom.” (Francis De Sales, 1888, p.105)

God bless you!