Today’s Gospel is one that gives us great assurance. It proves that we are loved and also that there is a heaven. It does not offer scientific proof as far as seeing the object, measuring it, or examining data. One does not get that kind of proof. The afterlife is based on faith, yet not a faith that is unreasonable or absurd. Jesus is clear, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places . . . I go and prepare a place for you . . . so that where I am you also may be.” As Christians, we believe this to mean that there is a place we will go to after death and that place is with God, the angels and saints.
“If one is not a believer then no amount of reason will provide a sufficient answer to his or her questions. If one is a believer then no proof is necessary”, (paraphrased quote of Stuart Chase). Yet, we still would like assurances from time to time.
I would like to share a story with you that I know I have shared with some of you, and have shared on my blog in brief. But I want to get into it here with more detail for it is a story that does provide some assurance, some hope.
It is a story of a young boy named Colton, about 5 years old, who was suffering from appendicitis. No one could figure out what was wrong with the boy. He was misdiagnosed with a stomach virus, infection, or some type of blockage, until finally one doctor diagnosed him correctly. But it was quite late and the young boy’s life hung in the balance. His appendix had ruptured and infection was spreading. After some grueling surgery and many long days in the hospital, the boy pulled through.
When the boy was home, he eventually began to tell his mom and dad about his vision in the hospital. He began to talk about meeting Jesus, being taken to heaven, meeting family, friends, some of the saints, etc. Colton’s dad, being a Methodist minister, was naturally very intrigued and began to question his son slowly and carefully, making sure not to push since he was dealing with a five-year-old boy.
Colton’s vision, as he related it to his dad, lasted only 3 minutes, but in those 3 minutes he met his great-grandfather, as well as a sister he never knew. Colton’s parents had had a miscarriage before his birth, that of his older sister. Colton had no knowledge of the miscarriage as his parents never told him or his living sister about it. Colton also described meeting John the Baptist and the archangel Gabriel. However, the most interesting thing Colton described was what Jesus looked like. He kept referring to his beautiful eyes and his markers. His dad thought Colton was talking about coloring, but he was talking about Jesus’ visible wounds – healed but still visible. Colton described Jesus’ eyes as warm, colorful, happy, and full of love. Colton’s dad would show him pictures of Jesus, all different types, asking “Which one does he look like?” Colton’s answer would always be the same: “It looks something like him, but not really”.
One day while surfing online, Colton’s dad read of a young girl about 13 years old who was a visionary; she was having visions of heaven and Jesus. She also happened to be an artist, and a very good one. She began to paint her visions, one of which was Jesus’ face (scroll down to previous entry to see it). Colton’s dad showed a number of pictures to Colton, with this young girl’s painting mixed in with some others. Colton looked over the pictures and when he got to young girl’s picture he froze, turned to his daddy, and said, “That’s him. That’s Jesus.”
Granted, both Colton and the young girl’s experiences are private revelations and have not been approved by the Church. The Church would not even dare attempt approve each and every vision that people experience; there would be too many and private revelations are just that – private. However, many people have had visions or death experiences and there are some very similar threads that run throughout. All of the people experience profound peace and happiness, and they can actually feel love in its essence all the time. The young boy Colton, after returning home from the hospital, was crying one day and his dad asked him what was wrong. The young boy replied, “Why didn’t Jesus let me stay in heaven? Why did he send me back? It’s so much nicer there.” Young children are attached at the hip to their parents, which is their safe haven. For a child to yearn for something even beyond his or her family is extraordinary.
Young Colton and young Akiane have already experienced in some way those dwelling places that Jesus has prepared for us. There are only three possible explanations: 1) they are telling the truth; 2) they are lying; 3) their experiences are self-induced or some trick of the mind. The last explanation, that people who have had these experiences are tricked by some brain activity or that they are self-induced, doesn’t make sense especially for a five-year-old boy. If Colton is lying then he’s a genius at the age of five, a lying genius.
Again, one is not bound to believe anyone’s private visions. Visions are private experiences. A Catholic is bound only to believe that which is declared doctrine, dogma, and public Revelation, i.e. Sacred Scripture. Nevertheless, God is always speaking to humanity. He is always giving us assurances of his love and the afterlife. As great as Colton’s story is, our greatest assurance comes from the Cross and the Resurrection. Jesus proves to us his promise of preparing a place for us because he went first in his death and then opened death’s chamber when he rolled back the stone. Yes, we still experience earthly death but it is just another type of birth, leaving one place for another. Just as a baby cries when leaving the safety of its mother’s womb so, too, do we cry when we must leave the womb of this world. Colton reminds us of what is waiting on the other side; there are dwelling places there that Jesus has prepared for us, but more importantly he reminds us that Jesus is there, the man with the markers and the beautiful eyes.
Fr. John
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