An Augustinian Life After Death for Me

I was talking to a friend about a half hour ago. She told me about the interview of a priest on EWTN (a Catholic Religious Network, 370 if you have DirecTV) discussing the nature of our eternal life. This priest, James T. O'Connor, teacher and former theologian at St. Joseph Seminary in Dunwoodie, New York and now a pastor in a parish in Medford, Massachusetts, favors the more realistic idea of life after death, the Augustinian view rather than that of Thomas Aquinas, a more beatific, "bald" as it was described. For this commentator/priest, our time in heaven will be active, and much like the best things of life on earth, with water, trees, sky, land, and animals, with God a consistent part of that eternity, and in a perfection not possible during this sinful life. It is (at least to our humanity limited minds) preferable, perhaps only because we have a frame of reference that we do not have for a more Thomist view, so absorbed in our participation with God that there is nothing else, a kind of quiet and perpetual absorption that shoud be enough indeed, but missing the interactions , seeming for me essential, with the ocean, the shimmering ocean or with others say, in the happy moment of a dinner with wine and conversation. My very preference of the Augustinian view seems incongruous for whatever heaven is, the closeness to God, however it is achieved, will be sufficient, and devoutly to be wished (pardon to Hamlet). But silly though it may seem, I want to see some people again. And if God with whom we are encouraged to have relationship wants us on earth to see Him in relationship with others, I like to think that the Augustinian view makes more sense., although we are assured that either way, we won't be bored.

Anyway, after I spoke with her, I looked on the net for this interview, and found a podcast, to which I am now listening; hence I have some ability to write a little of the above to explain the differences between the Thomist v. Augustinian views of resurrection of the body.

Sillier still, I want my cats, and my little beagle, given back to Bide A Wee, when my mother developed an allergy, to be there with us all. (Therein lies another debate, whether animals have souls and will be with us in heaven; that's my hope!). I went on line and just bought a book, out of print, by this priest, called "Land of the Living" so I can read more about his theory which gives me such immediate comfort. Perhaps it is because today I made my monthly hegira to Long Beach to get my hair dyed and cut and the weather was pristine as well as the water which glimmered and rippled in the sun and that always feels as close to heaven as anything possible on earth.

It's nice to think of heaven. It is getting close to dark, but there is still some warmth and light to garner. I am going to back to my backyard for a few moments on this Saturday in which I shall remain home to nurse an incipient cold, to watch the sun set and the hummingbirds swift by in preparation for their night.