Vigils Reading – 21st Sunday Ord
THE PRICE OF HEAVEN
From a commentary by St Anselm of Canterbury
◊◊◊
God cries out that the kingdom of heaven is for sale. The glorious bliss of
this kingdom surpasses the power of mortal eye to see, mortal ear to hear,
mortal heart to conceive. If anyone asks the price that must be paid, the answer
is: The One who wishes to bestow a kingdom in heaven has no need of earthly
payment. No one can give God anything he does not possess, because everything
belongs to him. Yet he does not give such a precious gift gratis, for he will not
give it to anyone who lacks love. After all, people do not give away what they
hold dear to those without appreciation. So since God has no need of your
possessions but must not bestow such a precious gift on anyone who disdains to
value it, love is the one thing he asks for; without this he cannot give it. Give
love, then, and receive the kingdom: love and it is yours.
To reign in heaven simply means exercising a single power with God and
all the holy angels and saints through being so united with them in love as to
want only what they want. Love God more than yourself, then, and already you
will begin to have what you desire to possess fully in heaven. Be at one with God
and with other men and women – so long as they are not at variance with God –
and already you will begin to reign with God and all the saints. The desires of
God and all the saints will be the same as yours in heaven, if your desires now
are the same as those of God and other people. So if you want to be a king in
heaven, love God and other people as you should and then you will deserve to
become what you desire.
But you cannot have this perfect love unless you empty your heart of every
other love. That is why those who fill their hearts with love of God and neighbor
desire nothing but the will of God or that of some fellow human being –
provided this is not contrary to God. That is why they devote themselves to
prayer, spiritual conversations, and reflection, for it is a joy to them to long for
God and to speak, hear and think about him whom they dearly love. That is why
they rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, show
compassion to those in distress, and give to the needy, since they love others as
themselves. Hence too their contempt for riches, power, pleasure, honor, and
praise. Those who love these things frequently offend against God and their
neighbor – for the whole law and the prophets depend on these two
commandments. So those who wish to possess the fullness of that love which is
the price of the kingdom of heaven should love contempt, poverty, toil and
subjection, as do the saints.