Article 2 - Second Series - December 26th, 2022 by Fr. Ben Daghir

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One Thing, Jesus Christ

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Article 2 - Second Series - December 26th, 2022 by Fr. Ben Daghir
 

Justin Moore’s song “If Heaven wasn’t so far away” can be a very challenging song to hear. It is a song that can remind us of the loss of a loved one. This could be a family member, friend, teammate, high school classmate, coworker, etc.

The song begins with a young man who sees the location where he and his grandfather used to fish. He thinks to himself, “what I wouldn’t give to ride around in that old truck with him”? It is a beautiful thought, but then he realizes that Heaven is too far away to do so.
 

The young man’s imagination continues; he thinks about what it would be like to introduce his children to their late great-grandfather. He ponders what it would be like to have his kids experience the strong personality that influenced him.

The young man realizes that he would also find his cousin in Heaven and let him know how well his daughter is doing as a doctor. A glimpse of Heaven would also allow him to spend time with high school classmates that had tragically passed.

The main line of the song is challenging, “Losing them wouldn’t be so hard to take if Heaven wasn’t so far away.”

Justin Moore’s song brings us to this thought - is Heaven far away or is it much closer than we think?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “By his death and Resurrection, Jesus Christ has ‘opened’ Heaven to us” (CCC, 1026). Even more clearly, “Heaven is the blessed community of all who are perfectly incorporated into Christ” (CCC, 1026).

So, is Heaven far away? Not if Christ is present.

CS Lewis reflects on this dynamic in his work The Great Divorce.

He writes, “Earth, I think, will not be found by anyone to be in the end a very distinct place. I think earth, if chosen instead of Heaven, will turn out to have been, all along, only a region in Hell: and earth, if put second to Heaven, to have been from the beginning a part of Heaven itself.”

CS Lewis is right - earth can become a part of Heaven itself.

We read in Luke’s Gospel about the Pharisees who asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come. Jesus responded, “no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you” (Luke 17:21).

The thought may not be “if Heaven wasn’t so far away” but rather “Heaven is already breaking into this world.”

The key is to find Christ, for He is the door through which Heaven is opened to us.

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Fr. Ben Daghir is a priest for the Diocese of Erie. He is a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in Saint Marys, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, and St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. He considers writing one of his favorite hobbies.