At least since 1946, with the publication of Henri de Lubac’s work Surnaturel, there has been an ongoing debate about how to understand human desire for the beatific vision. De Lubac disagreed with prominent Thomists of his day regarding precisely how to understand the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas himself on this question. De Lubac wrote several additional works elaborating his position, and more recent authors have published works for and against de Lubac’s position. The debate is very complex and requires an intricate balance of various principles. I will not attempt a resolution of that matter here. However, I do want to discuss a crucial aspect of the mystery, drawing primarily from the Angelic Doctor.
In the Catechism, one reads: “Heaven is the ultimate end and fulfillment of the deepest human longings, the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (CCC 1024). As Pope Benedict XII wrote in his encyclical on the beatific vision of God, Benedictus Deus, the souls in heaven “see the divine essence with an intuitive vision . . . face to face, without the mediation of any creature” (see also CCC 1023). The beatific vision is the primary element of heavenly glory.
In his Summa contra Gentiles, Aquinas writes, “It was proved . . . that every intellect desires naturally to see the divine substance” [i.e., essence or nature] (SCG 3.57). Aquinas’ argument on this point is quite interesting. Intellects desire to know the causes of things, which includes the formal cause or essence of things. As he said earlier in the text, “In fact, we do not think we know a thing if we do not know its substance [essence]” (SCG 3.50). The fact that God exists is knowable from natural reason. Hence, the intellect desires to know the essence of God: “The desire to know, which is naturally implanted in all intellectual substances, does not rest until, after they have come to know the substances of effects, they also know the substance of the cause” (SCG 3.50).
Aquinas thinks this desire to know the essence of God is so central to the intellect that, even in a state of natural beatitude (think something like limbo), one’s beatitude or happiness would nevertheless be imperfect. The reason is that perfect happiness cannot be obtained so long as any desire remains unfulfilled (see ST 1-2.3.8), and the desire to know God’s essence pertains to the very nature of the intellect. Thus, Aquinas writes, “Final and perfect happiness can consist in nothing else than the vision of the Divine Essence. . . . For perfect happiness the intellect needs to reach the very Essence of the First Cause. And thus it will have its perfection through union with God as with that object, in which alone man’s happiness consists” (ST 1-2.3.8).
We are often distracted by fleeting objects and thus lose the sense of wonder that should mark our intellectual life.
One could perhaps levy the objection that not everyone seems to possess a desire to know the essence of God. In fact, maybe as a believer one senses that he or she doesn’t have some strong desire to know the essence of God per se; perhaps one rarely—if ever—even thinks about it.
However, I think this can be chalked up to our fallen state. The fact that we do not desire to know God’s essence is really a matter of imperfection. If our minds were not darkened and disordered by sin, then this desire would be more obvious. Nevertheless, I think Aquinas is correct that such desire is still there, even if not readily perceptible. Our intellectual desires are often not experienced the way they were meant to operate. We are often distracted by fleeting objects and thus lose the sense of wonder that should mark our intellectual life. The lack of perceived desire for such knowledge simply means that our possession of human nature is weak, not that it does not pertain to our nature. In fact, we should desire all the virtues; that we do not do so in a perceptible way is due to a disorder. It does not mean that virtue is not a true end of human nature.
All that said, I think our lived experience points to the fact that we ought to be cultivating a desire for the beatific vision of God in his essence as part of our mental prayer. Let me use some analogies to help drive the point home.
Pick your favorite celebrity, one you really admire. You probably do not have an ongoing desire day-to-day to see that person, partly because you might think it is not possible. But imagine you were told the celebrity is going to be in town and there is an opportunity to meet him or her. Would not your desire be inflamed (even if mixed with a bit of trepidation at the prospect that you might embarrass yourself)?
Some who know me are aware I have a fondness for A. Lange & Söhne watches (they are way better than Rolex) and Porsches. It isn’t because they are expensive or turn heads. Rather, I appreciate the engineering, design, and craftsmanship involved in creating them. The prospect of owning either is quite unlikely, to put it mildly. If someone told me I had won a raffle for my favorite watch (the Langematik Perpetual) or Porsche (the 911 Targa 4 GTS), you bet my desire would be elevated!
Let me use another example. A lot of people would love to look back in time and witness advanced ancient cultures. Some people would love to see firsthand what ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, Israel, or China was like, even if just temporarily. They might want to be able to converse with Socrates, Plato, or Aristotle. For me, I would like to witness a conversation between St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Bonaventure.
All of those are understandable desires. But we should desire the greater things above the lower things. How much more should I desire to see God face-to-face than to meet my favorite celebrity, possess my favorite watch or sports car, or visit an ancient culture?
The Good News of the Gospel is precisely this: We can see God face-to-face. We can know, through the grace of heavenly glory, the essence of God! Imagine if you were told that all you had to do was walk through the next door and you would be purified of all imperfections and enabled to perceive God directly. I find it hard to believe that anyone could honestly say, “Nah, I’ll pass.”
But how often do we think about the possibility of seeing God in his essence? For most of us, probably not enough. That is why mental prayer is so important. That is why contemplating that real possibility is so important. Doing so helps stoke the flames of our desire for heaven, which in turn spurs us on to live according to God’s will here and now in the hope of entering into eternal life. As Aquinas affirms, we have no other final end than the beatific vision. Therefore, no other thought is more worthy of our time and attention.