329. Remembering sins in Heaven
329. REMEMBERING SINGS IN HEAVEN
Here is another dilemma: will we remember our sins in Heaven? If so, we must feel some regret and sadness, thus spoiling Heaven’s perfect joy. If not, our ignorance would detract from Heaven’s total truth. For the joy of Heaven surely cannot depend on the closing of eyes, but on their opening to truth.
Whether after the resurrection every one will know what sins he has committed?
Augustine says that a kind of divine energy will come to our aid so that we shall recall all of our sins to mind.
Since the divine judgment is most perfect, it is necessary for the conscience to witness to everything that has to be judged. But all works, both good and evil, will have to be judged (2 Cor 5:10) . . . Therefore each one’s conscience must needs retain all the works he has done, whether good or evil. . . .
According to Romans 2:15-16, In the day when God shall judge, each one’s conscience shall bear witness to him, and his thoughts will accuse and defend him. . . . [E]ach man’s conscience will be as a book containing his deeds on which judgment will be pronounced, even as in the human court of law we make use of records. Of these books it is written in the Apocalypse (Revelation) (20:12): The books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books according to their works. . . (S87,1)
Augustine considers it unfitting that at the judgment a material book should be read containing all the deeds of each individual written therein, for the reason that it would be impossible to measure the size of such a book or the time it would take to read. But in like manner it would be impossible to estimate the length of time one would require in order to consider all one’s merits and demerits and those of others if one saw these various things one after the other. Therefore we must admit that each one sees them all at the same time . . . in an instant. This is easily credible with regard to the blessed since they will see all things in the Word (S87,3).
St. Peter, in Heaven, now edifies both himself and others by telling them of his threefold denial of Christ after His arrest. For he sees it in light of his repentance and God’s grace in forgiving it. It is now an opportunity for thanksgiving, as is everything in Heaven. Even sins come under Romans 8:28, if brought through the golden doors of our repentance and God’s forgiving grace.
Because CPR resuscitates thousands today, it is now a commonly known “NDE” or near—death experience, that at the moment of death your whole life passes before you in an instant, with perfect clarity; and in this “life review” everything is seen truly, nothing is covered up. God is apparently sharing a foretaste of His own vision of our life with us, as He will do completely in Purgatory and / or Heaven; and repented and forgiven sins are part of this bitter yet sweet vision. St. Thomas had no CPR, and therefore few NDEs as his data, as we do, but he knew this anyway, if not inductively from data, then deductively from philosophy.
Although charity is now the cause of sorrow for sin, yet the saints in heaven will be so full of joy that they will have no room for sorrow; and so they will not grieve for their sins, but rather will they rejoice in the divine mercy whereby their sins are forgiven them (S87,1).
At first I found it scandalous that many people who had glimpses of Heaven through out-of-body or near—death experiences said that God (the “being of light”) laughed at their past sins, and so did they. I now see that this might conform to St. Thomas’ quite correct and orthodox vision of “deep Heaven” (though not, of course, of Purgatory). To get to this infinitely joyful sunlight we must confront and not ignore the incomparably sorrowful dark clouds of sin. But once the clouds are gone . . . total joy.