That is Heaven? While on earth, we can’t imagine happiness in spending eternity looking at a face, regardless of whether it belongs to God. We can’t find excitement in prospects of a Heaven where we are reduced to thinking and willing without any other means to pursue what is thought and willed because we won’t have some counterpart of bodies there.
God Himself does not want us to appreciate Heaven that way. That’s why God allowed the Blessed Mother to appear to so many people, especially in Medjugorje, for her not only to talk about Heaven, but to bring people still living on earth to see it. In the case of at least two of the Medjugorje visionaries, they were physically brought to Heaven.
So let us recount the words of the visionaries as recorded in interview with them. In the case of Mirjana, the Blessed Mother granted her a vision of Heaven.
Mirjana described Heaven thus “I saw Heaven as if it were a movie. The first thing I noticed was the faces of the people there; they were radiating a type of inner light which showed how immensely happy they were.”
Question: “Is Heaven an actual place?
Mirjana: “Yes. The trees, the meadows, the sky are totally different from anything we know on the earth. And the light is much more brilliant. Heaven is beautiful beyond any possible comparison with anything I know of on the earth.”
Question: “Did the people you saw have bodies?
Mirjana: “Yes.”
Question: “What ages were they?
Mirjana: “They were different from what we are like now. Perhaps they were all around 30 years of age…They were walking in a beautiful park. They have everything. They need or want nothing. They are totally full…They were dressed in the types of clothing that Jesus wore.”
Mirjana was asked why Our Lady showed her Heaven. Mirjana answered:
“She told me many people on earth today do not believe Heaven exists. She said God has chosen us six visionaries to be instruments of His love and mercy. I have personally seen Heaven. It exists! I’ve seen it! Those who stay faithful to God to the end will see Heaven as a reward for their faithfulness.”
In an interview with Radio Maria, another visionary Vicka, who was physically taken to Heaven by the Blessed Mother, recounted that “…it can’t be described. That is something beyond description. It is filled with some sort of beautiful light…people…flowers…angels…All is filled with some indescribable joy. Your heart stands still when you look at it.”
Vicka further said that “Heaven is a vast space, and it has a brilliant light which does not leave it. It is a life which we do not know here on earth. We saw people dressed in gray, pink, and yellow robes. They were walking, praying, and singing. Small angels were flying above them. The Blessed Mother showed us how happy these people are.”
Question: How could you tell they were happy?
Vicka: “You can see it on their faces. But it is impossible to describe with words the great happiness I saw in Heaven…In Paradise, when the Blessed Mother passed, everybody responded to Her, and She to them. There was a recognition between them…They were standing there communicating with Her, like in a tunnel, only it wasn’t exactly like a tunnel, but a tunnel is the closest comparison. People were praying, they were singing, they were looking… People in Heaven know the absolute fullness of a created being.”
Question: How long were you there?
Vicka: “Maybe twenty minutes.
Question: Did the people talk to you?
Vicka: “It was very unusual. They were speaking, but I could not understand them… The people were in small groups. I was with Jakov and the Blessed Mother. We spoke to each other, but there was no communication with anyone else. About the people there, the Blessed Mother only said to us, ‘You see how people who are in Heaven are happy?’”
Another Medjugorje visionary Ivanka also recounted her experience in Heaven saying “It is a place that is very, very beautiful. Most beautiful…Everyone I saw was filled with a happiness I can’t explain – and I can’t forget.”
Jakov was only 11 years old when the Blessed Mother took him to Heaven with Vicka. “When you get there, then you will see how it is,” he said when asked to describe Heaven.
Question: You have said that the reason the Blessed Mother took you there was to showyou what it would be like for those who remain faithful to God – would you tell us anymore?
Jakov: “If I thought about it too much – Iwould die of loneliness. I have been there. It is difficult for me to talk about it.”
Question: Jakov, you said that if you thought about Heaven too much, you would die of loneliness. How do you handle the memories of Heaven, hell, and Purgatory?
Jakov: “The Blessed Mother asks us to be careful of the problem of the tyranny of memories. She asks us to trust God’s love to make all things well. She asks us to surrender the past to Her maternal care and to remember only in the light of God’s love.”
