Letters

Audrey English responds to Dr Mobbs ...

Audrey English

Contents - Oct 2015 Pastoral statement: Marriage Reinvented? - Bishop Michael Kennedy Call to action: Call for urgent action on Religious Education Pastoral visit: Pope Francis’ subtle challenge to Barack Obama - AD2000 Report Pastoral visit: Positive outcome of Pope Francis’ visit to Cuba - AD2000 Report APREL: Wake up the world - Religious Life back on the map - Anne Reeves Russia: Church and State in contemporary Russia - Fr Lawrence Cross Hebrew Catholics: “Salvation comes from the Jews” (John 4:22) - Andrew Sholl The Rosary: The Luminous Mysteries explained - Audrey English Letters: Audrey English responds to Dr Mobbs ... - Audrey English Letters: A further response to Dr Mobbs ... - Anne Lastman Letters: What is eternal life? - Francis Vrijmoed Letters: The rights of children - Robert Bom Books: ABORTION AND MARTYRDOM, edited by Aidan Nichols OP - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Books: HOW THE REFORMATION HAPPENED, by Hilaire Belloc - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Books: THROUGH THE YEAR WITH POPE FRANCIS: Daily Reflections, ed. Kevin Cotter - Paul Simmons (reviewer) Reflection: Fruit of the Garden - Anne Lastman

In my article “Our homeland is in heaven” (May 2015) I tried to explain what joy awaits in heaven using the support of Scripture and Tradition.

Dr Frank Mobbs objected to the fact that I did not rely on Scripture alone.

In my answer to his letter I explained again as clearly as possible what it means by saying that we shall see God as He is.

I thought I had answered all his objections but he insists that we have no idea of what heaven will be like.

Is Dr Mobbs unaware that Scripture is not the only source of Revelation? The Catholic Church teaches that Scripture and Tradition are the two sources of Revelation. (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church).

In the Creed we proclaim “I believe in the Catholic Church”. In the act of Faith we say “I believe all the Catholic Church believes and teaches”.

The Fathers of the Church, various Councils and Popes have given dogmatic definitions which are part of the Catholic Faith. For instance, the words “Trinity”, “Purgatory”, the dogmas of the Immaculate Conception and of the Assumption are not explicitly stated in Scripture but belong to the development of doctrine.

God has revealed himself as being One and Triune, that is, there are Three Persons in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Surely then when we shall see God “as He is”, we shall see each one of the Three Divine Persons.

The Council of Florence explicitly states that the blessed in heaven “clearly see God himself, one and three, as He is”.

I do not wish to further pursue this discussion. For my part I look forward to life everlasting and to the face to face vision of God.

AUDREY ENGLISH,
Penshurst, NSW.

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 28 No 9 (October 2015), p. 9