fly consider.*

* Dico 1. Essentiam beatitudinis formalis primo ac principaliter
consistere in clara Dei visione, in qua, quasi in fonte ac radice
tota beatitudinis perfectio continetur. Est enim praecipua ac
perfectissima animae operatio in ratione consecutionis finis ultima,
et immediate cum ipsius conjunctione, ac forma essentialiter
distinguens statum beatum a non beato.... Tamen, dico 2: Amor
charitatis et amicitiae divinae est simpliciter necessarius, ut homo
sit supernaturaliter perfecte beatus: atque ita absolute est de
ipsius beatitudinis essentia.--Suarez de Beat. Disput. 7.

2. The second element of the Beatific Vision is an act of perfect and
inexpressible love. It is the sight or knowledge of God as He is,
that produces this love; because it is impossible for the soul to see
God in his divine beauty, goodness, and unspeakable love for her,
without loving Him with all the power of her being. It were easier to
go near an immense fire and not feel the heat, than to see God in His
very essence, and yet not be set on fire with divine love. It is,
therefore, a necessary act; that is, one which the blessed could not
possibly withhold, as we now can do in this world. For, with our
imperfect vision of God, as He is reflected from the mirror of
creation, we can, and unfortunately do withhold our love from him
even when the light of faith is superadded to the knowledge we may
have of him from the teachings of nature. Not so in heaven. There,
the blessed see God as He is; and therefore, they love Him
spontaneously, intensely, and supremely.

3. The third element of the Beatific Vision is an act of excessive
joy, which proceeds spontaneously from both the vision and the love
of God. It is an act by which the soul rejoices in the possession of
God, who is the Supreme Good. He is her own God, her own possession,
and in the enjoyment of Him her cravings for happiness are completely
gratified. Evidently, then, the Beatific Vision necessarily includes
the possession of God; for without it, this last act could have no
existence, and the happiness of the blessed would not be complete,
could we suppose it to have existence at all. A moment's reflection
will make this as evident as the light of day.

A beggar, for instance, gazes upon a magnificent palace, filled with
untold wealth, and all that can gratify sense. Does the mere sight of
it make him happy? It certainly does not, because it is not, and
never can be his. He ma