In a recent letter to parishioners of St. Eugene Catholic Church in Oklahoma City, Fr. Don Wolf challenged the faithful to really consider what they believe about the afterlife.

While many may share a similar view of heaven to their secular neighbors— little more than a pleasant extension of all the best this life has to offer where all but the truly evil carry on in some fashion— it’s as likely quite a few of the faithful simply put the thought off, avoiding even considering what might await them in the eternal space that follows this finite life, Wolf said in his letter published in the church's Aug. 30 bulletin.

“Heaven is real; it ought to have a real place in our lives,” Wolf continued.

In fact, the human soul is actually built for an everlasting life in the presence of God, Wolf noted. For the faithful, heaven is not simply a reward at the end of this life, with this life as the core focus.

“It is, rather, exactly what it means to be human,” Wolf said.

The entirety of the human experience, of the very journey of life, and the ultimate realization of the purpose in the path of faith is realized when we come to understand that heaven is precisely what we were created for.

“The gift of Christ, is to bring us to the moment when we see: heaven is present in the moment we surrender to the truth of what God has brought us,” Wolf said.

This can even be lost in over-focusing on the aspect of avoiding hell.

“We’re saved not from hell, we’re saved for heaven,” Wolf said. “It’s not where we’re banished to we have to worry about; it’s where we belong we have to remember and focus on. Heaven is our home.”

And as home, it is not that heaven will be a reflection of the good things experienced in this life; but that in the moment the faithful open their new eyes on heaven, they will realize that every good thing they knew in mortal life, every pleasant sensation, love or hope, was but an echo of the true purpose that awaited them.