“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” – Revelation 21:4
Have a question about scripture? Fr. Simon is here to help! Mary recently called to ask about Revelation 21:4.
“Father, we are told that there is no more crying or weeping, tears will be wiped away in heaven. So we know that Our Lady is in heaven; how do you explain then that some of the saints and others that have seen apparitions of Our Lady say that she is weeping?” asked Mary.
Fr. Richard Simon, host of Father Simon SaysTM, dug into the passage and what it really means. Revelation chapter 21 speaks of a new heaven and a new earth.
“We assume the kingdom of heaven—heaven, paradise—they’re all the same thing. They’re not. Heaven is quite frequently a way to see God and we don’t go to heaven, we go to paradise and more strictly speaking, we go home,” he explained.
This place where the saints and angels currently reside and the place that Revelation 21 speaks about are not the same place. Confused yet? Fr. Simon breaks it down for us:
“Jesus said, ‘In my Father’s house there are many places to stay.’ In other words, he pictures it as a great house with many rooms. … But this age in which the new Jerusalem will descend has not come about. … But you see, this idea that there will be no death or mourning in heaven, no. In the age to come there will be no more mourning but we’re not in the age to come yet. We are in this conflicted world and our Blessed Mother, though she is among the saints and angels in our heavenly home, she still has her eyes fixed on earth.”
We often see images or learn about apparitions of the sorrowful Blessed Mother who weeps for her children on earth, wishing for them to repent and turn to her Son.
“Our Blessed Mother is in the presence of God and I’m sure she does weep, especially when she has an icon on earth. I’ve seen weeping icons and they’re pretty interesting. If it’s a fraud I don’t know how it is because, boy, they sure are weeping copiously! And everyone wants to see a weeping icon—I’d much rather know why she is weeping and to help her stop!” Fr. Simon said.
This fact gives us hope, that there is such unimaginable joy that awaits us when heaven and earth are restored. Fr. Simon explained, “We are, in a sense, in a transitional period between our salvation and our redemption. And when the whole world is renewed then there will be no more reason for tears.”
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