It will be difficult to convert people if they are lured merely into the prospect of seeing God face-to-face in the next life. Only mostly theologians and philosophers, as well as potential saints and those already in Heaven, can grasp the full significance of that. For the rest, looking at a face for all eternity could be a most unattractive proposal.
My view is that the next best thing is to convince people there is such a thing as a fountain of everlasting youth, there is forever, and these could be had in a place way, way beyond the joys of Disneyland. In the next life. In Heaven.
And it can be added that people still alive on earth have actually been given the grace to see Heaven (as well as Purgatory and hell) to tell us all about their experiences to affirm non-ending afterlife.
In Medjugorje where the Blessed Mother has been appearing since 1981, two of the visionaries, Vicka and Jakov, were physically taken to Heaven, Purgatory, and hell. The other visionaries were merely shown a vision of Heaven, Purgatory, and hell.
The Blessed Mother wanted the visionaries to bear testimonies to the existence of the afterlife and how this could be lived in eternity, depending on our choices on earth.
Let me share the experiences of the visionaries based on their interviews by Fr. Janko Bubalo.
Fr. Bubalo: ...The Virgin took you and Jakov somewhere to show you Heaven and hell...tell me about it now as fully as possible.
Vicka: ...Fifteen days – I don’t know exactly – after this vision of hell...I and Jakov went to Citluk for something. We returned about three in the afternoon. We stopped at my house a bit, and then continued on to Jakov’s to return him safely to his mother...His mother was out somewhere, and the Virgin appeared to us immediately. She greeted us with ‘Praised be Jesus!’ and said to us that She would take us to Heaven...We became frightened. Jakov began to cry. He said he wouldn’t go since he is his mother’s one and only, and that I should go by myself.
Fr. Bubalo: And the Virgin?
Vicka: She said nothing. We were still kneeling. She took me by the right hand, and Jakov by the left hand and stood between us, with Her face toward us, and we immediately began to lift upward...straight up through the ceiling. The house disappeared, and we were off...It seemed to me that we went upward...
Another interview went as follows:
Vicka: The Blessed Mother has shown me Heaven, hell, and Purgatory...Many people today do not believe there is a place or state of life after death of the body. They believe that when we die, life is over. The Blessed Mother says no; on the contrary, we are only passengers on earth. She has come to remind us of the eternal truths of the Gospel.
Fr. Bubalo: Are Heaven and hell actual places?
Vicka: Yes. I saw them.
Fr. Bubalo: How?
Vicka: Two ways – I saw with my eyes... And then I visited these places. Jakov and I were taken there by the Blessed Mother.
Describing Heaven, Vicka said: 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.
Fr. Bubalo: 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.
Fr. Bubalo: How long were you there?
Vicka: Maybe twenty minutes.
Fr. Bubalo:...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?’ (End of quotes.)
Meanwhile, as Pope Francis’ controversial Synod on Synodality ends this year, the Blessed Mother issued another message to stigmatist seer Luz de Maria de Bonilla, a third degree Augustinian under the guidance of priests. Here is what the Blessed Mother said on Jan. 17, 2023:
“Beloved children of My Heart: I bless you with My Motherhood, I bless you with My Love.
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.
“The Church of My Son will live through moments of confusion in which the fog will not allow you to see clearly the source of the innovations directed at the Mystical Body of My Son and which are contrary to the Tradition of the Church.
“Beloved children: I call you not to lose Faith, but to increase it, anticipating, with the knowledge of Sacred Scripture, how to fulfil the Law of God and the Sacraments, which will be confusing for others.
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph.
“The conflicts within humanity will be greater. The infernal dragon is continually attacking you by sending you lovelessness, envy and disrespect so that you would deny fraternity, this being part of the moral decadence in which you are living.
“My Son's Church has divided. Children, do not stray from the Principles of the Gospel.
My Son loves you: you are His Flock.
“Children, you must worship My Son continually, without rest, so that the infernal beast would not poison your thinking. Remain in prayer, making reparation and resembling My Divine Son.
“Do not be afraid facing persecution; keep the Faith, not forgetting that those who stand in the truth of the Faith are greatly blessed in not hiding being Christians and in not allowing themselves to be deceived.
“In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.
“All of humanity are spiritual stones of the edifice of the Church: all are important in this edifice.
“I hold you by My Hand so that would not go astray in the face of the dazzling acts of the Antichrist. You know My Divine Son and you know that He does not need spectacle in order to demonstrate that He is God.
“Pray, children, pray for all of humanity, so that it would be able to distinguish the Truth.
“Pray, children, pray, faced by war that is lying dormant.
“Pray, children, pray: the force of nature will continue to scourge man throughout the Earth.
“Pray, children, pray: the sun will keep man in suspense.
“Pray, children, pray: darkness will come unsolicited.
“Pray, children, pray: you are the children of My Divine Son, you are loved and called by Him to remain faithful and firm in the Faith.
“Children, what is to come for humanity will be hard: it is purification, therefore keep your Faith continually nourished.
“Beloved children: my Divine Son remains with you and you will receie the crown of glory for remaining faithful to the true magisterium.
“You are not alone: the Angelic Legions will come to those faithful children who wait with love and patience for the great moment of the Final Triumph - without despair, but with Faith, worshiping My Divine Son in spirit and truth.
“I bless you with My Motherhood, I bless you with My Love.”
AMEN.