Heaven / Paradise and the Garden

THE GARDEN of EDEN, A PARADISE:
THE CELESTIAL and TERRESTRIAL HEAVENS:

“...ON EARTH
AS IT IS
in HEAVEN ”

The Coronotion of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Heaven
Tres Riches Heures of Jean, Duke of Berry
15^th Cent. MS illum.

Timelines _[_addt'l-nav.] † Bibliography / Suggested Reading / Study Links _[_pdf]

THE word paradise in Greek, (paradeisos/παράδεισος ), means “garden”. The Garden of Eden is both the world for which human beings were originally created and the state in which they are intended to live. Some images of our destined eternal union with God and all the saints portray heaven as a restored garden (cf. Rev 2.7; 21.2-8)

A FREQUENT image of paradise is the rose garden, enclosing the Blessed Virgin Mary and the infant Christ, or Christ as the Lamb of God.

HEAVEN is more commonly depicted as a celestial region with choirs of angels and saints.

HOWEVER, heaven is sometimes envisioned as the restored garden in which the saints adore the rejoice, dance, and worship the Blessed Trinity. Sometimes the heavenly Church is symbolized by the Blessed Virgin Mary in a smaller garden, recreating with saints, angels and the infant Christ or with Christ the Lamb of God. The post-resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalen in John 20:15 depicts Christ as gardener, and some artists associate the Last Supper, Gethsemane, and Emmaus with a garden.

1.The Garden of Eden

1. THE GARDEN of EDEN
IN THE BEGINNING

PARADISE, MS. Illum, c.1420

INTRODUCTION

THE word paradise in Greek, (paradeisos/παράδεισος ), means “garden”. The Garden of Eden is both the world for which human beings were originally created and the state in which they are intended to live. Some images of our destined eternal union with God and all the saints portray heaven as a restored garden (cf. Rev 2.7; 21.2-8)


THE HISTORY of ADAM and EVE Illum.MS., 1415	PARADISE, Fouquet, 1475

2.The Madonna in the Rose Bower

2. THE MADONNA
in THE ROSE-BOWER

INTRODUCTION

THE eternal destiny of the Church in communion with Christ is sometimes depicted as a gathering of the faithful in a garden-paradise around the Blessed Virgin and the Christ-child..

DANTE depicted heaven as a garden or celestial rose containing the faithful, Christ, and the Blessed Virgin Mary.

MARY and JESUS in the LITTLE GARDEN,1410

CELESTIAL GARDEN with Dante, Beatrice, DiPaolo 1440

3.Celestial_Heavens

3. CELESTIAL
HEAVENS

INTRODUCTION

HEAVEN is most commonly depicted as a celestial region with choirs of angels and saints, often a sky-vault, a royal audience chamber, or a choir, complete with choir-stalls.

ASSUMPTION of the BLESSED VIRGIN Botticini, 1490


JOHN in PATMOS, Memling, 1478	HEAVENLY CHOIR, Fall of the Rebel Angels, Tres Righes Heures of the Duke of Berry 1414

4.The Paradise in the Heavens

4. THE TERRESTRIAL PARADISE
in THE CELESTIAL HEAVENS

INTRODUCTION

HEAVEN is sometimes envisioned as the restored garden in which the saints adore the rejoice, dance, and worship the Blessed Trinity. Sometimes the heavenly Church is symbolized by the Blessed Virgin Mary in a smaller garden, recreating with saints, angels and the infant Christ, or with Christ the Lamb of God. The post-resurrection appearance to Mary Magdalen in John 20:15 depicts Christ as gardener. Hints of the eschatological garden may sometimes be seen in artistic renderings of the Last Supper, the Appearance to Mary Magdalen, and the Road to Emmaus.

THE LAST JUDGMENT, Fra Angelico, 1431

THE LAST JUDGMENT, Fra Angelico, 1431

CELESTIAL GARDEN with Dante, Beatrice, DiPaolo 1440

CELESTIAL GARDEN with Dante, Beatrice, DiPaolo 1440

01_Ladder_and_Garden

THE LADDER
and
THE GARDEN

NAVIGATION BAR LINK

THE monastic model of ascent through ascetical practice to the contemplative embrace of God is rooted and prefigured in the biblical images of:

THE LADDER of ascent to God and

THE GARDEN of delight in the divine presence.

ALTHOUGH the notion of ascent to God is also frequently depicted as climbing a mountain (Sinai, Carmel, Tabor), the image of JACOB'S LADDER is a powerful image of heavenly ascent and descent; and it recurs in patristic depictions of martyrdom and very often in the monastic tradition

BENEDICT associates Jacob’s Ladder with the ladder of humility that leads to Heaven (RB 7.5); however his description of heaven is extremely restrained in comparison with the Master.

IN the Rule of the Master both the Holy Art (RM 3) and the Ladder of Humility (RM 10) lead respectively to the garden-city of heaven (RM 3.83) and the heavenly rose-garden of the Passio Sebastiani (RM 10.92 ). Indeed, every step is explicitly called a “rung of the heavenly ladder.”

AT the conclusion of the Life of Benedict two of his disciples see in a vision the path by which Benedict ascended to heaven - a clear allusion to Benedict’s Rule.

THE disciples, interpreters, and commentators on the life and Rule of Saint Benedict are too numerous to enumerate here. We will consider only four.

1. An examples of the image of an ascent back to - and even beyond - the primordial garden of Eden is found in the famous reading for Holy Saturday that is clearly influenced by the ascetical/monastic tradition of the early Church.

2. Romuald and (3) Bernard offer examples of the monastic cell as a return to paradise and the Song of Songs as a vision of the monastic goal.

4. And, finally, Dante depicts both Benedict and his disciples, Peter Damien and Bernard as guides up the ladder that leads to God and to the heavenly garden where the saints rejoice.

IMAGES of THE LADDER

The Dream of Jacob, School of Beuron


Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent, Modern Icon	Climacus, Ladder of Divine Ascent, Russian, 16^th c.

Aretino, 1388, The Death of Benedict and the Disciples Vision of the Heavenly Path

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