Timeless Eternity

I have often heard people wonder if they will get bored in heaven. They argue that an eternity is a very long time, and what will they possibly find to do for all those millenniums? Oh yes, say these "chosen souls", they know they will be joyfully worshiping God and carousing with the angels. But after awhile, won't this get a little repetitious? How can they be expected to do this forever?

First of all, I wonder how anyone actually knows they are going to make it to heaven. That has always been a mystery to me. Even the Church doesn't proclaim a saint while they are still living. Secondly, and according to Saint Alphonsus Liquori, time does not exist in heaven, so if these souls are blessed enough to enter Paradise, they will experience unceasing joy that lasts forever. This joy shall be so great, says the saint, that each moment will appear new. In heaven you have no desires, for your soul is fulfilled by the presence of God.

And what of hell? Saint Alphonsus tells us that just as each moment of joy in heaven is experienced anew, the damned in hell will suffer their pains of torment and despair for all eternity, with each moment of torture always being at its commencement, and the measure of suffering will be gauged by the degree of wickedness in this life on earth.