"There are two levels of beatitude. One is the incomplete happiness which man can achieve on earth by his natural intelligence, contemplating and loving God after the manner of a philosopher. Perfect beatitude, which is foreshadowed in the obscure mystical contemplation of God on earth and is perfected in the light of glory, is the clear supernatural vision of the Divine Essence as it is in itself. This vision cannot be reached through any created medium, and therefore it consists in an immediate union of the glorified human spirit with the Divine Essence. This union is the only thing capable of finally satisfying man's desires for complete happiness and perfection." ~ Thomas Merton from his work, The Ascent to Truth
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