111. Eternity, Time, and the Divine Now

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Lecture Notes

Main Topics #

The Definition of Eternity #

Berquist presents the famous definition of eternity from Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, which Thomas Aquinas adopts: eternity is possessio totius simul vitae interminabilis (perfect possession of life without end). This definition contains four key negations:

1. Without end - Negates temporal succession and the passage from being to non-being
2. Life - Negates the defect of actual life found in the temporal now (which cannot sustain activities like eating, playing, or thinking)
3. Possession - Negates the fleeting, ever-changing character of the temporal now
4. All at once (simul) - Negates the before-and-after structure of temporal existence

The Temporal Now vs. The Eternal Now #

Characteristics of temporal time:

• Always moving forward; always “other” as to where it is
• Never to be possessed or held onto
• Cannot perform any meaningful activity in a frozen moment
• Has fullness of life only through continuous flow and duration

Characteristics of eternal now:

• Always the same; always identical with itself
• Perfect possession without loss or change
• Fullness of actual life all at once
• No before and after

The Paradox of Similarity to Eternity #

Berquist notes an interesting paradox:

• Life in the now resembles eternity insofar as it has no before and after
• Life in time resembles eternity insofar as it possesses actual fullness of life
• Perfect eternity alone combines both: complete fullness of life all at once, without any before or after

Divine Knowledge and Eternal Vision #

The eternal now is the standpoint from which God sees all things. Using Boethius’s image of a circle:

• The center represents God’s eternal now
• The points on the circumference represent the successive nows of time
• All moments are present to God simultaneously even though they are not before or after one another from the perspective of time itself

This requires following Aristotle’s principle: the mode of knowing need not match the mode of being of what is known.

The Beatific Vision in Eternity #

For angels:

• Evening knowledge = the angel’s natural knowledge (or knowledge looking at creation, tending toward darkness left to itself)
• Morning knowledge = knowledge gained by seeing God face to face (referring all things back to God, who is the beginning)
• Angels saved go from evening to morning, holding both simultaneously
• The evening knowledge serves as a disposition (habitual ordering) toward the morning knowledge

For humans in the afterlife:

• The beatific vision will be the fullness of eternal life: seeing God face to face, without before or after
• We will retain our natural knowledge (e.g., the Pythagorean theorem) as subordinate and disposed toward the supernatural vision
• There will be no temporal flow in the vision itself, but we will possess understanding and even laus folkalis (praise of God)
• The degree of intimacy with God will depend upon our love (charity) at the moment of death

The Paradox of Natural and Supernatural Desire #

Berquist explores how the natural philosopher’s desire to understand first causes relates to the Christian’s desire to see God face to face:

• These are not opposed but rather one perfects and disposes for the other
• The natural wonder and desire to know causes is not eliminated but elevated and perfected by supernatural grace
• This mirrors the ascent described in Plato’s Symposium: from love of beauty in bodily form, to spiritual beauty, to Beauty itself

The Soul in Purgatory #

The image of purgatory is presented as the soul’s desire for cleansing before union with God:

• Just as a bride wishes to appear radiant before her wedding, the soul wishes to be purged of defects
• This desire for purification shows that the supernatural longing for God perfects rather than eliminates natural human dignity

Key Arguments #

Against Freezing Time #

Argument: If one could freeze the temporal now, there would be practically no life in it. Therefore, eternity requires possession of the full life “all at once.”

• You cannot play a game in a frozen now
• You cannot eat or drink in a frozen now
• You cannot truly think in a frozen now
• Therefore, the eternal now must contain the fullness of life that time possesses through succession, but without any succession

The Circle Analogy (Boethius/Thomas) #

Argument: God’s eternal now relates to temporal succession as the center of a circle relates to its circumference.

• The center is not itself on the circle, yet all points on the circle are equidistant from the center
• Similarly, all moments of time are present to God in His eternal now, though they remain successive to one another
• This preserves both God’s eternality and the genuine succession of temporal events

The Knowledge-Being Principle (From Aristotle) #

Argument: The mode of knowing does not have to match the mode of being of the thing known for knowledge to be true.

• God knows the past now, yet the past is not now in its own being
• There is no falsity in this because falsity arises only when one attributes the mode of knowing to the thing itself
• Therefore, God can know all temporal events in His eternal now without compromising the reality of temporal succession

Important Definitions #

Eternity (ἀιών / ἀεί): Perfect possession of life without end - possessio totalis simul vitae interminabilis. Not mere endlessness, but the fullness of actual life held all at once without change or succession.

The Eternal Now (nunc aeternum): God’s mode of existence. Always identical with itself, perfect, unchanging, containing all life in its fullness simultaneously.

The Temporal Now (nunc temporis): The fleeting present moment of time. Always moving forward, always “other,” impossible to hold or possess, insufficient to sustain meaningful activity.

Morning Knowledge (scientia matutina): The angel’s knowledge of all things seen in God, their first cause and principle. Called “morning” because morning refers to the beginning, which is God.

Evening Knowledge (scientia vespertina): The angel’s natural knowledge of created things in themselves. Called “evening” because evening tends toward darkness, and creatures left to themselves tend toward non-being.

Disposition (dispositio): An ordering of one power or knowledge toward another higher perfection. Evening knowledge disposes the angel toward morning knowledge; natural desire disposes us toward supernatural vision.

Beatific Vision (visio beatifica): Direct face-to-face seeing of God as He is. The ultimate happiness of the blessed, characterized by eternal life without before or after, perfect possession, and union with God through love.

Examples & Illustrations #

The Frozen Fairy Tale #

Berquist recalls childhood storybook images where a witch casts a spell freezing everyone in time—servants frozen in the air, the princess asleep. If time were actually frozen in the moment, there would be virtually no life. You cannot perform any activity in a single instant.

The Paradoxical Similarity #

When asking which more resembles eternity—life in the temporal now or life in time:

• Life in the now is more like eternity in lacking before and after
• Life in time is more like eternity in possessing fullness of actual living
• God alone perfectly combines both: fullness of life all at once, without succession

St. Gertrude in the Garden #

Berquist recounts a scene from the life of St. Gertrude the Great. She is in a Benedictine monastery garden (gardens where beauty is cultivated), admiring the natural beauty. She thinks to herself: “All that is missing here is someone to share this with.” At that moment, Christ appears to her. This illustrates how the natural love of beauty disposes the soul toward supernatural vision—natural desire does not conflict with but prepares for grace.

The Ascent from Beauty (Plato’s Symposium) #

Berquist describes Socrates’ teaching in Plato’s Symposium: the soul ascends from love of bodily beauty, to love of spiritual beauty, to love of Beauty itself. The lower loves are not destroyed but perfected and ordered toward the highest. This mirrors the relationship between natural wonder and supernatural grace.

Notable Quotes #

“All good things must come to an end” — Parental wisdom quoted by Berquist to illustrate the fleeting character of time

“Too late have I come to know thee, thou ancient beauty” — Augustine, Confessions, cited regarding the soul’s recognition of God as true Beauty

“The Pythagorean theorem will still be the Pythagorean theorem in heaven” — Berquist, arguing that the beatific vision will perfect, not eliminate, our natural knowledge

Questions Addressed #

Q: How can the blessed see God face to face while retaining natural knowledge simultaneously? #

A: The evening knowledge (natural) serves as a disposition toward morning knowledge (supernatural vision). Just as an object can be in act with respect to two intelligible forms when one is ordered to the other, the soul in heaven will possess both knowledges simultaneously, with natural knowledge ordered as subordinate to the vision of God. Christ exemplifies this: He sees God face to face from the moment of incarnation yet also possesses many kinds of natural knowledge, which remain as dispositions to His beatific vision.

Q: Do supernatural desires eliminate natural desires? #

A: No. The natural desire to know first causes (which led Aristotle to pursue understanding) is not opposed to the supernatural desire to see God face to face. Rather, one perfects the other. Just as the love of sensible beauty disposes the soul toward love of spiritual beauty and ultimately Beauty itself, the natural philosopher’s wonder is elevated and perfected by grace, not destroyed.

Q: Why does Boethius use a circle to explain God’s knowledge of time? #

A: The circle illustrates how God’s eternal now relates to temporal succession without contradiction. The center (God’s eternity) is not itself on the circumference (temporal moments), yet all points are equally present to the center. Similarly, all moments of time are present to God simultaneously in His eternal now, though they remain before and after one another in their own temporal order. This preserves God’s eternality while honoring genuine temporal succession.

Q: Why is eternity defined as “perfect possession of life without end”? #

A: The definition contains four essential negations: (1) negating temporal passage (“without end”), (2) negating lack of actual life (“life”), (3) negating the fleeting untouchable now (“possession”), and (4) negating succession (“all at once”). Together, these negations express not mere endlessness but the fullness of actual existence held in perfect stability without loss or change.