Heaven and Hell (Harley) n. 217

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217. In the Lord's spiritual kingdom there are various forms of government, not the same in one society as in another, the variety being in accordance with the ministrations of the societies. Their ministrations are in accord with the ministrations of all things in man, to which they correspond. That these are various is well known. For the heart has one ministration, the lungs another, the liver another, the pancreas and spleen another, and each sense organ another. As in the body these organs perform various services, so also there are various services pertaining to the societies in the Grand Man which is heaven, for the societies there correspond to these organs. That there is a correspondence of all things of heaven with all things of man may be seen in the appropriate section above (n. 87-102). But all the forms of government agree in this, that they look to the public good as their end, and in that good to the good of each individual.# This is so, because all in the whole heaven are under the oversight of the Lord Who loves all, and, from His Divine Love, ordains that there is a common good from which each individual may acquire his own good. Each one, indeed, acquires good in so far as he loves the community, for so far as he loves the community, to that extent he loves all and every one. And as that love is the Lord's, he is to that extent loved by the Lord, and good becomes his. # Every man and every society, also one's country and the Church and in the universal sense the kingdom of the Lord, is a neighbour, and to do good to these from love of good in accordance with their state is to love the neighbour; that is, the neighbour is the good of these, which is the common good that must be consulted (n. 6818-6824, 8123). Civil good also, which is justice, is a neighbour (n. 2915, 4730, 8120-8123). Therefore charity towards the neighbour extends itself to all things and each thing of the life of man; and to love good and to do good from love of good and truth, and also to do what is just from a love of what is just in any function whatever and in every act, is to love the neighbour (n. 2417, 8121-8124).


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