" We cannot, therefore, speak of this with certainty.
THE PAIN OF LOSS.
In this matter we may look at the pain of loss as well as the pain of
sense. It is certain that the pain of loss is very sharp, because of
the greatness of the good for which they wait. True, it is only for a
time; yet it is rightly reckoned, as St. Thomas taught, a greater evil
than any loss in this life. He and other theologians with him mean that
the sorrow also which springs from the apprehension of this evil is
greater than any pain or sorrow here. Hence, they conclude that the
pain of loss in every way exceeds all pains of this life; for they
think, as I have already noted, that this sorrow pertains to the pain
of loss, and therefore they join this pain with privation, that the
punishment may be greater in every way.... The vision of God and the
beatitude of heaven are such that the possession of them, even for a
day, could exceed all goods of this life taken together and possessed
for a long time.... Therefore, even a short delay of such a good is a
very heavy sorrow, far exceeding all the pains of this life. The Holy
Souls well understand and weigh the greatness of this evil; and very
piercing is the pain they feel, because they know that they are
suffering through their own negligence and by their own fault.
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