We, now, do not believe that there are seven heavens above the
earth; and we need not. It is no doctrine of the Church, or of the
Creeds. We know that the earth is round, and not flat; and that the
heavens, if by that we mean the sky, is neither above it, nor below
it, but round it on every side. But some may say, whither, then,
did our Lord ascend? To what place did his body go up? And that is
a right question; for we must always bear in mind that not merely
Christ's godhead but his manhood, not merely Christ's soul but his
body also, ascended into heaven. If we do not believe that, we do
not hold the Catholic faith. Whither, then, did Christ ascend?
My friends, we know this. That this earth and the planets move
round the sun, which is in the centre of them. We know this, too;
that all the countless stars which spangle the sky are really suns
likewise, perhaps, with worlds which we cannot see, moving round
them, as we move round the sun. We know, too, that these fixed
stars, as they seem to be, are not really fixed, but have some
regular movements among themselves, which seem very slow and small
to us, from their immense distance, but which really are very great
and fast.
Now all these suns and stars, it is reasonable to believe, most
probably have a centre.
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