“If you can tell that summer is near by looking at the fruit on the trees, you can likewise tell by the ruin in the world that the Kingdom of God is near. The Kingdom of God is compared to summertime and rightly so, for the clouds of our sadness will pass and the days of life will shine with the brightness of the eternal Sun: “No one who waits upon Thee will be confounded.””

Saint GREGORY THE GREAT († 604)
Pope, doctor of the Church

One day, in a dream, a novice had a vision of hell: there was an immense banquet table, covered with hundreds and hundreds of sumptuous platters. But the damned had long forks, so long, in fact, that it was impossible to put even the least bit of anything into their mouths. And they raged, cursed and screamed out in their hunger. Troubled, the monk told his dream to the master of novices who responded:
“I too, had a dream, a vision. But it was of paradise. It was the same as what you saw: a banquet table, delicious platters, guests with very long forks.”
– “I don’t understand,” retorted the little monk, “there is no difference, then, between hell and paradise?”
– “Yes, there is,” responded the Master of Novices, “there is a great difference: in my dream, the guests ate, laughed and sang because they thought of feeding each other…”

Anonymous