Christina Gallagher claims to have infused theological knowledge. In January of 2007, she claimed to have been given infused theological knowledge so as to understand a particular verse from Scripture.

Infused Knowledge received by Christina Gallagher in relation to the words of Jesus “Heaven and Earth will pass away but My words will not pass away.” [Mt 24:35]
…. Hence, when - as Jesus said - Heaven and earth will pass away, the 'passing away' of Heaven will really mean God drawing humanity which has received life through His Son, into the unity of the Trinity. Heaven will pass away because it will no longer have a function. Like a flower closing, the Mystical Body completed is then drawn into the Godhead for eternity.

This quote from Gallagher's 'infused knowledge' claims that Heaven will cease to exist. This claim is heretical and is contrary to the definitive teaching of Tradition and Scripture and the Magisterium.

Summary of Correct Doctrine

Although it is true that Christ said “Heaven and earth will pass away,” all of Sacred Scripture is Christ speaking to us. Now both the Old and the New Testament teach us that, after Heaven and earth pass away, God will make a new Heaven and a new earth.

[Revelation]
{21:1} I saw the new heaven and the new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more.

[Isaiah]
{65:17} For behold I create a new heavens and a new earth, and the former things will not be in the memory, and will not enter into the heart.

So the meaning of the words of Jesus, “Heaven and Earth will pass away…” (Mt 24:35) is that the first heaven and the first earth will pass away, and will be replaced by the new Heaven and the new earth. The new Heaven is permanent and exists forever and ever and ever, without end.

The Arrogance of Gallagher's Claim

The Bible was given to the human race for our guidance, and so it is written in human language, not in the language of Angels. The Bible can be readily understood by any devout persons; and we call all help one another in reaching to an ever greater understanding of its meaning.

No one needs 'infused theological knowledge' to understand this or any other passage from Sacred Scripture. It is arrogant, false, and self-exalting for Christina Gallagher to claim that she alone understands this passage from Sacred Scripture, by means of a claim of 'infused theological knowledge,' and to imply that the faithful and the Church have not understood this passage correctly for the last 2,000 years.

Only someone who has lost their way would believe such foolish claims as those made by Christina Gallagher. She preys upon persons who are weak in their knowledge of the Faith, by publishing this flowery pseudo-theological rhetoric, which she pretends is profound wisdom when all the while it is blatant heresy.

The Teaching of Sacred Tradition

From the time of Christ to the present day, the faithful have always and everywhere understood that Heaven will continue forever. When the first Heaven passes away, it is immediately replaced by the new Heaven, which is without end. To this truth, countless ignominious Christians have adhered for the past two millennia. Numerous martyrs have given up their lives on earth, knowing with the certitude of a living faith that they will live forever in Heaven with God and His Angels and all the Blessed Elect. I will cite a few examples of Saints and prayers which witness to this truth, that Heaven is forever, but the mainstay of Tradition is not only the lives and words of the Saints, but the lives and words of ordinary members of the faithful.

Saint Francis De Sales, Doctor of the Church:

“I turn myself heart and soul toward Heaven, with its eternal glory and joy and its unending happiness; there shall my home be forever, in the mansions of eternity. O my God, I bless and praise Thy infinite and Divine Mercy and choose Thy most holy will. O Jesus, my Saviour, I respond to Thy Love, which has purchased for me my place in Heaven by the shedding of Thy Most Precious Blood upon the Holy Cross. I desire nothing else but to love Thee and to bless Thee forever.”
(Francis De Sales, Meditations, Ninth Meditation: The Choice Of Heaven)

Saint Francis De Sales teaches that heaven has 'eternal' glory and 'unending happiness,' and that heaven will be our home 'forever, in the mansions of eternity.' He also points out that Jesus purchased for us our places in Heaven with His Blood, shed on the Cross. Therefore, the new Heaven will never pass away, nor will it ever cease to have a function.

Saint Irenaeus, Father of the Church:

“But when this [present] fashion [of things] passes away, and man has been renewed, and flourishes in an incorruptible state, so as to preclude the possibility of becoming old, there shall be the new heaven and the new earth, in which the new man shall remain [continually], always holding fresh converse with God. And since these things shall ever continue without end, Isaiah declares, 'For as the new heavens and the new earth which I do make, continue in my sight, says the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain.' ”
(Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Chapter XXXVI)

Saint Irenaeus teaches, commenting on the end times, that although the first heaven does pass away (as Scripture says), the new Heaven and the new earth as well “shall ever continue without end.” Therefore, again, the teaching, even from the early Church, was that the first Heaven passes away, but is replaced with the new Heaven, which literally has no end.

Saint Augustine, Doctor of the Church:

“For when the judgment is finished, this heaven and earth shall cease to be, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth.”
(Augustine, City of God, chapter 14)

Saint Augustine teaches that heaven and earth will both pass away, but that these will be replaced with a new heaven and a new earth. Clearly, when Scripture says that heaven will pass away, the meaning is that heaven will be replaced by a new heaven, one which does not pass away. For if the new heaven were the same as the old, having an end, then there would be no need to replace the one with the other.

Saint Therese of Lisieux, Doctor of the Church:

“…the repose of Heaven-the never ending Sabbath of our true Home.”
“Here is one of those incomprehensible mysteries which we shall only understand in Heaven, where they will be the subject of our eternal admiration.” (Therese, Autobiography, p. 20 and 22 of the e-book)

Saint Therese teaches that our rest in Heaven is like a never-ending Sabbath in our true home. She also teaches that our meditation on the mysteries of God, when we are in Heaven, will be eternal.

Saint Teresa of Avila, Doctor of the Church:

“To me, then, it seems that, of the many joys to be found in the kingdom of Heaven, the chief is that we shall have no more to do with the things of earth; for in Heaven we shall have an intrinsic tranquility and glory, a joy in the rejoicings of all, a perpetual peace, and a great interior satisfaction which will come to us when we see that all are hallowing and praising the Lord, and are blessing His name, and that none is offending Him.” (Teresa of Avila, The Way of Perfection, p. 93 of the e-book)

Saint Teresa teaches that there will be a perpetual, and therefore never-ending, peace in Heaven.

Not only the Saints and Doctors of the Church, but even the prayers used by the faithful, teach that Heaven is forever.

The Miraculous Medal Prayer teaches that the blessing of heaven is forever.

“Most powerful Virgin, Mother of our Savior, keep us close to you every moment of our lives. Obtain for us, your children, the grace of a happy death; so that, in union with you, we may enjoy the blessing of heaven forever. Amen.”

The Prayer of Consecration to St. Joseph teaches that heaven is forever.

“St. Joseph, who felt the tribulation and worry of a parent when the child Jesus was lost, protect our dear children for time and eternity. May you be their father and counselor. Let them, like Jesus, grow in age as well as in wisdom and grace before God and men. Preserve them from the corruption of this world, and give us the grace one day to be united with them in heaven forever.”

The Our Father prayer teaches that God dwells in Heaven and that His will is to be done on earth as in Heaven.

“Our Father, who dwells in Heaven, holy is your name. May Your kingdom come and may Your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.”

But if Heaven were to cease to exist, then we would have nowhere to dwell with God, and God's will would no longer be done on earth or in heaven. If so, then this prayer would become meaningless.

Therefore, it is clear that this teaching of Christina Gallagher is contrary to the teaching of the Saints and Doctors of the Church, and contrary to the understanding of the faithful found in their prayers, even found in the prayer of the Our Father, which was taught to us by our Lord. Although Gallagher claims to have infused theological knowledge, her teachings from this alleged knowledge are severe and blatant heresy.

Questions Raised by This False Teaching

How can Jesus continue to be King of Heaven, if the new heaven and the new earth cease to exist?
How can Mary continue to be Queen of Heaven, if the new heaven and the new earth cease to exist?
How can the blessed poor, and those who endure persecution, continue to have the kingdom of Heaven as theirs,
if the new heaven and the new earth cease to exist?
How can God continue to be the Lord of Heaven and earth, if the new heaven and the new earth cease to exist?
How can God the Father's will continue to be done on earth as in Heaven, if the new heaven and the new earth cease to exist?

The Teaching of Sacred Scripture

[2 Peter]
{3:10} Then the day of the Lord shall arrive like a thief. On that day, the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and truly the elements shall be dissolved with heat; then the earth, and the works that are within it, shall be completely burned up.
{3:11} Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what kind of people ought you to be? In behavior and in piety, be holy,
{3:12} waiting for, and hurrying toward, the advent of the day of the Lord, by which the burning heavens shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt from the heat of the fire.
{3:13} Yet truly, in accord with his promises, we are looking forward to the new heavens and the new earth, in which justice lives.

The Apostle Saint Peter, the first Pope, plainly taught the meaning of heaven passing away, specifically, that when heaven and earth pass away, they will be replaced by the new heaven and the new earth. This is the true meaning of the expression 'heaven and earth shall pass away,' as taught unequivocally by Sacred Scripture and by Saint Peter. And since justice lives in this new heaven and new earth, these cannot pass away, for the justice of God is never ending.

[1 Peter]
{1:3} Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has regenerated us into a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead:
{1:4} unto an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance, which is reserved for you in heaven.

Heaven is not merely a location, not merely a stop along the way. Heaven is our eternal inheritance, our eternal reward. If the new Heaven were to pass away, then our inheritance would pass away. But as the Holy Spirit teaches through Saint Peter in Sacred Scripture, our inheritance is incorruptible and unfading, and is in Heaven. And since Heaven itself is a part of our inheritance and our reward, neither our inheritance, nor Heaven itself, can pass away.

[Revelation 21]
{21:1} I saw the new heaven and the new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and the sea is no more.

This verse from Sacred Scripture teaches an undeniable truth, when Heaven and earth pass away, these are replaced by a new Heaven and a new earth. So it is not true that the meaning of the phrase “Heaven and earth shall pass away” is that Heaven ceases to exist. Such an idea directly contradicts the clear teaching of Sacred Scripture in numerous verses.

Why does God take away the first Heaven, and replace it with the new Heaven? The reason is the general Resurrection (Rev 20:11-15). At that time, all the souls of Heaven are brought down to earth to be given resurrected glorified bodies. The first Heaven was fitting for the souls of the faithful, who are present in the first Heaven only in soul. But after the Resurrection, the souls of the faithful need a Heaven that is fitting for both body and soul. Therefore, the first Heaven must pass away, so as to be replaced by the new Heaven, for the sake of the glorified bodies of the resurrected just ones. But there is no reason for the new Heaven to end. Once the faithful have body and soul united in the glory of Christ, nothing can take away from them their unending inheritance of the kingdom of Heaven.

[Isaiah]
{65:17} For behold I create new heavens, and a new earth: and the former things shall not be in remembrance, and they shall not come upon the heart.
{65:18} But you shall be glad and rejoice forever in these things, which I create: for behold I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and the people thereof joy.

This teaching about Heaven is found in both the Old and New Testaments. God will create a new heaven and a new earth, and we “shall be glad and rejoice forever in these things.” But if the new Heaven and the new earth were to pass away, then we could not rejoice forever in these things, as the Book of the Prophet Isaiah says. Therefore, if anyone claims that Heaven will cease to have a function and so will pass away forever, such a one is contradicting the teaching of the Holy Spirit in Sacred Scripture.

The Kingdom of Heaven

If Heaven pass away and then ceases to exist (instead of being replaced by the new Heaven which is eternal), then all the many passages from the Gospels which refer to the kingdom of Heaven would become null and void. The Blessed poor in spirit would lose their kingdom. Those who suffer for Christ or for righteousness would lose their kingdom. The term 'heavenly Father' would lose its meaning.

Furthermore, it is clear that the kingdom of Heaven is the kingdom of Jesus, for He Himself said: “My kingdom is not of this world.” But if the kingdom of heaven were to pass away and cease to exist, then the kingdom of Jesus Christ would not be everlasting, and Jesus would be a king without a kingdom.

And we all know that those who are condemned to Hell “go into eternal punishment” (Mt 25:46). The torments of Hell are never ending. So then, how can Heaven with all its glory end, if Hell does not end? Just as Hell continues forever as the place of eternal punishment, so also does the new Heaven continue forever as the place of eternal reward.

[Acts]
{7:48} Yet the Most High does not live in houses built by hands, just as he said through the prophet:
{7:49} 'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house would you build for me? says the Lord. And which is my resting place?
{7:50} Has not my hand made all these things?'

[Matthew]
{5:34} But I say to you, do not swear an oath at all, neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God,
{5:35} nor by earth, for it is his footstool, nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king.

{23:22} And whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits upon it.

Since Heaven is the throne of God, and of His Christ, anyone who claims that Heaven will cease to exist, or cease to have a function, is claiming that the throne and kingship of God and of Christ will cease to exist or cease to have a function. But Sacred Scripture teaches us that God will reign forever, from his throne in Heaven. The gates of this glorious kingdom are eternal gates, because its King is eternal.

[Psalm 9]
{9:37} The Lord shall reign in eternity, even forever and ever.

[Psalm 10]
{10:5} The Lord is in his holy temple. The Lord's throne is in heaven. His eyes look upon the poor. His eyelids question the sons of men.

[Psalm 23]
{23:7} Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates. And the King of Glory shall enter.
{23:8} Who is this King of Glory? The Lord who is strong and powerful; the Lord powerful in battle.
{23:9} Lift up your gates, you princes, and be lifted up, eternal gates. And the King of Glory shall enter.
{23:10} Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of virtue. He himself is the King of Glory.

[Psalm 44]
{44:7} Your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of true aim.

[Psalm 88]
{88:30} And I will set his offspring from generation to generation, and his throne like the days of heaven.

{88:37} his offspring will remain for eternity. And his throne will be like the sun in my sight,
{88:38} and, like the moon, it is perfected in eternity, and it is a faithful witness in heaven.

[Psalm 102]
{102:19} The Lord has prepared his throne in heaven, and his kingdom will rule over all.

[Psalm 118]
{118:89} O Lord, your word remains firm in heaven, for all eternity.

[Psalm 131]
{131:11} The Lord has sworn the truth to David, and he will not disappoint: I will set upon your throne from the fruit of your lineage.
{131:12} If your sons will keep my covenant and these, my testimonies, which I will teach to them, then their sons will sit upon your throne even forever.
{131:13} For the Lord has chosen Zion. He has chosen it as his dwelling place.
{131:14} This is my resting place, forever and ever. Here I will dwell, for I have chosen it.

Now the Book of the Prophet Daniel also teaches us about God's kingdom, plainly stating that His kingdom “will never be destroyed.” The kingdom of the God of Heaven is the new Heaven, which “will stand in eternity.”

[Daniel]
{2:44} But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will inspire a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and his kingdom will not be handed over to another people, and it will crush and will consume all these kingdoms, and this kingdom itself will stand in eternity.

{3:53} Blessed are you in the holy temple of your glory: praiseworthy above all and exalted above all forever.
{3:54} Blessed are you on the throne of your kingdom: praiseworthy above all and exalted above all forever.
{3:55} Blessed are you who beholds the abyss and sits upon the cherubims: praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.
{3:56} Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven: praiseworthy and glorious forever.

{3:99} The supreme God has accomplished signs and wonders with me. Therefore, it has pleased me to proclaim
{3:100} his signs, which are great, and his wonders, which are mighty. For his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his power continues from generation to generation.

{4:31} … And I blessed the Most High, and I praised and glorified him who lives forever. For his power is an everlasting power, and his kingdom is from generation to generation.

{6:26} It is hereby established by my decree that, in all my empire and my kingdom, they shall begin to tremble and fear the God of Daniel. For he is the living and eternal God forever, and his kingdom will not be destroyed, and his power will last forever.

{7:14} And he gave him power, and honor, and the kingdom, and all peoples, tribes, and languages will serve him. His power is an eternal power, which will not be taken away, and his kingdom, one which will not be corrupted.

{7:18} Yet it is the saints of the Most High God who will receive the kingdom, and they will hold the kingdom from this generation, and forever and ever.”

{7:27} Yet the kingdom, and the power, and the greatness of that kingdom, which is under all of heaven, shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings will serve and obey him.”

Sacred Scripture also teaches us that God is the Lord of Heaven and earth, but if the new Heaven and the earth were ever to pass away, or to cease to exist, then God would no longer be the Lord of Heaven or of earth.

{17:24} the God who made the world and all that is in it, the One who is the Lord of heaven and earth, who does not live in temples made with hands.

Sacred Scripture also teaches us that we have an eternal home in heaven. Since our home in Heaven is eternal, it cannot possibly end.

[2 Corinthians 5]
{5:1} For we know that, when our earthly house of this habitation is dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in heaven.
{5:2} And for this reason also, we groan, desiring to be clothed from above with our habitation from heaven.

The Teaching of the Magisterium

The official Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that the righteous will reign forever in the new heaven, after the general resurrection, and that God's plan is to bring all things in heaven and earth under a single head, Christ. This new heaven will forever be the dwelling place of God among men; it is an eternal and universal kingdom presented to the Father by Christ.

1042 At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul. the universe itself will be renewed:

The Church . . . will receive her perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will come the time of the renewal of all things. At that time, together with the human race, the universe itself, which is so closely related to man and which attains its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-established in Christ. [629]

1043 Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal, which will transform humanity and the world, “new heavens and a new earth.” [630] It will be the definitive realization of God's plan to bring under a single head “all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth.” [631]

1044 In this new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among men. [632] “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” [633]

1050 “When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise . . . according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom.” [641] God will then be “all in all” in eternal life: [642]

1060 At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. Then the just will reign with Christ for ever, glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will then be “all in all” ( 1 Cor 15:28), in eternal life.

Conclusion

It is manifest and undeniable that Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church have all taught, continuously and unambiguously, that the passing away of heaven is followed by the new heaven, and that the new heaven is the eternal and never-ending kingdom of Jesus Christ. Since the Magisterium has always taught this doctrine, firmly based on Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, it therefore falls under the ordinary and universal Magisterium, and is an infallible teaching of the Church, and the contrary idea is abject heresy.

Now what person in their right mind would contradict or ignore the teaching of the Saints and Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and the teaching of Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture, and the unbroken teaching of the Magisterium, in order to follow such an heretical claim of alleged 'infused theological knowledge,' from a woman who spends all her time and efforts exalting herself above the Church?

[Matthew]
{23:13} So then: Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! For you close the kingdom of heaven before men. For you yourselves do not enter, and those who are entering, you would not permit to enter.


by Ronald L. Conte Jr.
February 22, 2007