a theological expression used to signify the vision of God in heaven permitted to the blessed.
The immediate knowledge the blessed in heaven have of God. Their earthly knowledge of Him, caught in the reflection of created things, has been changed to direct vision. Constituting man’s perfect happiness, it is called beatific.
The immediate knowledge of God which the angelic spirits and the souls of the just enjoy in Heaven. It is called "vision" to distinguish it from the mediate knowledge of God which the human mind may attain in the present life. And since in beholding God face to face the created intelligence finds perfect happiness, the vision is termed "beatific". For further explanation of the subject, see HEAVEN.-----------------------------------E.A. PACE Transcribed by Janet Grayson The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightImprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York