Commemoration of All Faithful Departed Nov. 2, 2008 (Mt 25:31-46)
"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."
(Jn 14:1-6)
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going."
Jesus the Way to the Father
Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Our first Gospel reading is a prophetic story of what will happen when the world ends. This passage is known as the Last Judgment. In this Gospel, we see Jesus receiving into Paradise all those who have lived a life of love for God and for others while casting into the fire those who refused to love God and to love others.
The second Gospel reading presents Jesus encouraging His apostles to be courageous in their mission, for a reward is waiting for them in heaven. Jesus promises them a place in heaven and that He Himself will take them with Him.
These readings are just two that I have chosen to reflect on from a roster of twelve Gospel readings. These twelve are the Gospel readings which may be used for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, which happens to fall on a Sunday this year.
The two readings can be connected with each other. Both maybe used to reflect on what happens after our life on earth. We all know that our immortal soul separates from the body in death. In the Prayer of Saint Francis, we poeticize this by saying, “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” The eternity of our soul’s life has been the theme of some of my past reflections here. Death is something we will all experience so we have to prepare for it. This is because, after our death, we will be judged by God, as we see in the first Gospel.
The second Gospel reading is a consolation for those who mourn the death of their loved ones and, at the same time, also for all of us who face the inevitable reality of death. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” (Jn 14:1). Through His words, Jesus inspires us not to be afraid of doing good, even if it would mean pain or death for us. He tells us to believe in God and in Him. This faith, as we all know, is the requirement for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and be saved. We should not be afraid of anything as long as we live in righteousness and in faith. Knowing that our eternal life with God is secured should be enough for us not to worry about anything else, not even pain or death. This is what we mean by martyrdom or even holiness and saintliness. If we die unafraid because of doing the will of God, then we should rejoice, for our reward is a dwelling place in heaven.
We shouldn’t fear death because it’s an entrance to eternal life. We all have immortal souls, but that doesn’t mean we will all go to heaven and be with God. For all we know, we might be spending eternity in the fiery pit, suffering because of the longing for God.
So how do we avoid hell and achieve salvation or heaven? Well, we could not really achieve that salvation; it is a gift from God, an inheritance from our Father. Nevertheless, we have the responsibility to remain faithful children of God and worthy heirs by our faith and the good deeds which are the fruits of our faith, for what kind of father would give an inheritance to a disobedient son who doesn’t repent? He would surely disown him. In the same way, for us to receive the inheritance promised by Jesus, we must remain true children of God, our Father. Jesus, being the epitome of obedience, is therefore “the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6). It is in being like Jesus that we secure eternal life with God. It is only through Him that we can come to the Father. The first Gospel reading supports this truth by showing that Jesus shall judge us according to our acts of love for God and for neighbor.
Death is inevitable. Nevertheless, it is not something to be afraid of. It is our birth into eternal life. (That’s why we celebrate a saint’s feast day on the day of his death.) If we prepare for our entrance in college, if we prepare for our flight to other countries, so much more do we have to prepare for our death by living a life of love, a life like that of Christ. A friend of mine once asked me, “Why do we all have to die?” I said, “Do you not pass a project?” Our life is a project and death is our deadline. The sure way to get a 100 in this project is Christ, the way, the truth and the life.
Let us ask ourselves, how often do we reflect on the reality of death? Are we ready to die? If we are not ready to die, what are our reasons? Is it because we haven’t enjoyed life on earth yet? Or is it for the greater reason that we are not yet ready to be judged by God because we haven’t loved Him and others enough?
The two readings can be connected with each other. Both maybe used to reflect on what happens after our life on earth. We all know that our immortal soul separates from the body in death. In the Prayer of Saint Francis, we poeticize this by saying, “It is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” The eternity of our soul’s life has been the theme of some of my past reflections here. Death is something we will all experience so we have to prepare for it. This is because, after our death, we will be judged by God, as we see in the first Gospel.
The second Gospel reading is a consolation for those who mourn the death of their loved ones and, at the same time, also for all of us who face the inevitable reality of death. Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” (Jn 14:1). Through His words, Jesus inspires us not to be afraid of doing good, even if it would mean pain or death for us. He tells us to believe in God and in Him. This faith, as we all know, is the requirement for us to enter the Kingdom of Heaven and be saved. We should not be afraid of anything as long as we live in righteousness and in faith. Knowing that our eternal life with God is secured should be enough for us not to worry about anything else, not even pain or death. This is what we mean by martyrdom or even holiness and saintliness. If we die unafraid because of doing the will of God, then we should rejoice, for our reward is a dwelling place in heaven.
We shouldn’t fear death because it’s an entrance to eternal life. We all have immortal souls, but that doesn’t mean we will all go to heaven and be with God. For all we know, we might be spending eternity in the fiery pit, suffering because of the longing for God.
So how do we avoid hell and achieve salvation or heaven? Well, we could not really achieve that salvation; it is a gift from God, an inheritance from our Father. Nevertheless, we have the responsibility to remain faithful children of God and worthy heirs by our faith and the good deeds which are the fruits of our faith, for what kind of father would give an inheritance to a disobedient son who doesn’t repent? He would surely disown him. In the same way, for us to receive the inheritance promised by Jesus, we must remain true children of God, our Father. Jesus, being the epitome of obedience, is therefore “the way, the truth and the life.” (Jn 14:6). It is in being like Jesus that we secure eternal life with God. It is only through Him that we can come to the Father. The first Gospel reading supports this truth by showing that Jesus shall judge us according to our acts of love for God and for neighbor.
Death is inevitable. Nevertheless, it is not something to be afraid of. It is our birth into eternal life. (That’s why we celebrate a saint’s feast day on the day of his death.) If we prepare for our entrance in college, if we prepare for our flight to other countries, so much more do we have to prepare for our death by living a life of love, a life like that of Christ. A friend of mine once asked me, “Why do we all have to die?” I said, “Do you not pass a project?” Our life is a project and death is our deadline. The sure way to get a 100 in this project is Christ, the way, the truth and the life.
Let us ask ourselves, how often do we reflect on the reality of death? Are we ready to die? If we are not ready to die, what are our reasons? Is it because we haven’t enjoyed life on earth yet? Or is it for the greater reason that we are not yet ready to be judged by God because we haven’t loved Him and others enough?
keep inspiring people.. God Bless!
ReplyDeleteKeep the fire blazing,
ReplyDeleteAd Majorem Dei Gloriam!