“…I will reject no one who comes to me. Rather, I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:37, 40).
Today is somber because we remember and particularly pray for the dead. Traditionally, one of the Masses today is celebrated at the cemetery. That is how intensely other-worldly today is — a day for the dead. We remember and pray for our loved ones, relatives, friends, and all souls in purgatory. We are encouraged to participate in the Church’s liturgy today. One reason is that we enter the reality that we will leave this world one day. Such awareness could have various effects on our lives:
– Helps us focus on the essential things in life—God, faith, and family.
– Cherish every moment with a gratuitous attitude in our relationship with God and neighbor.
– Live a purpose-based life seeking the help we need to reach our destination, God.
All Souls’ Day is for us, the living, too, because our souls benefit from the graces being poured out today. We profess the belief in the resurrection of the dead because our Lord promised it. Life after death is only guaranteed if we have gone to Jesus, the source of life, while alive on earth.
A Call to Love
Do we do good because we are afraid of losing heaven? Or should we do good because we love God with our whole being? While our love is imperfect, the Christian vocation is a calling to love God and our neighbor, and love casts out fear (Cf. 1 John 4:18).
The thought of death could be fearful for some people. The fear of death is understandable. First, while there are stories of near-death experiences, such an experience is not voluntary. Therefore, it could be challenging to relate to such reports. We wish such stories could bring us to our knees, make us more loving and caring for one another, and compel us to total obedience to God, but they don’t. Why?
A Glorified Life
The Christian life is not a suspension of happiness on earth meant to be experienced in heaven after death. Instead, it is a life that brings heaven to us so that we might transform the world with the goodness of heaven. The souls of today were created to become the Saints of tomorrow. It is a movement from one form of life to another — a glorified life. While we pray for the faithful departed today, we pray for our souls as well — that our departure when the time comes will be glorious and that our souls find peace with God.
We can be sure of such a blessing because of the promise we heard from the gospel today — “… I will reject no one who comes to me; rather, I will raise him on the last day” (John 6:37, 40). Isn’t it consoling that, no matter how rough this life gets, despite afflictions, trials, disgrace, disease, painful conditions, despair, and desperate conditions, it doesn’t matter? Our Lord will never turn us back. Notice the twofold content of this promise: Jesus will never turn us away if we come to Him in this life, and He will raise us on the last day. It appears the second part of the promise is the result of the first part. Every action of Christians should reflect Christian charity, what we have become because we follow the Lord Jesus Christ. May our prayerful offerings today help our brethren who have gone before us to find peace with God. Amen.
