As we remember those who have died from and during the COVID 19 Pandemic it is important for us to remember that our time here on earth is short. Today take a few minutes to pray for the faithfully departed, in particular, our loved ones who have gone before us acknowledging, in faith, “… that they are simply farther along on their journey than we are.” (Celebrations 11-02-08)
They are in the “land of the living”, we are in the “land of the dying”. In the book of Wisdom we read, “they are in peace.” Would we want anything less for our loved ones? And we pray with the psalmist, “Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you [God] are with me.”
Most secular cultures, ours included, have a difficult time confronting the reality of death. Many people avoid thinking about death, yet each one of us will die someday.
St. Francis de Sales said, “In life we seek God. In death we find God. In eternity we possess God.” Jesus taught us that it is “… the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
There is a beautiful German proverb that provides us with a profound insight, “Those who live in the Lord never see one another for the last time.” While the grayness of winter and the piles of snow take hold of the landscape – and sometimes our spirits. In the midst of winter cold and snow, let’s dare to trust that the promise of spring that daffodils, tulips, lilies, daisies and hyacinths will come … conquering the gray winter cold.
Our HOPE is in Jesus and His resurrection and we believe that if we die in Christ “we shall also live with him.” Jesus told the Apostle Thomas, blessed are those who have not seen yet believe!
That’s you and me! We are a people of HOPE, HOPE in Jesus’ Promise!
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saint Andre Bessette intercede for us.
May God Be Praised!
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