Dear
Parishioners and Friends,
As
we are coming to the end of the liturgical year, the Scripture readings speak
to us of the end times and death. We should never be afraid of death. As St.
Josemaria Escrivá once wrote, “Everything
can be put right... except death. And death puts everything right” (Furrow,
878). The Bible is a book about death. It tells us of the inevitability of
death as a result of Original Sin and the hope that is offered by Christ who
suffered, died and rose so that we might be free from the lasting effects of
death and rejoice forever in heaven.
It is not a bad idea to consider our own death.
Am I prepared if God would call me home to Himself this very night? Am I in the
state of grace, ready to be judged by Christ? Do I have everything ready for my
family and friends in case of my death? Do I live my life as though today was
the last day of my life? If so, I think we would all live a bit better!
At the very moment of death the Church teaches that
each of us will receive our eternal retribution in our immortal soul, in what
we call the “particular judgment” whereby we will either enter directly into
heaven or after some time in purgatory or enter into the everlasting damnation
of hell. As St. John of the Cross once wrote, “At the evening of life, we shall
be judged on our love.”
In
Christ,
Msgr.
Baker
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