Today’s Inspirational Snippet:“We must have a real living determination to reach holiness. God’s invitation to become saints is for all, not just a few. Sanctity therefore must be accessible to all and consists in doing good in doing whatever condition and place God has placed us. God gives us an abundant harvest of trials, as a sign of great holiness which He desires us to attain.”
Reflection for 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Year C. Cycle II. November 6, 2022
Today’s Readings:
2 Maccabees 7: 1-2, 9-14
Psalm 17: 1, 5-6, 8, 15
2 Thessalonians 2: 16-3: 5
Luke 20: 27-38
Today’s Rosary: The Glorious Mysteries
Today’s Saint Quote:“Avoid sloth, bad company, dangerous conversations, and games; remembering that time passes and never returns, that you have a soul, and that if you lose your soul, you lose all. If you practice the holy exercise of Spiritual Communion a good many times each day, within a month you will see yourself completely changed.”- St. Leonard.
OUR UNION WITH GOD IN FAITH & LOVE
This Sunday, all of us are called to remember the faith which we have in the Lord, in His love for us and in His guidance, love and compassion for each one for us, and ultimately, His glorious resurrection from the dead and triumph over sin and death, which is also promised to us. Through His own Resurrection from the dead, the Lord showed all of us that His path leads us to an eternity of life and existence with Him. That is what all of us as Christians believe and ought to have faith wholeheartedly in, as the Resurrection of the Lord is truly the most important and central tenet of our entire Christian faith. Without the Resurrection, then there will be no Christianity and the truth which we hold firm in belief in the Lord.
In the First reading, from the Second Book of Maccabees. It relates the struggles of faithful Jews during the Seleucid oppression in Israel during the second century B.C. The Responsorial Psalm can be seen as a reference to heavenly existence when one will “behold God’s face.” In the Second Reading, St. Paul addresses his audience in Thessalonika by informing them that God gives “everlasting encouragement” so that the faithful will live a life which promotes the spread of the Good News. In the Gospel, Jesus confronts the Sadducees with an explanation of the heavenly existence which is totally beyond earthly experiences.
Jesus proclaims that He is Lord over the living and the dead now and for all The quality of our present life is measured by the quality of our relationship with the Lord. Deepen this relationship daily. The Sadducees thinks that our earthly marriage and relationships continue in the next world. However, Jesus says there is no need for relationships in heaven because people live forever in the fullness of God’s glory. The Resurrection is a divine gift that God gives to us. We can never earn our way to heaven. This gift cannot be presumed and our life must be lived in Christ-like ways.
As we approach the end of the year, we will find the days getting shorter and the nights getting longer. In Europe, this would be most obvious as the weather gets colder. The truth is that many of us in this generation live in such a way without any thought of tomorrow, much less about eternity. There is no hope for tomorrow. Some are even more sceptical of life after death. Nothing lasts. Wealth, power and glory are like flowers in the field. They do not give true joy. Even our loved ones do not stay with us forever. Jesus makes it clear his claim about resurrection and eternal life.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “God revealed the resurrection of the dead to His people progressively” (CCC #992). Resurrection for us is a new life in Christ, an event where we are in union with God. Our readings invite us to stand firm in faith and love that we have in resurrection; which is to share the glory of Christ. Jesus came to restore Paradise and everlasting life for us. The Holy Spirit reveals to us the eternal truths of God’s enduring love and the abundant life he desires to share with us for all eternity. Life is worth living only when we know that life never ends. All of us want to live meaningfully. Faith in eternal life, whether the immortality of the soul or the resurrection of the body, is critical for people to give themselves for the service of others.
We must not confuse eternal life with everlasting life. So, the expectation of the fullness of life and fullness of love come when we reach heaven. We must prepare ourselves for the fullness of life by living life to the fullest, in anticipation of the life to come. The key to life is to have an encounter with the risen Jesus. After we have met the risen Christ, we become “a new creation. We who are baptized into Christ can share even now in this risen life. Our life is hidden in Christ. We are citizens of heaven, while living on this earth. We are children of God, and the resurrection we hope for means we will live fully in that love.
Today, the Church challenges us to live courageously according to the values of God – which often go against those of the world. Our Christian values are becoming harder to live by as the world is increasingly accusatory through the media. We need to persevere in the faith and rely on God’s grace to sustain us, and to reflect on our motivations to live out our holy lives in the face of world values that are counter and even challenging to our faith. Do we give up easily to the ways of the world or do we continue to lean onto God and surrender? Can we stand firm and confident in witnessing to the faith that is passed on to us?
Sisters and Brothers, let us all therefore commit ourselves anew to the Lord, that from now on, we should dedicate our effort and time to serve Him better, to live our lives more worthily, and trust in Him more, knowing that in Him alone lies our hope and the path to eternal joy and bliss. Let us all no longer be distracted by the many things that often keep us away from God’s love and grace. And may the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, that our faith and belief in Him will ever be stronger, and that we will be worthy of Him, and be reconciled and reunited with Him, in the glory of everlasting life. Amen.
Today, let each and everyone of us,reflect on the spiritual means that we make the most of to live authentically as a child of God and resolve to renew or add a practice in earnest.
PRAY FOR THE CANONIZATION OF BLESSED MICHAEL TANSI, MICHAEL J. MCGIVNEY & NNADI MICHAEL
PRAY THE ROSARY & LITANY- THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL SPIRITUAL WEAPON AGAINST EVIL FORCES.
Have you ever considered Total Consecration of yourself to Blessed Virgin Mary, grow your Spirituality?
PRAYER
May the Lord Jesus put His hands on our eyes also, for then we too shall begin to look not at what is seen but at what is not seen. May He open the eyes that are concerned not with the present but with what is yet to come, may He unseal the heart’s vision, that we may gaze on God in the Spirit, through the same Lord, Jesus Christ, whose glory and power will endure throughout the unending succession of ages.
GROW AS A DISCIPLE Of JESUS; EVANGELIZE; LET THE POWER & GRACE THAT ACCOMPANY THE SHARING & PROPAGATION OF GOOD NEWS TOUCH & TRANSFORM ME THROUGH JESUS OUR LORD. AMEN.
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