Today’s Inspirational Snippet:“The wages of sin is death; the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. True love attains a great strength. ”
Reflection for Saturday 33rd Week of Ordinary Time. Year C, Cycle II. November 19, 2022
Today’s Readings:
Revelation 11:4-12
Psalm 144:1-2, 9-10
Luke 20:27-40
Today’s Rosary: The Joyful Mysteries
Today’s Saint Quote:“I come, O Lord, unto Thy sanctuary to see the life and food of my soul. As I hope in Thee, O Lord, inspire me with that confidence which brings me to Thy holy mountain. Permit me, Divine Jesus, to come closer to Thee, that my whole soul may do homage to the greatness of Thy majesty; that my heart, with its tenderest affections, may acknowledge Thine infinite love; that my memory may dwell on the admirable mysteries here renewed every day, and that the sacrifice of my whole being may accompany Thine.” – St. Agnes of Assisi
VICTORY
Today, we are all reminded of our faith and belief in the Lord, that especially we believe in the resurrection from the dead, which means that there is life and existence after death. Death does not mean the end of our life and existence, but it only marks the end of our physical existence in the way we know it in our present world. What comes after is a greater existence and truth that awaits us in the Lord, just as He has affirmed it and showed us through His own death and resurrection from the dead. It is our core and central tenet and belief as Christians that we believe in the life in the world to come, where we will be raised body and soul, hopefully to enjoy forever the eternal life of bliss and happiness with God.
In the First reading, from the Book of Revelation adds to the teaching the Church gives us on eternal life and the connection between this world and heaven. The more we understand the symbolism being employed by St. John the more we can apply its lessons to our lives. The Psalm also speaks of the victory won by God and the Chosen Ones. In the Gospel, Jesus uses the question asked by those plotting His death to speak of the life in heaven.
Some of the happiest moments of our lives have been when we have been with our family. Family life is meant to be a foretaste of what heaven will be. The more we are able to share life together and just enjoy being in each other’s presence, the more we begin to model the heavenly life that awaits us. One of the ways in which we are called to give off Christ’s light and his sacred unction is through our living apostolic celibacy chastely for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.
We’re called to illuminate the world with the love that will last forever, anointed, specially blessed, by the Lord with the capacity to be eschatological signs of that place that the human heart has not yet imagined in its depth, where there is no marrying or giving in marriage because all the saved will participate as the Bride in the wedding feast of the Lamb. God’s word deals with the outstanding matter of the resurrection from the dead. It is peculiar that, as the Sadducees did, we keep on asking useless and pointless questions.
The question of levirate marriage was posed by the Sadducees to contradict and ridicule faith in the resurrection. This disbelief in the resurrection is something that is as prevalent in our world today as it was during the time of the Lord. The truth is that there is life after death and for Christians, it is more than just a continuity of an immortal soul but the resurrection of the body as well. Indeed, in our resurrected bodies, we become children of God, sharing in the same Heavenly Father. All earthly ties become secondary and there is no question of perpetuating our family lineage.
Faith in the resurrection of the body, or life after death, presupposes we have faith in God or at least in the world of Spirits. Is morality a question of conditioning or the voice of God speaking in us? What, then, is our purpose in life? What are we living for? What is the value of all that we do on this earth? If everything comes to nought, then why do we do what we are doing? Why shouldn’t we just allow this world to perish since there is so much suffering in this world anyway? Why do we want to perpetuate suffering and life on this earth?
We must be like the two witnesses in the book of revelation. We are called to be like Moses and Elijah of the Old Testament who, through God’s power, called down plagues and fire to destroy God’s enemies. Or we are called to be like Peter and Paul the great apostles, martyrs and pillars of the Church, who preached to the Jews and the Gentiles and died for the faith.
We as Christians believe that there is a life after death. Foundation of this Christian faith is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Resurrection means a new life. The readings invite us to confess our wrongdoings to the Lord and seek his forgiveness in order to inherit the kingdom of heaven. Many of us Christians are often falling prey to, falling prey to our own fears and uncertainties, our doubts and lack of faith in the Lord and His providence. We become entangled and trapped in the trap of desire, of worldliness, of worldly pleasure and goodness, all the things that keep us away from finding our way to the salvation in God.
Those of us who have been Baptized have been presented to God in the new Temple (the Church) at our Baptism – our new birth. In that presentation we have received, as Mary did, the fullness of God’s Spirit to guide her seeing, her discernment of God’s presence and God’s great desire for her. The concept of darkness versus light brings with it fear versus confidence. With darkness one can be overcome with obstacles which prevents us from seeing our way through. Our way becomes brighter with the light. Light removes or makes visible the obstacles in our daily life. With Jesus in our lives, our paths are made more clear.
Sisters and brothers, let us hence remind ourselves that we live in this world as a fleeting and temporary existence before we are fully reunited once again with God, and hence all of us should live our lives with that realisation found in our minds and hearts. Let us all inspire and help one another to persevere through our lives in this world, and do our best to be faithful witnesses of our faith, to be the bright beacons of God’s light and truth in our respective communities and places, at all times.
Let each and every one of us, reflect on how our actions reflect our belief in a living God.
PRAY FOR THE CANONIZATION OF BLESSED MICHAEL TANSI, MICHAEL J. MCGIVNEY & NNADI MICHAEL
OCTOBER DEVOTION: 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 CHRIST OUR LORD. AMEN
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