“For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.” I chose this quote from Dag Hammarskjold to be on the memory card from my religious profession. It speaks of a profound gratitude to God and an openness toward God and towards whatever lies ahead in life and in death. November is traditionally a time in which we remember the dead. In some cultures people set up little home altars on which they place photos and mementos of their loved ones who have died and gone ahead of us to that which we call the afterlife, heaven. We do not know what lies ahead but yet we are part of it, promised resurrection through our Baptism.
As we careen towards the end of the liturgical year and towards Advent, our readings turn toward “the last things”. This is not meant to cause us to be gloomy or sad; on the contrary, it is meant to offer us an opportunity to reflect on the transitory reality of this life in the context of the gift of the promise of eternal life. While none of us really knows what it will be like, and the speculation has made for good reading over the centuries, some theologians today talk of it as something analogous to a glorious and knowable uniting, a joining with God in a new and spectacular way, beyond our wildest hopes and dreams! Heaven! Down through history this belief of the resurrection has motivated many people to stand up and resist oppression and evil, not unlike in the first reading.
What do I believe about heaven and the afterlife? Do I fear death or dying? If I built a little home altar whose photos and mementos would I place on it? What oppression and evil do I need to stand up to?
God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim
As we careen towards the end of the liturgical year and towards Advent, our readings turn toward “the last things”. This is not meant to cause us to be gloomy or sad; on the contrary, it is meant to offer us an opportunity to reflect on the transitory reality of this life in the context of the gift of the promise of eternal life. While none of us really knows what it will be like, and the speculation has made for good reading over the centuries, some theologians today talk of it as something analogous to a glorious and knowable uniting, a joining with God in a new and spectacular way, beyond our wildest hopes and dreams! Heaven! Down through history this belief of the resurrection has motivated many people to stand up and resist oppression and evil, not unlike in the first reading.
What do I believe about heaven and the afterlife? Do I fear death or dying? If I built a little home altar whose photos and mementos would I place on it? What oppression and evil do I need to stand up to?
God’s Blessings,
Fr. Tim
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