Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church - Arlington, VA
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Staff >
      • Parish Administration & Communication
    • News and Bulletins
    • Just a Thought...or two...
    • Learning Alley
    • Contact Us
    • Register
    • Our History
    • Gallery
  • Worship
    • Mass Times and Schedule
    • Live-stream Schedule & Special Mass Programs
    • Liturgical Ministries
    • Sacraments
    • Music Ministry
  • Our Faith
    • Faith Formation 2022-2023 >
      • Family Circles, Foundation & Family Mass 2022-2023
      • Sacramental Preparation 2022-2023
      • CLW 2021-2022
      • Registration
    • Formacion en la Fe 2022-2023 >
      • Circulos Familiares y Fundamentos 2022-2023
      • Preparacion Sacramental 2022-2023
      • Liturgia para ninos y grupo juvenil 2022-2023
      • Inscripciones
    • Confirmation 2022
    • Adult Faith Groups
    • Adult Faith Formation
    • Resources/Recursos
  • Get Involved
    • Matthew 25
    • Food Pantry >
      • ISIDORE’S GARDEN
    • Youth & Young Adult
    • Social Justice and Outreach >
      • Haiti Ministry
      • Integrity of Creation
    • Pastoral Care/Hospitality >
      • Stephen Ministry
  • Donate
  • Circulos Familiares y Fundamentos 2022-2023
  • Registration
  • Registration
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Staff >
      • Parish Administration & Communication
    • News and Bulletins
    • Just a Thought...or two...
    • Learning Alley
    • Contact Us
    • Register
    • Our History
    • Gallery
  • Worship
    • Mass Times and Schedule
    • Live-stream Schedule & Special Mass Programs
    • Liturgical Ministries
    • Sacraments
    • Music Ministry
  • Our Faith
    • Faith Formation 2022-2023 >
      • Family Circles, Foundation & Family Mass 2022-2023
      • Sacramental Preparation 2022-2023
      • CLW 2021-2022
      • Registration
    • Formacion en la Fe 2022-2023 >
      • Circulos Familiares y Fundamentos 2022-2023
      • Preparacion Sacramental 2022-2023
      • Liturgia para ninos y grupo juvenil 2022-2023
      • Inscripciones
    • Confirmation 2022
    • Adult Faith Groups
    • Adult Faith Formation
    • Resources/Recursos
  • Get Involved
    • Matthew 25
    • Food Pantry >
      • ISIDORE’S GARDEN
    • Youth & Young Adult
    • Social Justice and Outreach >
      • Haiti Ministry
      • Integrity of Creation
    • Pastoral Care/Hospitality >
      • Stephen Ministry
  • Donate
  • Circulos Familiares y Fundamentos 2022-2023
  • Registration
  • Registration

November 8, 2020

11/6/2020

 
The Gospel calls us to be ready for when the “bridegroom” comes! It is an obvious metaphor for the second coming of Christ. And the message is to live our lives “ready” for that day! As I was getting ready to make my final vows in the Spiritan Community I was expected to make a “memory card”, a card not unlike the ones made for funerals! But it is meant to mark a special occasion and for the front of the card I chose a quote from Dag Hammarskjold; “For all that has been, thanks. For all that will be, yes.” I chose it because I believe it speaks of a profound gratitude to God for all that has been in life and of an openness towards God and towards whatever lies ahead in life and in death.

November is traditionally a time in which we remember the dead. In Latin America many of the people set up little home altars on which they place photos and mementos of their loved ones who have died and gone ahead of them 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 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 know 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!

What do I think 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? In the midst of all the chaos that we are living in, what are the things that I can find gratitude for in my life? And what are the things in which I can find openness to God and to what lies ahead in life and in death, believing that God journeys with me through it all?

Blessings,
Fr. Tim


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Fr. Tim Hickey, C.S.Sp.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Our Lady Queen of Peace
2700 South 19th Street
Arlington, Virginia, 22204, USA
703-979-5580 Office
703-979-5590 Fax
office@ourladyqueenofpeace.org
Office hours: Mon-Fri, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm (closed on federal holidays)
  • ​Inclement Weather Policy
Weekend Mass Schedule
Saturday: Vigil Mass at 5:30 pm
Sunday: 8 am, 9:30 am, 11:15 am, 1 pm (Spanish),
​6 pm (young adult)

Picture