The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
I’m really afraid of dying. I fear sickness or pain that could be unbearable. I fear not being with my husband and children or missing what God is calling me to do with my life.
Mostly, I’m afraid that when God calls me, I won’t be ready to meet Him. I worry my efforts to frequent the sacraments and pray daily are not enough, and my love falls short. But I persevere, because I want to be a saint.
As I ponder my own death, and as beloved friends and family members pass before me, I find I identify more with the foolish in today’s first reading:
“They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace.” (Wisdom 3:2-3)
This was especially true when my father passed away suddenly nearly five years ago. All at once, the faith I'd professed my whole life seemed inadequate as I grappled with the unexpected loss. It was as if I forgot how to pray, and all my attempts fell flat. My belief in eternal life was shaken, and I felt unsure of it all. And yet, a faint flame of hope kept burning, and I did my best to pray as dad had taught me to.
“...hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5).
The beautiful readings we’re given today center around the boundless love and mercy of our God and the promise of Heaven for all the faithful.
“...For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him [on] the last day.” (John 6:40)
As Christians, the hope we have for heaven and sainthood is more than a simple wish or fleeting desire; rather, it is an anchoring, persistent trust in the goodness of God. Jesus promises us that death is not the end, because death has been defeated by Love!
“Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the kingdom of heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. (CCC 1817)
Today and every day, let us live this joyful hope for the day of resurrection and trust that the souls of all the faithful departed rest in the eternal peace of Christ.
Today counts for eternity.
Carmen is a wife and mother of two in midwestern Iowa. She has a Master of Arts degree in Sacred Theology and has a passion for writing about faith and motherhood. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring microbreweries with her husband, reading, watching football, and adding to her collection of houseplants.
