Fifth Week of Lent...Do You Believe This?

Four days ago, a distant relative, soon to turn 80 years old, passed away suddenly.  She was at home, resting by herself.  At one point, when she got up to make her way around the house, she took, what was to be, a most fatal fall and slipped into a coma.  Life is like that sometimes, it catches you when you least expect it.

The hospital diagnosed multiple fractures on her skull and blood clots.  Surgery was not viable as it would only provide a 20% chance of survival.  The doctors would not risk it given her age.  A second opinion was sought at another medical facility but the conclusion remained the same.  There was simply no hope.

She passed away within 48 hours but thankfully with all close family members by her side.  A question we often ask ourselves when confronted with such life threatening situations...if only Jesus had been there...  Where is God when you need Him most?  Little do we realize that as mere mortals, sometimes, it is difficult for us to understand the intent of God...

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” (Isaiah 55:8, NAB)

Today, begins the fifth week of Lent.  We hear the familiar story of Lazarus, whom Jesus loved so much.  Lazarus died.  We get the impression that Jesus delayed the healing of Lazarus.  If only Jesus had been there earlier...there would not have been so much grief, so much mourning.

Nevertheless, we learnt that Jesus, filled with compassion, wept because He too, loved Lazarus...Jesus loves each one of us...remains one with us in our suffering...in the suffering of our loved ones...puts an end to our tears...transforming tragedy into hope.

Jesus is the resurrection and the life!  Jesus, bruised and wounded, laid down His life for us and He has the power to take it again...to give life.  Four days later, Jesus raised Lazarus.

Jesus can work miracles...but for the greater purpose of giving glory to God and increasing our faith.  As Jesus said to Martha and to each one of us this Lent,...'Do you believe this?'

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.  Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26, NAB)

This simple question reflects the very heart of our faith; our journey as pilgrims toward the eternal Kingdom of Heaven began at our baptism.  We must constantly nourish and sustain this faith by listening to the Word of God daily.

It has been observed that people, the world over, often tend to celebrate two great occasions within the church calendar - Christmas and Good Friday - the churches seemed more packed than all the other days, even Easter Sunday!

Similarly, we too often tend to remember birthdays (Christmases) and deaths (Good Fridays) but not the hope of the resurrection (Easter Sunday).  We diligently jot down reminders in our notebooks, IPhone or Blackberries.  Nevertheless, simply and quietly, we neglect to remind ourselves that we carry the hope of the resurrection to all that we meet along this journey.

Is our journey through life marked only by birthdays and deaths?  As pilgrims, should not our simple lives be inspired and driven by the hope and promise of the resurrection, instead...carrying and sharing this hope to others?

Let us reflect at the beginning of this fifth week of Lent, whether everything we do so far, everything we pursue, strive for, set aside for, love, enjoy...are all driven by the fear of losing someone, something... 

All our actions on this journey through life seems to be focused on sustaining and improving the things of this world.  My, nowadays, kids and youths even get their priorities heads over heels with the fanatism of Bielibers...

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever.  Amen.” (Romans 1:25, NAB)

We must learn to live with the freedom given to us by God; as people of the resurrection.  Ponder on this and pray that the Lord will begin to heal all of us, this transforming season of Lent, and turn all our fears into courage and hope.  We now begin our last stretch of Lent towards Jerusalem...

Death...The End?...or The Beginning?...

"A time to be born, and a time to die..." (Ecclesiastes 3:2, NAB)

"Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." (Psalm 116:15)

"Death viewed according to the senses terrifies and causes fear; but when viewed with the eyes of faith it consoles and becomes desirable. It appears terrible to sinners, but lovely and precious to the saints."
- St. Alphonsus Liguori

Recently, I have heard many conversations about death - natural death, death from old age, death due to terminal sickness, sudden death - whatever it is, the topic seems depressing and sad; not something to look forward to, when we actually have to confront it face to face...better still, have the opportunity to prepare for the departure.

Generally, to many of us, death is viewed as the opposite of life.  The thought of death brings about emotions of depression, hopelessness, loneliness and discouragement.  The thoughts that often run through our minds would be that everything that has been so dear to us here on earth, will all come to an abrupt end - our loved ones, our children, our grand children, our friends, our possessions, our accumulated wealth, our secular 'life', our worldly pursuits...the list seems endless!  We will miss them all, somehow.

"...for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care." (Psalm 95:7, NIV)
 
Fellow Pilgrims, if death is truly the opposite of life, then there is every reason for us to despair.  Every facet of our understanding about what is good and bad, right and wrong, would have been a big joke and pointless, if death would truly be the opposite of life.  Our faith would have been in vain.

St. Bernard asks, "Tell me where are the lovers of the world?" and he replies, "Nothing remains of them save ashes and worms."

"Let the end of this life be thought upon, and there will be nothing in this world to be loved," observes St. Lawrence Justinian.

"If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised.  And if Christ has not been raised, then empty (too) is our preaching; empty, too, your faith."
(1 Corinthians 15: 13-14, NAB)

"But the just man, though he die early, shall be at rest." (Wisdom 4:7, NAB)


What folly would it not be for a traveller, a pilgrim, if when travelling, he were only to think of making himself great in that country (earth) through which he only has to pass, without minding the being reduced to live miserably in that country (heaven) where he will have to spend his whole life (eternity)? 

And is he not foolish, who seeks his happiness in this world, where he has to remain but a few days, and who by so doing, runs the risk of being unhappy in the world to come, where he will have to remain forever?


"For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?..."
(Matthew 16:26, Douay Rheims)


My dear pilgrims, death is NOT an ending but a passage to eternity.  The cross is a symbol of life.

 "It is a great mystery of divine love, that not even in Christ was exception made of the death of the body; and although He was the Lord of nature, He refused not the law of the flesh which He had taken upon Him. It is necessary for me to die; for Him it was not necessary." - St Ambrose



"Those who have been faithful to Christ will rise glorious, their bodies transformed on the model of the risen body of Christ, who could travel instantly at will, could ignore closed doors and come through anyway, but yet had real flesh.  St. Paul says the risen body is "spiritual" (15:44).  It is still flesh, but such that the flesh is completely dominated by the soul, so that it can no longer suffer or die. 

...The Second Epistle of Peter 1:4 says by grace we are "sharers in the divine nature."  The Blessed too will be united with others there, especially those close and dear to them in this life...they will have eternal fellowship with Our Lady and all the saints."  - Rev. William G. Most




Prayer for a Happy Death (Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman)

O my Lord and Savior, support me in my last hour in the strong arms of Thy Sacraments and by the fresh fragrance of Thy consolations.  Let the absolving words be said over me, and the holy oil sign and seal me; and let Thine own Body be my food, and Thy Blood my sprinkling; and let my sweet Mother, Mary, breathe on me, and my Angel whisper peace to me, and my glorious saints and my own dear patrons smile upon me, that, in them all and through them all, I may receive the gift of perseverence, and die as I desire to live, in Thy faith, in Thy Church, in Thy service, and in Thy love. Amen.

"...the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them." (Wisdom 3:1, NAB)

We are...Christ's Letter to the World...

"Living here below, my Father, wearies me.  Living this life of exile is such a bitter torment to me that I am almost unable to take any more.  The thought that in any instant I could lose Jesus, causes me an anxiety that I cannot explain; only the soul that loves Jesus sincerely could understand it." - St Padre Pio

For 50 years, Padre Pio, an ordinary friar, carried the five wounds of the crucifixion; he was a stigmatist.  During his journey on earth, he was a victim with Christ.  Padre Pio had deep piety; his mind and heart was always centred on Jesus...on Heaven...the heavenly home.

Padre Pio's desire can be explained by Fr Raniero Cantalamessa as follows.  "Padre Pio did not know whether he would be able to persevere in love or avoid displeasing God by growing cold towards Him and becoming unfaithful - this led him to desire the end of his exile, where he would no longer have the opportunity to sin..."

Such is the preciousness of God to the simple Padre Pio.  Reflecting on our own journey, how precious is God, the Creator, in our life? in our actions today?  What exactly is His plan for us?  What is He writing to the world through you?


"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future full of hope.  When you call me, when you go to pray to me, I will listen to you.  When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me with you, says the LORD..." (Jeremiah 29: 11-14, NAB)

As we, pilgrims, journey on, this new year, we must remember and continuously ponder, in our heart, the words echoed by Mother Teresa,...

"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world....I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

What kind of a letter have we been entrusted with, to others?  How have others then, experienced Christ through us?

Shadow of the Cross...at Christmas

“The story of every human life begins with birth and ends with death. In the Person of Christ, however, it was His death that was first and His life that was last. The scripture describes Him as "the Lamb slain as it were, from the beginning of the world." He was slain in intention by the first sin and rebellion against God. It was not so much that His birth cast a shadow on His life and thus led to His death; it was rather that the Cross was first, and cast its shadow back to His birth. His has been the only life in the world that was ever lived backward. As the flower in the crannied wall tells the poet of nature, and as the atom is the miniature of the solar system, so too, His birth tells the mystery of the gibbet. He went from the known to the known, from the reason of His coming manifested by His name "Jesus" or "Savior" to the fulfillment of His coming, namely, His death on the Cross.”

Fulton J. Sheen, Life of Christ

We hear sweet carols, we see pine trees, silvery decorations and shimmering lights, busy shopping malls and traffic congestions…it’s the festive season, its Christmas…more accurately the “commercialized Xmas” (where CHRIST is, more often than not, removed [replaced with an ‘X’] and conveniently forgotten in this season of merry making)

The unwelcomed Babe of Bethlehem; the harking of heralding angels and the simple poor shepherds watching their flock in the quiet of the night are simply forgotten; true reminders of the birth of Christ and the purpose of His coming.

The words of Bishop Fulton Sheen calls us to pause and reflect on the silhouette of the CROSS overshadowing the manger below the Bethlehem star. Where there is no room in the inn (our hearts), let us make room…

More often than not, the “noise” of the season has caused us to forget that the Savior came to fulfill the will of our Father, not to live but to die, that all mankind everywhere might gain eternal life. This is the true reason for the season. This is why the holy day of Christmas is ranked second to Easter in the Roman calendar. Lent which begins with Ash Wednesday is but a few weeks away, in early March 2011, climaxing with the celebration of Easter; new life, the resurrection, the only HOPE that sustains us in our journey.

During Christmas, we are radically reminded of the preciousness, yet fragility of life. What is life? It is like a vapor, which is dispersed by a breath of wind and is no more. We all know that we must die but many are deceived by picturing to themselves death at such a distance as if it could never come near to us.

We must be still to be aware, to be conscious, to be mindful that the life of all mankind is short. Life is like the life of a blade of grass. Death comes, the grass withers and life ends, and the flower falls of all greatness and all worldly goods and possessions. We suddenly become no more. In every step, in every breath we draw, we approach nearer to our earthly death.

How often we hear of people, while they are busy with worldly pursuits are surprised by death, which cut short of everything else. All the things of this world vanish – the possessions, the power, the title, the rank, the grandeurs, the amusements, the entertainment and most of all, the noise of the world. The most enviable fortune, the most valuable possessions, the biggest stashed away wealth, the most exalted of worldly titles loses their splendor when they are viewed from the bed of death. We will come to know which of this happiness are true and false when we are about to draw our last breath – come too late?

Like Jesus Christ, we must be aware this Christmas season, that we are all born to die. The proper time to prepare for the hour of death is during this life, during this pilgrimage back home. Time is too short so let us act on those things that will truly matter to bring about our eternal life. We must take time to be quiet, be still, to simplify our life.

At the end of the day, we are all pilgrims here on earth so we must help each other by offering our companionship to lighten the burden and brighten the path of each other’s journey back home. That way, our Christmas will become much more meaningful and like Christ, we will rise up on the last day in Paradise.