Jesus said to the crowds:
‘Everything that the Father gives me will come to me,
and I will not reject anyone who comes to me,
because I came down from heaven not to do my own will
but the will of the one who sent me.
And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.
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.’
This Gospel passage speaks powerfully of God’s desires for us now and when we die. As we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints and The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed (All Souls), we rejoice in the inspiring lives of those holy ones who teach us what it means to be a disciple of Christ, and we pray for the holy souls on their way to the Kingdom of Heaven. When it comes to saints, the key is submission to the will of God, who in His loving plan for us, provides what we need to live as we were meant to live in his great design. That’s how we achieve true happiness in this life and in the life to come. We should all strive to be saints – blissful residents of the Kingdom of Heaven in the company of Christ, His Mother, our dear ones, and the saints to whom we have been praying our entire lives. The work we do while we are here on this earth gets us there, so keep on striving to do what God asks of you and trust in his mercy to renew us in our resolve to love as Jesus loved.
As we remember the holy souls – those on the journey to Heaven, especially our loved ones – keep our brothers and sisters who are grieving the loss of a loved one in your prayers. Grief is painful, but when we are accompanied on that journey, the healing comes faster. Our consolation comes from the reading from Wisdom: “The souls of the just are in the hands of God.” Our peace comes from remembering that the Lord Jesus who wept at the death of his friend Lazarus knows what it is like to mourn the death of someone we love. If you are grieving, please consider walking with our parish bereavement ministry. Here you will meet friends who share your grief, learn how to pray with loss, and find comfort in Jesus who said, “I shall not lose anything of what he [God the Father] gave me.” You can reach out to this beautiful ministry by writing to [email protected].
Let us pray: Precious Lord, take our hands as we work toward sainthood, and bless our hands as we do that work, so that when we are welcomed with your hands on that day, we may rejoice in your loving presence forever. Amen.
