Beloved in Christ,
What's God's plan for us after death? Eternal life in His presence. God sent us his Son, Jesus, to save us for everlasting life with him in heaven. However, he also gives us the freedom to choose otherwise. An eternity of separation from God is what we call hell. We were not called or chosen for hell. When God chose or called us in Christ Jesus, He intended for us to see him face to face after death. We find this claim in the verses from this Sunday's gospel, John 6:37-39. Jesus says to us the following words of comfort: "I will not reject anyone who comes to me" and "I should not lose anything of what he (God) gave me." Jesus never dismisses anyone or sends them to hell. Those who choose eternal life can have it, but they cannot choose to live against God's will at the same time.
As I said earlier, verses from this Sunday's pericope are encouraging and consoling to us who remember and mourn loved ones. We pray for our departed brothers and sisters because we know God will not abandon those who lived for Christ while alive after death. God will not reject those who follow Jesus. If they followed the path of salvation, we have in God's promise "hope that does not disappoint (Rom 5:5). How does this work? Jesus describes the path to eternal life when he says: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life."
As it turns out, the popular aphorism, "Seeing is believing," is false. Some see and do not believe. To have everlasting life after death, we must see and believe in Jesus. What does this mean and entail? What does it mean biblically to "see" and "believe"? Let us turn to that. In biblical spirituality, seeing Jesus is recognizing him as God and developing a desire for a relationship with him. It is a desire for communion and friendship with him. To believe in Jesus is to have absolute faith and trust in his power to save us. In other words, believing in Jesus is to entrust oneself totally to Him who died and rose to save us. A life of trusting in Jesus, with whom we have a relationship, is the guaranteed pathway to eternal life with God after death.
Why do we pray for our dead friends and relatives if they belonged to Jesus; if they believed in Jesus while they lived? We pray for them because, though they might have died in a state of grace and in friendship with God, it is possible that their will and heart were still attached to the sins they had repented of and forgiven. There is a likely scenario in which our righteous loved ones in Christ are not fully purged and purified of attachment to sin. While they may be on their path to God's presence, the beatific vision, there may still be a need for purification from temporal punishment due to sin. Our prayers, penances, and almsgiving hasten their purification. Purgatory is the word that describes this process of purification that advances them into heaven. If we must express our charity to our faithful departed, our belief in the communion of saints gives us reason to pray for the repose of their souls.
Pray for the souls of your dead loved ones that they may attain God's plan for them post-mortem. God chose them for eternity with him. Help them achieve this purpose. We remember them at our 10:30 am mass and at Eucharistic adoration at 3:00 pm.
In Christ,
Fr. Alayode, OP
What's God's plan for us after death? Eternal life in His presence. God sent us his Son, Jesus, to save us for everlasting life with him in heaven. However, he also gives us the freedom to choose otherwise. An eternity of separation from God is what we call hell. We were not called or chosen for hell. When God chose or called us in Christ Jesus, He intended for us to see him face to face after death. We find this claim in the verses from this Sunday's gospel, John 6:37-39. Jesus says to us the following words of comfort: "I will not reject anyone who comes to me" and "I should not lose anything of what he (God) gave me." Jesus never dismisses anyone or sends them to hell. Those who choose eternal life can have it, but they cannot choose to live against God's will at the same time.
As I said earlier, verses from this Sunday's pericope are encouraging and consoling to us who remember and mourn loved ones. We pray for our departed brothers and sisters because we know God will not abandon those who lived for Christ while alive after death. God will not reject those who follow Jesus. If they followed the path of salvation, we have in God's promise "hope that does not disappoint (Rom 5:5). How does this work? Jesus describes the path to eternal life when he says: "For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life."
As it turns out, the popular aphorism, "Seeing is believing," is false. Some see and do not believe. To have everlasting life after death, we must see and believe in Jesus. What does this mean and entail? What does it mean biblically to "see" and "believe"? Let us turn to that. In biblical spirituality, seeing Jesus is recognizing him as God and developing a desire for a relationship with him. It is a desire for communion and friendship with him. To believe in Jesus is to have absolute faith and trust in his power to save us. In other words, believing in Jesus is to entrust oneself totally to Him who died and rose to save us. A life of trusting in Jesus, with whom we have a relationship, is the guaranteed pathway to eternal life with God after death.
Why do we pray for our dead friends and relatives if they belonged to Jesus; if they believed in Jesus while they lived? We pray for them because, though they might have died in a state of grace and in friendship with God, it is possible that their will and heart were still attached to the sins they had repented of and forgiven. There is a likely scenario in which our righteous loved ones in Christ are not fully purged and purified of attachment to sin. While they may be on their path to God's presence, the beatific vision, there may still be a need for purification from temporal punishment due to sin. Our prayers, penances, and almsgiving hasten their purification. Purgatory is the word that describes this process of purification that advances them into heaven. If we must express our charity to our faithful departed, our belief in the communion of saints gives us reason to pray for the repose of their souls.
Pray for the souls of your dead loved ones that they may attain God's plan for them post-mortem. God chose them for eternity with him. Help them achieve this purpose. We remember them at our 10:30 am mass and at Eucharistic adoration at 3:00 pm.
In Christ,
Fr. Alayode, OP
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