Reflection for 2nd November, 2017. Wisdom 3:1-9. Psalm 23:1-6. Romans 6:3-9. John 6:37-40. The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls). Having remembered yesterday our brothers and sisters who already enjoy God's life and happiness in full in heaven, we remember today those who may still need to be purified of their sins. Those already in heaven, those still being purified and we on earth form the large Christian family. For Vatican II says: "When the Lord comes in his majesty, and all the angels with him, death will be destroyed and all things will be subject to him. Meanwhile some of his disciples are exiles on earth. Some have finished with this life and are being purified. Others are in glory, beholding clearly God himself true and one, as he is" (Lumen Gentium, no. 49). The Church therefore is composed of those in heaven, those in purgatory and those on earth. Those in heaven, all saints; those in purgatory, all souls, and those on earth, people of all sorts. The Catholic Church commemorates the faithful departed (All Souls) fir three reasons: 1) We believe in the communion of saints; 2) We believe in life after death (resurrection); 3) We believe in purgatory. There is no room for hopelessness in Christianity! "If our hope in Christ is for this life only, we are the most unfortunate people" (1 Cor. 15:12). Some people may ask: Why purgatory, and why pray for the dead? They will quote Romans 6:23: "The wages of sin is death." They will say there is no mercy for sinners after death and no provision in between heaven and hell. But let us remember this: Purgatory is a place of cleansing of imperfection. Rev. 21:27 says nothing unclean will enter heaven, or anyone who does what is shameful or false, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. 1 John 5:16-17 says if you see your brother committing a sin which does not lead to death, pray for him, and God will give life to your brother - provided it is not a sin that leads to death. There is a sin that leads to death; I do not ask that you pray about this. Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, but not all leads to death. From these two passages quoted, there are sins which leads to death and also sins that dies not lead to death. The sins leading to death leads one to eternal damnation in hell, where does the sins that does not lead to death leads. It cannot not lead to heaven since nothing unclean can enter heaven. Hence, it leads to a place of purification before it can enter heaven. If God kept a record of our sins, who could escape being condemned (Psalm 130:4)? Therefore, purgation after death is real! And there is need to pray and offer sacrifices for souls undergoing purgation. This tradition of praying fir the dead goes back even to the Old Testament. Judas Maccabeus fought against Antiochus Epiphanes and his successor Antiochus Eupator who did not allow the Jews to practice their religion. The king wanted them to worship the idols and to violate the Sabbath, etc. In the campaign against Gorgias, one of the military commissioners of Antiochus Eupator, some Jews lost their lives. Their bodies were taken to be buried. "Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. And it became clear to all that this was the reason these men had fallen....... and they turned to supplication, praying that the sin that had been committed might be wholly blotted out. The noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened as the result of the sin of those who had fallen. He also took up collection, man by man, to the amount of two drachmas of silver and sent to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honourably, taking account of the resurrection. (2 Maccabees 12:40-45). "This teaching is also based on practice of prayer for the dead.... From the beginning, the Catholic Church gas honoured the memory of the dead and offered prayers in suffrage for them, above all the Eucharistic sacrifice, so that, thus purified, they may attain the beatific vision of God. (cf. Council of Lyons II). As we pray for our departed brothers and sisters today, we ask the good Lord to forgive them their sins and receive them into his eternal kingdom and may He grant us who are alive a merciful judgment on the last day and lead us to his eternal kingdom through Christ Our Lord. Amen. Rev. Fr. Christian Ehimen Usifoh.
CDA
Comments
Post a Comment