"I SHALL BE THERE WITH THEM."
A Reflection for All Souls day
(Mt 11:25-30)
From the earliest times, the changing of the seasons has prompted reflection upon life’s end and what lies beyond the grave. Near the end of the liturgical year, the Church has wisely taken into account these old traditions. After celebrating All Saints (November 1st), we remember All Souls - those who have died and gone before us into that mysterious land beyond the setting sun.
Our Christian faith and the encouragement of Christ, that 'The one who lives and believes in me will never die,' (Jn 11:26), gives Christians a certainty of sharing in the life of the Risen Lord. For them, the grave holds no fears. However, because we are really so human, and often just a tad imperfect, one who is wise might say to another who is in danger, or is sick, 'Better get your affairs in order!' In other words, 'Prepare to meet the Lord.' That is as much as we can do, and yet for Christians approaching the last hour, there is the consolation of the Sacraments, and the welcome of the Communion of Saints – all those who have gone before, and whom we are about to join.
However, All Souls is not just a time to remember Catholics. What about all the unknown souls who have passed on, with no-one to mourn them or mark their graves for another generation? I am thinking of the thousands who have fallen in war, who have succumbed to plagues and been buried in mass graves; all those who have fled their countries across an unforgiving ocean, their hopes dashed against sharp rocks – so many lives lost to the raging seas. The 43 missing students of Mexico, the 3000 'disappeared ones' under Augusto Pinochet, the countless children of Palestine. Let us remember them, for no-one is anonymous, everyone has a family, everyone has a history.
The Gospels are consoling for those about to take the final step: “Come to me . . . and I will give you rest.” (Mt 11:29). “I shall lose not one of all that has been given me, but will raise them up on the last day.” (Jn 6:39). Finally, Paul writes: “What can separate us from the love of Christ?”
Indeed when our time comes, we will find that we are all, every one of us, missing or known, united forever in the love of Christ.
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