15th Sunday after Pentecost 22.9.19 Death removed
One of the less pleasant experiences of this life is dealing
with the death of other people, whom we loved or at least respected.
There is a lot of sadness involved with death, it being such
a definite separation.
We cannot communicate directly with the dead but we can be
consoled at being united with them in Christ. We are united with those who are
united with Him.
He is Lord of the living and the dead and draws both to
Himself.
That and many other things He helps us to deal with: He
forgives those who die repentant, and offers them eternal happiness.
He strengthens us who remain on earth to persevere to the
end, assuring us we will not have to suffer long.
Death where is thy sting?(1 Cor 15, 55-57) When the sin has been forgiven death becomes
no more than a sleep.
In today’s Gospel Our Lord raises the young man from death
and restores him to his mother.
The Church has always understood this event as symbolic of
her own role as Mother and her joy at having her children restored through
repentance.
Many children are at present away from this Mother, and we
pray fervently they will return.
Sin is a worse tragedy than Death. We notice death as it is
more obvious, but sin is the bigger problem.
Our Lord could have raised every dead person in Israel. He
could have emptied out all the graveyards, as He could do in the present day.
This, however, is not His normal way of operating. The dead
have served their time here, and now move on to the next phase.
They do not come back to us, but we can go to them; and that
is a better solution.
When we pray for the dead we do not pray they come back to
earth, but that they be freed from their sins and any attendant punishment,
thus to enter eternal happiness.
The Church has always encouraged prayer for the dead, prayer
which operates on two levels.
On one level we pray that they receive a favourable
judgment; that their sins be forgiven and they be saved.
This prayer we can make even long after the person has died;
because God can see our prayers across time, and will accept them if they are
sincerely meant.
On another level we pray that any punishment due to sin be
removed by our prayer and penance.
It is one thing to be forgiven; another to be totally
cleansed of any attachment to sin. We pray for both things to happen so the
soul can enter Heaven.
We pray that we will not miss them too much, but that every
remembrance will be a chance for further prayer; and that our sadness will be
absorbed by a deep faith and charity.
The souls of the just are in the hands of God (Wisdom
3,1)
For ourselves we thank God that we have a second chance at
life; that the death that would have followed on our sin has been lifted, and
we can make another start in the service of Our Lord..
In fact, we can be forgiven many times for the same sins,
provided we are serious in our desire to break free from those sins.
Such a level of contrition will itself be the fruit of
prayer.
If sin is the greatest evil then Mercy is the greatest good.
The mercy of God gives life even when it is not deserved.
For this we are eternally grateful.
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