Praised be Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
We are once again confronted by the
harsh reality of death not only by the fact that November reminds us of our
faithful departed but more so because of the super typhoon Yolanda which
recently caused so much loss of life and property to so many Filipinos. The
destruction of property can easily be confronted. What nature destroyed, we can
easily rebuild. The resilience of the Filipino people, which is oftentimes
compared to the bamboo tree, gives us enough hope to say that all is not lost.
We will rise from where we have fallen. However, the loss of lives is another
matter. We can rebuild that was destroyed but we cannot revive those who have
died. This is simply beyond what human powers can do. It seems that all we can
do is to bury our dead and move on in grief. Perhaps, we can always reproduce
in order to replenish the numbers that we lost. But resurrecting the dead is
simply beyond us.
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| He promised to resurrect...and so he did |
It is in moments such as this that the
Lord speaks a timely word to us: “Those who are deemed worthy…to the
resurrection of the dead…can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they
are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise.” The Lord
clearly speaks of the future resurrection of the dead. Our loss is not
permanent but only temporary. Those who have been taken away from us by death
will be brought back to us by the Lord on the day of the resurrection. God “is
not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
It is the assurance of the
resurrection that gave the martyrs the courage they needed to face death, even
in its most tortuous forms. The courageous witness of the seven Maccabean
brothers shows us that their tremendous courage in the face of death came from
the certitude of the resurrection: “You are depriving us of this present life,
but the King of the world will raise us up to live again.” They were not even
afraid to lose their limbs to torturers: “It was from Heaven that I received
these. For the sake of his laws I disdain them. From him I hope to receive them
again.”
Thus, in the face of the loss of
lives, we are told by St. Paul: “You must not grieve as others who do not have
hope.” [1 Th 4:13] The assurance of the resurrection makes a great difference
in our lives. Pope emeritus Benedict wrote: “we see as a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that
they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them,
but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness. Only
when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to
live the present as well.” [Spe Salvi, 2.] We
know that we have a future. We know that our lives will not end in emptiness.
Death does not have the final say for us. We know for sure that beyond death is
the resurrection. This certitude of a positive future helps us live the present
as well. Yes, we may have lost the ones we love but we shall have them back.
The Lord will restore them to life. We know that He will do this because he is
always faithful to his word. He has risen as he said. Therefore, we are so sure
that he will raise back to life our mortal bodies to be like his own risen
body. Indeed, God “has loved us and has given us everlasting encouragement and
good hope through his grace…” Let us live for God and courageously face death “with
the hope of being raised up by him.” “God is not the God of the dead but of the
living” we will always live in him.
Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have
recourse to thee.
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