A Matter of Life After Death
It’s been a difficult year health-wise for many of my family members and friends. Regular updates about diagnoses and surgeries, tests and treatment plans has my mind thinking about Life and Death more than usual. A lyric comes to mind from my favorite band Rush: “learning that we’re only immortal . . . for a limited time.”
We live our days one day at a time and don’t like to think about death because the afterlife is a giant question mark of unknowns. As Catholics, we believe quite profoundly in Life AFTER Death. Our souls are destined to exist for eternity.
At a recent staff meeting we discussed an article about the “Nones.” Nones being those who have no affiliation with a formal religion. Atheism is on the rise, with more Americans rejecting the notion of God entirely, much less that Heaven and Hell are real. Another well-known quote comes to mind: "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." ~ Charles Baudelaire
Every one of us likely knows someone (or is that someone) who has experienced first-hand some inexplicable/miraculous event that transcends the corporeal and can best be described as Divine Intervention. It is a matter of faith to recognize the handprint of God in those moments. It is a matter of fact that sometimes things happen that defy that which our human minds and science can explain. Miracles are the proof that God is with us.
Jesus’ earthly life and His words through the Gospel accounts assure us that eternal life with HIM is within our reach and that there is a reckoning for those who embrace sin and evil. So for the faithful, we recognize that what we’re doing here on Earth really is about salvation. OUR salvation. But in all honesty, whether a person believes or is a NONE, for every human being ever conceived, eventually life on Earth ends and the souls’ Eternity begins.
God alone is the judge for a soul’s eternal life. We all sin and we must seek Reconciliation. This is how we reconcile our mortal minds with our own mortality.
Jesus told us directly how to reconcile ourselves with God: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Mt 22:38-40
If we truly follow these commands, when illness threatens body, soul is still at peace.