Father's Reflection 11.12.23

This Sunday’s sobering Gospel

As this liturgical year draws to a close, the Church presents to us scripture passages that point to the four “last things”: death, judgement, heaven, and hell…not always the most popular topics!

It’s easy for us to get caught up in the struggles and anxieties of daily life and lose sight of the bigger picture. Our life is short, and we don’t know how long we have before we see our Maker face to face. 

The last verses of this Sunday’s Gospel point to this fact and are especially sobering:

“Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Matthew 25:12-13

A few thoughts for our own personal examination from this passage:

-It’s possible for us to go through life, knowing about Jesus, and doing “Christian things” without having a real relationship with Him.

-Once we die, we don’t have the opportunity to change our choice for or against Jesus…we are “locked in,” so to speak. At that point, we no longer have the chance to invest more in our relationship with Jesus through prayer, the sacraments, and works of love for others.

The question then becomes:

Am I living now, today with Jesus at the center of my life? 
Am I spending that quality with Him every day, especially through silent prayer and making Mass and being reconciled with Him in confession the highest priority?

We all make mistakes and fall short of living the ideal of relationship with Him and others; the key is that we “seek mercy while mercy may be found” in this life and trust in and rely on Him more and more and ourselves less and less.

If we are sincerely seeking Jesus and His friendship with our time and attention, we have nothing to fear when this life transitions to the next!

Rejoice in hope,

Fr. Joel