One of our
great human fears is the fear of losing something/someone, or of being lost
ourselves. Children fear when their
parents seem far away; parents hold on tight to little hands lest they lose
their children in a crowd. We check and
double check to make sure we know where the house keys or the car keys
are. Don’t lose that credit card or
you’ll be in trouble! Keep the GPS handy
in case you get lost!
How
significant it is that we describe the death of a family member or close friend
as “losing” someone. The ever-present
absence, the sound of the voice remembered but not really heard, the quirks and
habits that were so much a part of everyday life, now gone. There is much that is lost.
On this All
Souls Day, consolation pours into the lost places of my heart as I read my Scriptures:
“The
souls of the just are in the hand of God” (Wisdom 3:1-9).
“I fear no evil for you are with me” (Psalm 23:1-6). And most poignantly, “And
this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of
what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day” (John 6:37-40).
In Jesus,
nothing, no one is lost. The precious
gift of faith, the fruit of Jesus’ sacrificial death and resurrection, assures
us that in Him, all that is good, precious and treasured remains—for
eternity. Even for those whose ending
left behind “unfinished business,” our faith knows the love of God which
strengthens and purifies the good and burnishes away all that gets in the way
of perfect love and communion.
My prayer
today is that this communion may be abundant and that through the gift of faith
and in the sacramental life, we all may be consoled and strengthened until we’re
fully reunited with those whom we love.
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