Learning From the Now

 ^{John 6 37-40}

^{Eternal Life}

³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

The Church asks us to pray for the souls of the faithful who have gone before us; in so doing we are reminded of our own immortality. As a matter of fact, this whole month is dedicated to the Holy Souls and is a good preparation for Advent, the beginning of another Liturgical year, and a chance to start afresh.  This year has reminded us of our fragility, and the impermanence of life on earth, a lesson that it was time for us to learn through experience.  The Corona Virus has taken thousands who were not expecting death, and has made us cautious about our own activities.  We have been forced to live at home more than ever; for some a good experience, and for others, a source of restlessness. We might look upon it as a "purgatory of sorts". a time of waiting and learning what matters most as well as what fails to satisfy.  May we take time today to pray with and to our family members and friends who have gone before us, asking them how we can best benefit from our earthly purgatory.

Bro. Rene