Quo Vadis?


(This article courtesy of the Arlington Catholic Herald.)


From the moment of conception we never cease to exist; our lives do not end with bodily death, but simply change. “For your faithful people, life is changed, not ended” (Preface of Christian Death I). This month — in which we traditionally commemorate those who have died — has taken on an added dimension of meaning in light of the recent terrorist attacks. As a result of these attacks, we have been forced to face the fact that each of us will one day die, and this has caused us to reassess our priorities. As a line in a poem, which I studied in seminary, put it: “The things that mattered most, have mattered least.” Indeed, this has been the experience of many of us since Sept. 11.

As each of us reassesses our priorities in life, we ask ourselves: Where are we going in life? A profound question, indeed, and one upon which each of us must often reflect.

Allow me to share with you a true story. An American missionary was on a train in China many years ago, and during this trip, he saw a Chinese merchant moving slowly up the aisle in his train car. As the missionary watched, he observed that each time the merchant would approach a passenger, he would ask them a question, and upon receiving a response, ask a second question. The missionary observed that after the Chinese merchant asked the second question, each of the passengers’ faces reflected a startled look. Finally, the Chinese merchant reached the American missionary, and asked him where he was going. The missionary responded that he was going to such and such province, to which the Chinese merchant responded, “No, I am not asking where you are going as you exit this train. I am asking you where you are going after you die?” Well, you can imagine the surprise of each of these passengers, including the missionary, when presented with this question.

Most of us do not like to think about death, it frightens us. God made us with a very strong survival instinct, and death directly threatens our human survival. But, for the disciples of Jesus, the reality of everlasting life is part of the foundation of our faith. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us: “By death the soul is separated from the body, but in the resurrection God will give incorruptible life to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. Just as Christ is risen and lives for ever, so all of us will rise at the last day” (No. 1016).

Yes, our Catholic faith assures us that there is life beyond death! As Jesus reminds us in a recent Gospel: “…he is not a God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

The seven brothers and their mother in a recent reading from the Book of Maccabees were all confronted with this fundamental issue of what lies beyond death. The Greek soldiers gave them an ultimatum: disobey the law of God, or die. Through their ultimatum, these soldiers were really asking: Where are you going? And the response of the mother and her seven sons was unequivocally that they were going to follow God, not man, and, in their response, they revealed their hope in an afterlife with God. “The King of the world will raise us up to live again forever.” And, “It is my choice to die … with the hope God gives of being raised up by him.” The decisions and actions of this family directed their feet on the path to everlasting life with God, and witnessed to those unconverted soldiers of their hope in the resurrection.

We must ask ourselves whether or not we believe in everlasting life, and whether we believe in the resurrection. Are we preparing for this transition from earthly to heavenly life? How does one prepare for such a transition? By following the example of these seven brothers and their mother and of the great saints throughout the history of the world. Each of these people made decisions everyday to live for God. They directed their feet on the path to heaven through their daily decisions — those of both lesser and of greater consequence. Practically, we renew our decision to live for God through prayer, penance, virtue, love of God and neighbor, and good deeds.

Where are we going? As we reassess our priorities in life, a direct result of the recent terrorist attacks, we must answer that we are following Christ into eternal life to spend eternity with God. As disciples of Christ, we do not know what heaven is, but by faith we know that heaven is.

Allow me to close with some words from Cardinal Newman:

“May He support us all the day long

Till the shadows lengthen and the evening comes,

And the busy world is hushed and

The fever of life is over and our work is done.

Then, in His mercy,

May He give us a safe lodging and a holy rest

And peace at the last.”

Where are we going? With God’s help and saving grace, we are pilgrims on our way to heaven — our true homeland.

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By

Bp. Paul S. Loverde is the bishop of the Diocese of Arlington in Virginia.

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