GROW AS A DISCIPLE
There’s a place in every human heart that harbors the fear of rejection. This can affect our relationship with others as well as our relationship with God. In response, many of us develop coping strategies in an attempt to take control of our lives. When fear of rejection threatens our peace, return to today’s Gospel. What does Jesus say? “I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” Let’s pause to read that line again: I will not reject anyone who comes to me. Allow that message to pierce your heart. Jesus will not reject you. Jesus will not fail you. He will not abandon you. In fact, he has prepared a place for you in his kingdom and is waiting for your response of love.
GO EVANGELIZE
Today, we commemorate all the faithful departed on this sacred feast of All Souls Day. Yes, we mourn the loss of those whom we loved who have died. Even as we mourn, we cling to hope as a community of believers, trusting that God has kept his promise to grant them eternal life. Indeed, as our first reading reminds us, “the souls of the just are in the hands of God. – They are in peace.” In addition to the treasure of canonized saints the Church gives us to admire and emulate, many of us could write a list of “saints” who have touched us in our own lives – those “who have gone before us with the sign of faith” (Eucharistic Prayer I). Think of them today, now. Call to mind their virtue and how they loved those they encountered, including you. Then, let their witness propel you on your own journey of faith.
REFLECT
Though we often associate death with sorrow and grief, for the faithful Catholic, it is also the way we enter eternal life. Heaven is the hoped-for reward of all our prayers, works, sufferings, and enjoyments. As she lay dying, St. Therese of Lisieux said to her fellow sisters, “I am not dying; I am entering into life.” Still, it is not uncommon to grapple with fear of our own death (or the death of our living loved ones). If you find yourself facing this fear, invite Jesus to gently reveal the source of your anxieties, and ask him to flood those places of your heart and mind with his light and hope. And remember: Jesus will never reject anyone who comes to him.
By The Faithful Disciple