Jesus Christ - King of the Universe

 This Sunday the priest told us something that made me think: he said that our faith in Jesus Christ is not personal, meaning that we must share our faith with others and always put it first, as the first commandment says: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. He gave us the example of Saint Thomas More, the patron saint of politicians. Saint Thomas More held a high position in the English court during the reign of Henry VIII, but when the king proclaimed himself head of the Anglican Church and separated from the Catholic Church, Saint Thomas More resigned. That same year he was imprisoned, and the following year he was beheaded. The priest told us that for Saint Thomas More, his faith was not personal. He also reminded us of Saint José Sánchez del Río, who was shot while shouting "Long live Christ the King!" during the Cristero War in Mexico; for him, too, his faith was not a personal matter. We must always proclaim that Christ is the king of our lives and bring this faith to others, that the kingdom of Jesus is not of this world, and in his kingdom he has already prepared a place for us where there will be no more tears, where he reigns forever and ever.

Near-Death Experiences

   I confess that I enjoy watching videos of NDE testimonies (Near-Death Experiences). What I love most is the common thread they all share: the feeling of being embraced by divine love, the sense of being loved above all else. Two days ago, I saw one that deeply moved me. In it, the woman giving the testimony recounted how Jesus himself told her that we are all "chosen," but not all of us respond to that call, even though God is constantly calling us. I also appreciated hearing how a small act of kindness can change someone's life, and not only that person's life, but how it has effects beyond what we can imagine. Another thing I liked hearing was how we all have a purpose in this life. Nothing I didn't already know, but it's always beautiful to hear, especially if it's supposed to come from the lips of Jesus. And it got me thinking that there are also so many personal revelations to the saints from which we can learn about God's love and... How should we live this purpose in life? Reading the lives of the saints is a good example for our own lives because they show us that it is possible to follow Jesus in this life. It reminded me of the words God conveyed to us through Jeremiah: "I have loved you with an everlasting love." And also, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future." I translated these last words from what I remember of the English text. But you see, all that love of God that those who die and return feel has already been revealed to us by God in His word. We are never alone; God loves us, and that is why He sent Jesus to give us the hope of a better future, as long as we accept Jesus as our Savior. God loves us much more than all our sins. He does not judge; we ourselves are the ones who turn away from Him. Let us return to Him, to Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit, because as the Bible says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

“I BELIEVE IN LIFE EVERLASTING” - Catechism of the Catholic Church

 “I BELIEVE IN LIFE EVERLASTING”

207. What is life everlasting?

1020 

1051

Eternal life is that life which begins immediately after death. It will have no end. It will be preceded for each person by a particular judgment at the hands of Christ who is the Judge of the living and the dead. This particular judgement will be confirmed in the final judgment.

208. What is the particular judgment?

1021-1022

1051

It is the judgment of immediate retribution which each one after death will receive from God in his immortal soul in accord with his faith and his works. This retribution consists in entrance into the happiness of heaven, immediately or after an appropriate purification, or entry into the eternal damnation of hell.

209. What is meant by the term “heaven”?

1023-1026

1053

By “heaven” is meant the state of supreme and definitive happiness. Those who die in the grace of God and have no need of further purification are gathered around Jesus and Mary, the angels and the saints. They thus form the Church of heaven, where they see God “face to face” (1 Corinthians 13:12). They live in a communion of love with the Most Blessed Trinity and they intercede for us.

“True and subsistent life consists in this: the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, pouring out his heavenly gifts on all things without exception. Thanks to his mercy, we too, men that we are, have received the inalienable promise of eternal life.” (Saint Cyril of Jerusalem)

210. What is purgatory?

1030-1031

1054

Purgatory is the state of those who die in God’s friendship, assured of their eternal salvation, but who still have need of purification to enter into the happiness of heaven.

211. How can we help the souls being purified in purgatory?

1032

Because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharistic sacrifice. They also help them by almsgiving, indulgences, and works of penance.

212. In what does hell consist?

1033-1035 

1056-1057

Hell consists in the eternal damnation of those who die in mortal sin through their own free choice. The principal suffering of hell is eternal separation from God in whom alone we can have the life and happiness for which we were created and for which we long. Christ proclaimed this reality with the words, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41).

213. How can one reconcile the existence of hell with the infinite goodness of God?

1036-1037

God, while desiring “all to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9), nevertheless has created the human person to be free and responsible; and he respects our decisions. Therefore, it is the human person who freely excludes himself from communion with God if at the moment of death he persists in mortal sin and refuses the merciful love of God.

214. In what does the final judgment consist?

1038-1041 

1058-1059

The final or universal judgment consists in a sentence of happiness or eternal condemnation, which the Lord Jesus will issue in regard to the “just and the unjust” (Acts 24:15) when he returns as the Judge of the living and the dead. After the last judgment, the resurrected body will share in the retribution which the soul received at the particular judgment.

215. When will this judgment occur?

1040

This judgment will come at the end of the world and only God knows the day and the hour.

216. What is the hope of the new heavens and the new earth?

1042-1050

1060

After the final judgment the universe itself, freed from its bondage to decay, will share in the glory of Christ with the beginning of “the new heavens” and a “new earth” (2 Peter 3:13). Thus, the fullness of the Kingdom of God will come about, that is to say, the definitive realization of the salvific plan of God to “unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). God will then be “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28) in eternal life.

Open Your Eyes

 

Last Sunday (November 25, 2019) I went to Mass, despite having a cold or the flu. I still can't decide what I'm sick with. It happened that while the priest was giving the homily, my eyes closed, and almost immediately I heard him say, "I assure you that today you will be with me in paradise." I opened my eyes surprised, but interested in what the priest would say, and he said, "Those are the words we all long to hear." I confess that, as far as I'm concerned, he's right. Who wouldn't want to die in the hope of eternal life? If only we truly knew what we lose each time we sin, each time we deny the Lord, each time we choose evil for good. We need to be humble like the good thief and recognize Jesus as the only king of our lives, the only true God. The priest said that the good thief at the foot of the cross asked for nothing more than to be remembered by Jesus when he came to his kingdom, but not before acknowledging himself as a sinner. It takes humility to recognize that we are not perfect and that Jesus is the only one who can lead us to that heavenly dwelling. I think we must be prepared at all times for the end. Acknowledge our sins, confess them, and declare at all times that Jesus reigns in our lives. Declare this by saying "no" when someone offers us drugs or any other easy escape from reality. Say "no" when we ourselves seek other false "gods" like money or sex, easy ways to get ahead or to create a false sense of self-worth. Recognize and share the gospel with our fellow human beings as the only truth. Always say "yes" to God, a God who, as the Father reminded us, is a king with a crown of thorns and a cross as his throne. He didn't say the latter, but that's how it seems to me. Our King Jesus Christ is the only one who can lead us to the Father. Let us acknowledge him as king of our little universe, and may we hear in that hour when our eyes close in this life and open in eternal life that we will be with him in paradise. Because there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 who don't need to repent. Let's make it a celebration in heaven! Long live Christ the King!

Prayer for Peace

Lord, we ask you to enlighten those responsible for resolving conflicts between nations and social groups, so that they may use means that do not cause destruction and death. Strengthen those who fight so that they respect civilians and do not destroy themselves psychologically. Accompany those who fight, encourage them in their frustrations, support them in their pain, and make them sensitive to friends and enemies. Help those who care for the injured, so that they may bring comfort to the wounded and your peace to the dying. Comfort and show your providence to orphaned children and widowed women. Impel all of us—young, old, and children—to work together so that peace may reign. Amen.

  The above prayer is taken from "La Biblia Católica para Jóvenes".

The End of Times

 Man has always been fascinated by the end of the world. This Sunday the priest told us something that, I must confess, I had to read the Gospel twice to verify. First, he warned us that false prophets will come, claiming to be Jesus, but we must not believe them. And second, which is what I had to reread in the Gospel, that there will be natural disasters and political conflicts, but as Jesus said, this is not the end. He also told us that no one knows the day or the hour, and this is in the Bible as well. Regarding the destruction of the temple and the persecution of the apostles, he said that this had also been said to all the martyrs who have died for Christ's sake. And also to all Christians who are persecuted for their faith in these times. And as Jesus said, the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, and only what we now know as the Wailing Wall remained

So, we shouldn't assume we live in the end times, but we should be prepared for our own judgment at the end of our days, because that will surely come. Let's try to live the Beatitudes, go to confession as often as we can and receive the sacraments, read the scriptures, pray, be merciful, and thus we will always be prepared for the end of our lives and even for the end of the world.