Friday, November 25,
2016
Last time I invited you to
consider the practical consequences of realizing that you are destined
for heaven, especially in light of St. Benedict’s admonition to “remind
yourself every day that you are going to die.”
We are going to die and, when
God judges you, if his mercy triumphs over judgment, then we will attain
heaven, not as a result of the good we have done (which is all from God anyway)
but rather as the free gift which was bestowed on us when we were created in
God’s image and likeness.
How can we bear God’s image and
likeness and not make it to heaven? The older I get, the more I wonder how this
could be possible while at the same time realizing that there are many things
in my history and in my person that could, perhaps, deprive me of heaven if God
were the stern and unforgiving judge. But since I do not want my fate to be
determined by such a God, despite the fact that over the centuries many
have presented God in such a way and that there are even in our own time
churchmen who try to sell us that concept of God---which I utterly reject after
years of prayer and study and contemplation---then there follows these practical
consequences I wrote about last time and I wish to think about for a brief
time here and now. A few basic propositions:
1. I
must be careful not to be a stern, unforgiving judge in my dealings with
others, or even within the silent thoughts of my own mind, because “the measure
you measure with will be measured back to you.” (Matthew 7:2)
2. I
must want those I love to be in heaven with me.
3. I
must want those I do not love to be in heaven with me.
4. It
will become easier to “let go” of all sorts of things which keep me stuck in
unforgiveness, impatience, aggravation, or merely simple crabbiness.
5. I
will not get tossed around like a ship in a storm whenever I read the daily
news, which by its very nature wants to take me on an emotional roller-coaster
ride.
6. Possessions
and accumulations will become less and less important.
7. So
what if I’m not famous or if anyone doesn’t like me? It will all get
sorted out in the long run.
8. I
might naturally be better tuned into the glimpses and traces of heaven that I
experience in my daily down-to-earth life.
9. Failures
will not hurt so much and, in the long run, will not matter.
10. It
will become easier to bear the crosses that I am called to bear in this life,
knowing that the Cross leads to the Resurrection.
Perhaps you can add your own
items to this list. I encourage you to do so.
This is the final reflection for
the current Church Year. Advent begins here in the monastery at 5:30 tomorrow with
the first vespers of the First Sunday in Advent. This year we have the longest
Advent possible, since Christmas falls on a Sunday. May God give us all the
grace to profit from the extended period of time to prepare well once again for
the coming of God to earth as a little child.
And may God bless you all! Have
a nice weekend!
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