Love does not end in death

Commemoration of the Faithful Departed 2016

This year seems to have been a tragic year for the local Church, with the death of two good priests, one in the prime of his ministry. I must confess I felt conflicted whilst attending the funeral of the younger priest – a mixture of envy and anxiety. I mulled over the prospect of whether there would be a similar outpouring of love at my funeral. Then it dawned upon me that all of us face a Catch 22 predicament; in the event that we live to a ripe old age and die old, most of our friends and acquaintances would already be dead, which leaves us with a handful of bereaving mourners and well-wishers in attendance. The plus side of dying young or as they say, in your prime, would be that you would certainly get a royal send-off – bus-loads coming from all over. However, the downside is that you won’t be around to enjoy it. You’re already dead! So, ultimately, it depends on whether you would prefer to die young and get a big send off here, or die old and have a big welcoming committee on the other side paving the way for your grand entrance.

I guess for many people, the obvious choice would be the former – having a glorious big-send-off, fanfare and all here on earth. Whereas, the truth is that we should be desiring the latter. This is the great tragedy of our time – we have largely forgotten that our present earthly lives are merely preparation for eternal life. The reason for this is because we have largely forgotten God and we live as if this life alone mattered. Every single desire must be fulfilled, every single problem must be solved and every single imperfection must be rooted out. We fail to remember that we are all work-in-progress and the final completed work will be done by God, who will always have the prerogative of putting in the final finishing touch.

This obsession with our present life has led to this pitiable amnesia of death and the dead. It is indeed a pity that we, in our enlightened day, generally only allow a single day in a year to remember - in a deliberate and purposeful way - our beloved dead.  As we become materially comfortable, we grow afraid of death.  It sometimes seems that the more comfortable we are, the more afraid of death are we.  Why? The real problem is that man’s collective and selective amnesia of death is due to his amnesia of God. Yes, we have largely forgotten God and we live as if this life alone mattered.  Indeed, this is the great tragedy of our time.

Reflecting on the death of his brother Satyrus, Saint Ambrose of Milan said that “we should have a daily familiarity with death, a daily desire for death” because “our soul must learn to free itself from the desires of the body.” This may seem to be like a morbid suggestion but think about it......   If we live each day with the recognition that one day - perhaps today - we will die, how different our lives would be! The great saint who cared for lepers in the Hawaiian leper colony and who eventually became one of them, Saint Damien of Moloka'i once wrote to his brother, saying, “the cemetery and the hut of the dying are my best meditation books, as well as for the benefit of my own soul as in view of preparing my instructions.”

Too often we forget that death is, as Saint Ambrose says, “no cause for mourning, something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath His dignity, nor did He seek to escape it.” This is not to suggest that we should not grieve the deaths of our loved ones; it highlights, rather, the destiny of those who have died in Christ.  Love does not end in death, whether it be our love for neighbour or for Godor the love of the Lord for us. He died so that we might be with Him for ever.

We come, then, to the doctrine of Purgatory, that process by which souls are cleansed of their impurities and are made holy to stand before the throne of God. The offering of Masses for the repose of the soul of the faithful departed, especially the Funeral Mass, and today’s Commemoration of the Faithful Departed are linked with our belief in purgatory. We believe that if a person has died fundamentally believing in God but with venial sins and the hurt caused by sin, then God in His divine love and mercy will first purify the soul. After this purification has been completed, the soul will have the holiness and purity needed to share in the beatific vision in heaven.  Therefore, just as we pray for each other and share each other's burdens now, the faithful on earth can offer prayers and sacrifices to help the departed souls undergoing purification, and no better prayer could be offered than that of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

And so we pray this day, and every day:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.  Amen.

我们的使命就是成圣

2016年诸圣节                          

从年幼开始，父母总会尝试培养孩子们的志向。他们会问孩子：“你长大后要成为医生吗？你是否要做一个著名的律师？”其实，在圣洗圣事中，教会也做类似的事情。然而，教会向受洗者灌输的志向是非一般的——不是要有钱或出名；而是要成圣。教会借着领洗的圣名提醒我们要效法圣人的榜样生活，和他们一样成为圣人。我们的使命就是成圣。

今天的庆典完全是有关人类生活的使命。天主造我们为使我们成圣。我们是为天堂而受造。耶稣从天降来是为了让我们认识走向天堂的道路，而祂就在那儿等候我们。“所有的人都有成圣的使命”——这是天主教教理的教导。今天我们为天上的诸圣人庆祝。这些无数的圣人当中，有些是赫赫有名，有些却是寂寂无闻。不过，他们都是为爱主耶稣而死，并已跟随耶稣到达天乡。他们就是那些在读经一里唱着“救恩来自那坐在宝座上的我们的天主，并来自羔羊！”的圣人们。

“救恩来自我们的天主。”今天，我们首先要庆祝的就是天主的救恩。圣洁和天堂永远都是天主的恩赐，不是我们赚来的。我们不能使自己成圣。我们能成圣，基本上是天主的化工，是复活的力量在人类的生命中工作。当我们敬礼圣人，就是宣报基督的胜利。天主是全能的！祂可以把罪人转化为圣人。我们不能使自己成圣，我们所能做的就是向基督敞开自己，让祂来洗净我们，使我们洁净无瑕。就算我们在犯重罪的时候，也要让耶稣来救赎我们。

尽管天堂和圣洁都不是我们能赚取的天主恩赐，但是，就如其他礼物一样，我们必须作选择。事实上，生活就是一种选择，我们可选择真诚、永恒喜乐或短暂快乐；可以选择黑暗或光明；也可以选择善与恶；最终就是要选择生或死。耶稣降来是为使我们能作出有智慧的选择。我们刚刚在福音中听到的真福八端引导我们要做对的选择。其实，真福八端已向我们说明了基督的生活。所以，如果我们要成圣，我们就要选择效法主耶稣，因为祂是所有圣人的榜样。

圣人是那些选择跟随基督榜样的人。每位圣人是基督在世界上的独特形象。这就是为什么我们有诸圣的图像，因为他们都是基督的肖像。在诸圣人身上，我们看到基督活在他们身上；同样的，在诸圣人身上，我们看到圣言的真理实践在普通人的生活中；在诸圣人身上，我们看见天主的恩宠强有力地工作。我们敬礼圣人，因为他们为我们显示基督的面貌；我们敬礼圣人，因为他们为我们显示了生命的终向。因此，请不要害怕成为圣人，因为成圣是我们的使命，我们因此而受造，我们应该成圣。

天上的诸位圣人圣女，请为我们祈求。阿们。