Christ the Cornerstone

Will you say ‘yes’ to God’s invitation?

As the Church year draws to a close, the Sunday readings tell us, in effect, that things will get worse before they get better. This is obviously true for us as individuals. Every one of us must experience death—the destruction of our physical bodies—before we can enter into the new and better life that we have been promised in Christ.

This new life is promised to us, but it is not guaranteed. We are free to refuse the offer of union with God, and we can choose to spend eternity apart from God’s loving embrace.

Yet we are encouraged to hope that we, and all of our sisters and brothers, will see the light and seek the forgiveness of our heavenly Father, who is eager to share with us the joy of heaven.

In fact, all of creation shares the same destiny. Our faith tells us that all things will experience the same kind of physical dissolution that each of us will come to know in death. Jesus confirms this in the Gospel reading for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Mk 13:24-32):

“Amen, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. But of that day or hour, no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mk 13:30-32).

Every material thing that God has made is finite. And everything in the physical universe will pass away at a time that is unknown to us: “In those days after that tribulation the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken” (Mk 13:24-25). Only spiritual beings, which share in God’s own life, will survive—either in the eternal joy of heaven or in the everlasting pain of hell.

In this Sunday’s first reading (Dn 12:1-3), we hear the words of the visionary prophet Daniel:

“Many of those who sleep in the dust of the Earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever” (Dn 12:2-3)

Heaven and hell are articles of faith for Catholics. We believe that we are called to live forever in communion with all the angels and saints in the joy of God’s presence. But we also know that we are free persons who are permitted to choose for ourselves.

God does not force himself on his creation. He has sent his Son to redeem us from the power of sin and death. He loves us, guides and supports us, always. But in the end, it’s up to us. Will we say “Yes” to God’s invitation? Or will we remain stuck in our sins, unable to let go of the selfish desires and actions that prevent us from embracing the light of Christ over the powers of darkness?

The readings for this Sunday present us with some serious reflections on the truth of our individual mortality and the fundamental option that each of us has to either embrace the mystery of God or to reject what we cannot know and fend for ourselves in the face of death.

But the readings are not meant to be hopeless or discouraging. On the contrary, we are invited to hope in the Lord and to trust that God’s love and mercy will triumph over every evil that we meet as individuals and as the world that God created and loves unconditionally.

This is why in the Responsorial Psalm we sing:

“Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence; because you will not abandon my soul to the netherworld, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever” (Ps 16:9-11).

As disciples of Jesus Christ, we have complete confidence in the power of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to sustain us through whatever trials and tribulation lie ahead for us. We believe that God loves us and wants the best for us.

Yes, we must cooperate with God’s grace in order to gain our place (unmerited and undeserved) in our heavenly home. But the Holy Spirit has been given to us precisely to assist us in making the right choices. Come, Holy Spirit. Fill our hearts with the wisdom and the power to choose everlasting joy in heaven. †