Commentary

Monday, 11/2/2020, The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed

Remember Our Deceased with Faith

First Reading Commentary: Wisdom 3:1-9

Today, we celebrate everyone who has died to this life in faith. The book of Wisdom tells us that their souls are in the hand of God and that no torment shall touch them. But this is not the first thing that comes to our minds when we loose someone who is close to us. We grieve and mourn because they are gone from us forever, or so we may think.

Our experience in this life is but a temporary journey and it is an exodus from this world into the next and when we complete our journey, we will be with the ones who have completed their journey before us. People who do not understand this; the book of Wisdom calls foolish, because they consider the passing away of a loved one as an affliction and destructive.

But even people who do understand the exodus of this life struggle with their emotions when they loose someone who is close to them. That is because we will miss them and the idea of never seeing them again breaks our hearts and hurts us deeply. That is a sign of love which is a wonderful thing. But it is also the result of our thinking in a worldly way which causes us to think of ourselves. But doesn't God have that same, right? Consider this: We are not in the habit of thinking about how much we break God's heart when we die to Him in sin although we should.

This is a day for us to remember that our departed faithful are with God which means that they are at peace and will experience eternal joy in heaven and that is something which should bring joy to our hearts. This is a day for us to remember that we should be thinking about ourselves but not in grief. Rather, we should be thinking about the day that we will be with those who have gone before us and experiencing eternal joy with them. Therefore, we should be thinking about the way that we are living our lives because our journey is not yet complete. We should be focusing on making ourselves ready for when our last day in this life comes so that when it does, we also die in faith. Then we will see our loved ones again and be with them forever.

Wisdom tells us that everyone who has died in faith has been tried and found to be worthy. God has taken them to Himself. On the day of their visitation, they shall shine and they shall judge nations and rule over peoples and the LORD shall be their King forever. This message from Wisdom was shown to John in his vision of the last day in Revelation 20:4.

None of us wants to die and we are not supposed to invite death because God gave us this life. He wants us to make the best of it and this gift of life is not ours to take away from ourselves or others. But what we see in Revelation is something to look forward to. It is our inheritance and God’s promise to us if we are found to be worthy and we should strive to achieve the reward of that promise.

Wisdom tells us that if we trust in God and are faithful to Him; we shall understand truth and abide with Him in love because His grace and mercy will be with us and He will care for us. There is nothing on earth that can compare to God’s love and grace and the promise of the Kingdom.

To Die with Christ Is to Live Forever

Second Reading Commentary: Romans 6:3-9

In this part of his letter to the Romans, Paul confirms the message in today’s reading from Wisdom. Paul also reminds us that when we were baptized, we were baptized into the death of Jesus because our sins went to the cross with Him so that we might live in newness of life. In other words, that we might be resurrected with Him.

Paul tells us that when we die to sin, we are in union with Christ and our sinful body is done away with so that we are no longer slaves to sin. When we die to sin, we are absolved from sin. But we do not have to wait until we have taken our last breath to be given this absolution because Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Confession. And every time that we make an honest and sincere confession, the grace of the sacrament flows and we experience a death to sin.

Paul also makes the point that when we die with Christ, we live with Christ. Death has no power over Christ. Therefore, if we live with Christ, death has no power over us and we live with Him throughout all of eternity.

Be Counted Among the Sheep

Gospel Commentary: Matthew 25:31-46

In today’s gospel of the Judgment of the Nations, Jesus confirms the prophecy of Ezekiel and tells us what will happen on the last day at the final judgment. Jesus tells us that He will be on His throne, the angels will be with Him and that all nations will be assembled before Him for separation. The sheep on the right will inherit the Kingdom but the goats on the left will be cast into the eternal fire.

Jesus clearly speaks of judgment but it is not judgment that should capture our attention. It is the reward that awaits the sheep that should fill our hearts and strengthen our faith that should also capture our attention because that’s what it is all about: being selected as one of the sheep because we want nothing more than to be with Jesus.

Jesus often uses few words to say many things but, in this Gospel, Jesus goes to great length to explain the reward of the sheep and the demise of the goats and what Jesus says is consistent with the Greatest Commandments. Jesus does not mention the Greatest Commandments in this Gospel, but it is very clear that the sheep will be those who obey them and the goats will be those who do not.

What Jesus describes is all about loving God and loving neighbor by carrying out the Works of Mercy. If we love our neighbor, we will feed our hungry, give drink to those who are thirsty and provide clothing for those who have none. We will welcome the stranger which includes helping those who have no place to live. We will visit those in prison and when Jesus talks about those in prison, He also includes those who are sick and shut-in.

As individuals, many of us try to do these things but collectively as a society, we are failing. There is much more to being Pro Life than protecting the rights of the unborn and advocating against capital punishment. If we elect government leaders who are unwilling to commit themselves totally to implementing laws and policies which are designed to feed our hungry, care for our needy and our sick, provide housing for our homeless and welcome the immigrant, especially the refugee, then we are electing goats.

If we love our neighbor, we love God. If we love God, we love our neighbor. We cannot truly love one without loving the other. This is why Jesus tells us that when we care for any of the least of us, we care for Him and when we do that, we are counted among His sheep.

Reading 1          Wisdom 3:1-9

The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction.
But they are in peace.
For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself.
As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself.
In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the LORD shall be their King forever.
Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.

Responsorial Psalm          Psalm 23:1-6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Reading 2          Romans 6:3-9

Brothers and sisters: Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.
We know that our old self was crucified with him, so that our sinful body might be done away with, that we might no longer be in slavery to sin.
For a dead person has been absolved from sin.
If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him.

Gospel          Matthew 25:31-46

Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’
Then they will answer and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’
He will answer them, 'Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’
And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."