DOCTRINE
AND FAITH
On this day, the commemoration of
the faithful departed the liturgy offers us several readings. The first reading
is from the book of Job in which is already inserted a strong hope of the
resurrection. The second reading shows how Christ has, through his death and
resurrection, attained this resurrection, total victory over death. The
gospel reading is a passage of Jesus’ discussion on the bread of life, a
passage in which he announces that his mission is that of offering resurrection
to all those people whom the Father sends to him as his disciples.
There was not a clear faith in the
resurrection, during the Old Testament, even though there was the strong desire
to escape from death. This desire to escape death motivated a lot of the
authors of various psalms in asking to be kept alive and be delivered from the
sickness that was threatening their lives. It was such motivation that made Job
to express the hope that he had a redeemer who would keep him in life and whom
his mortal flesh and mortal eyes hoped to see. This expression of hope to see
God and to live beyond this life was an inspiration. In the OT, the victory
over death was regarded as the work of God himself. God was the God of life and
was not the author of death (Wisdom 1,13); He does not want the death of the
sinner, but that a sinner repents and lives (Ezek 18,23). God wishes, from the
onset, to communicate the fullness of life to people. This is our consolation.
As we think of our dead ones, especially today, we have the blessed assurance
that God will continue to give life to their souls and that on the last day he
will also grant eternal life to their mortal bodies.
In the gospel reading, Jesus clearly
affirms that the Father gave him the power to communicate life. He maintains
that he did not come to the world to do his will but to do the will of the one
who sent him. And the primary will of the one who sent him was that he would not
lose any of the people that had been entrusted to him, and that he would
raise them up on the last day. The implication of this is that Jesus will
bestow the fullness of the life of resurrection to all the people who have been
given to him by God the Father. Therefore, God’s will is that of communicating
life as Jesus affirms in these words: The will of my Father is that whoever sees the Son and
believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. This
is our hope for our dear brothers and sisters who have passed on to the Lord
and it is also what we hope for ourselves. We have the hope of meeting with
them alive, not only in life that is similar to what we have now but one that
is more beautiful and full. We should be filled with the hope of having this
life, even though the death of any of our beloved ones causes sorrow. We have
to have it clear in our mind that what death causes is a temporal separation
and not a permanent one, for we are still united to our brothers and sisters,
thanks to our union with Christ. We shall unite with them permanently in the
fullness of life one day. This is God’s will for us all. 
In the second reading, Paul explains
that our hope does not delude us. This is because the love of God has been
poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. The love
of Jesus has vanquished death. This is the basis of our hope. The death of
Christ is victory over death. Jesus died for us when we were still sinners.
This was what demonstrates concretely the love he has for us. This death of
Christ, which is victory over death, gives us the assurance that we have been
permanently saved. We are, therefore, reconciled to God the Father, through the
death and resurrection of Jesus. This is why we should have a very strong hope
that our dead brothers and sisters are enjoying the new life that comes from
the victory over death, a victory, wrought through the death and resurrection
of Jesus. We who are still alive should also have the hope of new life for ourselves.
For us Christians, this day of the
commemoration of the souls of our dead brothers and sisters should not be a sad
one; rather it should be a day of hope, in which we anticipate the joys of
everlasting life. May we pray assiduously in this Eucharistic celebration that
the good Lord may grant, through the victory of Jesus over death, eternal life
to our dead brothers and sisters and to bestow those of us still alive the
graces to so co-operate with the graces of God as to enable us enjoy eternal life
as soon as we pass on to the Lord.
Happy Commemoration of the Holy
souls and Happy Sunday!
+John I. Okoye
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(graphics and pictures by blogger)
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