Traditional Catholic Teaching - TWENTY THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

The girl is not dead, but sleepeth. St. Matthew 9: 24.

Death is compared with sleep, for we do not altogether perish when we die, and even our mortal bodies are destined to rise again. We ought not to be afraid therefore of death, since the thought of the resurrection affords consolation in suffering to us no less than to Job, who said : "I know that my Redeemer liveth, and the last day I shall rise out of the earth, and I shall be clothed again with my skin and in my flesh I shall see my God" (Job 19: 25 – 26). What does it matter if we have trouble now, when we are promised something so glorious as the sight of God in the future? How ungrateful we should be if we murmured against God for giving us an opportunity of earning, by our sorrow here, the joy of resurrection in heaven! How foolish to desire to enjoy now the happiness that we ought to merit here and enjoy hereafter! If you have to bear any pain, remember the day when you will rise in glory from the grave, and do not give way to cowardice, despondency, discontent or murmuring against God. Ask yourselves whether what makes you unhappy or discontented is really so un-endurable as it appears. Is not our misery in many cases the outcome of our imagination? Do we not call up pictures of a state of happiness such as never has existed and never will exist? Do not these fancies dazzle our understanding, and would it not be much better and more reasonable to face the truth and look forward to the day when we shall rise again, bearing the palm of victory won by the conquest of sin and of our own follies and passions? This will be our reward for all that we suffer now in submission to God's will. Let us stand firm now, for some day God will call us also to arise. The same word "Arise" should ring in our ears at the present time: "Arise from the death of sin." God in His mercy speaks thus; we have grievously offended Him, but still He calls us: "Arise, you have but to will, and My grace shall assist you."

Arise, therefore, open your eyes to the truth; look at God and His holy Commandments; by His grace you can judge rightly of the world and perceive that your own imagination and the suggestions of mistaken friends cannot show you the truth. However much you may complain of the world, you cannot alter it; your discouragement and annoyance will only prevent you from using it to work out your salvation, and so you will forfeit eternal happiness, and your lamentations, irritability and gloom will make you a burden to yourselves and others. Arise, open your eyes to the light of truth, and see what the world really is, and what you have to do in it to secure your salvation. If you obey God's call to arise, you will not only perceive the light of truth, but you will hereafter see God as He is.

"I say unto thee, arise." Stand up and advance along the right path, from which you have so often gone astray. Acknowledge that you have hitherto been on the wrong road that leads to spiritual death. Do not say: "I am misunderstood; those who tell me my faults are unkind." Jesus is calling you to the right path, the path that leads to heaven, and, although it may be steep and rough, it is not too difficult for you to tread.

Have you not always a guide at hand? Let yourselves be led by Him, for His mercy and kindness never failed. The longer we walk on an ordinary road, the more weary do we become; but the further we advance under His guidance, the greater will be our strength. If hitherto you have not felt strong enough to go forward, the fault was your own, for you were not holding fast to our Saviour's hand. Many people say: "Why should I follow such a wearisome road and renounce the pleasures offered by sin and the world? What advantage is it to be led by Jesus? The world offers us joy and happiness, and we often see those who serve God suffering most." St. John answers this question in the Apocalypse, (20: 11 – 12): "I saw a great white throne and One sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away . . . and I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne, and the books were opened . .. and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books." If in this life you have been guided by Jesus, on the day of resurrection you will at once recognize the One sitting upon the great white throne; you will know Him to be your dearest Friend, and will behold Him with joy.

Whither does Jesus lead us ? Not to happiness in this world, it is true, but to Himself, the unfailing source of bliss. Therefore I bid you arise. Stand up and live and work ; labour and be not weary. Jesus is calling you now by His grace. Life should be full of action and energy, for inactivity brings death, or rather inactivity is death. Be zealous, therefore, in doing the work assigned to you by God. Work; not like machines, devoid of life, which move only when driven by some external force that is not their own. Pray, then, and work; not as a fool labours, merely to secure the necessaries of existence, for this is not a spiritual or Christian aim. Work for love of Him who has given you life through Christ, and who, by making you a Christian, is calling you to live as a Christian should. The spirit of Christ is present only where there is love of God. When you are tempted to regard some task as utterly distasteful and your duty as unendurable, say to yourselves: "Inactivity leads to death; is it possible to merit life by death of this kind?"

Make it your habit conscientiously to perform every duty. When young people are indolent, they have no love of work in later life, and fall into many sins, but by industry in youth they make it possible for them to work in subsequent years and form a habit which will prevent them from ever being idle, and will help them to do much good. Jesus calls you to arise and labour zealously, and supplies you with the grace that you need. Obey His voice and take Him as your model whilst you go about your daily work. You will be sowing a little seed whence your palm of victory will have grown by the day of your resurrection. We shall rise again with the bodies that here on earth have served to lay the foundation of our eternal joy or misery. Let us never forget the resurrection. St. Jerome is represented listening for the last trumpet, because he says: "Whether I eat or drink, whether I am asleep or awake, always and everywhere I seem to hear the terrible sound of that trumpet, which will summon the dead to rise and come to judgment."

May the sound of that trumpet be heard in your hearts, especially when you are tempted to listen to the voice of bad temper, discontent or grumbling. When the pleasures and principles of the world appeal to your soul, open your ears to that sound; and if ever indolence lulls you into the slumber of death, let that trumpet ring through your hearts, for it will spur you on to labour steadfastly and without discouragement. Amen.

Return to: Readings