Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Parish issued the following announcement on May 10

When earthly lives end, especially when the person is younger, we tend to focus upon and consider what was lost. We think of lost opportunities — things they won’t be able to see, babies they won’t be able to cradle, and adventures that now must go undiscovered. Our minds create this chasm between earth and heaven that sees the losses of this life as permanent ones, never possible to achieve again. This perception causes many folks to remain stuck in their grief as they ponder all of the missed opportunities and regrets.

This is not resurrection thinking. All of the love that we can give and receive, the joy and elation that can be experienced, the adventures that can be undertaken, and the possibilities to be discovered are all part of a continuous journey. They are not ends in and of themselves but are all part of the unfolding of a relationship we have with God, who not only makes all of these wonderful things possible now but sustains them and fulfills them into eternity. The perception and experience of loss is really an illusion, because in God’s eternal kingdom and in God’s time, nothing is ever lost. Even the most intimate and tender of moments we can conceive of sharing with another human being are only part of a journey toward perfect intimate and tender moments to be shared with God in our resurrected life. We become like God and see God as He is in eternity. What greater joy, love, and hope can ever be discovered as we walk down our often dimly lit paths in this world.

This is an awesome wonder and magnificent news to behold. Call to mind someone you have lost in death. How do you see them now? How do you see yourself in heaven? Remind yourself, again, that God is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Our happiness is not going to be fully realized in this world, and there is nothing we can find here that cannot be found one hundred fold in eternity. It’s all about relationship, and not solely about the relationships we have with each other, ourselves, and the world in which we live. It’s about our relationship with God. If we realize how special that one relationship really is, then there is only one particular of heaven and life eternal that really matters: namely, that we fall into love eternal and discover truth. For when we finally close our eyes in death, then all will be well as long as we are with God. There are no losses, only gains.

Un Entendimiento más Profundo de la Escritura

Todo gira alrededor del Señor resucitado; tanto en las primeras comunidades cristianas como en la Iglesia actual. La segunda carta de Pedro dice que Cristo es la piedra angular; recomienda que nos adhiramos a ella con firmeza. “Yo voy a colocar en Sión una piedra angular, escogida y preciosa: quien se afirme en ella no quedara defraudado.” (1 Pedro 2:6). Jesús es la piedra viva, y Él lo afirma diciendo: “Yo soy el Camino la Verdad y la Vida. Nadie va al Padre sino por mí.” (Juan 14:6). Al entender a Jesús como piedra angular, es decir como piedra viva, nos compromete como bautizados a hacer lo mismo, dar la vida y ser vida para otros.

Las tres lecturas de este quinto Domingo de Pascua tienen su fundamento en el misterio pascual de Jesús. El centro del mensaje es que, si rechazamos a Jesús, rechazamos al Padre. Sabiendo que el único camino de llegar al Padre es por Cristo: ¿Nos damos cuenta de ello? ¿Qué harás tu para ir por el camino indicado por Jesús? La oración colectiva de este domingo nos afirma en la misericordia y amor de Jesús hacia su pueblo: “Señor, tú que te has dignado hacernos hijos tuyos, míranos siempre con amor de Padre y haz que cuantos creemos en Cristo obtengamos la verdadera libertad y la herencia eterna.” Pidamos con fervor en esta Liturgia de la Eucaristía que el Señor nos de todo lo que necesitamos para conocerle y amarle a tal punto que encontremos en Él, el Camino la Verdad y la Vida, mostrándolo con el testimonio de verdaderos hijos e hijas de Dios. ¡Aleluya!

Original source can be found here.

Source: Our Lady of Perpetual Help Roman Catholic Parish