Homily Notes Thirty-Third Saturday of Ordinary Time (Luke 19:45-48) “Will Spot Be in Heaven”
Homily Notes Thirty-Third Saturday of Ordinary Time (Luke 19:45-48) “Will Spot Be in Heaven”
Mark Twain was a bit skeptical about religion. He spoke often about heaven and how he did not understand it. He said once:
“The higher animals have no religion, and we are told they are going to be left out in the hear after. I wonder why? It seems questionable taste.”
This would seem to fit in with the people who ask me quite often if their favorite dog or cat will be in heaven.
Such questions would seem to fit in with the questions the Sadducees were asking Jesus in the Gospel we read today. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death, so they ask about who will be married to a woman who was married seven times while she is alive. How are we to feel about all these questions. Do such questions discourage our belief in the dogma concerning the resurrection?
The thing we need to remember is that we cannot describe heavenly realities in earthly terms. We only know one thing about heaven which is that heaven is eternal life with God. We cannot imagine anything as wonderful as that. Somehow, I feel like we will have whatever we need in heaven to make us happy.
Will we look the way we do now in heaven? Probably not. Will heaven have golden streets, angels with harps, etc. Who knows? Jesus says we cannot think of life after death in terms of what we have already experienced. We must let go of our preconceived notion.
Heaven is a leap of faith like much of our religion is. We can only trust that God will know what we will need in life eternal. If we believe God loves us without conditions, then we trust what God has planned for us is unimaginably wonderful!
Reflection Questions:
- Who do I want to see in heaven? Who do I not want to see?
- Are my musings on heaven too limited? What would take away my anxiety concerning death?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Dear Parishioners,
We received almost $10,000 in our Family to Family collection this year. We usually have a “giving tree situation” with this program. We give people a list of names and then parishioners go out to buy gifts for families. This year COVID has curtailed this activity.
Our plan this year is giving families in need gift cards. We are set to help almost 40 families. I am sure that the gifts and the food families receive will help a bleak Christmas be a little brighter for the needy. Thank you to all who have been so generous this year. Know that you are making an impact in people’s lives.
A couple weeks ago Phil and Cuzi Graf made an appeal for volunteers for the Food Pantry. I was pessimistic as to whether they would get volunteers given the limited number of people coming to church, but they recruited six new volunteers from Sacred Heart. I am glad I was wrong. Kudos to the Grafs and to those who stepped up to volunteer.
May Our Lady and all the Angels and Saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark