The Sunday Sermon Archive

Dear Friend,

This is the last Sunday after Pentecost. It is the closing of the liturgical year, and so it is fitting for us to consider the end of our lives here on earth and the end of the world.

To most people such thoughts are frightening or at least distasteful. To the true follower of Christ there should be no fear or sadness. We should be reminded of the time Our Lord told the Apostles that they should be happy that He was returning to the Father. “It is expedient for you that I go” (St. John 16, 7). All that God has in store for us is for our own good.

We fear the unknown and therefore we often tend to fear eternity, and the end of this life. No one is certain of his eternal salvation unless, he is given a divine revelation concerning the matter. We therefore tend to become hesitant and afraid. This is due to our own selfish interests.

If we truly love God then we desire that His will should be accomplished. The end of this life is His will. The outcome of this life may prove harmful to us, but it will doubtless be for the greater honor and glory of God. Our love for God leads us to desire whatever will be for His honor and glory even if it be our own pain and suffering. We see this sentiment in the lives of the saints. St. Paul says to the Judeans: “For I wished myself to be an anathema from Christ, for my brethren, who are my kinsmen according to the flesh.” (Romans 9, 3). He makes this strong statement not because he desires to be separated from Christ, but because he has such love for God and His honor. St. Paul loves Christ so much that he is willing to be eternally separated from Him if by this he could obtain greater honor and glory for Him in the conversion of the Judeans. It is truly this complete forgetting of ourselves in the love of Christ that we find the strength and joy to desire the fulfillment of Christ’s words.

True charity does not allow us to shirk our duties and responsibilities, but it does lead us to a position where we are we are more concerned with the honor and glory of God than we are of our own well being. We can be led to the point where we will willingly suffer the greatest suffering possible if only it would please God.

In these sentiments of Charity we are able to look forward to the end of this life; to the judgment, when God will be honored and glorified. Fear melts away in the fire of such charity.

What is perhaps even more wondrous is that with such fire hot charity it becomes impossible that such a soul would be made to suffer eternal separation from God. Such charity burns away a multitude of sins. It becomes holy and pleasing to God and His justice and mercy are honored and glorified in the salvation and reward of such souls.

While the destruction of this life as we know it is frightening from this perspective, it is consoling and encouraging from the spiritual perspective. The supernatural life of charity takes away all doubt and fear and fills the soul with joy that God will no longer be offended by our sins, and that He will be eternally honored and glorified with the love of His angels and saints.

The fulfillment of our baptismal promises will take place at this time. Our whole purpose for existence will be fulfilled. We were created for only one purpose: to give honor and glory to God. Let us recall the simple lessons of our Catechism: “God made me to be happy with Him in Heaven.” “To be happy with God in Heaven, I must: know, love, and serve Him in this world.”

We must all give ourselves completely to Him and repeat Mary’s fiat in our own lives. We must with all the saints reply to God with hearts burning with charity as we say: “I am Yours Lord, do with me what You will.” It is in this disposition that we will overcome all fear of eternity. It is this disposition that causes us to forget our own welfare as we are only concerned with the honor and glory of God. Seeing that we have set aside concern for ourselves out of concern for Him, God takes up the concern for our salvation Himself. He is then concerned for us as we are for Him, and will bless us accordingly.

In truth though, it is God who has first given Himself completely to us so that we can reciprocate by giving ourselves completely to Him. In true love each is concerned with the other no matter what the cost is to himself. Therefore the lovers of Christ do not fear the end of this life, but look forward to it with eager anticipation.

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