“For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord...” – Romans 14:8

       Cathy lived for the Lord. She was a very active parishioner and served in various church ministries. She was a true worshiper, worshiping God in spirit and in truth. She was a generous giver — she didn’t count the cost of her giving but always gave her all.

       Lying in bed, she managed to smile when she saw us. She was in pain but didn’t complain. She had been bedridden for weeks but she continued to hope in the Lord for healing. When we prayed for her, I sensed a big leap of faith in her “aura.”

       When I went to her wake, she looked like she was at peace. Her face showed a quiet calmness and tranquility that told me that she is with the Lord.

       I believe that was so because the Lord says, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be” (John 14:3).

    She had lived for the Lord, and had died for the Lord. We will certainly miss you, Cathy! Danny Tariman (dtariman.loj@gmail.com)

Reflection: Are you living the way the Lord wants you to live?

Lord Jesus, may I have the courage to live for You, so that I may also be with You in the life to come! Amen.

Venerable Solanus Casey, pray for us.

Paul tells us that selfishness does not only cause death to relationships but also to the individual. No one can reach the point of true fulfillment if there is selfishness in his relationships. We must focus on loving God and others until we understand and trust that there will be enough people who will love us in return. Love is always willing to give to others as well as receive from them.

7 Brothers and sisters: None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself. 8 For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord; so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For this is why Christ died and came to life, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 Why then do you judge your brother or sisters? Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sisters? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written: As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me, and every tongue shall give praise to God. 12 So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

R: I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.

1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (R) 4 One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek, to dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple. (R) 13 I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord with courage; be

stouthearted, and wait for the Lord. (R)

God seeks out the lost and does not stop looking until He finds them. We could not ask for a more compassionate God. He forgives our sins and then chases us to the ends of the earth. But why do we make ourselves difficult to find? Why do we shut our ears to the Good News?

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

1 The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to listen to Jesus, 2 but the Pharisees and scribes began to complain, saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 So Jesus addressed this parable to them. 4 “What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy 6 and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance. 8 “Or what woman having ten coins and losing one would not light a lamp and sweep the house, searching carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she does find it, she calls together her friends and neighbors and says to  them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found the coin that I lost.’ 10 In just the same way, I tell you, there will be rejoicing among the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

think: God seeks out the lost and does not stop looking until He finds them. We could not ask for a more compassionate God.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR isaiah 53-56

IN THE LAND OF THE LIVING

Today’s Responsorial Psalm is a good subject for reflection. It declares: “I believe that I shall see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.” Truly, God intends nothing but “good things” for us. Jesus made this clear when He declared: “I came that they may have life, life to the full” (John 10:10). And so God has good things in store for us. But where do we find them? The psalmist directs us: “…in the land of the living.”

       Reflecting on this psalm reminded me of the Easter admonition of the angel to the women who went to the tomb intending to anoint Jesus’ body (see Luke 24:2). Noting that Jesus has risen, the angel said, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5).

       “Do not seek the living among the dead” is not only an Easter season antiphon. This should be our daily admonition. Isn’t it true that we seek that which is living among the dead, instead of in the land of the living? We are a bundle of desires, longings and aspirations. The philosopher Peter Kreeft wrote that the “…terrible truth about man is that he has a heaven-sized hole in his heart, and nothing else can fill it. We pass our lives trying to fill the Grand Canyon with marbles. As St. Augustine said: ‘Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee.’ That’s the greatest sentence ever written outside Scripture because it tells us the secret of our destiny, our happiness — and our unhappiness.”

       Our desires are not the problem. It is what we do and where we go to satisfy them. That’s the secret of many of our unhappiness — we seek the living among the dead.

       Believe it, God wants good things for us. But He stores them in the “land of the living.” The land of the living is where God’s will is sought, where God’s precepts are fulfilled. Go there. Stay there. Flourish there. Fr. Joel Jason

REFLECTION QUESTION: Where do you often find yourself — in the land of the living or somewhere else?

Incline my heart to You, O God, that I may see the good things of the Lord, in the land of the living. Amen.