THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Third Sunday after Easter 15 May 2011

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

The span of this life is truly “a little while” when we look from the perspective of eternity. The longest life here on earth is but a short span when compared to forever.

Jesus has warned the apostles, and therefore we through them, that the present joys of His presence with us are only for a little while. We will have to suffer a separation as the apostles did when Jesus went to His Heavenly Father.

There are moments of joy and exhilaration in the presence of God, such as we experience during the Easter season. And then there are times when God’s presence appears to be very distant from us. We know that God is never far from us, because this is impossible. God is all present and therefore He is always near us. He does sometimes allow us to experience a distance or separation from Him only that He may draw us closer later on.

We have heard many times that if we wish to be His disciples we must take up our cross daily and follow Him. In this taking up of the cross we often experience this loss. The world rejoices and mocks at our spiritual agony. We are tempted and fall; we are calumniated or scorned; we suffer many things, and in these we experience the separation.

There are other times when God makes Himself felt very intimately with His divine grace. We experience a spiritual joy and consolation that words cannot express. The world may be in mourning and sadness, but God fills the hearts of those He loves with great peace, joy, and happiness.

It seems that the sentiments of God’s chosen souls are almost always at odds with those of the world. God desires that we not be one with the world but rather that we be one with Him. In this way those who love Him are called upon to sacrifice the fleeting pleasures and joys of this life in exchange for everlasting pleasures and joys in eternity.

Our joy will not be full here on earth because this world forms a veil or barrier to our complete union with God. At times the barrier seems to be thinner and we draw closer to God and at other times the barrier seems to be greater and we feel further separated from God. Complete joy in the union with God is reserved for the next life, not for this one.

Our completion will be when this world is renewed and our bodies are lifted up from the earth to be reunited to our souls for the rest of eternity. The lives of the saints thus raised to glory with Jesus will see Him and never lose sight of Him again. Then there joy will be complete. Body and Soul will be one with its Creator and Savior.

As we come to realize the shortness of this time here on earth in comparison with all of eternity, we are better able to bear the ups and downs of life. For no matter what it is in this life we can always say: “this too shall pass.” It will not always be this way. Forearmed with this knowledge we will pass much easier the little whiles when we see Him and the little whiles when we shall not see Him. Our hearts will always be restless as St. Augustine tells us, until they rest in Him. We shall always feel a longing and a desire for unity with God, but this restless longing will be born much more patiently as we realize it is only a little while and we too may go to the Father with Jesus.

Let us realize that the only true evil is sin because sin separates us from God. Everything else is truly indifferent. Life; death; sickness; health; riches; poverty; joy; pain; etc. are all indifferent things. These things can become evils or goods for us depending upon the use that we make of them. For the good all things are made good. For the evil all things become evil.

In this “little while” that we are passing through now, let us recognize that our current state is passing away and there awaits a better time for all those who persevere through this short time making the most of the passing moments by bringing forth good from all things.