Good News Reflections:
Making scripture meaningful to your daily life
by Terry Modica
God the Father has given you to Jesus so that Jesus can lead you to heaven.
Good News Reflection for:
Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed
November 2, 2024
Today’s Prayer:
Thank You, Heavenly Father, for entrusting my life to Jesus. Because I trust in him, I’ll see Your face when I come Home to You, thanks to Your mercy. Amen.
IMPROVE YOUR DAY!
Powerful Catholic prayers are available on our YouTube channel.
Today’s Readings:
Wisdom 3:1-9
Ps 23:1-6
Romans 5:5-11 or Romans 6:3-9
John 6:37-40
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110224.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-november-2-2024
Will you get to heaven?
Do you sometimes wonder if you’ll ruin your salvation and never get to heaven? In the Gospel reading for All Souls Day (John 6:37-40), Jesus says: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me.”
He’s referring to you! God the Father has given you to Jesus so that Jesus can lead you to heaven.
During your baptism, our Father in heaven said to Jesus: “Here Son, take good care of this one. Make sure he/she is going to make it home to heaven okay.”
Jesus replied, “I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I do your will.”
What the Father wants, the Father gets, unless the recipients of his love reject all of his efforts to bring them to heaven.
This is equally true for your deceased loved ones. If they had any desire to be with Jesus while they were on earth, they of course – more than ever – wanted to be with him at the moment of death as he stood before them in the fullness of his love. This is what we commemorate on All Souls Day (The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed).
When we meet Jesus face to face, everything becomes clear. We regret the sins that we have not yet purged from our lives, and Jesus lets us choose purgatory as a completely thorough purification process so that we can live eternally in the fullness of God’s love.
Let’s keep in mind, though, that the fire of love today and throughout our earth-bound life is more sanctifying than the fire of purgatory. By purifying how well we love now – loving others even when it’s difficult, forgiving others as often as they sin, and giving ourselves generously to the needs of others – we unite ourselves to God’s love.
St. Therese of Lisieux said that God prefers that we never experience the sufferings of purgatory. “As soon as you try to please him in everything and have an unshakable trust, he purifies you every moment in his love and he lets no sin remain. And then you can be sure that you will not have to go to purgatory.”
To help you reflect on the meaning of All Souls Day, meditate with our WordByte, “Defining Purgatory and the Communion of Saints” @ wordbytes.org/faqs/purgatory/.
You have loved ones who have left the Catholic Faith. We all do. You know people who have embraced the lies of the Devil without realizing that they have endangered their lives here on earth as well as their immortal souls. We have a prayer for their Divine Illumination @ gnm.org/prayers/prayer-of-divine-illumination.
© by Terry A. Modica, Good News Ministries
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