Daily Bible Reflections

November 2, 2011
Solemnity of All Souls

WHAT STORY DID YOU HEAR?

Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. – Romans 6:4

I was seven years old. My classmate made unpleasant remarks, and in rebuke, my math teacher told us a story about the end of the world. She said we will not know the exact day and hour. And when the end comes, we will be separated into two: on the left will be the goats and on the right, the sheep.
With eyes as big as an owl’s, she scared the wits out of us in saying that “bad” boys will go to hell unless we become blameless and “good” like sheep. I didn’t understand the analogy at the time, but the idea that I could die anytime and go to hell frightened me so much that I couldn’t sleep for many nights. Talk about a bad bedtime story. In my adult life, I’ve had my share of “emotional deaths” — relationships that have crushed my soul and left me empty, and hopeless like a seven-year-old.
But St. Paul tells us a different story. He says that through Jesus, death, in whatever form, is now a temporary reality to attain eternal union with the Father. Today, God raises us to a new, refreshed life and invites us to walk the path that He laid out for us with gratitude and hope. Reden Cerrer (redcer@yahoo.com)
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REFLECTION:
“For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died in Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Romans 6:7)

Jesus, let me live for You every day of my life.