By Fr. Glenn Jones:

In preparation for the great and final Sunday of the liturgical year next weekend (November 23)—the feast of Christ the King—this weekend in the Catholic Mass we are directed to readings reminding us of the approach of that greatly anticipated climax—not just of yet another liturgical year, but our actual going to God by the end of earthly life, whether by death or the actual promised second coming of Jesus.

That inevitable moment is not something we should dread; if we fear that day, we Christians are either not living right, or we need to get more in tune with the faith that we are so privileged to have been provided.

Jesus’ second coming, or our going to Him, should never be hastened, but we should at very least be at peace with. Though we have a natural material fear of what is largely yet unknown to us (“… what eye has not seen nor ear heard,” as St. Paul writes), we have that trust in the Word of Jesus and the divinely inspired texts. Trusting in these, we know that going to God is the fulfilment of His whole plan for us…a plan meant for our eternal good, as we read in the book of Revelation:  “God himself will be with them…and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.” (Rev 21:3-4)

Yet we must make our decisions, exercise charity, be faithful to God in all things as if that time will be before the end of the day…because someday that’s exactly how it will come. A good thought exercise might be this: If you knew absolutely that you were to pass away in one hour, what would be your reaction?  Joyful anticipation, as it should be for any Christian…or fear? Will God chastise us: “How many times did ministers of God, and even myself in the Gospels and other scriptures, tell you to be prepared? That this would happen? Could you not know this from the evidence before your eyes at each passing of a cemetery?”

So let us in that moment not rue remembrance of the words of the prophet:  “…[you] did not heed my words, says the LORD, which I persistently sent to you by my servants the prophets, but you would not listen…” (Jeremiah 29:19)  Let that not be what we hear, but rather: “Come, faithful servant, enter into the joy of the Kingdom”

The Catholic Church reminds us in its Catechism: “There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting [from sin, evil, etc.], rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit” (CCC 1864). Rather, let us be filled with the exuberant joy as God wants us to be…free from sin, the shackles of this world and having the realization of our finally going to our true home.

As we get older … as mystery pains pop up, the joints get creakier, we might look forward to that ever more. Yet, we also recall St. Paul in his own longing to go to God: “If it is to be life in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. … [But] My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:23). Or in another place: “We are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8). Let us make the most of our time.

“But Father! I love the beauty of this world…the love of family and friends!” Yes, of course; they are our earthly joy. Yet the world to come will so far exceed even these as the sun exceeds the moon in brightness. For why do we love the love of others? Because it is a mere taste of the love of God that will come to us—that for which we long in the depths of our hearts, whether we realize it or not.

So, as we look forward to next weekend and the commemoration of our future going to God, let us lose no time in preparation. I’ve lost count of the people I’ve buried who had no time whatever to prepare—young, middle-aged, old…it makes no difference. Accident, heart attack, aneurysm, or just passing in one’s sleep…y, ustedes son no más.  One moment here, the next moment before God. Even in extreme old age we tend to think we’ll have yet one more day…until we don’t. But we nonetheless go before God with the record of our lives—how we have loved Him and loved our neighbor.

And all this isn’t meant to frighten, but to simply to remind us of a reality that is before us each day … that all the material things we slave for all our lives are, in the end, useless trinkets. This is why Jesus reminds us: “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world yet lose his [eternal] life?” (cf. Lk 9:25)

Fear of either—natural death or of Christ’s coming—is so unnecessary; we can have no angst at all if we simply live the good as given us by God—the gentle yoke of Jesus. And then watching for Christ’s coming then becomes a source of nothing other than joyful expectation.

But Jesus tells us that steadfastness in faith is necessary, that we will have troubles and pushback and even persecution, “… but he who endures to the end will be saved.” So, as St. Paul exhorts us: “…whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8) And, as the prophet Micah tells us: “You have been told, O man, what is good, and what the LORD requires of you.  Only to do right, to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.”  (Micah 6:8)

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When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’” (1Corinthians 15:54)

Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.