A Long Life
Memorial of Saint Martha
My dear encountered couples:
Martha and Mary had lost their brother. He had died and their grief was great. Jesus tried to console them by assuring them that a good man like Lazarus is never really dead but living safely with God. He brought Lazarus back to prove it to them.
It is not easy to lose someone you love. It is not easy to lose a long-time friend. To be the person who outlives all your relatives and friends can be the other side of the coin of long life. We all want to live in this world for as long as we can. Few people in good health want to leave anytime soon. Many even who are ill would like to hang on as long as possible. But if our prayers for a long life are answered, we must be prepared to go to the funerals of many of those we love and are attached to. Those of us who are left on the station platform while our loved ones leave on the train will shed many tears - as did Martha and Mary.
That is a very good reason for us to become very strong in our faith. We must believe without doubt that those we love are just leaving us for a short time, that they are alive and well and waiting for us at the other end of the line. Though we miss them, though our hearts might ache every day for them, the knowledge that they are happy with God should give us comfort.
Try to be happy for those you love who have gone to God. You’ve always wanted the best for them - now, they’ve got it.
“"I am the resurrection and the life, said Jesus. “Whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”
