2 November 2025 - may perpetual light shine

 

Today's Readings
(Audio)

And this is the will of the one who sent me,
that I should not lose anything of what he gave me,
but that I should raise it on the last day.

We have the promise of Jesus that as long as we belong to him he will do whatever is necessary to get us home to heaven. He won't decide to reject us, the reason being that he came fully committed to the will of the Father, that all should be saved through seeing the Son and believing in him. This does not necessarily preclude our ability to obstinately reject him, since we often prefer our own will to the will of the Father. But as long as we don't persist in refusal, in that great sin against the Holy Spirit, he is more than able to get us home. This must mean he can do it in spite of all of our weaknesses, limitations, and tendencies toward sin. And none of those things will have a place in heaven. That is why it is necessary to undergo a process of sanctification, in which we are purified and made ready for the resurrection.

For if we have grown into union with him through a death like his, 
we shall also be united with him in the resurrection.

We grow into union with him through a death like his when we allow the grace of baptism to transform our lives. This grace helps us die to our disordered attachments to this world and to live more and more in newness of life through his Spirit. Sin is gradually but increasingly replaced with the fruits of the Spirit. Instead of gazing downward at lesser things we fix our eyes on Christ. Instead of ruminating on negative thoughts with our old mind we experience transformation by having our minds renewed. No longer living as though this mortal life is our final destination we remember that our citizenship is in heaven. Notice that none of this is something we accomplish because we decide to do it and work at it really hard. It is always the outworking of grace within us as we surrender and cooperate. 

If the kind of sanctification we have described is both necessary but also not often finished at the end of however long we may happen to live, what happens? It must still be true that Jesus will not lose any of those whom the Father gave him, including us. It must still be the case that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion, even after our death (see Philippians 1:6). And this is what we call purgatory. It is the good news that the consuming fire of God's love will continue its work of purifying us until we are finally fully prepared to stand before him in his presence, to understand truth, and "abide with him in love" forever.

John Keating - Come Holy Spirit