Today's the day we start down the road of hearing passages from the Book of Revelation in the daily Mass readings as the Church closes the liturgical year. It's very fitting to end the liturgical year and our daily hearing of Scripture on the book of Revelation, as it is the last book of the Bible and deals primarily with the final things: death and judgment.
Revelation and these readings reminding us of the end of time shakes me out of my stupor of living like I'll live forever. I don't live like my death could come at any moment, that the things of this world will all blow away like dust. I live like I'm infinite; I'm focused on the here and now, the temporary and material. I'm worried about making sure my house is maintained, my savings funds are being invested in, if that pair of jeans I want will come on sale, not making sure my soul is in a fit state for eternal judgement.
The Church is doing us a tremendous service in giving us this kind of a life-check in focusing our attention to what Christ and the Scriptures say when it comes to death, judgment, and the end of the world. It's natural and human to focus on what is right in front of our faces, to be disconnected from the eternal realities of our lives and how we should be living, and that is why we need this reminder from the Church and why it should call us to meditate on our own death.
We need the words of Jesus to reorient us towards what really matters: our eternal life and Jesus conquering evil.
And yes, this all sounds dramatic. It sounds shocking and uncomfortable, but we are part of this monumental story. We play a part in the triumph of good over evil, and equally falling into that evil. We all make that choice. Are we living for Jesus or are we turning away from His love? We need this crucial reminder of what life is all about, and how important our preparation for death should be. It's not morbid or something to fear, but it should be a way to focus on what really matters in how we're living, and how much it matters.
As we end the liturgical year, let us also prepare ourselves for the end of our earthly lives. Would our choices today be getting us closer or farther away from Heaven? Remember, that all our choices and actions done out of love, even the smallest, bring us closer to Christ.
Christy Isinger is a wife and mom to five lovely, loud children and lives in northern Canada. When not homeschooling, she is a devoted reader of English literature from Jane Austen to Agatha Christie. She writes about the beauty of faith, life, and the home at her blog and is the co-host of the Fountains of Carrots Podcast. You can find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations: The Ten Commandments study found here.
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