I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. // Psalm 116:9

What are the chances that copious tears won’t destroy my careful application of mascara? Nope, not worth it. I scanned my image in the mirror and breathed deeply in an attempt to summon the emotional strength to attend a public Mass and reception in honor of the bishop who had become a trusted spiritual father to us. Only weeks before he had celebrated the funeral Mass for our son.

“I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.” The familiar words from Psalm 116 rang in my head off and on as I noted the joy and love on the faces of our friends who, like us, were grateful for the life, witness, and fatherhood of our beloved shepherd. The whole crowd was alive with love for Jesus and one another. It was good to be there, even as sorrow for my son ached inside me.

What does it mean to walk before the Lord in the land of the living? Here on earth we get glimpses of what it means, but our lives are sometimes shadowed by sin and death. In Heaven, where the Saints and angels are fully alive in the presence of the Holy Trinity, by God’s grace, we will be at last free from all pain and sorrow and walking before Jesus, receiving His gaze of love for us, never turning away. 

In the meantime, because the Holy Mass draws us from the realm of time into that of eternity, when we get up from our knees and walk toward the altar to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, we walk before the Lord amongst the Saints and Angels who are in Heaven there, worshiping God with us.

Sister, next time you rise from the kneeler to walk toward the altar to receive Jesus, I challenge you to remember these words: I will walk before the Lord in the land of the living. Ask our Lord to make you faithful all the way to Heaven, the eternal land of the living.