A reflection for All Saints and All Souls Day

Tomorrow is All Saints Day and All Souls Day on Saturday. If there is any Catholic tradition that is welcomed by most Filipinos it is to remember the day we commemorate our Holy Saints and be reminded of our dearly departed brethren on Saturday when they were still alive. So allow me to share what we learned from the gospel written by the evangelist Luke 16:19-31 last Sept. 29, in the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus.

19 “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. 20 But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, 21 desiring to be fed with the crumbs, which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

24 “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ 25 But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”

Our Lord Jesus Christ taught us this parable perhaps to answer those people who until today cannot find themselves to believe that there is a God and his existence means that there truly is life after death, something that atheists refuse to accept. In the end, they are telling us that our Lord Jesus Christ is a liar… when we truly believe that he is the truth and the life.

What important lesson do we derive from this parable? First of all, that in the afterlife, there are two places to go… either you go to heaven or to hell. This is one reality that we need to accept in order to prepare ourselves for our after life. Take comfort that many people die suddenly due to accidents or natural disasters. They are not so lucky because they end up truly unprepared for the end of their present life unlike those sick with cancer.

From this parable we now know that how or where we end up in the after life truly depends on how we treat people while we are still alive on this earth. In Matthew 25:31-46 we read what our Lord Jesus said in the Final Judgment. Jesus said to his disciples, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him.

32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’

Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ Mind you, this is the words of our Lord Jesus Christ from the Bible.

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