Today is Nov. 8, Friday of the Thirty-first Week in Ordinary Time.
In today’s readings, we hear St. Paul boldly declare, “He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself” (Phil 3:21).
For Christians, death is not to be feared; it is a transformative journey that leads us into the fullness of life in Christ. That’s what this verse from St. Paul is all about. He directs our attention away from the fleeting comforts and concerns of earthly life, grounding our hope in the eternal reality that awaits us.
St. Cyprian, in reflecting on death, writes: “Even though we die, by death we pass over to immortality. We cannot approach eternal life unless we first depart from this life. This is not a passing away but rather a change and a passing over to eternity after the completion of our earthly journey.” St. Cyprian challenges us to see this life as a pilgrimage, one with an ultimate goal beyond anything this world can offer. When we live with heaven as our destination, our priorities shift. Rather than clinging to temporary satisfactions, we yearn for something infinitely greater — to be “transformed into the likeness of Christ” and to dwell with him forever. Our heavenly citizenship calls us to live with one foot already in eternity, knowing that the trials and triumphs of this life are part of a much grander story.
Death is not an end but a homecoming, a return to our true homeland. We know we are destined for something more than this life. Death is the doorway that releases us from our earthly limitations, restoring us to the fullness of life in paradise. When we understand this, we can welcome the approach of that day, not with fear, but with the same anticipation we might feel when reuniting with loved ones after a long separation. In this way, death is transformed from an object of dread into a promise of reunion, rest and the embrace of God.
Today, let’s pray that our longing for heaven might grow more intense:
Grant us, we pray, O Lord our God, the constant gladness of being devoted to you, for it is full and lasting happiness to serve with constancy the author of all that is good. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
My Daily Visitor spiritual reflections are a dose of daily Catholic inspiration from Our Sunday Visitor magazine.
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