One Minute Reflection – 2 November – Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed – All Souls Day – Readings: Wisdom 3: 1-9; Romans 5: 5-11 or Romans 6: 3-9; Gospel: John 6: 37-40
“For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him, may have eternal life and I shall raise him [on] the last day.” – John 6:40
REFLECTION – “He has said two things: “This is the work of God that you should believe in the One whom He has sent,” while here He added, “whoever sees and believes.”
The Jews saw but did not believe; they had the one condition, lacked the other.
How could they attain to eternal life without the other?
The reason those who saw did not attain eternal life was because they did not also believe.
If so, what about us, who have believed but have not seen?
If it is those two things that earn eternal life, seeing and believing—and whoever is lacking one of them cannot attain to the reward of eternal life — what are we to do?
The Jews [who saw Him] lacked the one; we ,the other.
They had seeing but lacked believing.
We have believing but lack seeing.
Well, as regards our having believing and lacking seeing, we have prophetically been declared blessed by the Lord Himself just as Thomas, one of the Twelve, was blessed when he felt his scars by touching them.” – St Augustine (354-430) Great Western Father and Doctor of the Church (Sermon 14)
PRAYER – Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us. As we renew our faith in Your Son, Whom You raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in His Resurrection, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen.
AnaStpaul 