‘God gives us many opportunities’

As we move through the liturgies of November we notice an emphasis on death, judgement, heaven and hell – the “Four Last Things.” Each year the church turns her attention to these realities as we approach the end of the liturgical year and the beginning of Advent.

In the northern hemisphere we are experiencing the later days of fall and the beginning of winter, which corresponds nicely to the themes of the Liturgy. What we are experiencing in the natural world helps us reflect more deeply on the passing nature of the world and our earthly life. Our life here does not last forever, and it is good to meditate on the end of things so that we can be prepared when that end arrives.

We will all face death at some point unless the Lord returns to judge the living and the dead before we die. We are, after all, mortal beings. Life here will come to an end.

The church in her wisdom reminds us of death on a regular basis, especially at this time of the liturgical year. It is a gift to meditate on death so that we can prepare for it. In our noisy distracted culture, the Liturgy turns our attention to the deeper things of the spiritual life so that we can regain our perspective and see reality as it is, not as we would wish it to be. Our end does not have to frighten us, however, since Jesus Christ has suffered death for us and has risen from the dead. Death no longer has the last word. The Lord has opened up a way through death to new and everlasting life.

At the time of our death, we will all be judged. This is known as our “particular judgement” to distinguish it from the “general judgement” when the Lord returns at the end of time.

When we die God will judge how we have lived. Have we loved God and our neighbor to the best of our ability, or have we lived selfishly? Have we allowed God to fully redeem us, or have we held something back? If we have given our whole lives to God, we will be ready to see him face to face and enter the life of heaven. If we have basically loved God but there are areas of our life that are unredeemed, we will undergo a final purification — what the church calls “purgatory.” Every soul in purgatory is headed to heaven but must be purified before entering the fullness of life.

Hell is a terrible reality to contemplate but it is the logical destination for us if we consciously and willingly reject God and his love. We know from Scripture and the teaching of the church that Satan and the other rebellious angels with full knowledge used their free will to oppose God. By their own choice they are now separated from God. While God gives us many opportunities to turn from our sins it is possible for us to freely reject God. The result would be a definitive and everlasting separation from God – hell.

The liturgies of November and early December give us the opportunity to contemplate the “Four Last Things” so that we can awake from our spiritual slumber and prepare for the end of this world which is passing away and the arrival of the life to come, which will last forever.

+Bishop Peter