Daily Reflections- March 25, 2012

UNLESS A GRAIN OF WHEAT DIES

 

One of the blessings of priesthood is to accompany people before they finally expire and face our Maker. Usually, it is hard for the family members and also for the one dying. Those who observe the process admit that there are stages that people go through: denial or shock, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Other times, it is all a mix of emotions when one faces death.

Jesus Himself faced death and, in some Gospel accounts, He agonized in the garden: “Take this cup away from me.” Or, at the mount of the cross, He cried in frustration: “Father, why have you forsaken me?”

Death does not come easy. There is inner stubbornness or fear to submit to the helplessness or the reality of mortal life.

The readings remind us of the perspective of faith in facing death: “God will plant a law in our hearts.” As you can see the law is really a commandment of love. Later, we will read in the Gospel, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” In the letter to the Hebrews, we recall how Jesus obeyed. He listened to the will of the Father. Jesus learned to obey through suffering. When the Lord says, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains only a single grain but if it dies, it will yield a rich harvest,” it reflects the faith of the community the way Jesus faced death, and the way He would have wanted His followers to face death. Jesus, after a long struggle with death, cried to the Father: “Not my will but Thy will be done.”

Because of the reality of our mortality and the fear that accompanies it, we are reminded of the way of Jesus. Anyone who wishes to follow Jesus cannot escape the cross or the reality of death. Ignatius of Loyola recommends begging for our deepest desires.

Beg, then, for the grace to die to our false self, die to our character defects that resist the reality of suffering and death. Translation: the grace of constant renewal. The difficult climb is matched by an easy slide down back to the old ways.Fr. Teodulo P. Gonzales, S.J

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: What is your encounter with the reality of death in your life? How have you experienced God’s reassuring example in Jesus?

 

Lord Jesus, I beg for the grace to die to my false self. Help me to renew myself constantly and not be pulled down by the negative influences inside me and around me.